New Zealand’s Dakota Kai will officially challenge Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver 36, and she’s ready to bring home the gold.
“I’ve put in the hard work within this company, and she debuted less than a year ago and started getting her hype and got the championship before I did,” Kai told the Mai Morning Crew.
“If I have to kick my former best friend in the face to do it then I’ll do it. That’s the reputation that I have, I just turn my back on my friends, I guess. I’m the HBK [Shawn Michaels] of the modern generation.”
The comparison between Kai and Michaels has followed the 33-year-old since she joined forces with Gonzalez.
Michaels’ jealousy of Diesel ended their partnership in 1995 and set the stage for a WWE Championship showdown at WrestleMania 11. With Kai in the role of Michaels and “Big Mami Cool” Gonzalez as Diesel, history is set to repeat itself in the Capitol Wrestling Center.
“She’s bigger than me, she’s strong, but it takes a lot more than height and strength to be a champion,” Kai said. “It’s gonna be a hard fight, but we’ll see.”
Kai has already been through one hard fight this week, overcoming the then-undefeated Sarray on Wednesday afternoon (New Zealand time). Kai replaced an injured Ember Moon in the match.
“I got called in last-minute to do that and we managed to put on a banger of a match,” Kai said. “She’s awesome, but I got the W, so, yeah…”
With the momentum of the Sarray match behind her, Kai seems poised to deliver a career-best performance at TakeOver 36 on August 23.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, NXT and before this,” Kai said, “so it’s about time New Zealand gets some gold. That’s all I’m going to say.”
