After having their big announcement on RAW broken up by Rhea Ripley and Nia Jax, Damage CTRL – though, curiously enough, without Dakota Kai – were afforded ample opportunity to discuss who Bayley plans to challenge at WrestleMania 40 as the women's Royal Rumble match winner.
Theoretically, this should have been a pretty simple segment, right? After spending the entire week hyping up Damage CTRL – and asking Paramore to play her to the ring – on The Bump and social media, Bayley was going to shoot her shot at Ripley, as there's no way she would break up her faction and throw two years of hard work down the drain.
… right?
Walking around the ring with a microphone in her hands, Bayley addressed the SmackDown crowd and let them known what she'd decided.
“Now, when I think about WrestleMania, I've really done it all; almost. I've defended the RAW Women's Title, I defended the SmackDown Women's Title, I've gone out there with the Tag Team Title, I've even hosted the d**n thing. But this year, this year's different; this year is special. This year is different because I didn't get here on my own, and I can admit that. I had a lot of ups and downs, more downs if you know what I'm talking about, but I wasn't in it alone because I had my girls. I had something that I never had before going into WrestleMania. They were there for me, they supported me, they were there for the car rides, they were there when I came back crying in the locker room because this wasn't working out the way I thought it did but Damage CTRL was there for me because Damage CTRL is more than just the best women's fiction of all time, Damage CTRL is family,” Bayley said as IYO SKY, Asuka, and Kairi Sane laughed behind her.
Huh, why were SKY, Asuka, and Sane laughing at Bayley? Could it have been related to what they were saying in Japanese in the locker room earlier in the show? Either way, Bayley had plenty more to say, and it would change the direction of the WWE Universe moving forward.
Uhhhhh???#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/MSGdwQu1Fn
— WWE (@WWE) February 3, 2024
Bayley picks a WrestleMania match years in the making.
With the crowd cheering her on, Bayley continued on with her promo, breaking down her thought process heading into the “Showcase of the Immortals.”
“So when I think about WrestleMania, I think about moments, I think about magic, I think about being the best, and for me to be the absolute best, I have to beat one of the best, and that brings me to Rhea Ripley… or I can go a different route, I can fight a different fight, because sometimes it's not all about having a championship or holding a title, sometimes it's more personal. Sometimes it comes down to what's in your heart and proving people wrong. About proving doubters wrong that didn't think you have what it takes to go all the way, and sometimes the people that you thought were your biggest support system, the people that you thought were your friends, sometimes you have to prove them wrong. Are you guys done laughing?” Bayley asked before repeating a line to the trio in Japanese.
“Yeah, that's Japanese, I picked that up from all of the times you talked about me behind my back. You guys think I don't see all around me? Do you know how long I've been in the WWE? You guys talk about me constantly, why? All I wanted was for Damage CTRL to be the best; all I wanted was to take this to the top to WrestleMania, and I wanted to do that together. But you guys see nothing in me, do you? IYO, what happened? When you, me, and Dakota started this, we were like this, but ever since they came around, you turned your back on me. What happened?”
Unfortunately, Bayley didn't get her answer, as she was attacked by Asuka and Sane and beaten down until she secured a pipe from under the ring and fought off all three members of her former factions as they ran out of the ring.
Taking a moment to compose her thoughts, Bayley picked up her microphone and let SKY and the WWE Universe know her plans for WrestleMania 40.
“And about that announcement, IYO, I'll see you at WrestleMania,” Bayley announced.
And just like that, it was done; Damage CTRL, as fans knew it, was probably over, with Kai questioning what just happened on social media, and no matter how things shake out moving forward, be it Bayley going solo or reforming the faction as a trio with another female performer added to their ranks, she will enter WrestleMania season as a babyface for the first time in years. Say what you will about the buildup, but the payoff will be oh so satisfying indeed.
Follow Us
Subscribe