Dakota Kai and Raquel González have terrorized the NXT women’s division for over a year now.
It all started last February at TakeOver: Portland, where González helped Kai defeat Tegan Nox in a street fight. Since then, the two have been on a tear. They won the first ever women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, then became the inaugural NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
After losing the titles to Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart, the duo turned their attention to NXT Women’s Champion, Io Shirai. During night one of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, González defeated Shirai to capture the title.
In the last few months, however, cracks have seemingly started to form between the best friends. It got me thinking: if I was an NXT writer, how would I handle their breakup? So, without further ado, let’s look at a fantasy booking of a potential Dakota Kai and Raquel González feud!
Before we get into it, though, let’s talk about what we have seen so far. Currently, all signs point to Kai turning on González. It makes sense at first glance; she is the jealous best friend watching González carrying the gold that she has yet to win.
Remember her reaction after González confronted Mercedes Martinez after their match last month? Maybe she can’t take it anymore and finally snaps.
However, I think the roles should be reversed, and González needs to turn on Kai. The reason is rather simple: González fits the heel role way better in this situation. That is not to say Kai must go back to the plucky babyface she once was. Rather, she can be an edgy antihero that doesn’t stray far from her current character.
It can all start Sunday at TakeOver: In Your House, where González defends the NXT Women’s Championship against Moon. As usual, Kai will accompany her friend to the ring and the match begins. About halfway through the match, Kai interferes, and González tries to capitalize. But Moon stays alive and the bout continues.
Towards the end, Kai again interferes, and Moon takes her out. González again tries to capitalize off the distraction yet can’t seem to put the resilient challenger away. But after one or two one-arm powerbombs, she wins and barely escapes with the title.
Kai enters the ring and raises González’s hand, only to be met by a wicked clothesline. The champ proceeds to unleash a brutal beat down on her former friend, ending with a powerbomb through the announce table.
That Tuesday on NXT, González comes out and explains her actions. She starts off by saying that she has to give Kai some credit; she was a good friend and mentor. However, once González won the gold, Kai started to show how useless she really was.
She brings up Kai’s recent matches with Martinez and Moon, claiming she had to interfere because Kai couldn’t get the job done. Then, at TakeOver: In Your House, Kai couldn’t even help her retain the title. González had to do all the work, which is when she realized she didn’t need Kai anymore.
González then sends a message to the locker room. With the extra baggage gone, nothing is going to stop her from being the most dominant champion in NXT history.
In the meantime, we don’t see Kai for a little while. González continues to talk trash and mow through the division. Almost a month later, she picks up a victory in a non-title match. As the champ celebrates, Kai’s music suddenly hits, and she storms the ring to attack her former friend. The two brawl until security finally breaks them up.
The following week, Kai cuts a promo of her own. She says that González made a huge mistake turning on her. She is the reason González even has the title in the first place. Without her, she would still be fading into obscurity at the Performance Center. She claims that the NXT Women’s Championship is as much hers as it is González’s.
The champ feels inclined to disagree and makes her way to the entrance ramp. William Regal is already one step ahead of the ladies, making sure the two can’t get to each other. He announces that at August’s TakeOver, González will put her title on the line against Kai.
For the next several weeks, Kai and González continue to trade barbs with each other. On the NXT before TakeOver, Regal conducts a contract signing between the two. González says that she will make sure Kai is just another victim left lying in her wake. Kai on the other hand, states that since they were a team for over a year, she knows her better than anyone else. That means she knows the champ’s weaknesses and will not hesitate to take full advantage.
Naturally, as most contract signings go, it breaks down into another massive brawl. Several security guards are taken out before things finally get under control.
TakeOver arrives and everyone is ready for these two to tear each other apart. Their match does not disappoint, as neither woman holds anything back. Kai starts getting the upper hand towards the end. She goes to hit one of her signature bicycle kicks, but González pushes the referee in the way, and they eat it instead.
González takes the opportunity to grab the NXT Women’s Championship. She blasts Kai with it, drags the ref over, and pins her to retain the title.
During the next episode of NXT, González comes out to gloat about her win. She boasts that she delivered on her promise, but Kai quickly interrupts her. Cap Kota says that González proved nothing, that she needed to cheat to keep her title. She knows that she can beat her and demands a rematch.
Unfortunately, González laughs her off and says that she is at the back of the line now. Kai vows to make her life a living hell until she gets another title shot, much to González’s amusement.
But Kai makes good on her promise, showing up every week to torment González. This happens for about a month, until Regal tells Kai that this cannot keep happening. If she wants another shot, she is going to have to earn it.
So, Kai does just that, and picks up several impressive victories. After her most recent win, González attacks her from behind and the two fight until security once again separates them. Regal comes out and declares that this has gone on long enough, so a rematch is set for October’s TakeOver.
Once he makes the announcement, Kai grabs the microphone and states that it’s not enough. If González doesn’t want to play by the rules, then she won’t either. She demands that the match is a street fight, and Regal obliges, much to González’s dismay.
October’s TakeOver finally arrives, and the match is not for the faint of heart. González kicks things off by attacking Kai during her entrance, just like Kai did to Nox at TakeOver: Portland. The two continue to brawl, utilizing a variety of weapons around the ring.
Just when it looks like González has the upper hand, Kai mounts a comeback. She starts targeting the champ’s legs in order to fell the bigger competitor. Eventually, Kai brings a table into the ring and sets it up. But González swings the momentum back in her favor shortly after.
Things aren’t looking good for Kai, as González is prepared to one-arm powerbomb her through the table. However, Kai gets out of it and eventually the two make their way to the top rope. Kai stuns González with a kick, then throws her off the top and through the table. It’s a nice callback to TakeOver: Portland, as their partnership ends the way it began.
After scraping González off the mat, Kai hits her with the Kairopractor and finally gets her revenge. Dakota Kai is the new NXT Women’s Champion.
I highly doubt they would try to extend the feud any further than that. If anything, they would have a one-off match during an episode of NXT and that’s it. Then, González would probably get called up and hopefully Kai would get a lengthy title reign.
There you have it, my fantasy booking of a Dakota Kai and Raquel González feud. Who knows, maybe some of this will come to fruition. We’ll just have to wait and see what goes down at TakeOver: In Your House this Sunday.