With NXT moving to live, weekly television and being the dominant brand at Survivor Series, Dakota Kai believes the black and gold brand is on par with Raw and SmackDown.
In an interview with Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report, Kai mentioned how those on NXT no longer really look at Raw and SmackDown as just the next step in their WWE career. With NXT on the USA Network, same as Raw, Kai says the mentality going around NXT is to try and elevate the brand itself, calling it WWE's "third brand."
"I don't think we really look to Raw and SmackDown as moving up to the main roster anymore. We are the main roster now. The only difference before was that Raw and SmackDown were on television and we were on the WWE Network. Now that we are also on that same level, the main goal of everyone at NXT is to just keep bringing it and to really elevate everyone within the brand itself. We are the third brand, and a lot of us are so very loyal to NXT. We want to stay and just help elevate it to that level. I mean, us being on the USA Network is the first step but we have so much work to do in terms of continuing to bring your eyes to NXT and show everyone watching that we are on the same level as Raw and SmackDown. They're doing their thing too, but I think here at NXT, we offer something edgy. We offer the kind of wrestling that I think a lot of people crave," Kai said.
Kai made her own impact on NXT at Survivor Series weekend, taking out Mia Yim to replace her spot on Team Ripley for their WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, only for Kai to turn on her teammates.
At Survivor Series, NXT beat out Raw and SmackDown by winning the most interbrand matches among the three. On NXT tonight, Kai will take on Yim and Fightful will have live coverage of NXT with a post-show podcast soon afterwards.
