Â鶹APP

Dakota Kai Axxess 2018.jpg Photo by Shared Account –

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Dakota Kai

She was born on May 6, 1988. Currently, around 33 years old. However, she is not among among the youngest of stars in NXT, she’s still young enough to make a huge impact on the main roster in the next few years.

Dakota is also known as Cheree Georgina Crowley was born in New Zealand, she is a professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, she performs on the Raw Brand under the ring name of Dakota Kai.

She is currently one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. She has won the Inaugural Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. She is also a former two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion.

Before her signing with WWE, she wrestled under the name Evie. The name was very significant as it was inspired by Kai’s favorite  Pokémon, Eevee although, from the beginning, it seemed like a random name for the wrestler.

In addition and of importance to note is that Evie was her name when she was signed in by WWF. The name Kai means sea which is actually a symbol of her journey across oceas to achive her current goal. Also the name carries a meaning which is a nod to Kai’s Samoan heritage. 

However, her nationality bills her from New Zealand and again she carries both Samoan and Irish blood.

Kai’s mother was from the island of Upolu, so having a nod to that side of her is a nice touch. This fact, however, is not known by many people. her father was part of of the New Zealand All Blacks team back in the 40s and 50s.

She even appeared for Impact Pro Wrestling in her native New Zealand. She has done American promotions Pro Wrestling Zero 1 and World Wonder Ring Stardom.

1. The Beginning of Her Career

Dakota Kai Vs Nikki Cross – Photo by Shared Account –

Dakota made her debut on 15 December 2007she was signed to the Auckland-based company Impact Pro Wrestling. She later debuted in Australia- based Pro Wrestling Australia for their annual PWWA show in 2011. 

In the next year, she became the first Impact Pro Wrestling NZ Women’s Champion. She later won the Interim PWWA Championship, she retained the title during her first defense on the 6th of October.

In 2014, she began working on a three-month contract in Japan. She was the first female to receive such a contract. 

2. Her Independent American Promotions

Dakota made her debut for the all-female American promotion Shimmer Women Athletes. In 2013, Dakota made her debut for the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. 

In her first match, she won the vacant Artist of Stardom Championship together with her teammates. They lost their title in their third defense on February 2016.

3. Her Debut In WWE

Evie at SHIMMER Women Athletes April 2013.jpg Photo by Char1i3gir100089 –

In 2016, she signed a contract with WWE and she was announced as a participant in the upcoming Mae Young Classic under the stage name Dakota Kai. She revealed that she wanted a name that sounded tomboyish but still reflected her heritage.

She was able to win in her first round but was eliminated in the quarterfinals. She made her television return by competing in a Women’s battle royal. 

Through her career with WWE, she has been able to participate in quite a number of competitions. She even participated in the WrestleMania Axxess tournament which she won, this boosted her for the NXT Women’s Championship.

However, she was released by WWE in 2022 due to the fact that they didn’t renew her contract.

4. Her Career in Damage CTRL

Professional wrestling stable, Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Bayley and Iyo Sky) Photo by Le presque Yes Mouvement –

On July 30, 2022, she was re-signed with WWE and returned to SummerSlam. She officially joined the Raw brand, she made her debut for the brand the following night. 

She was also in the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament with her teammate Sky which was a great inspiration to her and the other women wrestlers.

5. Other Than Wrestling

Dakota starred in a music video in 2009 by Auckland band These Four Walls. In 2013, she aired a story that followed her in the lead-up to her first tour in the United States. Her act as  Dakota Kai is a playable character in the video game WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20, and WWE 2K22.

6. Her Personal Life

Dakota is of Irish and Samoan descent with her mother from a Samoan village: Lepea on the island of Upolu. She currently shares a house with Baszler in Florida. 

7. Amazing Return to NXT 

Shazza McKenzie vs Evie.jpg Photo by Stephen Dann –

As a great wrestler, she surprised many people by the fact that it took her time to join the main roster.

In actual fact, after the conclusion of her rivalry with Raquel Gonzalez, fans thought that the company was preparing to move her to the main roster, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, Kai returned at NXT Halloween Havoc to cost her former best friend the NXT Women’s Title.

8. The Famous Mae Young Classic

During the WWE’s network special tournament, the Mae Young Classic, which is responsible for bringing in some of the top talents from around the world.

The tournament helped to shape much of the women’s division in WWE for the last few years. Kai was brought in for the inaugural tournament and actually went on a great run.

She would defeat both Kavita Devi and Rhea Ripley, before getting knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual winner Kairi Sane.

Kai eventually became more of a fixture on NXT TV following the tournament, before properly breaking out as a heel a couple of years later.

9. Her Uplifting Height as a Wrestler

Dakota Kai in January 2020.jpg Photo by Diva Insider –

Dakota Kai has a decent height for a female wrestler. She’s 5 feet and 6 inches tall. While heights don’t often matter in the ring, they sometimes play a role in making a wrestler look stronger and larger than their opponents.

For instance, Kai’s former best friend, Raquel Gonzalez, is 6 feet tall, and she looked like a petite next to her.

Even stars like Alexa Bliss, who is 5 feet 1 inch tall, have made it to the top despite not being that tall. 

10. She is an Amazing Performer 

Kai has skills that make her better than other wrestlers, and her work in the ring speaks for itself.

However, she is taller than many other wrestlers are shorter than Dakota, but it doesn’t negatively affect them. Her performance has never been affected by the fact that she tall.