Exclusive: WWE's Bayley "felt terrible" when fans called Damage CTRL a flop
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Bayley is set to challenge Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's Championship on Night 2 of WrestleMania XL, bringing to an end the near two-year storyline of Damage CTRL.
The faction was formed by Bayley back in July 2022 when she returned at SummerSlam alongside Sky and Dakota Kai.
While Damage CTRL had the talent, fans didn't initially take to the grouping of Bayley, Sky, and Kai and voiced their frustrations about the faction online.
Related: WWE's Bayley says Paramore entrance would be her "ultimate" WrestleMania dream
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy ahead of her big WrestleMania match with Sky, Bayley said she "felt terrible" over the group's negative reception because the faction was her idea.
Reflecting on the early days of Damage CTRL, Bayley said: "It was the hardest to convince the fans that we were the real deal.
"Even when [Kai and Sky] were the Tag Team Champions, there was a while where fans were like, 'I'm not feeling them, they don't have chemistry, it's a flop.'
"To be honest we felt that backstage to where we were like, 'Okay, maybe this isn't working.' I felt terrible because I brought them into this and now it's not working and we're not being successful in it."
However, despite the online negativity, Bayley says she believed that the group could get over if they were just given the time to grow.
"I knew what we were capable of," Bayley said. "I knew if we became strong like The Shield or like DX or Evolution, if they let us get to that point where we can crumble and we can break apart and go our separate ways we will become even bigger stars.
"That was my mindset in it, let's grow together and then, when the time is right, we'll go and do our own thing.
"I didn't think it would happen this way," she added. "But I really think, in the end when we look back at it it's going to be these defining moments in the last few months that really made us."
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When asked if there was a moment she felt the tide turn in Damage CTRL's favour, Bayley singled out the group's feud with Bianca Belair.
"A lot of the stuff we did with Bianca really did help us come together as a group, " Bayley said. "Bianca did a lot for Damage CTRL, whether she knows it or not she kind of was always in the picture.
"We never quite overcame her but she gave us everything she had every night. She's one of the strongest competitors that anyone could be in the ring with but you put her in there with the three of us and we still can't figure out how to beat her...That time with her really made us strong, even in defeat."
Watch WrestleMania XL on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, on the WWE Network in the UK. Catch up on Raw, Smackdown, NXT and all the big WWE action on TNT Sports.
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