During a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Dakota Kai commented on working for WWE NXT, returning from injury, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On if NXT stars are focused with going to the main roster: “I don’t think we really look to Raw and SmackDown as moving up to the main roster anymore. We are the main roster now. The only difference before was that Raw and SmackDown were on television and we were on the WWE Network. Now that we are also on that same level, the main goal of everyone at NXT is to just keep bringing it and to really elevate everyone within the brand itself. We are the third brand, and a lot of us are so very loyal to NXT. We want to stay and just help elevate it to that level. I mean, us being on the USA Network is the first step but we have so much work to do in terms of continuing to bring your eyes to NXT and show everyone watching that we are on the same level as Raw and SmackDown. They’re doing their thing too, but I think here at NXT, we offer something edgy. We offer the kind of wrestling that I think a lot of people crave.”
On how getting injured changed how she presented herself in NXT: “Oh, 100 percent. When my injury happened, I was kind of on the verge of getting bigger opportunities. But the injury halted all of that. When it happened, there was a lot of time spent thinking about what I had done in NXT, which is still good. But at the same time, I don’t think that I really got to show everyone who Dakota Kai really was. So, there was a lot of time dwelling on that, and I made a promise to myself and to everyone. I tweeted about it too: When I came back, I would hit the ground running. I also made a promise to myself that I would show everyone what they hadn’t seen yet. The start of my NXT career up until I got injured was OK. But it wasn’t really what I wanted to show people. I’m going to start taking my opportunities and showing everyone what I’m capable of.”
On if the knee brace was a message to Tegan Nox: “Yes, for sure. We had both gone through the same injury, the same journey. So, taking her knee brace off at WarGames and keeping it on me sort of like a token, I think that that says a lot in itself. I don’t really have to talk about the knee brace. I think that just showing it and showing everyone including Tegan that I have her knee brace on me adds to the statement I made. I see it as a warning.”
