Kay Lee Ray Now Working Full-Time With NXT

Following her NXT TakeOver 36 appearance, KLR will now be a full-time member of the NXT roster.

Aug 24, 2021 August 24th, 2021

Following her appearance at Sunday's NXT TakeOver 36, Kay Lee Ray is set to become a full-time permanent member of the main NXT brand.

In a new report from Mike Johnson over at PWInsider, the belief is that the former NXT UK Women's Champion's TakeOver arrival wasn't merely done for a short-term rivalry. Instead, Ray will be permanently living in the US and will be a fully-fledged member of the NXT brand going forward.

KLR had been training at the WWE Performance Center since the beginning of August, and she's not competed on NXT UK television since losing the NXT UK Women's Title to Meiko Satomura back in June - with her getting married to fellow wrestler Stevie Boy Xavier in July.

A 12-year veteran of the squared circle, Kay Lee first rose to prominence with her work in ICW, then appeared on the second season of TNA British Boot Camp. Ray also made an appearance in the inaugural Mae Young Classic in 2017, won the World of Sport Wrestling Women's Championship when WOS briefly returned, and then was signed to WWE under the NXT UK brand in January 2019.

Given how Kay Lee Ray has done all she realistically could in NXT UK, bringing her into the main NXT brand seems like a wise move for all involved.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

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 dayjob, 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.

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