Faction to break up in the new year, major shift in presentation - 5 possible directions for WWE RAW's Damage CTRL in 2023
Damage CTRL is one of the breakout stables in WWE. The group is less than six months old but has already made an impressive mark. The faction consists of three stars, Bayley leading the group and IYO SKY and Dakota Kai filling out the remaining spots.
The faction was formed at SummerSlam 2022. The Role Model returned after being away from television for over a year following the epic bout between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair. Both IYO and Kai showed up immediately, which excited and shocked fans.
Since then, the stable has been on a tear. They've temporarily put several stars out of action, including Becky Lynch, Candice LeRae, and Aliyah. Kai and SKY have also captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles on two separate occasions.
After a tremendous second half of 2022, the sky is the limit for Damage CTRL heading into 2023. What will the dominant and fun stable do in World Wrestling Entertainment next year? What direction will the trio take?
Below are five possible directions for WWE RAW's Damage CTRL in 2023.
#5. The trio could break up
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An unfortunate aspect of pro wrestling is that teams rarely last. Most tag teams break up, at least temporarily. Wrestling is an ego-driven business, and those with big egos want the spotlight all to themselves. This is especially true with stables.
By default, the more wrestlers in an alliance, the more likely egos will swell out of control, leading to a seemingly inevitable breakup. This could possibly happen with IYO SKY, Dakota Kai, and Bayley in 2023.
The Role Model has a giant ego on television, plus she has betrayed Sasha Banks in the past. Dakota Kai turning on Tegan Nox in NXT is also well-documented. Either one could betray the other, or both could kick IYO SKY to the curb in the new year.
#4. Damage CTRL could grow in numbers
Damage CTRL has been a dominant faction on RAW and SmackDown, but their success mostly comes when they have a numbers advantage over their opposition. The villainous faction is usually victorious when they're in a three-on-two or three-on-one scenario.
However, the stable tends to struggle a bit more when the sides are even. The most notable example of this was WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2022 when they teamed up with Rhea Ripley and Nikki Cross but lost to Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Mia Yim, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss.
The devious faction may want to officially increase their ranks to better fight off a locker room who can sometimes put aside their egos to unite. The group could feature a released star such as Chelsea Green and Billie Kay. It could even potentially see an NXT star such as Indi Hartwell join the fold. There's power in numbers.
#3. The trio could takeover NXT
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IYO SKY, Dakota Kai, and Bayley have a lot in common. They're all talented, arrogant, and conceited. Another key factor all three happen to share is that they've all had successful tenures on NXT.
Bayley is a former NXT Women's Champion. Dakota Kai is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. Meanwhile, IYO SKY has held both belts during her tenure in WWE. Still, there's a lot that the three could do on the brand.
While Bayley is a Grand Slam Champion, she's never held the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles. Dakota is the only one of the three not to win the NXT Women's Championship.
The trio may return to NXT as a unit to collect gold and dominate the young roster of stars such as Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Nikkita Lyons.
#2. Damage CTRL could focus on winning a world title
IYO SKY and Dakota Kai are two major success stories of the Triple H era. Since joining the main roster at SummerSlam, they've won the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles on two occasions. They're even the current champions as of this list's release.
On the other hand, Bayley has struggled a bit in winning gold. The Role Model has attempted to dethrone Bianca Belair and win the WWE RAW Women's Championship on more than one occasion but always seems to come up short.
The group may decide to focus entirely on getting a major singles title for the stable in 2023. Be it Belair, Ronda Rousey, or Roxanne Perez, Bayley desperately needs a championship. If all three members of the faction go on to hold a title, they may have all the power.
#1. The devious WWE faction could turn babyface
Very few wrestlers in WWE are as despised as Bayley. Her arrogance is on another level compared to most, and she'll do about anything to win. IYO and Dakota have proven to be quite similar in that regard, but few do it like Bayley.
Still, despite how Bayley acts, fans have a lot of respect for The Role Model. She is one of the Four Horsewomen of WWE who helped put the women's division on the map.
She's a fantastic wrestler and talker who can do it all. After so many years of service to the company, it's hard not to respect the former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion.
Between the talents of all three women, Bayley's respect from the audience, and IYO SKY's impressive high-flying arsenal of maneuvers, it wouldn't be too difficult to turn the stable into babyfaces. They could perhaps stand up to the likes of Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler or even Toxic Attraction alongside Sonya Deville to make the transition.