When WWE star Bayley returned from injury at SummerSlam 2022, she brought back Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky to form Damage CTRL, hoping to help the former NXT talents make a name for themselves on the main roster.

A year and a half later, even with some bumps on the road, the faction has continued to elevate themselves into a dominant stable, capturing tag team gold twice. And Sky is the current WWE Women’s Champion. As if the group needed more firepower, it now features some decorated stars with the addition Asuka and Kairi Sane.

It’s been a long journey for the now five-women group, and there were even times when Bayley, the de facto leader of Damage CTRL, wondered if success was on the horizon. But now, the three-time women’s champion is “very proud” of what the group has accomplished heading into Saturday's big Royal Rumble.

“There was rough times where we were just like, alright, maybe this isn't gonna be exactly all we hoped for,” Bayley told USA TODAY Sports. “I'm proud of what Damage CTRL has brought to the women's division.”

The relationship − and success − Damage CTRL has didn’t just happen overnight. In the early days of Damage CTRL, Bayley said she talked to Kai a lot about their chemistry needing work, so she insisted they do things together as often as they could. That included traveling, going out to eat and hanging out together, even when not in front of a camera or in the ring.

Eventually, the chemistry grew into a strong relationship between the trio, and the accolades began to follow after some downs. Kai and Sky had two WWE Women's Tag Team Championship reigns in 2022, but Damage CTRL lost its WrestleMania 39 match against legend Trish Stratus and Lita, alongside Becky Lynch. One month later, Kai suffered a torn ACL in a match.

In July, Sky won the women’s Money in the Bank matchup, and one month later at SummerSlam, cashed in her contract to win the women’s title, paving a new avenue of success while showcasing the ability Bayley had long been wanting the WWE universe to see. She knew Sky was a special talent, but she just needed a chance. She said it WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque – who has been credited with bringing several stars to the company recently – who gave her a chance.

“She needed somebody to believe in her, and that, for me, was (Levesque),” Bayley said. “It was only a matter of time before she kind of became that girl.”

How Kairi Sane and Asuka fit into Damage CTRL

Long rumored to be returning to WWE, Sane made her emphatic return after two years away when she came to the aid of Sky at Crown Jewel. Sane would join Damage CTRL, and a few days later, Asuka also joined the group.

It was a rather abrupt addition to the faction, and had the potential to mess with the chemistry the original trio already built. But Sky, Sane and Asuka have a lot in common as natives of Japan, and Bayley said that, along with other relationships built prior to their current WWE run, has elevated Sky's career even further. She also believes Sane and Asuka are having fun around the group.

“Kairi and Asuka joining has just given Iyo that kind of little extra pep in her step. I love seeing them backstage, just having the time of their lives,” Bayley said. “I think they are very happy to be a part of this. I've never seen Asuka have so much fun, and I just mean in general. In the back, I've never seen her smile this much, and I'm so happy that I get to be a part of that.”

When will Dakota Kai return?

Kai has been out of action since suffering her injury on a May episode of “Smackdown,” and there hasn’t been any clear indication of when she will return. In November, Kai said on her Twitch channel she hadn’t been medically cleared to return, adding it would be anywhere from eight to 12 months before she could come back.

Bayley doesn’t know an exact time for when Kai could return, but did say it will be this year and it “should be very soon.”

“She's itching to get in there. It's so hard to be so close to the fun and not be able to participate in the way that you want to, so she's really been pushing herself hard,” Bayley said. “I think she's almost ready.”

One potential place Bayley would want Kai to return to is at Elimination Chamber on Feb. 24. The pay-per-view will take place in Perth, Australia, just west of Kai’s home country of New Zealand.

By that time, Bayley said she plans to be the winner of the women’s Royal Rumble match, on the path to challenge Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40, while Sane and Asuka are competing for the women’s tag team titles, because “why not?” Bayley said, adding the goal for 2024 is for all members of Damage CTRL to have gold around their waist.

"You've never seen that before," Bayley said. "You just never see five women all carry a title together in one faction and all have one common goal."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bayley enters WWE Royal Rumble full of pride for Damage CTRL