Why WWE's Damage CTRL Has Been A Successful Faction (& Why It's Been A Failure)

When someone thinks about it, Damage CTRL is an anomaly. As one of only a few female factions in WWE history, it has had its unique share of ups and downs.

From their debut last year to the various title wins that they have accomplished, the trio that is composed of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky have been a staple of the women's division on both Raw and SmackDown. However, not everything about them has been exactly positive. In fact, some of them threatened to destroy their credibility, and only through some crafty course correction has it seen fruit from its expectation - but why?

10 Success: A Splashy Debut

It was SummerSlam 2022 when what eventually became Damage CTRL first appeared. Bianca Belair had just fended off Becky Lynch in their rematch to remain the Raw Women's Champion, and in the aftermath, Lynch surprised everyone by showing respect.

That was when "Deliverance" blared out of the speakers, and Bayley appeared. But she was not alone. Suddenly, Dakota Kai and Io Shirai (as she was called back then), coming off stints in NXT, also appeared, and both Belair and Lynch had just received the message: that the three were here to take over. It was a great way to reintroduce three superbly talented women.

9 Failure: Lack Of Reinvention

The last time she was seen before her return, Bayley had been portraying a comically obnoxious Karen. Apparently, that bled over into the gimmick, which explains the inconsistent booking of her group.

What could have happened instead was for her to return with a vengeful gimmick, with a promo explaining that seeing her division stagnate (decay, even) in her absence caused her to feel wronged - basically a female Monday Night Messiah. The same could have applied to Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky - two phenomenal talents in NXT who could have claimed that they had been left to rot when their usefulness in the 2.0 era ended.

8 Success: An Actual Team

Ever since it became a reality in 2019, the WWE Women's tag title scene has been notorious for one thing: it has usually been composed of singles superstars who are put together so that they have something else to do other than sit in catering.

Then there were Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. Until the former's injury, they were the one established tag team in WWE, and when the latter began her singles push, Kai smoothly transitioned with Bayley, immediately establishing a great master-apprentice chemistry that only unfortunate circumstances could end. And now with Kai still hurt, Sky has seamlessly picked up the slack.

7 Failure: Dubious Booking As Champions

For all their rock-solid unity, however, Damage CTRL have not been able that to parlay it into consistency in their title reigns.

Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky's first title reign began in rather dubious circumstances, when they rematched Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah off a botched pin (more on that later). Then after that, they spent more time accompanying Bayley than actually defending the titles before being dethroned by Asuka and Alexa Bliss before Crown Jewel. They regained the belts in Saudi Arabia, but again, not much in the way of defenses before losing to Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus. And that is not to mention them getting beaten despite a numbers advantage...

6 Success: Promising Traits

Damage Control Beats Bianca Belair WWE Clash At The Castle

From the moment they debuted, Damage CTRL showed promise, both as a group and individually. Bayley was the veteran leader, scheming her way back to the top; Dakota Kai the aggressive, smash-mouth live dog; and Iyo Sky the flamboyant high-flyer.

And while it has not gone well as they had hoped, their presumed traits still persist: Sky is now the champion in the group, ever dazzling in the skies; Bayley is right behind her, pulling the strings; and Kai is back, ever the lively loyalist.

5 Failure: Losing The Big Matches

It took until Iyo Sky successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase at SummerSlam 2023 for Damage CTRL to finally win an important match... again.

Since they debuted, the stable had been defined by losses in big fights. The Women's Tag title tournament? They somehow lost to Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah. Bayley's two Raw Women's Championship matches? She lost both of them, the first despite her friends' interference, and the second because they, for some reason, did not interfere despite winning their match. WarGames? WrestleMania 39? Lost all of them, with Clash at the Castle being their only noteworthy triumph until now.

4 Success: Non-Title Storylines

In the 2020s, Bayley has become known for putting together some compelling storylines that do not need a title.

The first was her late-2020 mini-angle with Bianca Belair, which she did after dropping the title to Sasha Banks. It showed the evolution in her character - namely, one who had refused to atone for her sins and instead delved deeper into her villainy by picking on the new cool kid. That angle helped put over the EST and paved the way for her run to stardom.

Then there is this angle with Shotzi that, as crass as it may seem for involving hair, shows how adept the Role Model is at pushing others' buttons. Shotzi, who had her hair forcibly cut by the heel, has willfully shaved off the rest and now wants her tormentor to suffer the same fate. With the right direction, it could be one of the funnier stories in 2023 and even 2024.

3 Failure: Injury Struggles

Is it not ironic that a stable that was born out of a return from injury now has had to deal with a litany of them?

Damage CTRL marked Bayley's grand comeback from her devastating ACL tear in 2021, and she has recently been out of the ring with a hurting knee again. However, its other members have not been immune either. There is Dakota Kai's own torn ACL, and Iyo Sky was still reeling from a foot injury during the group's early days - not that it stopped fans from complaining that the stable was wasting her talents.

2 Success: Creating New Stars

iyo sky sitting on a ladder holding the money in the bank briefcase

Some fans have speculated that Damage CTRL was envisioned not as another concurrent dominant stable in the vein of the Bloodline or Toxic Attraction, but rather as a way to familiarize casual audiences to Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. And lately, they have been partly right.

Ever since Backlash, Sky has been the star of the group, impressing WWE fans with her flashy skillset and burgeoning charisma. This was cemented when she won the Money in the Bank briefcase last month, then cashed in at SummerSlam to become the new WWE Women's Champion. And that is not to mention the seemingly inevitable implosion that will turn her (and Dakota Kai, when she returns) into the next pillars of the women's division.

1 Failure: Bayley's Fall

Once upon a time, Bayley was thought to be the future female John Cena - another clean-cut hero whom the kids could love. But thanks to Vince McMahon's failure to understand the Hugger character, she floundered in the big leagues until she cut her hair, killed her inflatable tube men, and became a narcissistic heel.

That turn began her best stretch ever - 380 days as the SmackDown Women's Champion, and even a Women's Tag Team Champion in the midst of it. But since then, she has become a punching bag of sorts, with losses in many matches - which Damage CTRL could have fixed. Instead, it has continued to portray Bayley as mostly inept and unable to win clean.