Major WWE Star Breaks Down In Tears After Heated Backstage Argument
WWE stable Damage CTRL appears to be on the verge of a dramatic split as tensions rise between its members.
While IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley originally clashed for the WWE Women’s World Championship, their budding mutual respect has turned into an unexpected alliance. This new camaraderie hasn’t sat well with SKY’s stablemate Asuka, and she has been voicing her concerns about SKY growing close to Ripley.
Although IYO SKY initially agreed to keep her distance from The Eradicator after Asuka asked her to do so, the most recent episode of WWE Monday Night RAW on August 25 saw both working together once again when SKY saved Ripley from The Judgment Day’s attack after Mami gained a victory over Roxanne Perez in a singles match.
Witnessing this, The Empress of Tomorrow confronted The Genius of the Sky backstage again, leading to a heated argument that left Kairi Sane in tears as she struggled to navigate the conflict between her friends.
“rhea is not family, what are you doing with her?”
ASUKA MAD AS HELL 😭😭 someone give kairi an emmy her facial expressions are too good 😭 pic.twitter.com/cQ1OInwQK5
— sammy (@iyosthelimit) August 25, 2025
WWE star Asuka addressed her strained relationship with IYO SKY
In a rare English promo uploaded to her YouTube channel, Asuka spoke about her strained relationship with IYO SKY. The friction began escalating on the August 11 episode of WWE RAW when IYO Sky asked The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) not to interfere in her singles match with Roxanne Perez.
Nevertheless, Asuka and Sane intervened when the odds mounted, unintentionally costing IYO the bout. The fallout led to a backstage altercation, culminating in Asuka shoving Sky. In the aftermath, Asuka apologized for her actions but remained frustrated when IYO SKY sought Rhea Ripley’s aid rather than her own teammates in another bout against Raquel Rodriguez on August 18, WWE RAW.
On her channel, Asuka admitted to being angry at her stablemate, emphasizing her emotional turmoil over the recent betrayals and the uncertainty within Damage CTRL.
I’m still really angry. But today, I want to take this chance to talk about what IYO and I have been through. IYO and I teamed up back in Japan. In Japanese wrestling, there’s a very strict senpai–kohai system. Since I debuted before her, I was the senpai (senior), and IYO was the kohai (junior). Normally, that means the junior must follow everything the senior says.
But I never wanted to treat IYO like that. To me, that culture had no meaning, no value. So, I didn’t follow that tradition. Instead, we went beyond it, we teamed up, went into different promotions together, trusted each other, and fought side by side.