on 22 august 2021, ray became a member if nxt roster. she made her first appearance at the end of the nxt womens championship match between raquel gonzález and dakota kai. on the 23 november episode ray distracted mandy rose during her match against cora jade. this caused rose to lose the match. later that night, she joined io shirai's team at nxt wargames. this was the first time while working for the wwe that she was a face. at wargames, her team was won. during the match, ray teased turning on her team. she moved near an injured cora jade with a kendo stick but turned and attacked kai instead. on the 7 december episode of "nxt", kay lee ray was a part of a segment witj cora jade and raquel gonzález. on the february 8 episode of nxt, ray fought mandy rose for the nxt women's championship, but lost.