Damage CTRL

[9.0] "I think Damage CTRL holds its place as the most horribly booked faction of all this. By the love of God, this faction contained Iyo Sky, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Bayley and Dakota Kai, and WWE were making them acts as a doormat. Their Summerslam debut was very cool but it immediately followed by horrid booking whether it was their feuds, their 0 titles runs or the fact that they were never winning. The whole Kairi Sane arrival then Iyo Sky cash-in gave me hope but no. Iyo Sky had a ok reign as a champion. Asuka joining (even if let's be honest, it's just because she's Japanese and that WWE never had any idea of what to do with Kairi except a Tag Team.) gave me another wind of hope, only for it to be crushed under another terrible booking and results of their matches, at least we had the Kabuki Warriors champions, and we had an Asuka fighting her last matches in 2024 with a essentially a broken leg. Bayley and Iyo at Wrestlemania XL was however very very good. If I were to rate the faction as individual members this would be an instant ten, but I cannot ignore how we have only seen a snippet of what they could do in a faction."

[9.0] "The most talented women's stable in American wrestling history. Constantly fumbled the booking of this group. They should've and could've been the biggest thing in the company."

[9.0] "They were so cool I miss them so much. Dakota specifically I have no idea why the would release her."

[9.0] "You could argue the five members were the five best in-ring talents in the womens division. The stable itself could have been booked better, but utlimately elevated all the women in it in their own way, even though injuries got in the way. Sky is now established as the best women's wrestler in the world (arguably), in no small part to this group"

[9.0] "Damage CTRL definitely was a fantastic group throughout it's exist and easily the best all women's stable in WWE, it increased the popularity of everyone that was ever in the group, the real breakout star of the group being IYO giving her the push she needed to becoming WWE's top acts in its main roster women's division, it gave Bayley something new to do during her final years as a heel and it helped her babyface restoration after the group kicked her out. It's sad that the group quietly ended mostly due to injuries because they could've done a just a tad bit more together."

[8.0] "now that they are officially done, think it was a solid stable that did help cement IYO as a main event babyface (eventually) so it can't be too low of a rating."

[9.0] "It's officially over. It made Iyo a star and helped Kairi and Dakota's popularity too. It solidified Bayley and gave her a Mania moment. Will be missed."

[7.0] "I like all of these women on their own. But as a group, it always felt a little confused to me. It never felt like they were a cohesive unit. I feel like Asuka, Kairi, & Iyo should have split off on their own at one point & made an all Japanese contingent. It worked to an extent & really helped Iyo get to the next level. But I just felt like there were other opportunities that never ended up being capitalized upon."

[10.0] "Damage Control is the best stable so far. It started off with three badasses, and bringing them together in a faction was the right call. Over time, they even added the Kabuki Warriors to the group. I can't wait for Kairi and Asuka to return and see more of Damage Control, as well as the Kabuki Warriors. I loved their feuds with Bianca Belair; I really miss those times..."

[10.0] "Damage CTRL in 2022 was so much fun. Once 2023 came around the group lost so much that it kinda made it hard to believe they can be a threat. But then Iyo Sky became the Women's World Champ which brought the Group back up. 2024 was a good year but in 2025 so far they have been easily one of the best stables in wrestling today."

[10.0] "One of my all-time favorite factions (even if it just ended) and one of the most highly-concentrated instances of in-ring talent EVER. Even if Dakota was injured for a long period of their tenure, this faction still told a really cool story, provided the fans with an awesome War Games match and led to a great WM XL match between Iyo and Bayley. Worthy of being remembered for a long time."

"They had a shaky run as heels and should've won far more than they did. However, they've rebounded quite nicely as babyfaces, and a genuinely remorseful reunion with Bayley would be excellent storytelling, hopefully that happens in 2025!"

[10.0] "The early days of Damage CTRL was not really the best for making them look good, but I would argue that in the long term this group has built 4 top stars in the WWE Women's Division. Bayley really rehabilitated her image as a great heel and despite all of her losses, it made her eventual face turn a perfect showing and got the crowd really behind her. Iyo Sky was able to thrive in the tag division and eventually build herself up as a super mega star and show everyone just how great she is. Dakota Kai, who has always been criminally underused and underrated, was finally given her chance to shine and show how great she is. Asuka was already in the main event scene and people knew she was great, but her injury unfortunately stopped her from more of a chance to thrive. And then the returning Kairi Sane was a beautiful addition who has been putting on the best work of her WWE career alongside Sky as an amazing tag team."

[9.0] "Damage Control is a dream team. Bayley's creation was sensational and unexpected. Bayley in the lead role was exciting, Dakota and Iyo are great athletes and the fact that Bayley had a deserved experience spot made me happy for her. The debut was a bit of a mixed bag, not least because Bayley was losing a lot, but the tag team titles gave me hope. The evolution of the clan became more and more interesting and solid, until the arrival of Asuka and Kairi Sane. The clan now included only three of the best female wrestlers in the world, three exceptional Japanese women, and I regretted the poor construction of Bayley's match against Iyo (even if the WrestleMania match was technically grandiose), as this split would have deserved more. I also hope that after all this time the new Damage Control will be able to find a new place or offer its members prime spots on the card, together or separately. Whatever one may say, the clan with its three belts was really something. Whether in looks, promos, in-ring or charisma. I loved that period."

[6.0] "Individually, the members are relatively decent; however, there isnt that much team chemistry between the different members of the group, other than being friends."

[8.0] "I really like what Damage CTRL has become: an invasion of previously mistreated non-US wrestlers sick of the way they've been handled by WWE in the past. They represent such a dynamic shift in the presentation of women's wrestling in the WWE, and though it was a bit of a rocky road to get there, Damage CTRL's biggest moments I think have also been WWE's biggest moments for 2023/2024. Bayley's neutral-turn, Io cashing in, Kairi's poisoning of the well have all been fascinating story beats to watch slowly unfold. The only reason I don't give this a higher score is because Dakota's injury clearly sidelined the group's momentum and, though their story ended up in a great place despite it, hurt the overall narrative thus far. Either way, the journey's been great, they are all incredible wrestlers, and I think there's still a lot more waiting for them in the future."

[10.0] "Prior to 10 November 2023 I was really struggling with Damage CTRL. I really hated seeing Bayley eat so many pins and Dakota Kai being injured they were really just supporting roles attempting to elevate Iyo when Iyo was already slingshotted after her amazing Backlash match with Bianca. However, AFTER SmackDown on the 10th of November 2023 I absolutely fell in love with the process that is Damage CTRL. Kairi Sane is one my absolute favorites, she's always been amazing. I watched her in STARDOM and NJPW where she had several great title reigns. Asuka, well... nobody is ready for Asuka! Empress of Tomorrow you can't hate her! Bayley is one of the four horsewomen, she has rich history. Iyo has really shown her worth, she is main event caliber and is recieving her deserved flowers. I hope Damage CTRL is here to stay, they have EVERYTHING"

[6.0] "I am going to leave this at a 6 for right now it would be lower but Kairi joined (I am biased her elbow drop its the best and I love seeing it) and added some life into the stable. This stable started off hot and cooled off fast with their lackluster tag team runs. High point has been IYO winning her belt after cashing in. With the new additions maybe I will change my rating in the future."

[8.0] "Although Bayley is a big hammy heel right now, we knew that if she started a stable, it would have great wrestlers in it, and so it's proven with her bringing in Dakota Kai and IYO SKY (the former Io Shirai) to form Damage CTRL. Very good first showing for them as a trio at Clash At The Castle, I'd expect a lot more from them going forward. UPDATE: They've had very up and down booking since then, which did include two Tag Team Title reigns and SKY winning the WWE Women's Title with a Money in the Bank cash-in, but Bayley's lost pretty much every big match since, and Kai got injured. The latest development looks promising though with them having added Kairi Sane and Asuka to their ranks, but it looks a setup to turn on Bayley. We'll see how it pans out."

[3.0] "The group managed to cool off both Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch in back to back feuds. No chemistry between the three members and was never given a reason to care about this group. Also, could never take them seriously after getting beat 1 on 3 by Belair."

[6.0] "I reacted huge when these three returns and formed a group. Is the most talented woman's stable in WWE history in terms of talent. Hope that they are used right and get the accomplishment they deserve as a group. UPDATE: My hopes for this team did not work as well as I thought. They have great chemistry together but lackluster run with the tag titles and the never-ending feud with Becky hurt the stable hoping that this ends soon and all three can move on to better things."

[3.0] "Damage Ctrl, from what I saw, was a failure. I wanted to like them because Bayley is great and Io was my favourite wrestler & the reason I decided to give Raw a chance after a 4 year hiatus, of course she shouldn't be playing a lackey but whatever. The weak link of the group was Kai, who once upon a time was pretty good, but those days are behind her, and her promos were horrific. As a 3rd wheel though, she didn't hinder them, because ultimately, what was to hinder? The actual problem was the horrendous booking. Straight away it was clear that Damage Ctrl's role was that of geeks who were there to make the overrated and overpushed Belair look strong as she routinely dispatched the 3 of them by herself with ease, they were never a credible threat. Inexplicably, Io and Kai were also jobbed out to a useless, thrown together team in the tag title tournament final, making them look even more ridiculous. They did, belatedly, win the tag titles then traded them back and forth with Asuka & Bliss, all while the abysmal feud with Belair continued with no heat, the crowd responses were nonexistent. Some of their matches were ok, but that's it. I tapped back out of Raw after around 4 months because I just didn't enjoy it, and the booking of Damage Ctrl was a big part of that. It pains me to rate a group that included Io so low, but they was a disaster."

[4.0] "A complete and utter waste of talent. This stable literally has, on one hand, one of the best female wrestlers of all time (Io), and on the other, one of the most important (Bayley), with the addendum of a pretty serviceable wrestler that can work any style if given the chance. The booking has been dreadful, and at this point it's just damaging anyone involved. It's really surprising that H's booking gets a constant high praise while doing the bare minimum, while glaring issues like his treatment of Damage CTRL and the re hires are ignored and even blamed on McMahon (whom just recently took over creative). Even when getting wins constantly during their first few months, they came out constantly looking like dorks."

[4.0] "The problem isn't the talent involved, but the booking around them. From their debut, they were never booked strong, being manhandled against the likes of Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair."

[4.0] "Holy shit they really botched this faction...all three of them really never won their big matches, therefore pretty much never bought them as a real threat. Great potential and just such a shame what happened to this group."

[4.0] "A group that showed much promise upon debut but ended up being the pro wrestling equivalent to Pokemon's team Rocket. They quickly became the scrappy villains to get beat up every week. A team of Io shirai and Bayley could've been gamechangers but ultimately ended up being nothing."

[4.0] "Such a boring stable despite the promising start and plethora of talent between the three women here"

[5.0] "a stable that had a lot of potential but was very poorly booked. Bayley currently only loses in the matches she participates in, Dakota and Iyo are more like henchmen to be beaten by babyface in addition to having no relevance with the titles, it's a shame that this is not working because the three are sensational"

[4.0] "One the worst WWE stables ever, Bianca/Bailey feud killed It, the are unable to win a match and now are navigating in RAW' s midcarding. Awful. **1/4"

[7.0] "Have shown great potential so far, but their booking has been atrocious, Bayley should have taken the title off of Bianca, and Io and Dakota did not need to hot potato the tag titles."

"I'm a fan of all the tree wrestlers, but I feel like they haven't really done anything meaningful since their formation"

[8.0] "This faction is great realistically. Dakota Kai -- my most favourite female wrestler. Iyo Sky -- Highly impressive, charismatic and smooth. Bayley -- Rememberable promos, good crowd interaction, good leader. The booking has been very mediocre though for these three. They have won a title but other than that some of the booking decisions are not the greatest per example Extreme Rules where Bianca Belair literally whooped all three of them like it was nothing.. that is one way to make your tag team champions look weak. I have seen a few botches and messy moments with Kai and Sky when wrestling which is unusual for them both but they still need to find their comfortability."

[5.0] "They've been very very mid. I haven't feeling this stable at all. Don't look like they have some chemistry Iyo is sometimes cofusing in the ring and Dakota is notthe best in the mic. They booking is not been that great so fae too. By now this is the rating maybe in the future they really starts to click but not right now"

[5.0] "The reason, why this group exists, is still unclear. Bailey wanted her own faction? Then why, as a heel, she had worked well on her own before? Triple H cosplays Tony Khan again, only this time he has a fetish for meaningless factions, which Damage CTRL is."

[6.0] "This has been alright, but nothing special so far. I'm a fan of all three, but this just hasn't clicked yet for me."

[6.0] "Meh AF so far. Whole thing seems just forced. Also, Dakota Kai is mid. I actually feel I'm being generous giving them a 6."

[10.0] "This faction has 3 uber talented women, is booked pretty well, and feels super important. They've reinvigorated the women's division in WWE and were the first signal of change with Triple H in power. Regardless of what happens down the line, THIS was the first moment when it was abundantly clear there was a major power shift in WWE."

[8.0] "They are probably the best women's team in WWE of all time but to be fair, the bar is set really really low."