Charlie

[3.0] "Am I missing something here? I never got the hype for this girl at all. The only matches I've seen from her that ever enlightened me were the cage/last woman standing matches she had with Tegan Nox in NXT back in 2020. Everything else really was elementary and not worth going out of your way with watching. Not a single match in her "matchguide" is higher than an 8+ except for the War Games matches back in 2020. Not that great on the mic, unless you want to account for doing "cheap heat" with insulting a hometown of someone, who mind you doesn't even live in the same country as us, (she's NZ) and there's not much range with her on the mic, an atrocious look looking like an 8th grader straight out of Hot Topic, with miscolored hair and that's not my type. And since her release, Kai is trying to resort with being "Twitch Famous" and that's not really a lofty goal to have in mind. She initially got released back in 2021 and when she got rehired, I'm like hey making she can turn a new leaf and try something cool out. Nope. The run with Damage Ctrl was mediocre at best and was only given the microphone because Iyo, Asuka and Kairi's mic skills are virtually non-existent. Her ring work actually got worse as time went on. Plaguing injuries or not, she's just not that good at wrestling at all. I bid her luck on the indie scene now being gone but, she'll need to do some actual damage control herself to change my overlook and input about her. Until otherwise, 3."

[8.0] "It's really unfortunate how much injuries have hurt her career. I always found her to be a good wrestler who was very underrated on the mic. I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up being on the same level as Iyo if she didn't get hurt in 2023."

[4.0] "Dakota kai is so overrated i mean she never impressed me in her whole career she only had some good matches in her whole career and she had so many bad matches in her career tho and since she was the part of Damage Control she was terrible i mean only thing kept her in top is Bayley and Iyo sky (The Damage Control) and im pretty sure if damage control was never helped or back up to her she would done"

[10.0] "She's certainly a very good wrestler. But unfortunately, her injuries held her back as she took nasty bumps. And ofc, she will forever be a piece of the NXT black & gold era. She should've been the inaugural women's intercontinental champion imo. Overall, she's a great wrestler but with a lot of setbacks. I'm curious to see her match against Kris Statlander soon"

[4.0] "You know, for years I have felt like I must be watching a different wrestler to everyone else. So many fans of professional wrestling love her and think she's amazing - but I just don't see it. From her time in Shimmer & STARDOM, I just never understood the hype. I mean no disrespect here, as Dakota / Evie seems lovely... but in-ring wise she's just very average and you can find thousands of women like her on the indie scene. She doesn't exactly stand out and impress. Very injury prone, which, is not her fault... but still, couldn't maintain a push because at any second she could get injured and be out for god knows how long. Dakota is just vanilla and not interesting at all, just don't get the hype or admiration."

[8.0] "Her timing, character work, and in-ring adaptability have made her a reliable player in high-stakes matches. Dakota has dealt with setbacks & injuries, but she always returns sharper and more focused. She may not have hit the main event level, but her influence, charisma, and skill set put her on that bubble. If she is indeed done in WWE, expect her to make an impact in TNA or on the indies, possibly even a move back to New Zealand"

[8.0] "I think Kai is super talented, she's got a cool move set and lots of personality she wasn't able to show in her main roster run, only injuries have held her back, I hope she does well in her post WWE career"

[5.0] "She's average, was apart of decent moments in NXT and was an asset to Damage CNTRL. But she's always injured and is awkward in the ring. She isn't particularly bad, but there's nothing she does that's exceptional including promo work. Spent a lot of time in NXT and still quite clunky."

[9.0] "I love that now in her face stage she is more over with the crowd, she has given good matches this year and I feel that she is in the best moment of her career, I hope she soon wins a solo championship since she deserves it for these years of career that she has had in WWE, speaking from a wrestling perspective she is great, she knows how to sell each move and finisher well and she has an incredible arsenal of moves."

[6.0] "Instantly forgetable and usually part of a stable or tag team - solid enough in the ring but I can't for the life of me work out what the attraction with her is. Has had her injuries in the past and mostly played a supporting role. When she was released and came back, nothing happened and I believe Damage Control would have been better as the trio of Asuka, Io and Kairi again"

[4.0] "She's not my favorite, but she's not the worst either. She has good matches, and a good lineup. Like when she was friends with IYO SKY and Bayley, thus creating Damage Control. In my opinion, they were very good in that lineup, and as the name suggests, they actually dealt a lot of damage to other wrestlers. Dakota herself is not a very good wrestler. I don't give her a higher rating than 4, because she simply didn't grab me like Alexa, Bianca or Tiffany did. She has good finishing moves, but not great ones. With her personality, she slightly pushes away the audience and fans who have already grown to like her. As I mentioned earlier, she's not the worst, but she doesn't detract or draw attention to anything either."

[8.0] "A Really good wrestler, sadly she is an an injury prone, which affected her career, or else she would have been more successful"

[10.0] "It's been 2 years since I made my rating of Dakota Kai, it's time to update it, first of all, I still stand by saying she's so underrated, it's been 2 years and nothing changed at all, she still keeps losing a lot, while she's actually capable of doing great matches, promos, she's selling really well, and she's a really kind person outside ring, i think the only thing that can be explained why wwe don't pull a trigger with Dakota is her injuries, but now she's back, hopefully she will not get injured, and we will see how it goes, but for me it's ridiculous she hasn't won singles championship after being 8 years in WWE and knowing her skills, I think her not being first ever IC champion is missed opportunity on Dakota too, but I hope, fingers crossed, her time to shine is gonna come soon, she gained momentum, fans start to get behind kota now, it's time to utilize that fact."

[9.0] "an elite wrestler, she sells her opponents' finishers and movements incredibly, she also has an incredible arsenal of varied kicks when entering the ring, her promos are good since she adds a bit of drama, she always tries to make others look good."

[3.0] "Dakota's promos are ok. That's the only good point I can find. Always injured, bad sellings, bad moves, just a bunch of moves that dont seem to hurt. I believe she could be a great wrestler if she at least wasnt injured every 2 weeks. She's just here as the damage ctrl's speaker. I can't even remember the last feud she had, she's forgettable. She needs to train A LOT to improve her in ring skills and work on not getting injured. A solo run would be interesting to realize if she really is that forgettable."

[7.0] "Dakota is a 7 but should probably be higher because i feel like she's underrated and she's always eating the pin in tag matches for Damage CTRL. She's good in the ring but i think she's very good on the mic. It sucks that she gets injured often because she's way better than we see on TV."

[5.0] "Dakota is a tough wrestler to rate, because she does a lot of things at least ok, but nothing thats exceptionally amazing. Shes an ok talent, that if she debuted in WWE just before the womens revolution was finalized in WWE, she could have been a world champion, but now shes highly outclassed by other competitors. When Damage CTRL had 5 people, she was objectively the worst one in the group, and now that its down to 4, shes still the worst one in the group, so I dont see her going anywhere higher than a glorified manager/translator."

[7.0] "Fans overrate her quite a bit. Shes a likeable person outside of the ring, she can cut a decent promo and her in ring ability is solid but she is not special at all. I did feel bad for her when she was crying on her Twitch stream about wanting to have a chance but yet again she is injured. This is going to be a large barrier in her career, if shes continuously getting injured the chance of her ever getting a push will decrease. I do think her never holding a singles title is ridiculous, she shouldve been the one to dethrone Raquel. But I do not see her ever holding a world title, she might be a mid card champion if womens mid card titles ever are created but thats it."

[8.0] "Dakota Kai is a formidable professional. She knows how to sell shots like no one else and is effective in any match. She really deserves a stronger place in the roster, especially as her adaptability means she can take on any role and be an integral part of any team/clan she joins. Her association with Raquel in NXT was great, her recruitment by Bayley was one of the best moments of recent years and I hope that her regular injuries won't be any more detrimental than her writing and her too many defeats. I'm sure that her mic skills can approve with good stories, she's not bad at all with a mic but needs a little bit of practice. I'll finish by saying what everyone say : she's too underrated and, short of being positioned for a world title, I really hope to see her in team title fights or the future secondary women's championship."

[9.0] "Dakota is one of those wrestlers that needs to be appreciated more. She is criminally underrated, and underutilized when it comes to her in ring work. It sucks so much that all she has been given as of late is a nothing pairing with Raquel, and then being part of Damage CTRL. Bianca killed all momentum that faction had during that feud cause WWE was afraid to pull the trigger on her losing, and it sucks so much."

[9.0] "Wonderful worker, sadly not booked as well as she could be. Missed multiple opportunities at gold through no fault of her own. Hopefully she gets up there before her time in-ring runs out. Seems to be placed in an Owen Hart-type role right now?"

[5.0] "I used to have Dakota Kai at a nine, I am not sure if I was mistaken all along or it's just that she's not as good as she used to be because nothing she does in the ring or at her character work suggests she deserves a higher rating. She's a likable person though."

[7.0] "she is a great mouth piece either she is face or heel and her wrestling abilities are highly underrated at times with how people talk about her even some positive comments underrate her. i think she is the oppitumy of the women needing a midcard title as shes too good to be cannon fader to the main event scene which is seemingly what wwe is doing with her even though her in damage control is amazing,"

[9.0] "Easily one of the most underrated talents today. An exceptional seller and striker and quite good at promos too, particularly as a heel. The Kairopractor is one of my favourite finishers today. Definitely deserves a singles push and would be perfect for MITB."

[9.0] "Dakota is incredible, she's great in the ring, an amazing seller, and she's pretty good on the mic. I will always believe she should've been NXT Women's Champion at some point and while her runs as NXT Tag Team Champion were disappointing, they were made up for with her and Iyo's dominance on the main roster. Hopefully we'll get to see Dakota have a singles championship run by the end of this year because she's earned it!"

"Dakota to me is pretty underrated by casual fans. She is well above average at bumping and selling and has one of the more unique movesets that's very easy to watch and enjoy. Since becoming sort of the "mouthpiece" for DMG CONTROL I think she has shown her skills on mic the are more than capable. Great look, very athletic, tons of experience. Awesome finishers! (love the kairopractor) Hoping she becomes a breakout singles star on the main roster in the future. Great performer, 8/10 with potential to go even higher."

[8.0] "I still think about the promo package for the match between her and Raquel Gonzalez. The venom, and quiet rage with which she spits 'I am no one's sidekick' gave me chills. I'm not exactly digging her current crazy person gimmick, but if she keeps putting out matches like the ladder match with Kay Lee Ray, then I'll take it."

[6.0] "She's good and all but I can't rate her higher because I haven't seen much from her, though I do have a feeling that she is quite good. She seems like a decent promo, but I can't say anything from her work because I haven't really seen it outside of a few matches in 2023"

[6.0] "Dakota Kai is good, but is slightly overrated by fans. She puts on good matches, but once she became a member of Damage Ctrl she did not necessarily stand out and then floundered along with the rest of the group. She is a fine midcarder in the women's division."

[10.0] "Dakota Kai is awesome. Great in ring, lots of charisma. Slightly lacking in mic skills though they hardly let her cut promos so it's a bit difficult to fully critique her on that front. Regardless she is a great upper mid carder who can bring practically anyone to a decent match. Hopefully she fully recovers from her ACL tear. Her presence will definitely be missed."

[6.0] "Reasonably athletic but that's about all unfortunately. I used to have quite high hopes for Dakota during her babyface NXT run but, arguably in part due to her booking and writing, she's just not pushed on and developed. As part of Damage Control in particular she does 0 mic work and doesn't stand out at all."

[6.0] "Nothink of espacial + nothink of espacial * nothink of espacial= nothink of espacial³. This Is her Carrer, nothink plus and nothink Minus. ***"

[7.0] "Dakota Kai is a solid addition to any roster. In her current state, she doesn't have the tools to break out as a singles star. However, if she just finds that one thing to separate her from the rest of the roster, Kai could be huge. Above average wrestler, decent on the mic."

[7.0] "Great wrestler, a reliable hand, but not so strong at character and promo work. Overall she's definetly a great addition to the women's roster"

[10.0] "Perfect in everything you do. Beautiful, skillful, fast, agile, charismatic and with an arsenal of moves that always surprise you. Dakota Kai has what it takes to be one of the greatest athletes in the WWE. Currently she is still inferior to some names, but I feel that she still has a promising future."

[7.0] "Dakota Kai is a very athletic talent. She does not have any power moves but has good looking offense. She plays her characters well and can work both face and heel with good mic work."

[8.0] "Dakota is pretty good. An all-around talent, someone who is very versatile and athletic, but her main asset is her striking ability with her kicks. She is also WWE's best tag team specialist in the history of the Women's Division in my eyes."

[9.0] "Dakota is sure to become a benchmark for the women's division in the coming years. She is very good in the ring and in the promos she will surely get better and better, because she knows how talented she is."

[7.0] "Always thought she's slightly overrated. Don't get me wrong, she's good but her character has never really connected with me and she builds so much of her offense around her kicks when about 20% of the time, she pretty clearly misses with them. Not a great look. Now, with the right opponent opposite from her, she can have a really good match because she's also good. However, not sure if she's more than an above average midcarder overall"

[8.0] "good overall wrestler, not really any flaws but definitely still can improve and get better, a future world champion for sure"

[9.0] "A complete wrestler, she is still young and has talent. Good in the ring and on the microphone, a good return made byTriple H."

[10.0] "Dakota Kai, my favourite female wrestlers, she has huge potential to be a great champion in the future. Kai has an all-rounder wrestling style who typically prefers to using kicks or anything that requires using her legs to cause damage towards her opponents - this style helps considering she is quick on her feet and knows how to adapt to a pace of a match. Dakota can find good chemistry with almost any of her opponents who she has faced. The Kairopractor move (highly creative) which she uses is one of the most coolest moves if sold correctly by the opponent. I, for sure, hope that she becomes a women's champion in the future as she deserves it and has potential to be a top mega star."

[8.0] "Can't believe they've let her go, barely gave her a chance! Plenty of other "superstars" get kept on and given chances time and time again. Loss to the company, but hopefully she will succeed elsewhere!"

[9.0] "Underrated certainly as she is one of the better all-around women in pro wrestling. She's good in the ring and makes others look great. She's good on the mic with great charisma and someone who can get the crowd behind her as a great babyface or get the crowd against her as a heel. That's not something that's easy to do as even the best only succeed in one role or the other usually. Not sure why WWE didn't see her as main roster material but it's their loss."

[10.0] "Evie was one of the best babyfaces in wrestling, garnering great sympathy when under attack, and explosive with her kicks and strikes. Her early going as Dakota Kai in NXT wasn't great, as she got lost in the shuffle and her most notable run was being scared of Shayna Baszler, but since her heel turn, she's come into her own in a great feud with Tegan Nox, and had a great showing at Takeover XXX against Io Shirai. Kai is someone who will likely do well on the main roster, and the person behind the character is one of the nicest there is, with her Twitch channel regularly raising thousands of dollars for important social charities. UPDATE (April 2022): Well so much for the main roster. Kai was a victim of WWE's change in policy in regards to female talent. Any other promotion in the world would kill to have Evie on their roster, and I know many in AEW will want her to be signed there."

[10.0] "She's been an astonishing wrestler for around 14 years even though WWE is not treating her well. To put it simply, she's one of a kind and there's nothing she can't do"

[9.0] "She's really surprised me with the heel turn since she's done so well with it, even if I think it's a waste of a great babyface. Anyways, she's got her character to match the ring work now and she should be a big player going forward."

[4.0] "Dakota Kai is ok. I mean she has some fairly strong character work especially in the landscape of current NXT, she has been given a long leash and permitted to consistently shine and that? s been to her benefit, being a strong leading figure for so long in the women? s division allowed to stabilize and grow more confident in her role. But in the ring it? s more or less of a mess. A lot of neat ideas that don? t materialize because of haphazard timing or convoluted set-ups. A lot of her matches struggle for pacing and timing and smoothness and become awkward because there are so many blips and miscues throughout them. I think if she would simplify a bit then it would go a long way to helping her. Not everything needs an added wrinkle, and especially not every kick or knee needs a bicycle."

[8.0] "Dakota is very good in the ring and, as a heel, has become a really good promo too. She's a great seller as well, making those around her better. Every women's division could use someone like her on their roster."

[7.0] "Dakota Kai is the type of wrestler who makes those around her better. She's also solid on the mic, unique in the way she wrestles, and committed to her character. That's a rare combination in any era, although especially in one produced by an independent scene that didn't exactly allow wrestlers much time on a microphone. A future NXT Women's Champion and a possible superstar if or when she turns face again. Not a knock against her heel work, by the way; it's damn good."