Damage CTRL

Damage CTRL
WWE merchandise logo
Stable
MembersIyo Sky
Kairi Sane
Asuka
NameDamage CTRL
Former
member(s)
Bayley (leader)
Dakota Kai
DebutJuly 30, 2022
Years active2022-Present

Damage CTRL (pronounced "Damage Control") (ダメージコントロール, Damēji Kontorōru) is a professional wrestling stable in WWE, currently composed of Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Asuka. The group was formed in July 2022 at SummerSlam by Bayley alongside Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. Damage CTRL quickly became prominent in WWE’s women’s division, with Kai and Sky capturing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship twice and the group engaging in notable feuds with Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch.

In 2023, Sky won the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match and cashed in at SummerSlam to become WWE Women’s Champion. Later that year, Kairi Sane and Asuka joined the group, marking the return of The Kabuki Warriors under the Damage CTRL banner. After internal conflict, Bayley was expelled from the faction in early 2024. She won the women’s Royal Rumble and defeated Sky at WrestleMania XL to capture the WWE Women’s Championship, ending Sky’s 246-day reign. Meanwhile, Sane and Asuka held the Women’s Tag Team Championship for 99 days.

The group continued competing in championship matches throughout 2024 and 2025, despite multiple injuries to its members, including Kai, Asuka, and Sane. In March 2025, Sky defeated Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship and retained the title at WrestleMania 41. Kai was released from WWE in May 2025, ending her tenure with the stable.

History

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Formation and early success (2022–2023)

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Damage CTRL at WrestleMania 39.

Damage CTRL debuted at SummerSlam on July 30, 2022, when Bayley returned from a year-long injury hiatus, aligning with the returning Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky (formerly Io Shirai), who was called up from NXT. The group confronted Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair following her successful title defense.[1] Kai later revealed that the original concept for the faction included herself, Tegan Nox, and Candice LeRae.[2]

Wrestling under the Damage CTRL name, the trio won their debut match at Clash at the Castle in September, where Bayley pinned Belair in a six-woman tag team match.[3] On the September 12 episode of Raw, Kai and Sky defeated Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.[4] Bayley challenged Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at Extreme Rules in a ladder match and again at Crown Jewel in a Last Woman Standing match, but was unsuccessful both times.[5][6] Meanwhile, Kai and Sky briefly lost the tag titles to Alexa Bliss and Asuka after a 49-day reign but regained them five days later at Crown Jewel.[7][6] At Survivor Series: WarGames in November 2022, Damage CTRL teamed with Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley in the women’s WarGames match but lost when Becky Lynch pinned Kai.[8]

Following that, the group entered a feud with Lynch. On the December 19 episode of Raw, Bayley defeated her in singles competition.[9] Kai and Sky later beat Lynch and Michin in a non-title match.[10] A steel cage match between Bayley and Lynch was scheduled for Raw is XXX but did not take place due to a pre-match attack by Damage CTRL.[11] The match was rescheduled for February 6, where Lynch defeated Bayley with assistance from Lita.[12] Shortly after, Lynch and Lita challenged Kai and Sky for the Women's Tag Team Championship. Despite Bayley’s interference, Kai and Sky lost the titles on the February 27 episode of Raw due to help from returning Trish Stratus.[13] At WrestleMania 39, Damage CTRL was defeated in a six-woman tag match by Lynch, Lita, and Stratus.[14] On May 12, Bayley and Kai failed to recapture the tag titles from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, during which Kai sustained a torn ACL and Morgan suffered a shoulder injury.[15]

On June 9, both Bayley and Sky qualified for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match at the namesake event,[16] which Sky won.[17] At SummerSlam, Sky successfully cashed in her contract on Belair to win the WWE Women’s Championship. Kai made her first appearance since injury to celebrate with Sky and began appearing in a non-wrestling role during recovery.[18]

New members and injuries (2023–present)

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Damage CTRL at WrestleMania XL.

At Crown Jewel in November 2023, Kairi Sane made a surprise return to WWE and aided Sky in retaining the Women's Championship against Belair.[19] Sane officially joined the stable on the November 10 episode of SmackDown. That same night, Asuka reunited with Sane as The Kabuki Warriors and later formally joined Damage CTRL.[20] At Surviror Series: WarGames, Damage CTRL lost in the women's WarGames match.[21]

On January 26, 2024, The Kabuki Warriors defeated Katana Chance and Kayden Carter to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.[22] The following night at Royal Rumble, Bayley won the women's Royal Rumble match.[23] On the February 2 episode of SmackDown, Asuka and Sane turned on Bayley and expelled her from the group.[24] Kai initially appeared to support Bayley, but on the March 1 episode of SmackDown, revealed it was a ruse and reunited with Asuka and Sane to attack Bayley.[25] At Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, Kai, Sane, and Asuka lost a six-woman tag match to Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi. The following night, Bayley defeated Sky to win the WWE Women’s Championship, ending Sky’s 246-day reign.[26] At Backlash: France, Asuka and Sane lost the tag titles to Belair and Cargill, ending their reign at 99 days.[27]

Both Asuka and Kai had to undergo surgery after suffering knee injury.[28][29] The following months, Sky and Sane unsuccessfully challenged for the tag titles several times, including a fatal-four way tag match at Crown Jewel.[30][31][32] Kai returned from injury in November but again suffered a concussion in January 2025.[28] Sane also sustained an injury at the end of previous year.[28] On March 3, Sky defeated Rhea Ripley on Raw to win the Women’s World Championship.[33] She retained the title in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 41 against Ripley and Belair.[34]

On May 2, 2025, WWE announced the release of Dakota Kai, ending her tenure with Damage CTRL.[35]

Members

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* Founding member(s)
L Leader
M Manager

Current

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Members Joined
Iyo Sky July 30, 2022 *
Kairi Sane November 10, 2023
Asuka[a] November 17, 2023

Former

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Member Joined Left
Bayley (L) July 30, 2022 * February 2, 2024
Dakota Kai[b] July 30, 2022* May 2, 2025

Timeline

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Sub-groups

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Affiliate Members Tenure Type
The Kabuki Warriors Asuka
Kairi Sane
2023–2024 Tag team

Championships and accomplishments

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Notes

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  1. ^ Asuka has been inactive since May 2024 due to an injury.
  2. ^ Kai suffered an ACL tear in May 2023 and was sidelined after her surgery. From August 5, 2023 to February 9, 2024, she served as the stable's quasi manager while recovering from her injury.

References

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  1. ^ Currier, Joseph (July 30, 2022). "Bayley, Dakota Kai, Io Shirai return at WWE SummerSlam". f4wonline.com. Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "Original Members of WWE's Damage CTRL Revealed". December 2022. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (September 3, 2022). "WWE Clash At The Castle 2022 - Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Bianca Belair vs. Bayley, IYO SKY, Dakota Kai Result". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Powell, Jason (September 12, 2022). "9/12 WWE Raw results: Powell's live review of Edge vs. Dominik Mysterio, Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah vs. Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai for the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, Johnny Gargano's in-ring return". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Powell, Jason (October 8, 2022). "WWE Extreme Rules results: Powell's review of Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins in a Fight Pit match with Daniel Cormier as special referee, Bianca Belair vs. Bayley in a ladder match for the Raw Women's Title, Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey in an Extreme Rules match for the Smackdown Women's Title, Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross in a strap match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Powell, Jason (November 5, 2022). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's live review of Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul and Jake Paul for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley, Bianca Belair vs. Bayley in a Last Woman Standing match for the Raw Women's Championship, Braun Strowman vs. Omos, Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross in a cage match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  7. ^ Currier, Joseph (October 31, 2022). "Women's Tag Team title rematch set for WWE Crown Jewel". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  8. ^ Powell, Jason (November 26, 2022). "WWE Survivor Series WarGames results: Powell's review of The Bloodline vs. Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and The Brawling Brutes in a WarGames match, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, and Mia Yim vs. Rhea Ripley, Nikki Cross, and Damage CTRL in a WarGames match, Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory for the U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Keller, Wade (December 19, 2022). "12/19 WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS: Keller's report on Becky vs. Bayley, Street Profits vs. Priest & Balor, Dexter vs. Miz in ladder match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Keller, Wade (January 2, 2023). "1/2 WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS: Keller's report on Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory, Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  11. ^ Brookhouse, Brent (January 23, 2023). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Sami Zayn earns Bloodline redemption, Brock Lesnar returns at Raw is XXX". CBSSports. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Lita Returns To Raw, Helps Lynch Defeat Bayley In Steel Cage". 3 February 2023. February 7, 2023. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Brookhouse, Brent (February 27, 2023). "WWE Raw results, recap, highlights: Trish Stratus returns to help Becky Lynch and Lita win women's tag titles". CBSSports. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Keller, Wade (April 1, 2023). "4/1 WWE WrestleMania 39 – Night 1: Keller's report on Cena vs. Austin Theory, Rollins vs. Logan Paul, Usos vs. Sami & KO, Charlotte vs. Ripley, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  15. ^ Meltzer, Dave (May 22, 2023). "Injury updates: Dakota Kai, Mark Davis, more". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  16. ^ Powell, Jason (June 9, 2023). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (6/9): Barnett's review of Jey Uso's decision, Asuka presented with the WWE Women's Championship belt, MITB qualifiers featuring Butch vs. Baron Corbin, Santos Escobar vs. Mustafa Ali, Michin vs. Bayley, and Shotzi vs. Iyo Sky". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  17. ^ Staszewski, Joseph (July 2, 2023). "WWE Money in the Bank review: Jey Uso, Roman Reigns, Iyo Sky star". New York Post. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  18. ^ Powell, Jason (August 5, 2023). "WWE SummerSlam results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in Tribal Combat for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title, Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women's Title, Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Title, Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Powell, Jason (November 4, 2023). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight for the WWE Universal Title, Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Title, Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul for the U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  20. ^ Barnett, Jake (November 10, 2023). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (11/10): Barnett's review of Bobby Lashley vs. Carlito, LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller, and Bayley addresses the future of Damage CTRL". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  21. ^ Aguilar, Matthew (November 25, 2023). "WWE Survivor Series: Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, and Shotzi Defeat Damage CTRL in Wild Women's War Games Match". ComicBook. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  22. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 26, 2024). "Kabuki Warriors Win WWE Women's Tag Team Championships On 1/26 WWE SmackDown | Fightful News". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  23. ^ "Royal Rumble Match stats 2024". WWE. January 28, 2024. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  24. ^ Pulido, Luis (February 2, 2024). "WWE SmackDown (2/2/2024) Results: Roman Reigns & Cody Rhodes Face-to-Face, Bayley Speaks, More Set". Fightful. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  25. ^ JOSEPH, SUNIL (February 9, 2024). "DAKOTA KAI SAVES BAYLEY FROM DAMAGE CTRL ON 2/9 WWE SMACKDOWN". Ringside News. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  26. ^ WWE.com Staff (April 7, 2024). "Full WrestleMania results". Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  27. ^ Muller, Chris (May 4, 2024). "WWE Backlash 2024 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  28. ^ a b c Alba, Jon (January 27, 2025). "Dakota Kai Reportedly Injured Ahead Of WWE Women's Royal Rumble Match". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  29. ^ Roy, Sumit (August 13, 2024). "WWE Star Dakota Kai to Undergo Surgery After Suffering Knee Injury". The Times of India. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  30. ^ Powell, Jason (August 19, 2024). "WWE Raw results (8/19): Powell's live review of Randy Orton and CM Punk's appearances, three-way for the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  31. ^ Russell, Skylar (October 14, 2024). "Jade Cargill And Bianca Belair Retain Women's Tag Titles On WWE Raw, Jakara Jackson And Lash Legend Appear In The Crowd | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  32. ^ Powell, Jason (November 2, 2024). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's review of Gunther vs. Cody Rhodes for the Crown Jewel Championship, Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan for the Women's Crown Jewel Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  33. ^ Powell, Jason (March 3, 2025). "WWE Raw results (3/3): Powell's live review of Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky for the Women's World Championship, War Raiders vs. The Creeds for the World Tag Titles, Elimination Chamber fallout". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  34. ^ Powell, Jason (April 20, 2025). "WrestleMania 41 results: Powell's live review of night two with Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship, Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  35. ^ "Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler, Dakota Kai & Others Reportedly Released From WWE". Wrestling On Fannation. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  36. ^ Barrasso, Justin (December 28, 2018). "SLAM WRESTLING AWARDS 2022: BEST OF WWE". Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  37. ^ "WWE Women's Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
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