Anna Jay’s heel turn on AEW Dyanmite could be setting up a reunion for former tag partners, Ruby Soho and King Kota.
Friends No More
Anna Jay intervenes in the brawl between Ruby Soho and Tay Conti, but THAT was unexpected!! #AEWDynamite #FyterFest Night 3 is LIVE on @TBSNetwork! pic.twitter.com/177T5ZLkvU
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 21, 2022
On the June 20 episode of AEW Dynamite Anna Jay turned heel as she attacked Ruby Soho with the help of Tay Conti. Jay had been a face for the past several years as a member of AEW faction, The Dark Order. While Conti had turned heel earlier this year when she aligned herself with Sammy Guevara and the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Soho and Jay had often teamed up on AEW’s YouTube shows, Dark and Dark: Elevation in tag team or trios matches. On the other hand, Jay and Conti were good friends and had frequently been a tag team, known as ‘TayJay’, for the latter half of 2021.
It is notable that nobody came to the aid of Soho against Jay and Conti. Does Ruby not have any other friends in AEW? Will an old partner come to her aid? This could very well happen if King Kota, formally known as Dakota Kai, signs with AEW.
Happy Reunion?
Team Slap Happy – Heidi Lovelace & Evie – SHIMMER 81 available on DVD at https://t.co/uQVXusX04K / VOD at https://t.co/jdnhwkFwER #womenswrestling #prowrestling #tagteamwrestling pic.twitter.com/dolngXLdAm
— SHIMMER Wrestling (@SHIMMERwomen) April 22, 2020
Soho and Kota were once both signed to WWE. However, their history far exceeds WWE. Soho, known then as Heidi Lovelace and Kota known as Evie, were tag team partners during their time in the independent women’s promotion, SHIMMER. Together they formed Team Slap Happy. They even went on to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship in 2016.
Both women’s time on the independent circuit ended when they signed with WWE in December 2016. They would go on to compete in the company’s third brand, NXT. Soho, using the name Ruby Riott made her NXT television debut in March 2017. Riott was called up to WWE’s main roster in 2017. She would have very little success in WWE before she was released in June 2021. Now going by Ruby Soho, she made her AEW debut in the women’s Casino Battle Royale match at the All Out PPV. Soho won her debut match by eliminating Thunder Rosa. Her win earned her a match for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Soho has had some success in AEW. She made the finals of both the TBS Championship tournament and the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, however, she failed to win either tournament.
Kota, going by Dakota Kai, made her NXT debut while competing in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. Kota would remain in NXT for the rest of her WWE career. During her time in NXT, she won the NXT Women’s Championship twice, the NXT Women’s Championship Invitational in 2018. As well as the Future Star of NXT Award in 2019 and the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2021. In April 2022, Kai was released from WWE. She had reportedly expressed to the company that she was not planning on renewing her contract prior to her release. Kota, now a free agent, has not wrestled since her release. She remains one of the top free agents in wrestling.
With their deep friendship, it seems destined that Kota & Soho will cross paths again, and AEW seems to be the perfect destination. While AEW does not currently have a women’s tag team division, Kota and Soho could form a team once again. With their already existing chemistry, they would be a formidable team in the AEW women’s division.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS and AEW Dark: Elevation (Monday nights) and AEW: Dark (Tuesday nights) at 7 PM ET on YouTube. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night.
