Spring 2017. The Captain of Team Kick arrived in WWE. On June 29th, she would start working the WWE NXT House Show loop under her new name Dakota Kai. Her first match was a six woman tag where she teamed with her former Shimmer partner Ruby Riott (Heidi Lovelace) against a team featuring Mandy Rose who in the future would be her final NXT opponent.
She was the likeable girl next door you could easily rally behind. The perfect babyface. Kai always fought her heart out in her matches. She stayed true to herself, strong and brave with a good heart. Kai valued the power of loyalty and friendship. Her pleasant nature was equal to her toughness in the ring. She could take it just as well as she could dish it out. If you pissed her off, she wouldn't hesitate to kick your head off. The Captain of Team Kick would often unleash an assortment of kicks on her opponents as part of her quick striking style.
June 1st 2017. On that day a friendship was born. According to Tegan Nox in 2020: That was the fateful day Dakota and her met. They quickly bonded, becoming best friends and inseparable. They trained together, hung out and even attempted to bring holiday cheer to their co-workers. Kai and Nox formed a tag team called Team Fly-Kicks or Team Kick or Team Fly Kicks. Although they didn't get to team up on television until 2019, Kai and Nox would often team up at NXT House Shows. Nox initially worked under her real name Steffanie Newell.
In August, Kai would venture to UK promotion Progress during their American tour. For her debut match at Progress New York City, she would reunite with old friend Dahlia Black for a tag team battle against Jinny and Deonna Purrazzo. It would be a loss for Kai and Black. The next night at Progress Boston, Kai would come out victorious in a triple threat match against Purrazzo and Jinny via Coup-de-Kai and pin to Deonna.
Progress New York City Screen Captures
Progress Boston Screen Captures
GIFs From This | TW: None For These
Dahlia Hug | Triple 1 | Triple 2
Additional Information | Deonna Purrazzo & Jinny defeated Dahlia Black & Dakota Kai (14:07) at Progress New York City on August 12th 2017 at Elmcor Center. Dakota Kai defeated Deonna Purrazzo and Jinny (5:36) in a triple threat match at Progress Boston on August 13th 2017 in Somerville, Massachusetts at Arts at The Armory.
