Janai Kai Says AEW Rampage Match Was Last Minute, Praises ‘Chill’ AEW Environment

Janai Kai made her AEW debut on the December 3 episode of AEW Rampage, taking on Jade Cargill. 

The bout didn’t last long as Cargill was victorious in 31 seconds. Kai had previously competed in ROH and various Independent promotions before landing in AEW for a few matches. 

Speaking to Juice Pro Wrestling, Kai reflected on how quickly the AEW Rampage bout came together. 

“Rampage was very last minute, it was literally the day before that I found out I was doing it. They flew me out there the next morning and told me the whole deal as far as what was going on. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous about this. That was another tester, another thing that told me, ‘You’re confident in your abilities, the butterflies aren’t overtaking all of your feelings. I’m not nervous, I’m ready to go, I know how to work.’ I’m confident in presenting myself, for only the little time I had too, I know how to present myself in a little bit of time. The whole experience was great. Thunder Rosa was there, showing me around, letting me know how they do things throughout the day. It was great to have her there and letting me know how everything goes down,” she said. 

When asked how the environment was in AEW, Kai said, “It’s mad chill. A lot of the people that were there, they still do Indies, so I had seen some of them last week [laughs]. They’re like, ‘Hey, good to see you here, what’s up?’ It’s really chill, really cool, everyone was friendly. I’m very good about sensing bad vibes or if I know if I’m not going to fit in. I didn’t have that feeling. I was really comfortable being there. I’ve been backstage at WWE it there is a total difference. It’s more tense in WWE.”

Along with her appearance on AEW Rampage, Kai has competed against Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch on AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation. 

Kai is a regular for MIssion Pro Wrestling, which is run by Thunder Rosa. You can find Rosa’s comments on her future plans for Mission Pro by clicking here. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.