Bayley On the Origins of Damage CTRL, Getting Injured As Fans Were Coming Back

Bayley and Damage CTRL have a force in the women’s division for months now, and she recently discussed how the group came together while she was out with injury. The WWE star talked about the difficult time she had when she got injured at the end of the ThunderDome era and how during her time off she was able to refine and work out her plans for the stable, which she had wanted to do for a couple of years at that point. You can check out some highlights below:

On getting injured right as fans were coming back: “That was super — that was so disappointing. There was a part of me after they had me come to SmackDown and just kind of do a backstage [segment] and say that I was injured, and I just couldn’t believe it was happening. Because it was the end of me and Bianca’s story at the time, and I was mad that I let her down, that I couldn’t finish that story. And I was mad that I wouldn’t get to be in front of those fans again, because I did all that stuff during the pandemic and everything was going really well. But I never really got bummed about it until the Royal Rumble. Which is crazy, like — I think it was because everybody’s there, you know? And I’m like, ‘Damn, I’m like the only person that’s not there.’ So I felt a little left out. That was probably the the hardest one.

“And then WrestleMania was, not even WrestleMania was too hard for me. And I flew myself out there and went to the show myself. because I wanted to be there for a lot of the girls in having these big matches. And then Dakota [Kai] texted me. She was asking how I was feeling and she’s like, ‘Hey, I know these big weekends are really hard when you’re injured and you can’t be a part of it, just wanted to see how you’re doing.’ Then it hit me and I’m like, ‘Oh, this does kind of suck but uh, I’m okay.’ Just, I was just happy to be around it again.”

On how long she’s wanted to do Damage CTRL: “That is something that I’ve thought about for a couple years before it actually happened. And I know Dakota has talked about this in her interviews, in the past, it had a different group of people as the time went on. Peyton Royce was someone that I really wanted in there, and Tegan Knox was someone that I wanted in there. There was a lot of people that, it just kind of changed throughout time and as people left the company and things like that. But Dakota was always — she’s one of the OGs that I always envisioned in this group.

” I just thought like, there’s no women’s factions. Like, there’s been trios — and to me, if it were up to me right now there would be more of us. But we’ll see, you know? There’s been trios but there’s never been like a big faction, whether it’s four or five of us, and that’s what I wanted. I talked to Hunter about this a couple WrestleManias ago, and he told me like, ‘Well, you need to know, why are you guys together? Like yeah, you guys are cool together, but find the reason why. Me and DX were this, me and Evolution were this. And explain those things.’ Then I was like, ‘Maybe I need to think about it more.'”

On beginning to put the group together: “So when I was injured, I thought about it more, and shot stuff at the Performance Center while I was there with a group of girls that I really wanted. Because at that time I said, ‘I want girls from NXT that I believe are ready for the next step, and that I believe are ready for WrestleMania, and SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble.’ So I had a group of girls, we did a couple videos and a couple pictures. Sent it all out until it you know, could see what everybody thought about it. And then people get called up, then people got released and it just all kind of fell apart. And I’m like, ‘You know what, maybe it’s not a good idea.’ So up until SummerSlam time, I gave a last-ditch effort to Triple H, And that was how this all happened.”

On her vision for the group: “But to me, Damage CTRL is just kind of showing the world how much more there is to offer than what you just see on TV every week, you know? IYO and Dakota have so much to offer the world that like, although we’re on TV all the time, they’re reserving a lot for their WrestleMania moments, and for their SummerSlam moments. And I want to kind of just let them know that they can like, do everything, you know? Just because the spotlights are on certain people, like you are born to be here, you are meant to be here and to make history. And I just kind of want to be there to kind of guide them through. Not that they need it, they’re not younger than [me]. We’re all the same age, like we’ve all been wrestling the same amount of time. I just want to be the one person that kind of just shows others that there’s a chance for you to make it to.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit BT Sport with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.