In the opening match of NXT TakeOver 36, Raquel González successfully defended the NXT Women’s Championship against Dakota Kai. This was the culmination of a feud stemming from Kai’s attack on her longtime ally and friend. Kai went on to challenge González earlier this evening, only to fall short in her encounter. With that said, González was unable to celebrate her victory for long. Suddenly, NXT UK Superstar Kay Lee Ray made her entrance to the surprise of the NXT Universe, staring down the NXT Women’s Champion and posing on the ramp. It would seem that Kay Lee Ray, at TakeOver 36, unofficially challenged González for the NXT Women’s title.
.@Kay_Lee_Ray has arrived.#NXTTakeOver #NXTWomensTitle pic.twitter.com/FvzXGNM5on
— WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2021
Kay Lee Ray Arrives at NXT TakeOver 36
Longtime NXT fans will know that this isn’t Kay Lee Ray’s first appearance on the black-and-gold brand. In late 2019, the former NXT UK Women’s Champion competed at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in the Women’s WarGames Match. She was part of Shayna Baszler‘s team, which also consisted of Io Shirai and former SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. Despite their best efforts, they fell to the team of Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, and Dakota Kai, the latter of whom turned on her team. This would be the extent of her televised NXT appearances, outside of a TV match in January; the COVID pandemic that began in 2020 kept her relegated overseas to NXT UK.
From there, Kay Lee Ray remained a dominant NXT UK Women’s Champion, successfully defending the title against such names as Jinny and Piper Niven, currently known as Doudrop. However, this past June, Ray lost the title to Meiko Satomura. This match would mark Ray’s final NXT UK match, as of this writing. Earlier this summer, reports circulated that Ray was seen at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, giving rise to rumors that she would be making her way to NXT on a full-time basis.
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