Bayley was never meant to become WWE Women’s Champion after forming Damage CTRL.
The former NXT Women’s Champion formed the group at Summerslam 2022. She recruited IYO SKY and Dakota Kai into the group with the goal of elevating them into top-tier WWE Superstars.
While IYO SKY did become WWE Women’s Champion, Bayley beat her for the title at WrestleMania 40. However, this was never the original plan for the group, as Bayley had no interest in being World Champion again.
Bayley spoke with Joey Karni of The Angle Podcast in the lead-up to Summerslam 2024. She revealed that the goal for Damage CTRL was to make IYO SKY and Dakota Kai champions, not her.
However, she noted that the group turning on her changed that trajectory. While she had no plans to become champion when the group was created, Bayley wouldn’t have beaten SKY at WrestleMania if the Damage CTRL had attacked her and kicked her out of the group.
“This was never the goal. IYO SKY becoming champion was the goal. Dakota Kai becoming champion was the goal. And it was weird, I was talking to people when I was pitching for this. There were videos that I did and promos that I wrote that were like, ‘I’m not here to be a champion. I’ve done all those things. I couldn’t care less about those things.'”
“What I’m here to do is for them to feel that, for them to have their Mania moments, their Summerslam moments, to become champion. And luckily, we were able to do that. This was kind of just like a little side piece, a little part that I wasn’t expecting. And that’s their fault. If they wouldn’t have turned on me, IYO could have still been champion. But here we are.”
