Dakota Kai knows some fans call her injury prone, and she is not pretending the label came out of nowhere.
While speaking to Ring the Belle, Kai addressed the criticism directly and admitted she understands why people say it. She has been through a rough run of injuries, including two torn ACLs, a torn meniscus, and a concussion, so the conversation has followed her for years.
“Oh, yeah — I do get that. What do you think about that comment? I understand it, though, because I did have a bout of injuries and things like that. So it was just bad luck on my end — and it’s one of those things that will just unfortunately always be there.”
Still, understanding it does not mean she likes hearing it. Kai said the label gets to her sometimes because she knows how hard she has worked to come back from every setback. In her mind, those injuries were bad luck, not proof that she is fragile.
“It does tend to get to me sometimes, too, because I’m like, no, I’m not — I’m freaking strong or whatever. But I mean, that’s just the perception they have, and all I can do is go out there and continue to do matches — and hopefully change the perception of that.”
That is the part Kai seems focused on now. She cannot erase the injuries, and she cannot stop fans from talking, but she can keep showing up and proving she still belongs in the ring.
Her comments come after she previously opened up about how difficult her WWE release was. Speaking to Busted Open Radio back in February, Kai admitted the release forced her to rebuild her confidence and even question whether she still had a place in wrestling.
“It was hard. I definitely needed to take that step back from it. I was very grateful for my time in WWE, especially the locker room—I loved that time. I just needed to take a step back and rebuild myself and my confidence as a wrestler in this world. I didn’t know if I still had a place in this world. That was one of the things—I was constantly fighting that glass ceiling. Even when I thought I was going to break through it, it obviously came back. There were a lot of things at play that were out of my hands.”
Now, Kai is trying to take control of the one thing she can: what happens next. Fans may still bring up the injuries, but she is making it clear she does not see herself as broken. She sees herself as strong, unlucky, and still willing to prove people wrong every time she steps back into the ring.
Do you think Dakota Kai can change the “injury prone” perception with her next run? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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