Bayley Originally Wanted Tegan Nox And Peyton Royce In Damage CTRL
Dakota Kai and IYO SKY have been working alongside Bayley as part of Damage CTRL since its inception, but Bayley recently revealed to "BT Sport" that she "had a different group of people" when she originally put the idea together.
"Peyton Royce was someone that I really wanted in there, Tegan Nox was someone that I wanted in there, there was a lot of people that it just kind of changed," she said. "But, Dakota was always, she's one of the OGs that I always envisioned in this group."
Both Nox and Royce were let go from the company, with the latter going on to work for Impact Wrestling before focusing on motherhood. Nox has since returned to WWE, but she was placed on "WWE SmackDown" as a babyface, rather than alongside Bayley. Ultimately it would be Kai and SKY who got the call to be in the group, with Bayley having to give a specific reason to Paul Levesque for what the group would mean outside of just wrestlers coming together to look cool visually.
"Damage CTRL is just showing the world how much more there is to offer than just what you see on TV every week," she said. "IYO and Dakota have so much to offer the world. I want to kind of just let them know that they can just do everything. Just because the spotlights are on certain people, you are born to be here, you are meant to be here and to make history."
That is exactly what the duo have gone on to do by winning the Women's Tag Team Championship, which they have done twice, holding them for over 160 days when both of their runs are combined.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "BT Sport" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.