Damage CTRL member Dakota Kai recently explained why she was without the knee brace on this week’s Monday Night Raw.
Kai has been recovering from a torn ACL since last May. On the May 12, 2023 episode of SmackDown, Dakota Kai and Bayley squared off against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez in their Women’s Tag Team Championship match. During the match, Kai tore her ACL and has been away from in-ring action ever since.
Kai made her non-wrestling appearance for the first time after injury at SummerSlam and celebrated IYO SKY’s WWE Women’s Championship victory. Kai not only serves as the manager for Damage CTRL but she also pulls some strings for the Damage CTRL members.
Currently, Dakota Kai is only cleared to stand at ringside during matches. Some fans had the belief that she was already cleared for in-ring action.
This week on Raw, Damage CTRL made an appearance and celebrated the Kabuki Warrior’s win in the tag match and Bayley‘s Royal Rumble victory. The fans noted that Dakota Kai wasn’t wearing knee braces as she used to. This led to the fans speculating that she might have been finally cleared to return to the ring.
Dakota no longer has her knee brace on OMG. #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/QPBsBCQOIR
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) January 30, 2024
Dakota Kai: I forgot my brace
During her Twitch stream, Dakota Kai said that she is getting closer to her anticipated return to the squared circle. When asked about being spotted without a brace on Raw, she said:
“I actually forgot my brace. That’s why I didn’t have it on on Monday. That doesn’t mean anything because I… you’ve probably seen like someone like Zoey, she still wears her brace. I will have to be wearing it when I wrestle, but I forgot it. Don’t read into it you guys. I literally just forgot it.”
Dakota Kai says she is not cleared yet but is getting closer and she wasn't wearing a knee brace on Raw because she forgot it pic.twitter.com/ubHw6tYtZ1
— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) February 1, 2024
WWE has been consistently teasing Damage CTRL turning on Bayley. ‘The Role Model’ won this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match, adding a new layer to the storyline. As we are officially on the Road to WrestleMania, it will be interesting to see when Kai makes her in-ring return.
