Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, where she performs on the

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of

Damage CTRL Damage Control (stylized as Damage CTRL) is a villainous professional wrestling stable composed of leader Bayley, Dakota Kai, & Iyo Sky currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. Kai and Sky are the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions ...

and is one half of the current

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across bot ...

with

Iyo Sky is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and former two-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champions with fellow stablemate ...

in their record-tying second reign. She is also known for her time in

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

, where she won the inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and is a former two-time

NXT Women's Tag Team Champion The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. The current ch ...

. Prior to her signing with WWE, Crowley wrestled under the ring name Evie, and appeared for Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) in her native New Zealand, Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance (PWA) in Australia, American promotions

Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) is an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both him ...

and

Shine Wrestling Shine Wrestling (stylized as SHINE Wrestling and often referred to simply as SHINE) is an American, New York based independent women's professional wrestling promotion. It is the sister promotion to Shimmer Women Athletes and airs events on Int ...

, as well as Japanese promotions

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

and

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...

Professional wrestling career

New Zealand and Australian independent promotions (2007–2016)

Crowley made her

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

debut on 15 December 2007 for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

based company Impact Pro Wrestling under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Evie, a reference to her favourite

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

Eevee is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Motofumi Fujiwara, it first appeared in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue''. It has later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles, as wel ...

. In September 2011, she debuted in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia-based Pro Wrestling Alliance Australia (PWA Australia) for their annual PWWA show, where defeating

Kellie Skater Callee Keating (born 30 September 1987) is a retired Australian professional wrestler best known by her ring name Kellie Skater. She has wrestled internationally, in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. She is perhaps best known for h ...

. In August 2012, Evie became the first Impact Pro Wrestling NZ Women's Champion, defeating Britenay and Megan Fox in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. A week later, she won the Interim PWWA Championship by defeating

Jessie McKay Jessica McKay (born 23 June 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Billie Kay and for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she competed as Jessie McKay. In J ...

in the finals. After Impact Pro Wrestling returned after a few months from folding in mid-2013, all the previous title holders were stripped of their championships. Evie won the IPW Women's Championship back in December 2013 and aligned herself with a new heel faction called 'The Investment'. Evie began 2014 in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, working on a three-month contract awarded to her through

, and becoming the first female to receive such a contract.

American independent promotions (2013–2016)

Evie at SHIMMER Women Athletes April 2013

Evie made her debut for the all-female American promotion

at ''Volume 53'' on 6 April 2013, participating in a five-way match which she lost to

Christina Von Eerie Christina Maria Kardooni (born August 28, 1989) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Christina Von Eerie. She has worked for various promotions, including the American Global Force Wrestling (GFW), Pro Wrestling Guer ...

and also included Yuu Yamagata,

Kalamity Maggy Goyette is a French Canadian retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name, Kalamity. She primarily wrestled for nCw Femmes Fatales and is a former nCw Femmes Fatales Champion. Professional wrestling career Early career Go ...

, and Rhia O'Reilly. At ''Volume 54'', Evie defeated

Kimber Lee Kimberly Ann Frankele (born June 27, 1990), better known by her ring name Kimber Lee, is an American professional wrestler who is currently a free agent. She is known for her work on both the American and international independent circuits, mos ...

to pick up her first win for the promotion, but she was defeated by

Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Michin" Mia Yim. She is a member of The O.C.. She is also known for her tim ...

the next day at ''Volume 56''. She competed in a losing effort against

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...

at Shimmer ''Volume 62'' in April 2014. At Volumes 63 and 64, Evie defeated Rhia O'Reilly and

Nicole Matthews Lindsay Miller (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by her ring name Nicole Matthews. Matthews regularly wrestles for Shimmer Women Athletes and Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling among other independent p ...

, respectively. On 19 April 2013, Evie made her debut for

at ''Shine 9'', in a losing effort against

Mercedes Martinez Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a form ...

. At the Shine 18 iPPV on 20 April 2014, Evie and Skater lost to defending champions the Lucha Sisters (

Leva Bates Leva Bates (born May 21, 1983) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling. She also had a successful tenure on the independent circuit, most notably for Shimmer Women Athletes. She has also appeared in WWE on their develop ...

and

) for the

Shine Tag Team Championship The Shine Tag Team Championship is the tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship contested in the professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Shine Wrestling. Inaugural Championship Tournament (2014) The ...

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2015–2016)

On 6 December 2015, Evie made her debut for the Japanese

promotion. In her first match she won the vacant

Artist of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...

alongside

Hiroyo Matsumoto (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other w ...

and

. They lost the title to

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions ...

Kairi Hojo is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the c ...

, and

Mayu Iwatani (born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-time ...

in their third defense on 28 February 2016.

WWE

Early appearances (2015–2017)

Crowley appeared on the 14 October 2015 episode of ''

'' as Evie, losing to the debuting

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Nia Jax from 2014 to 2021 and became a one-time Raw Women's Champion and two- ...

. On 15 December 2016, Crowley signed a contract with WWE, and a few months later she was announced as a participant in the upcoming

Mae Young Classic The Mae Young Classic was a women's professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a WWE Hall of Famer who is consi ...

under the new

Dakota Kai. According to Crowley, she wanted her new ring name to be something that sounded tomboyish but still reflected her Samoan heritage. The word Kai means sea in the

Polynesian language The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austron ...

, indicating her journey to get to WWE, and contrary to popular belief, is not a reference to

Leilani Kai Patty Seymour (born January 23, 1960) is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school. In the 1980s, as part of the World Wrestling F ...

. Kai entered the tournament on 13 July, defeating Kavita Devi in the first round and

Rhea Ripley Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is a member of The Judgment Day. She was also the inaugural N ...

in the second round, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the cur ...

Beginnings in NXT (2017–2020)

On 25 October 2017 episode of ''

'', Kai returned to television, competing in a women's battle royal won by

Nikki Cross Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag Team ...

. On 10 January 2018 episode of ''NXT'', Kai lost to the debuting

Shayna Baszler Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and longest ...

by referee stoppage after Baszler stomped and injured her arm. After the match, Baszler attacked and locked her in the Kirifuda Clutch until

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...

Ember Moon Adrienne Reese (born August 31, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Athena. She also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is the current ROH Wom ...

saved her. On 14 March episode of ''NXT'', Kai scored her first televised victory, defeating

Lacey Evans Macey Estrella-Kadlec (née Evans; born March 24, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Lacey Evans. Originally introduced to wrestling while serving as a militar ...

. Kai made her

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

debut at

WrestleMania 34 WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...

on 8 April, competing in the

WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal The WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal was a professional wrestling battle royal held at WrestleMania by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The winner of the match received the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal Trophy. The inaugural ...

and becoming the first female New Zealander to compete at WrestleMania. Kai also participated in a

WrestleMania Axxess WrestleMania Axxess is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four days—from Thursday to WrestleMania Sunday—and features WWE talent and alumni autograph signings, inte ...

tournament which she won, earning herself a match for the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...

, but was defeated by newly crowned champion Shayna Baszler. In May, Kai earned another shot at the title but was unsuccessful in winning it. Throughout the rest of the year, Kai racked up victories and losses against competitors like

Santana Garrett Santana Garrett (born May 22, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, valet and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she works as a coach at the Performance Center. During her career, Garrett has wrestled in many independent promotio ...

Bianca Belair Bianca Blair Crawford (born Bianca Nicole Blair; April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and a fitness and figure competitor. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bianca Belair, and ...

, Lacey Evans and

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

. In parallel to her activities in NXT, Kai also appeared in the newly created ''

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

. At

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

on 28 October, the first all women's pay-per-view, Kai unsuccessfully challenged

(in a

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence ...

) for the

NXT UK Women's Championship The NXT UK Women's Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was defended on the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WWE's developmental territory NXT ba ...

. Before the match, Kai took part in a tournament (that was

taped ''Taped'' is a 2012 Dutch thriller film directed by Diederik van Rooijen. The film won the Best Feature Film award at the 2012 Stony Brook Film Festival. Susan Visser was also nominated for the Golden Calf for Best Actress for her role in the ...

back in the summer but aired in November) for the vacant championship, defeating

Nina Samuels Samantha Allen (born 17 October 1988) is an English professional wrestler. She is most well known for her time in WWE where she performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Nina Samuels. Professional wrestling career British Empire Wre ...

in the first round but was eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winner Ripley. After spending a few months away, Kai returned at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on 17 November, where she and

helped

during her match with Shayna Baszler by attacking Baszler's allies

Jessamyn Duke Jessamyn Laurel Duke (born June 24, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As a wrestler, she worked with WWE as part of their NXT brand. She formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Inv ...

and

Marina Shafir Marina Shafir (Moldovan Cyrillic: Марина Шафир; born 14 April 1988) is a Moldovan professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She formerly competed for Invicta Fighting Championsh ...

. On 17 January 2019, Kai announced on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

page that she sustained a torn ACL, during an NXT

live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

in December, which would sideline her from in-ring competition for the next few months. Kai defeated

Taynara Conti Taynara Melo Guevara (née de Carvalho and formerly Conti; born June 9, 1995) is a Brazilian professional wrestler and judoka. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Tay Melo () and is a member of the ...

in her return match on 25 September episode of ''NXT''. Shortly after, Kai's long-time tag team partner

Tegan Nox Steffanie Rhiannon Newell (born 15 November 1994) is a Welsh professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Tegan Nox. Newell previously wrestled on the British independent circuit under ...

returned to NXT and the two reunited their

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

dubbed "Team Kick". On 30 October episode of ''NXT'', Team Kick unsuccessfully challenged The Kabuki Warriors (

Asuka Asuka may refer to: People * Asuka (name), a list of people * Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler * Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan Places In Japan * , an area in Yamato Province (now ...

and Kairi Sane) for the

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across bot ...

. In November, Kai made her main roster debut as part of the NXT talent that were placed in an invasion angle with

and

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

as part of the

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

pay-per-view.

was chosen over Kai as part of Rhea Ripley's team for the first-ever women's

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...

against Shayna Baszler's team. On 23 November at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, just before the match took place, Kai replaced Yim, who was attacked backstage. However, before she entered the ring, Kai attacked her tag team partner,

, turning

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

for the first time in her career. Upon her return in December, Mia Yim revealed that Kai attacked Yim backstage and this led to a grudge match between the two, which Kai won. On 26 January 2020, at

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...

, Kai entered her first

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

at #15, but was eliminated by

Chelsea Green Chelsea Anne Cardona (born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman and model. She is best known for her time in Impact Wrestling where she is a former impact Knockouts champion and Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion ...

. On 29 January episode of ''NXT'', Kai lost to Nox after she used a knee brace following a distraction from

Candice LeRae Candice LeRae Gargano (''née'' Dawson; born September 29, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and was a member of The Way. LeRa ...

Storyline with Raquel González (2020–2022)

Kai defeated Nox twice: first at NXT TakeOver: Portland in a street fight, and second in a steel cage match, both after interferences from González. On 7 June at TakeOver: In Your House, Kai, González and Candice LeRae lost to Nox, Mia Yim and

Shotzi Blackheart Ashley Louise Urbanski (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and singer. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Shotzi (shortened from her previous ring name Shotzi Black ...

. At

NXT TakeOver XXX NXT TakeOver XXX (originally NXT TakeOver: Boston) was the 30th NXT TakeOver professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event took place on A ...

, she failed to win the Women's title against Io Shirai. Kai and González soon aligned with LeRae and

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...

, resulting in a

against Blackheart,

, Shirai, and Ripley at

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American science fiction techno-thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follows Dav ...

on 6 December, which her team won. Kai and González won the first ever Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, when she defeated Blackheart and Moon in the finals at Vengeance Day. With this win, they earned a shot at

and

, a match that would end in controversy on 3 March episode of ''NXT'', after Kai was submitted by Baszler despite not being the legal competitor in the match. The following week, they were awarded the newly created

NXT Women's Tag Team Championship The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. The current cha ...

by General Manager

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

, marking Kai's first championship in the WWE. However, the two lost the titles to Blackheart and Moon that night. After González won the

at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver on 7 April, tension began to show between the two as González began displaying more face tactics. On 27 July episode of ''NXT'', Kai turned on González, ending their alliance. At NXT TakeOver 36 on 22 August, Kai unsuccessfully challenged González for the title. On 26 October at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...

, she returned as the mysterious person to cost González the title to

Mandy Rose Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose. Rose began ...

in a Trick or Street Fight. On 5 December at

, Kai and

Toxic Attraction Toxic Attraction was a professional wrestling stable in WWE on the NXT brand. The group originally consisted of Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne. After Rose was released from her WWE contract in December 2022, Toxic Attraction became a tag ...

(

Gigi Dolin Priscilla Lee Kelly (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. She performs under the ring name Gigi Dolin in the NXT brand, and is one-half of the tag team Toxic Attraction with Jacy Jayne, and she is a former record-tying two-ti ...

Jacy Jayne Taylor Grado (born June 2, 1996) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Jacy Jayne as a member of Toxic Attraction. She is a former record-tying two-time NXT Women's Tag Team C ...

, and Rose) lost to González, Shirai,

Cora Jade Brianna Coda (born January 14, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, performing on the NXT brand under the ring name Cora Jade, where she is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. Before signing to WWE, she previous ...

, and

Kay Lee Ray Kayleigh Rae (born 11 August 1992), better known as Kay Lee Ray, is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Alba Fyre. Rae began her wrestling career in 2009 and c ...

in a WarGames match. Kai then competed in the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with

Wendy Choo Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the promotion WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with Ring of Honor and ...

, defeating

Indi Hartwell Samantha De Martin (born 17 August 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Indi Hartwell. She is signed to WWE, performing on the NXT brand, and was a member of The Way. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team C ...

and Persia Pirotta in the first round, González and Jade in the semi-finals on 8 March 2022 at

Roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: *Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *Robbery *Sobriety checkpoint In peaceful circumstances ...

, but lost to Shirai and Kay Lee Ray in the finals. On 29 March episode of ''NXT 2.0'', after Toxic Attraction took out Wendy Choo, Kai attacked the group and was assisted by a returning Raquel González, whom Kai embraced afterwards, turning

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

for the first time since 2019. It was then announced that Kai and González would face Toxic Attraction members Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship during the pre-show of NXT Stand & Deliver on 2 April, in which they were successful in winning the titles. Their first title defense was scheduled for the following episode of ''NXT'', losing the titles back to Toxic Attraction due to Mandy Rose’s interference. The following week, Kai unsuccessfully challenged Rose for the NXT Women's Championship in what would be her final appearance in NXT. On 29 April 2022, Kai was released from her WWE contract. She had reportedly expressed to the company that she was not planning on renewing her contract prior to her release.

Damage CTRL (2022–present)

On 30 July 2022, Kai re-signed with WWE and returned at

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

alongside Bayley and

(formerly known as Io Shirai). She officially joined the

as a

and made her debut for the brand the following night. Throughout the summer, the trio became known as

and they started a

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with

Alexa Bliss Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss signed a contract with WWE and was ass ...

, and

that led to various singles and tag team matches, with the most notable of all being a six-woman tag team match at Clash at the Castle), where Damage CTRL were victorious. At the same time, Kai and Sky entered a tournament for the vacant

. The two made it to the finals where they lost to

and

Raquel Rodriguez Raquel or Racquel is a variation of the given name Rachel. Notable people with the name include: Raquel * Raquel (wrestler), Brazilian professional wrestler * Raquel Alessi (born 1983), American former actress and model * Raquel Naa Ayorkor Ammah ...

after Aliyah pinned Dakota even though she was not the legal competitor. This set up a rematch between the two teams, in which Kai and Sky defeated Aliyah and Rodriguez on the 12 September episode of ''Raw'' to win the Women's Tag Team Championship for the first time. Kai and Sky lost the titles on the 31 October episode of ''Raw'' to Bliss and Asuka and went on to regain them five days later Crown Jewel, which also marked the first time a women's championship changed hands in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. The rivalry between the two trios ended at Survivor Series WarGames on 26 November, where Damage CTRL,

, and

lost to Belair, Asuka, Bliss,

, and

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and ...

in a WarGames match.

Other media

In September 2009, Crowley starred in the music video for "Sweet December" by Auckland band These Four Walls. In the summer of 2013, as Evie, she was profiled on the Māori Television sports show ''Code''. As Dakota Kai, she is a playable character in the video games ''

WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth overall game in the ''WW ...

'', ''

WWE 2K20 ''WWE 2K20'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twenty-first installment of ...

'', and ''

WWE 2K22 ''WWE 2K22'' is a 2022 professional wrestling sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the twenty-second overall installment of the video game series based on WWE, the ninth game under the ''WWE 2K'' banne ...

''. Crowley currently streams on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

under the username "Charliegirl".

Personal life

Crowley is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and Samoan descent. Her mother is originally from the Samoan village of

Lepea Lepea is a village on the island of Upolu in Samoa. The picturesque settlement of round Samoan houses built in a concentric pattern in large open grounds (''malae'') is situated 5mins drive west of the capital Apia on the north central coast of th ...

on the island of

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximatel ...

. She has two younger siblings: her sister Nyrene is a

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, and her brother Earl is a DJ. Her grandfather

Pat Crowley Patricia Crowley (born September 17, 1933) is an American actress. She was also frequently billed as Pat Crowley. Early life Crowley was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Helen (''née'' Swartz) and coal mining foreman Vincent Cr ...

represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

as a member of the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

in 1949 and 1950. Crowley is close friends with

, and

, and currently shares a house with Baszler in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Championships and accomplishments

* Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance ** PWWA Championship (1 time) ** PWWA Interim Championship (1 time) ** PWWA Interim Championship Tournament (2012) * Impact Pro Wrestling ** IPW Women's Championship (3 times) * ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' ** Ranked No. 21 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the ''

PWI Female 50 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

'' in 2016 *

Shimmer Tag Team Championship The Shimmer Tag Team Championship (stylized as SHIMMER Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling tag team championship in Shimmer Women Athletes. The title is recognized nationally by Ring of Honor, and also by several independent promoti ...

( 1 time) – with

Heidi Lovelace Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to orld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she performs under the ring name Ruby Riot. Prange has also worked in World Wonder Ring Stardom (a ...

( 1 time) – with

and

( 2 times, current) – with

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with Raquel González ** NXT Women's Championship Invitational (2018) ** Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

) – with Raquel González **

NXT Year-End Award The NXT Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy, Grammy and WWE's own Slammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers who have competed in NXT in the previous year. There have been five editions of the c ...

(1 time) *** Future Star of NXT (2019)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kai, Dakota 1988 births Expatriate professional wrestlers Living people New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States New Zealand female professional wrestlers New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Sportspeople from Auckland Twitch (service) streamers Women graphic designers 21st-century professional wrestlers Artist of Stardom Champions WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Shimmer Tag Team Champions