Dakota Kai has commented on her WWE release.
The former Damage CTRL member was seen as a future star when she returned to the company at SummerSlam 2022. Her run following her big arrival, however, was riddled with injuries. Despite multiple chances, she was never able to gain momentum, and the former NXT star was ultimately unceremoniously released from her contract in May last year.
The New Zealand native opened up about her underwhelming main roster run during a recent interview with Busted Open Radio. Talking about her release from the company, Dakota Kai admitted that injuries played a role in it, among other things:
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. Obviously, plans changed. It’s one of those things where I was constantly fighting a glass ceiling and even when I was, I thought I was going to break through it.
I Really Needed To Take A Step Back: Dakota Kai
Dakota Kai also discussed taking a break from wrestling after her WWE exit. She said that she needed the time off to rebuild her confidence as a wrestler. The former Stardom star noted that she was not even sure if she had a place in the wrestling world after her unexpected release:
I think I just really needed to take a step back and sort of rebuild 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. Going forward, it’s just making sure that I’m good health-wise more than anything and that’s mental and physical as well.
The former WWE star now going by the name Charlie is set to make her in-ring return at the Wrestle Queendom 8 event next month on March 8. She will be facing Kris Statlander in her comeback match.
