Dakota Kai & Persia Pirotta Comment On Their WWE Releases

The two were part of WWE's latest round of budget cuts this past Friday.

by Andrew Pollard
Persia Pirotta
WWE.com

Part of the ten NXT stars released by WWE this past Friday, Dakota Kai and Persia Pirotta have made their first public comments since departing Vince McMahon's sports entertainment giant.

For Kai, the Captain of Team Kick thanked all of those who have reached out to her, said how thankful she was for getting to meet and work with "so many beautiful people", and stated how she very much is "far from being done" with the wrestling business.

As for Persia Pirotta, she's opted to choose "gratitude" following her release. Much like Kai, the Australian detailed how she made some great friends during her time under the WWE banner. She also added how she had the opportunity to use her grandparents' name on a major stage.

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For those who may have missed it, Friday saw WWE release Kai, Pirotta, Malcolm Bivens, Dexter Lumis, Harland, Draco Anthony, Raelyn Divine, Vish Kanya, Mila Malani and Blair Baldwin. Both Dakota and Bivens had made it clear that they had no intention to re-sign with the company when their deals expired in the first half of next year.

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Since those releases, Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio said he's heard "rumblings" that main roster cuts will be happening soon.

Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.