Rhea Ripley talks about why she thinks The Judgement Day works so well and is so successful. The Judgement Day went from a boring faction full of talented Superstars to having must-watch segments on Raw.
The mami of Judgement Day, Rhea Ripley, was recently a guest of NotSam Wrestling and explained The Judgement Day’s success.
“I think starting off with the four of us before JD [McDonagh] was in there, way before [R-Truth] ever broke into our clubhouse…. I think that it worked so well because there was four people from completely other sides of the world pretty much, and we all had something to prove.
“We all just came together and we meshed so well together. It was sort of unseen unknown. We weren’t expecting it to be that way, but we’ve just been going out there each and every week having fun. I think that’s what people see. They see us being 110 percent ourselves, being authentic, and going out there and having fun, and that makes other people have fun at the same time. So, I think that’s why Judgment Day has done so well. And now with JD in The Judgment Day, and not R-Truth, we’re going to have a whole another load of fun in the future.”
Edge’s Judgement Day
In April 2022 The Judgement Day was formed by Edge. Its first member was Damian Priest and was shortly followed by Ripley. The three of them terrorized Raw. Fans were critical of the team and found them boring despite all three members being liked. Judgement Day would offer membership opportunities to Superstars including AJ Styles and Finn Balor which both declined.
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In June 2022 The Judgement Day both gained a member and lost one. Balor decided to take Edge up on his offer, but Priest, Ripley and Balor immediately kicked Edge out. The faction immediately became much better as they started to distance themselves from supernatural aspects which were hinted at.
The New And Improved Judgement Day
In July 2022 the faction became complete when “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio joined The Judgement Day. Mysterio was a bland and boring babyface, but once he turned heel he has become one of the best heels in WWE.
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One of the best aspects of Judgement Day is the interactions between Mysterio and Ripley. The two young Superstars have a lot of chemistry and it seemed effortless right from the start. Ripley was asked if she and Mysterio had an immediate bond and she revealed that she felt a lot of awkwardness between her and Mysterio when he first joined.
“No, not really. It was actually quite awkward to start with. We hadn’t really talked to each other much before. I mean, it was a simply like, ‘Hello, how are you?’ every now and then when we saw each other. But apart from that, I mean, we didn’t really have a conversation until I started choking him out with my legs and he fell madly in love with me. I don’t blame him.
“But, I don’t know, it sort of just grew more and more we were on-screen together. I mean you end up spending more time with the people you work with and the people that you surround yourself with. We travel together, we work together, we are a family so it was only a matter of time before that bond sort of grew with all of us, not just between Dom and I, but with all of us,”
Dirty Dom Gives The Faction A Criminal Edge
Once Mysterio joined the faction everything fell into place. They became much more popular and started winning championships in WWE. Ripley won and is the current Women’s World champion, Priest and Balor are two time Raw and SmackDown Tag Team champions and the current champions and Mysterio is a two-time NXT North American champion.
As Ripley mentioned JD McDonagh has joined the faction and added another strong member to the team. However, R-Truth is also hanging around and has inserted himself into the faction. R-Truth has added a lot of comedy to the Judgement Day storyline in a way only he could and made them even more popular.
Judgement Day has some big challenges for themselves right around the corner. On Feb. 24, at Elimination Chamber: Perth, Ripley will defend her Women’s World Championship against Nia Jax. Jax has been a thorn in Ripley’s side and seems to have her number as of late. Balor and Priest will have to defend their tag team championships against either D.I.Y. or Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.
Are you still loving Judgement Day or are you ready for them to break up? What do you think is the thing which has made them so popular? What was the biggest change from Edge’s Judgement Day to the current one? Do you think JD McDonagh adds to the group or detracts from it? Why do you think Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio work so well together? Let us know on social media if you think R-Truth should be allowed into The Judgement Day.
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Sources: Wrestling Inc., NotSam Wrestling, Wrestling Inc.