Signing with WWE in 2016, Dakota Kai would find herself making waves quite quickly in NXT, entering the first-ever Mae Young Classic and advancing to the quarterfinals in the process. Becoming a fan favorite with the NXT fanbase, Kai remained a figurehead of the brand from 2016 until her departure in 2022.

RELATED: 10 Pictures Of Dakota Kai Like You've Never Seen Her Before

Despite never holding the NXT Women's Championship as many loyal NXT fans had hoped for, Dakota Kai remained a staple of WWE NXT until the time of her exit from the company. Serving as the heart and soul of the women's division, and now one of the hottest free agents on the market, it is worth looking at some of her best work before the next stage of her career.

10 Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez vs Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart (NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day 2021) - 7.41

This bout opened the show and was the first-ever finals match for a Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart would face off against Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to kick off the show, in a highly-engaging, fast-paced tag-team match.

Kai and Gonzalez would walk away victorious, and in the process, earned a future opportunity at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. The duo would fail to win the titles, but would then be gifted the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, a brand new belt, that they would then lose the same night.

9 Evie vs Hikaru Shida (SHIMMER Volume 62) - 7.42

A match that many wrestling fans are likely not aware of is this bout from 2014, with Evie (Dakota Kai's pre-WWE name) taking on future AEW Women's World Champion, Hikaru Shida. Years before Kai would become a breakout star in the NXT women's division and years before Shida would become a star in North America, the two would meet for the first and only time.

RELATED: 10 Dream Matches For Dakota Kai In AEW

Going almost 17 minutes, the two would exchange hard strikes and would take each other to the limit, with Shida coming out on top. With Dakota now out of the WWE system and with AEW slowly putting more of an emphasis on their women's division, could a rematch between these two grace our screens in the coming months?

8 Dakota Kai vs Io Shirai (NXT TakeOver: XXX) - 7.47

Battling in the semi-main event of NXT TakeOver: XXX, the 30th TakeOver special for the WWE NXT brand, Dakota Kai would find herself challenging Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship. The two women would be given almost 20 minutes to work and would put on a very solid NXT Women's Title match.

Surprisingly, this match likely fell below expectations for a lot of fans, with how popular both Shirai and Kai are, as well as with how gifted both women are. Should Io Shirai ever leave WWE, seeing this match run back on a bigger stage could be a dream match for a lot of people.

7 Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox, Street Fight (NXT TakeOver: Portland) - 7.50

After shocking the world by turning on a long-time partner and real-life friend, Tegan Nox, at NXT TakeOver: WarGames III, Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox would finally come to blows in a singles match the following February, at NXT TakeOver: Portland.

With the stage set, the women would do battle in a Street Fight, with no rules or regulations. Scoring a 7.50 on Cagematch, the match is certifiably above average, though it likely would have scored higher with a faster pace and without the interference from Raquel Gonzalez.

6 Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox, Steel Cage Match (WWE NXT, 3/4/2020) - 7.54

Almost a month after their Street Fight at TakeOver: Portland, Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai would run it back once more, with the added stipulation of it being a Steel Cage match. The stipulation was put in effect to try and dissuade any interference from Kai's new partner, Raquel Gonzalez.

NXT Steel Cage matches are somewhat rare, so busting it out for this feud did feel like a big deal at the time, and looking back, it still makes sense. Lasting about 16 minutes, Dakota Kai would manage to pick up a win over Tegan Nox, going 2-0 against her former friend in singles matches after turning her back on her at WarGames III.

5 Dakota Kai vs Kay Lee Ray, Ladder Match (NXT 2.0, 11/30/21) - 7.68

While NXT 2.0 has continued to shift away from everything that made the black-and-gold era of NXT feel special, the rebooted brand has done some wonders with its women's division. Creating stars like Tiffany Stratton out of thin air has been a net positive for the brand.

RELATED: 5 Current NXT 2.0 Wrestlers That Could Be Stars On The WWE Main Roster (& 5 Who Could Be Stars Elsewhere)

Before Kai's exit from the company, and before Kay Lee Ray was repurposed into Alba Fyre, the two would meet in a singles match on the November 30, 2021, episode of WWE NXT 2.0. For fans of both women, this would be a great spotlight for the two to be featured in a marquee ladder match ahead of WarGames, with Kay Lee Ray getting the victory.

4 Evie vs Mayu Iwatani (Stardom vs The World II) - 8.00

Despite appearing on NXT television before this match, Evie/Dakota Kai was not signed to the company right away, meaning that she continued her career elsewhere. In turn, this match saw Evie fighting against the future Icon of Stardom, Mayu Iwatani in a very memorable affair.

With Evie's moveset always implementing a strong striking game, it is no wonder that she was so over with Japanese fans, as her bubbly demeanor juxtaposed with her aggressive in-ring style made for great entertainment. It is a match worth seeking out for those who have not seen it and surely deserves the 8.00 rating from Cagematch.net.

3 Women's WarGames Match (NXT TakeOver: WarGames IV) - 8.08

A year removed from her massive heel turn against Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai would find herself actually wrestling in 2020's WarGames event, though with the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold of the world, it would, unfortunately, be without the typically energized NXT TakeOver crowd. Regardless, the women involved wrestled as if they were in front of a packed arena, putting it all on the line!

The heel team of Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Raquel Gonzalez, and Dakota Kai would face off against the overwhelmingly popular Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai, in another very memorable WarGames match for the NXT brand. In the end, Dakota Kai's team would pick up the win after a 35-minute spectacle.

2 Evie vs Kellyanne (MCW Final Battle 2016) - 8.31

In 2016, Evie would take on Kellyanne in a Last Man Standing match during Melbourne City Wrestling's Final Battle event. The match itself feels different than any of the other matches featured in Dakota Kai's best matches according to Cagematch, with it feeling much more like a fight than a wrestling match.

The two women would brawl around the arena for most of the match, including a big powerbomb spot against a wall. In the end, Evie would stand tall, coming out victorious after a 15-minute war.

1 Women's WarGames Match (NXT TakeOver: WarGames III) - 8.47

Scoring an 8.47 from Cagematch.net users, the first-ever NXT Women's WarGames match came in the final days of 2019, with two teams of NXT's fiercest women taking center stage for one of the most memorable matches of the year. On one side, Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, and Candice LeRae, while the other team would feature Shayna Baszler, Kay Lee Ray, Io Shirai, and Bianca Belair.

For Dakota Kai, her in-ring performance would not matter, as she would never officially enter the match. Prior to TakeOver beginning, it was supposed to be Mia Yim in Kai's spot, with an injury angle being featured. When it came time for Dakota to enter, she would turn heel, laying out Tegan Nox brutally as she would cement herself as one of the top heels in NXT in an unforgettable TakeOver moment.