A week removed from WrestleMania 40, the WWE Universe has yet to hear much from Damage CTRL. They did not have a great night regarding wins, so what comes next for Damage CTRL?
All four of the faction’s current members and one of their former members looked incredible in two fun WrestleMania matches. Wins and losses, though, do matter, as Paul Heyman recently explained.
The fact is that Damage CTRL, well, they lost. With Bayley and Rhea Ripley moving on to other challengers, Damage CTRL has limited opportunities over the next few weeks. However, after the draft finishes, Damage CTRL can have a tangible impact on the direction of the Women’s division.
I….. lost.
— IYO SKY (@Iyo_SkyWWE) April 8, 2024
Jade Cargill is Ready for Asuka
WrestleMania is usually the endpoint for WWE’s biggest stories. Sometimes, though, it serves as the start. Although Damage CTRL vs. Bayley looks to have ended in Philadelphia, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are just getting started.
Their team was created for night one of WrestleMania to take out Damage CTRL. They won that match alongside Naomi. Naomi is being rewarded for that win, facing Bayley for the title at WrestleMania Backlash. Jade and Bianca deserve the same opportunity and the chance to continue their feud with Asuka and Kairi Sane.
At this point, Asuka and Kairi are the two newest members of Damage CTRL, known collectively as the Kabuki Warriors. They are still holding championship gold despite their WrestleMania loss.
With WWE looking to make Jade Cargill a star and set up a future angle between Bianca and Jade, having them work together against Damage CTRL again makes sense. Wins over Asuka, in particular, would be great for Jade, and seeing the strapless Kabuki Warriors can be the catalyst for a much-needed reset on the team.
IYO SKY Rebuilds Damage CTRL
While their friends and teammates are busy, the Damage CTRL originals, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, need to be shown having a long conversation about what is next and disagreeing on the future. With no world champion, though, they have no apparent leader.
As the two friends try to figure out what their future looks like as a unit, SKY gets an idea. That idea, executed after the team fights valiantly and loses the last of their championship gold, is to ditch the albatross that is weighing them down for good.
Dakota Kai was always the most uncomfortable with Bayley’s ouster from the faction. Dakota Kai also is the person who officially lost at WrestleMania 40.
I love and respect Kairi Sane/Hojo and she loves and respects this business.
— 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑 🎮 (@ImKingKota) April 8, 2024
Despite these evident truths, Kairi, Iyo, and Kai attack Asuka in a shocking swerve. Asuka, a legend in Japanese wrestling, never worked with Stardom, while the other three have.
Sane, Sky, and Dakota spent time together performing in Japan in 2015. In the next episode of WWE programming and all over social media, the three explain their bond and drive.
They each explain that Asuka is a legend, but she has never had it. The new faction craves stardom, whereas Asuka attained it decades ago. WWE has shown they are willing to talk about the rest of the wrestling world now.
This, along with their rumored partnership with former Stardom leader Rossy Ogawa, is a great way to subtly use that freedom. Ultimately, the new Damage CTRL should leave Backlash without the titles and its last WWE veteran but with a fresh new hunger.
Damage CTRL Goes for the (Black &) Gold
What comes next for Damagte CTRL is the WWE draft, where NXT makes a surprise last-minute trade. Ava Raine can announce a blockbuster deal and surprise entrant into the NXT Women’s North American Championship tournament.
A cold-blooded Kairi Sane returns to NXT, fresh off attacking her best friend. Alongside Damage CTRL, she takes on NXT’s best and wins the inaugural title.
Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky enter the women’s tag team division as the architects of Damage CTRL. The trio become the newest in a growing line of main roster stars that revitalize NXT and their characters in the process.
Kai and Sky win the next Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic or take the tag team titles off Bianca and Jade after a few months, bringing the women’s tag team division back to its former greatness on NXT. All the while, NXT’s most prominent signing in years, Stardom’s Giulia, is making her run at the NXT championship.
She won’t be going out alone, though. When Giulia gets her big moment at the next NXT PLE this summer. Damage CTRL comes out to ensure that Giulia wins the NXT title and joins their ranks. From there, the Stardom alum can run NXT with minimal main roster runs.
The four dominant superstars maintain their control over Tuesday nights until it is time for WarGames in November. With a laundry list of former rivals and a winning streak that would be impossible for the team to amass on Raw or Smackdown, Damage CTRL will be ready for a second run on top.
Is WWE Ready for What Comes Next for Damage CTRL?
Iyo Sky vs. Bayley was one of WrestleMania 40’s stand-out moments. However, despite pulling together a great road to WrestleMania, many fans are ready for a change. WWE hasn’t always been the most attentive to their women’s division, even in today’s much better environment.
The amount of time, effort, and continuity that WWE puts into a story like The Bloodline has yet to be afforded to an all-women’s angle. In this case, though, what comes next for Damage CTRL needs to be interesting if they are to survive. The faction has appeared to be on its last legs before, though, and has made it work each time.
Their matches from this first run, though, should earn them so goodwill and a little more creative attention. If they can get that, what comes next for Damage CTRL is total domination.
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