Willow Nightingale is asked about free agents she would like to wrestle, and she names one standout in particular: the former Dakota Kai.
WWE released Dakota Kai for a second time on May 2, 2025. Now that she is a free agent, AEW's Willow Nightingale wants to get in the ring with her. She reflected on how inspirational Kai's time in the SHIMMER promotion was to her when she first got into the wrestling business.
Nightingale got the opportunity to talk about this during an appearance on the Gabby AF podcast after Gabby LaSpisa asked her if there was anybody in the recent set of WWE releases that she would like to wrestle.
"Obviously, I don't have any control over something, but selfishly, I was a huge SHIMMER Wrestling fan before I got the chance to wrestle there, because, as someone who started on the independents and did not have the full self esteem that I do now, I was like, 'Yeah, doing this prestigious all women's wrestling company on the indies might be my peak and all that I want to do.' I was a big fan of a wrestler who went by the name of Evie for years and years and years," said Willow. "I believe some people might know her now by the name of King Kota, but I know Team Kick with Evie, and I never had the opportunity to wrestle her because, wow.
"She was off somewhere else before I had the opportunity to get to SHIMMER. But I'm rooting for her to land on her feet wherever she goes. Everybody else, I'm rooting for them to land on their feet too, because I know how this business is, but that is what the fan girl inside of me is like, 'Ooh, that would be fun.'"
Fans can read Kai's statement on her most recent WWE release at this link.
Willow Nightingale and Marina Shafir will make history as they become the first women officially involved in Anarchy in the Arena at AEW Double or Nothing 2025. Check out Nightingale's comments on that here.
Check out the full card here. Fightful will have coverage of the event on May 25.
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