Dakota Kai doesn’t expect to be cleared for WWE in-ring return until January
Though she’s been making regular appearances on WWE television, Dakota Kai is still a few months away from being able to return to the ring.
Kai underwent surgery in May to repair a torn ACL. While streaming on Twitch on Monday night, Kai was asked when she will be able to wrestle again. Kai said she doesn’t expect to be back in action until January 2024.
“Probably 2024, actually,” Kai responded. “I do think it’s funny that a lot of people are like, ‘She’s not injured at all, look at her walking around.’ But like, ACL injury — I haven’t even learned how to jump and run again yet. I think I’m going to start running this week. But ACL recovery, especially for someone that’s in sport or something like that where you use your legs a lot. Like, if I was a desk worker or something like that, I’d be back in work properly — like fully now. But because it’s wrestling, I won’t be cleared until January.”
At SummerSlam last month, Kai made an appearance to celebrate IYO SKY’s WWE Women’s Championship win. Kai has continued to appear with Damage CTRL on SmackDown since then.
A January return could potentially mean that Kai would be able to compete in the 2024 women’s Royal Rumble match.
Kai previously suffered a torn ACL in December 2018 and underwent surgery for the injury in January 2019.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.