January 1, 2020. Full Sail. Winter Park, Florida. Dakota Kai won Future Star of the Year during the 2019 NXT Year-End Awards. But she already knew she was. Her opposition in the voting field were a mix of NXT and NXT UK talent: Cameron Grimes, Kushida, Swerve, Tegan Nox, Xia Li, Taynara Conti, Bronson Reed and Ilja Dragunov. The winner was decided by the majority of votes from fans, Performance Center Coaches, the media, USA Network, Legends and Hall of Famers. Fans, Legends, Hall of Famers and the media wisely choose Kai over the rest.

Dakota made her way to the ring in an empty Full Sail much to the trepidation of NXT General Manager William Regal. Kai motioned with her hands that she wasn't going to present him with the belated holiday gift she intended to deliver at TakeOver: WarGames 2019. Regal carefully handed Kai her award trophy, the fear of The Captain trembling in every one of his villainous bones. Dakota didn't mince her words, coldly with a cruelty in her tone saying that she's know she's a future star the whole time and everyone who voted for her is just late to the party.

I hope she felt an exception for those of us who knew that the whole time and only intended her resentment toward the vermin who suddenly jumped onboard the Team Kick Train because of the "Oh! best! turn! ever!" moment. Kai made it clear that she's making her own opportunities now, sending a subtle yet clear message to Regal who was sweating bullets off-camera. She had said all she had to say and took her leave to do a photo shoot with the trophy including outtakes with NXT big boss Triple H. The future was bright as 2020 would bring Kai many opportunities.