Dakota Kai highlights just how important the WWE Universe is to the locker room.
WWE dealt with its COVID-19 era of shows by hosting empty arena events. Fans “attended” virtually, and were seen on screens situated around the WWE Performance Center. This allowed matches to have some light similarities visually to normal events, but it was clearly a challenge to wrestle without fans physically present.
Dakota Kai spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard at WrestleMania 41 week about this experience. Kai was asked if there were some matches or moments from her wrestling career she’d like more focus on. She named some of her work with Rhea Ripley in NXT, noting that a lot of her favorite matches in that era took place in front of an empty building.
Dakota Kai highlights how much fans help a performer
“I haven’t wrestled Rhea [Ripley] on the main roster yet. I did have a few matches with her in NXT, so maybe during that time, especially NXT in 2020, when it was like the ‘COVID era.’ There was a lot of good stuff that happened there,” Dakota Kai explained.
“There was a six-woman ladder match that happened in front of zero people. Do you know how much ladders hurt when no one’s cheering for you? [laughs] It hurt a lot,” Dakota added. “It’s surprising how much cheering helps your adrenaline and not feeling pain. That was a match!”
The NXT Women’s Title #1 Contendership ladder match took place on the April 8, 2020 episode of NXT. There, Io Shirai defeated Kai, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green, Mia Yim and Tegan Nox to earn a title shot. Kai would mix it up in another six-woman match a few weeks later at In Your House 2020. This time, however, Kai, Candice LeRae and Raquel González lost a six-woman tag team match to Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart, and Tegan Nox.
Check out our full interview with Dakota Kai below:
