Dakota Kai Works Dark Match At WWE SmackDown Tapings
The latest in a line of NXT regulars to do so
Dakota Kai becomes the latest NXT mainstay to wrestle a dark match at a main roster WWE taping.
Prior to Friday night's SmackDown taping in Tampa, Kai defeated Aliyah in singles competition. In another dark match before SmackDown, NXT's Austin Theory lost to Keith Lee.
Kai has had some experience wrestling on WWE's main roster. She participated in the last two Women's Royal Rumble matches, and also wrestled in an eight-woman tag on the November 15, 2019 edition of SmackDown.
Kai's most recent NXT match occurred on July 13, defeating Ember Moon in a 13 minute match.
During her time in NXT, Kai co-won the the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2021 with Raquel Gonzalez, and the two were also the inaugural NXT Women's Tag Team champions.
Kai becomes the latest NXT wrestler to take part in a main roster dark match. She joins Theory, Scarlett, Xia Li, Odyssey Jones, Indi Hartwell, and Xyon Quinn, as well as the recently-released Bronson Reed.
Shotzi, Nox, Karrion Kross, and Toni Storm have also been recent dark match participants, and have all since been called up to either Raw or SmackDown.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.