Summary

Dakota Kai said she was stunned to hear Stephanie McMahon remember her as one of the wrestlers who helped her prepare for WrestleMania 34.

McMahon recently looked back on training for her 2018 mixed tag match at WrestleMania 34, where she teamed with Triple H against Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle. While discussing that stretch, McMahon gave Kai a shoutout for being part of the training process.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Kai said the recognition caught her off guard because she never expected McMahon to remember that time so clearly.

Inside Dakota Kai's WrestleMania 34 Memory

Kai said the opportunity came together quietly when she was told she would be flown to Connecticut to help with training for the match. She added that the sessions included McMahon, Rousey, Angle, and Triple H, and said getting to be part of that environment was a cool experience.

That memory also adds another layer to Kai's WWE story. Years before her later main roster run and her post-WWE reset after release, she was already trusted with a behind-the-scenes role in preparation for one of the biggest matches on the WrestleMania 34 card.

Quote from Dakota Kai

"Yeah, that’s so weird. I mean, she’s the sweetest person in the world and always said hello to me, but the fact that she remembers that is insane to me. Because I don’t know - again, I don’t look at myself in that light, you know what I mean? But she’s honestly one of the most sweetest people ever, and I was just grateful to be able to be in the ring with (her), training with her and Ronda and Kurt and Hunter as well. She got to DDT me. I was like, yes! Beat me up, Stephanie. This is so freaking cool. But she’s the nicest person. I think that was our first ever time meeting. Every time after that, backstage or wherever, she would always make a point to come up to me and be like, ‘Dakota!’ I’m like, oh my God, you know me… I think I just got told (about the opportunity). I think coach Sarah just pulled me aside one day and was like, ‘Hey, you’re going to be flown up to Connecticut to train with Ronda.’ It was very hush-hush, obviously, because it was their first match. So yeah, just kind of got told that I was getting flown up there to train with them. So that was cool."

What Stephanie McMahon's Shoutout Means For Dakota Kai

Stephanie McMahon remembering Dakota Kai's role from that WrestleMania 34 build shows Kai made an impression in a major backstage assignment long before the end of her second WWE run in May 2025. For fans following Kai's career arc, it is a reminder that she was involved in key moments behind the scenes as well as on screen.

It also gives more context to how much trust WWE placed in Kai during that period. Even though she is back on the independent scene now, this story ties her to one of WWE's most heavily protected celebrity-era match builds in recent WrestleMania history.

Sources

Dakota Kai while speaking with Chris Van Vliet