It would be The Bloodline opening up tonight’s SmackDown, and Roman Reigns and The Rock would lay down a major challenge for WrestleMania before the segment was done. They weren’t the only ones though that had WrestleMania on their minds, as Bayley and Dakota Kai took on their former teammates in Damage CTRL Asuka and Kairi Sane. The Kabuki Warriors managed to keep Bayley away from her partner for a while, but Bayley finally got some space and went to tag Kai, only for Kai to show her true colors and betray Bayley. Bayley was crushed, and Damage CTRL then attacked her and celebrated their win.
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Over the past few weeks, Kai has been acting as if she was on Bayley’s side, and while Bayley initially didn’t believe Kai, that changed when Kai was “attacked”. We now know that was all a show, but after Bayley discovered Kai had been attacked backstage, she finally trusted Kai and the two said they would make their former allies pay.
This was also Kai’s in-ring return, as she’s been out of action since she tore her ACL in May of last year. She’s still been featured on WWE television though, appearing with Damage CTRL with crutches at one point and then with a knee brace later. Fans recently saw the superstar back in ring gear on social media, and that set up her reveal of being medically cleared to return to the ring.
Damage CTRL was first created by Bayley, and Bayley would reveal the faction at SummerSlam. Bayley returned from injury but had more surprises in store, with Iyo Sky following her out and then Dakota Kai making her return to WWE next. The three superstars would form the original Damage CTRL, and Kai and Sky would go on to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Then late last year the group expanded, with a returning Kairi Sane and Asuka joining the team. That started to fracture the group though, as Sky, Asuka, and Sane were already friends, and those fractures got even bigger when Sky became WWE Women’s Champion. Since then Bayley has become more excluded from group decisions, and the rest of the group has taken shots at Bayley behind her back.
That was a huge part of Bayley’s turn on her former friends, as she revealed she knew what they were saying and knew they were talking about her behind her back. She asked them why they would do this, but then Damage CTRL turned on her, only for Bayley to get the upper hand and choose Sky to face at WrestleMania 40, a shot she won after being the last one left in the Royal Rumble.
Kai wasn’t around during that initial attack, which is what led Bayley to eventually believe she was on her side, but we now know that was not true. It remains to be seen if Bayley can somehow even the odds, as right now it’s four against one.
What did you think of Kai’s betrayal of Bayley? Let us know in the comments and you can also talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
