Asuka to make her return on RAW as heel and kick WWE Superstar out of the Damage CTRL? Potential booking direction explored

WWE Superstar Asuka has been off television due to an injury since May 2024. While The Empress of Tomorrow has been away, a lot of things have changed in her faction, Damage CTRL. Interestingly, there’s a possibility that she could return and turn her faction heel again and kick out IYO SKY.

Damage CTRL’s numbers were reduced to two after Dakota Kai also got injured after Pure Fusion Collective ambushed her. During this time, Kairi Sane and IYO SKY took the reins of the group. However, SKY has remained at the forefront of the group. Moreover, it seems that her hunger for singles glory could cause problems within the faction.

After Kairi Sane got injured last week, The Genius of The SKY was given her spot in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship tournament. After a great performance, the former women’s champ won the qualifier round against Natalya and Alba Fyre. Due to this development, she could now face her teammate Dakota Kai in the finals.

This matchup could lead to tensions within the group. Kai has already established through several promos that the title means a lot to her. Thus, IYO SKY becoming the inaugural champ would lead to an internal conflict in the group. A returning Asuka could capitalize on this to kick her out just the way Bayley was discarded from the group.

Moreover, if Asuka, who is also a highly decorated singles wrestler, gives the title shot opportunity to Kai or Kairi Sane, she could gain their trust. While this is a strong storyline approach WWE can take, all of this is speculation for now.

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The WWE Universe could see IYO SKY team up with Rhea Ripley

While IYO SKY almost always fights for her faction, at Survivor Series she became part of the babyface team in the WarGames match. During this time, SKY and Rhea Ripley were seen becoming good friends.

Moreover, after her title shot loss against Liv Morgan at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14, Mami even carried the Japanese wrestler to the locker room.

Thus, if Damage CTRL turns on The Genius of The SKY, The Eradicator could come and help her WarGames teammate out. Interestingly, this would also open the door for SKY to help Mami deal with Liv Morgan while she takes care of Raquel Rodriguez.

It would be interesting to see if these two former WWE Women’s Champions team up together in the future.