The obvious potential of Damage CTRL was clear from the moment the group shockingly came together at SummerSlam.
Bayley's return after over a year away (and longer still without a crowd to bounce off) was greeted with the rapturous ovation it deserved, while Dakota Kai's return to the company alongside NXT call-up Iyo Sky, promised a host of decent matches (at a minimum) with instant babyface rivals Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch.
An injury to Lynch was credited to the group and pulled in Asuka and Alexa Bliss as Belair's new accomplices, but there's been a distinct lack of actual booking to go along with actual matches. Coupled with too many of said outings not really being good enough to speak for themselves and Bayley's promos amounting to copy about "control" et al best left on the cutting room floor, and the whole stable has scanned as a noble failure.
WarGames should spell their biggest defeat yet - and ideally will be the end of the group completely.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
