Cheree Georgina Crowley (born May 6, 1988) is a New Zealander professional wrestler. She is currently signed with WWE and competes on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Dakota Kai.
Dakota is a member of Damage CTRL and has won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship twice with Iyo Sky.
Kai is also known for her time in NXT, where she won the inaugural Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and is a former two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion.
Crowley is currently inactive from in-ring competition due to an injury, though she is still making appearances.
Before her signing with WWE, Crowley wrestled under the ring name Evie and appeared for Impact Pro Wrestling (IPW) in her native New Zealand, Pro Wrestling Women’s Alliance (PWA) in Australia, American promotions Shimmer Women Athletes and Shine Wrestling, as well as Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Zero1 and World Wonder Ring Stardom.
What happened to Dakota Kai?
The injury occurred on the May 12, 2023, episode of Friday Night SmackDown. As previously stated, Damage CTRL sought to win their third set of WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
This time, the team consisted of Kai and Bayley. They were up against the reigning champions of the time, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.
A few days later, it was revealed that Kai had a torn ACL. As seen with previous injuries, such as AEW’s Kris Statlander, ACL injuries are extremely serious and can keep someone out of action for months.
While Kai did have surgery, Wrestletalk said that “she’ll likely be out of action for anywhere between six months and a year.”
Unfortunately, Kai will likely be out of action for so long. Throughout her time in WWE, she has repeatedly demonstrated that she is one of the roster’s most talented members.
After about 15 years in the business, Kai began working for various independent promotions in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
She also competed in SHIMMER, against Allysin Kay, Hikaru Shida, Mia Yim, and others. Before signing with WWE in 2016, she went by the ring name Evie.
Dakota’s injury happened during the same match in which Liv Morgan was injured.
As previously stated, Liv Morgan was also injured during the tag team match on Friday, May 12. The former SmackDown Women’s Champion’s condition remains unclear, but PWInsider reported the injury is related to her shoulder and could be a torn rotator cuff.
She will most likely be out of action for the rest of 2023, as Dakota Kai was.
Dakota Kai’s Time in Damage CTRL
Kai returned to SummerSlam 2022 as part of Damage CTRL alongside Bayley and Iyo Sky. Throughout their time together, they have faced Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, Lita, and others.
They competed at WrestleMania and were a part of the WarGames at Survivor Series 2022. Together, Sky and Kai are two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
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