The Judgment Day Is Fracturing From The Inside, But Who Is To Blame?

The Judgment Day is one of the most dominant factions in WWE today. Among the greatest factions of all time in WWE history, they are also climbing heavily due to how successful they have become. While Edge might have started the group, he was not really part of its rise to the top. Rhea Ripley is the obvious breakout star in the group, but Damian Priest has started to make a major name for himself as well. Finn Balor was already a notable name, and he added a great veteran presence to the team, while “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio showed that he was more than just Rey Mysterio’s son.

This faction has done so much already, but it is reaching its end. The unit started to fracture a bit starting last year, with cracks beginning to show. However, a lot of that seemed to heal after Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 40. When Rhea Ripley went down due to an injury caused by Liv Morgan, that was the time when the group might start to struggle further. To be fair, they have managed to stay afloat.

Yet Liv Morgan’s need for revenge on Ripley has led her not only to try to take Dominik from her but also to take her spot in The Judgment Day. Some might feel that it is merely a spot Morgan is taking. Meanwhile, others believe that Liv is actually trying to destroy the faction Rhea helped to build. After all, what better revenge could you get than taking Ripley’s man and destroying her faction from within?

REACHING THE HIGH BEFORE THE FALL

While Priest won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, what gets lost here is that he and Finn dropped the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships at the same event. Priest, with some help he did not ask for, has managed to keep the championship in The Judgment Day. However, Rhea had to drop the WWE Women’s World Championship due to her injury. If Ripley had never been hurt, the faction would have held both major world titles on the RAW Brand.

Thanks to Morgan, however, The Judgment Day won the WWE World Tag Team Championships on the June 24th episode of WWE Monday Night RAW. Now, the group won back the tag titles, and one could now claim Liv is some honorary faction member. That said, a person could claim that the faction now has all the major gold on the RAW Brand. Well, outside of the WWE Intercontinental Championship. That type of thing is critical for any faction if it wants to go down in history.

The issue is that Liv is clearly only around or doing a lot to help the team because she wants Dominik. To be fair to Dom here, he is actively trying to push her away and show his lack of interest. At least, he does this on the show every week. Meanwhile, he shares any posts Liv puts out about him on social media. It shows a clear two-faced concept, in our view. He claims to have no interest in her while literally showing interest.

Does he assume that Mami won’t see it if it isn’t on television? This seems weird because it is.

DAMIAN COULD DROP THE JUDGMENT DAY

Of course, on the same episode where The Judgement Day won the tag titles, Damian Priest made an agreement. When speaking with Seth Rollins, the two men agreed to a “gentlemen’s bet.” If Rollins loses their match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Money in the Bank PLE, he will never challenge for the title again as long as Priest holds the title. However, if Priest loses, he must leave The Judgment Day.

To many, this seemed like it might be a tough decision for Damian. He has essentially gotten lucky in both of his title defenses. In the first one, he had help from his faction to win. While Damian was unaware of their interference, he knew after the fact. On top of this, he just escaped with a win in his last match due to the interference of CM Punk as a referee. It’s pretty clear that Damian Priest is confident in himself but could not be 100% confident, knowing he has not yet beaten anyone cleanly.

Despite this knowledge, he agreed to the bet with Rollins. He also doubled down, claiming, “The Judgment Day needs me a lot more than I need them.”

Those are bold words, considering one could claim he is potentially where he is today BECAUSE of this faction. Priest is indeed a tough guy who could be a great long-term champion, but to claim this about a faction he helped to build is pretty crazy. Based on this, one could claim that Damian wants to be done with the group. Of course, that could be due to recent issues within the team that Rhea would have normally squashed so he did not have to.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN RHEA RIPLEY COMES BACK?

Damian’s willingness to leave his faction over a bet against one of the best champions WWE has ever had took balls. However, it also likely came from Damian’s belief that he might be better off without The Judgment Day. This is an issue that the faction will need to think about, but this might not happen until a bit later. This type of thing would most likely not be discussed until Rhea Ripley returns.

As of now, she is scheduled to be back near the SummerSlam PLE. That said, win or lose at the MITB PLE, Ripley will not be back in time to prevent Damian from leaving the team. He could very well win his match against Rollins, yet could still decide to leave the group regardless of the outcome. Rhea returning early could stop this from happening. However, it seems like the faction is starting to dissolve from the inside already.

Liv Morgan is one of the key reasons for this, and she will be a prime target for Mami. Let’s say that Rhea ends up beating the heck out of Morgan, even taking back her WWE Women’s World Championship. Does she think the group she left while injured is worthy of returning to? More than this, does she still want to remain in a relationship with Dominik Mysterio? We’re led to believe they are “together” on television.

However, we never see them hanging out off-screen. We never see social media posts with them, or even much from either about their respective partner. To most, Ripley has always just been using “Dirty” Dom. He helped her, and in turn, she helped him. When they left the arena, that was it for their partnership.

DOMINIK MIGHT CHOOSE LIV, AND IT WOULD MAKE SENSE:

In her time pursuing Mysterio, Liv Morgan has shown more affection for him and even his friends than Ripley ever has. This might be crazy to believe, but think back on their time together. How often has Rhea shown affection to anyone, even Dom? It has been incredibly rare.

Ripley only ever ordered her faction members around, operating as a leader within a team that claimed not to have one. That includes Dominik, whom she could ideally speak to differently or more affectionately. She does not do this. The only thing that is somewhat affectionate is her “Dom Dom” nickname for him. Morgan, on the other hand, has done nothing but try to show him affection. Heck, she touches him in ways we’ve never seen Rhea do to him.

If we’re going off of what we see on screen, Dominik is only with Ripley because he fears her. If he gets with Morgan, he’d actually be the legitimate “dom” for once. Morgan is clearly trying to push for that. Sure, she only wants Mysterio because he’s with Ripley. That means that, yes, she is using him to upset Rhea. Dominik knows this, but who could turn down Liv’s advances when she’s done more “for him” than Ripley has?

The Judgment Day is being dissolved from the inside by Morgan. However, one could say that even though the rise of this faction is thanks to Rhea…its fall has her to blame, too.