Damage CTRL Is Officially Dead (WWE News)

Ahead of Asuka's WWE return, Damage CTRL is no more.

WWE Survivor Series Damage CTRL
WWE.com

For those thinking Damage CTRL would be back in business ahead of Asuka's WWE return later today, don't be getting your hopes up.

Per Fightful Select, the Damage CTRL stable is officially no more, with an internal decision made in early May to quietly disband the group. That decision was made around the time that Dakota Kai found herself amongst that month's post-WrestleMania 41 round of releases.

At the time of that decision, IYO SKY was the only active member of the faction on the roster. In addition to Dakota's release, both Kairi Sane and Asuka were on the sidelines due to injury, and former leader Bayley had long left the group prior to WrestleMania 40. As such, it was decided to scrap the regular "representing Damage CTRL" element of a wrestler's entrance moving forward.

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So, by the time Kairi Sane returned to the ring last month, Damage CTRL was already no longer a thing. And now, with Asuka back in action on tonight's WWE Raw, Fightful reached out to company sources to see if that meant that Damage CTRL would be back in the spotlight, but were told that would not be the case.

Given how IYO SKY and Kairi Sane have been featured together on WWE TV lately, just because Damage CTRL is done doesn't mean that members of the group can't interact or team up, and this Fightful report notes how the faction could at some point be revived. For now, though, while we may see IYO and Kairi interact, or we may see Asuka on-screen with either of those ladies, Damage CTRL is no more.

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Asuka WWE
WWE

The Long-Awaited Return Of Asuka

As announced last Monday, tonight will see the return of Asuka after over a year on the shelf for the Empress of Tomorrow.

The last time that fans saw Asuka lace up her boots was at Backlash 2024 last May, where she and Kairi Sane dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. Reportedly, Asuka had suffered a knee injury in the build to WrestleMania 40, but gutted through and worked hurt so that she and Kairi could lose those belts to Bianca and Jade.

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That Backlash loss was soon followed by successful knee surgery for Asuka, and reports circulated this past January that she was on the verge of being ready to return to the ring. And now, that return is on the imminent horizon as she faces off with Stephanie Vaquer, Raquel Rodriguez, and Ivy Nile on tonight's Raw in a fatal four-way eliminator as part of this year's Queen of the Ring tournament. The winner of that match will face Alexa Bliss in the tourney's semi-finals, before the winner of that bout goes on to face either Roxanne Perez or Jade Cargill in the final.

Already, Asuka ranks as one of the most successful, popular, and outright greatest women in WWE history, with the 43-year-old being a five-time World Champion, a four-time Tag Team Champion, a Money in the Bank winner, and the winner of the very first women's Royal Rumble.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.