Former WWE star Dakota Kai, who was released from the company in May, has given fans a glimpse of her updated look in a new selfie shared on Instagram. This comes as the 37-year-old is preparing for her eventual return to the ring following a brief hiatus.
Since her departure from WWE, Kai has been focusing her efforts on building her brand as a streamer on Twitch, but recently stated that she’s “gonna get back into it,” indicating her break from wrestling will not be a permanent one. The new look could be part of a reinvention for the next chapter of her career, wherever that may be.
Dakota Kai, real name Cheree Crowley, first began her journey with WWE in 2015, signing an official contract the following year. She quickly became a key figure on the NXT brand, praised for her in-ring ability and character work. During her time in NXT, she notably formed an alliance with Raquel Rodriguez, with the pair winning the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship on two separate occasions. Despite her standing in the division, she was unexpectedly released in 2022 as part of company-wide budget cuts. However, her absence was short-lived. When Triple H assumed control of WWE’s creative direction, one of his first significant moves was to re-sign Kai.
Kai made her main roster debut at SummerSlam in 2022, returning alongside Bayley and Iyo Sky to form the original lineup of the Damage CTRL faction. Teaming with Iyo Sky, Kai captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship twice, having feuds against stars like Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Becky Lynch. Her momentum was halted in mid-2023 when she suffered a torn ACL, an injury that kept her out of action for nearly a year. After returning from injury and a brief storyline where she was exiled from Damage CTRL, she was released from her contract for a second time in May 2025.
With her experience in both NXT and on WWE’s main roster, Kai is considered one of the top free agents in the professional wrestling landscape. Fans can currently find Dakota Kai streaming multiple times a week on her official Twitch channel, ‘charliegirl’. In addition to her live streams, she has also launched a new YouTube channel where she uploads stream highlights and personal vlogs.
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