Dakota Kai would make history competing alongside Raquel Gonzalez in the first ever Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament. The winning team would get a chance to wrestle WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the titles. Dakota and Raquel were present on the January 20, 2021 episode of NXT at the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida when "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix introduced the field of competitors participating

In an opening round match on the January 27, 2021 episode of NXT, Kai would tangle with a rival from her past in Aliyah who teamed with Jessi Kamea under the representation of Robert Stone. Our Captain had scored singles victories over both her opponents in the past and the same was the case in the first round match. After battling for a bit, Dakota and Aliyah fell to the canvas and made hot tags. Kamea came in thinking she was a house of fire only to get obliviated by a Raquel clothesline. Raquel added in a Chingona Bomb for fun before pinning Jessi.

In the semifinals they would have to face Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro whom they had defeated in a tag match back in June 2020. They were more than confident they had the win in the bag, however Team Ninja had grown a lot as a team since the last time they met. Despite the public show of confidence, Dakota and Raquel were prepared for a fight.

Additional Information | Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez defeated Aliyah & Jessi Kamea (5:56) in the opening round of the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament on WWE NXT January 27, 2021 at the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida.