WWE released Dakota Kai from her contract last May, in a round of roster cuts that also included Braun Strowman and Shayna Baszler, among others.
The former Damage CTRL member is now getting ready for her first match since then, under her new ring name “Charlie.” She’s scheduled to face former AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander at Pro Wrestling Eve’s Wrestle Queendom on March 8.
While hyping up her return to the ring, Kai told Busted Open Radio that she needed all this time away to find her love
for pro wrestling again after WWE kicked her to the curb.
“I was incredibly grateful for my time at WWE. Everyone I met there and worked with, the locker room especially. Such a big part of my heart loved that time.
But I think I just really needed to take a step back and sort of build myself in terms of confidence, and what I thought about myself as a wrestler in this world. I didn’t really know if I still had a place in this world, you know?”
Dakota acknowledged that injuries were a problem during her time in WWE, but it also always felt like she was up against a glass ceiling there. She was surprised about the timing of her release from the company.
“It could have been [the injuries]. I think that definitely had a part to play. Obviously, with the change in management, that probably had a big part to play too.
It was surprising, only because we were just coming off of the Intercontinental tournament. And obviously, plans changed. It’s one of those things where I was constantly fighting a glass ceiling, and even when I thought I was gonna break through it, it obviously came back. There were a lot of things in play that were just out of my hands.”
Charlie said she’s definitely open to the idea of working matches in AEW or TNA. Her main focus now is to “get the wheels turning again,” and then see where this takes her next.
Do you think WWE made a mistake in cutting Dakota Kai? Is it just a matter of time until Charlie is All Elite? Sound off in the comments below, Cagesiders.
