The Judgment Day’s recruitment of Jey Uso is over.
After weeks of trying to get him on their side, Jey rejected Judgment Day on Raw last night. It initially seemed like Jey was going to join the group. During his match against Drew McIntyre, Judgment Day interfered on Jey’s behalf. Jey gave Damian Priest a fist bump — but he then dropped Priest with a superkick. Jey followed up with superkicks to both Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio.
That caused Jey to lose last night’s main event. With Jey’s attention turned to Judgment Day, McIntyre capitalized on the situation by hitting a Claymore on Jey for the victory.
Judgment Day attempted to beat down Jey after the match. McIntyre had the chance to help Jey. He thought about it but hesitated to make the save. Cody Rhodes, one of the only people who trusts Jey, instead ran out and helped Jey fight off Judgment Day. Rhodes and Jey shook hands before the show went off the air.
Earlier in the night, there was a match where Rhodes defeated Dominik. Judgment Day were going to attack Rhodes after the match but bailed when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ran down. Rhodes and Zayn continued to try and talk Owens into giving Jey a second chance, but Owens still can’t trust Jey.
Solo Sikoa got some help from an unexpected source on last night’s episode of SmackDown.
The show-closing angle saw Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & Damian Priest attack AJ Styles and throw him into the ring to be laid out by Sikoa. Styles had just defeated Jimmy Uso in the main event before being blindsided by Judgment Day.
Though Paul Heyman originally said that Sikoa wasn’t there, Sikoa and Heyman were at ringside for Jimmy’s match against Styles. With tension still existing between Sikoa and Jimmy, there was a moment where Sikoa turned his back to his brother. That opened the door for Styles to strike Jimmy and lay out Sikoa. Styles then won the match by hitting a Phenomenal Forearm on Jimmy.
Sikoa went to attack Styles after the match, but Styles bailed out of the ring. Balor and Priest then ambushed Styles and threw him back in so Sikoa could hit the Samoan Spike.
This may have been Balor and Priest attempting to recruit Sikoa to their side. Earlier in the episode, there was a promo where Judgment Day mentioned The Bloodline’s issues and called themselves the most dominant faction in WWE. Balor & Priest defeated Ridge Holland & Butch in a tag team match but were then confronted by Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits.
Lashley said Balor and Priest were right when they said The Bloodline is crumbling. But it won’t be Judgment Day who take their place — it will be Lashley & The Street Profits.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson weren’t able to help Styles because Styles told them not to go anywhere near his match. Styles was upset with Gallows & Anderson for not being there when he was attacked by Jimmy Uso earlier in the night. Jimmy is looking to get back into The Bloodline, but it isn’t clear if Roman Reigns will allow that to happen.
Every member of The Judgment Day now holds championship gold.
After months of dissension, Finn Balor & Damian Priest worked together to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles from Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Payback. Because the match was a Steel City Street Fight, interference was legal. Dominik Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, and JD McDonagh all got involved.
Balor pinned Zayn to win the titles after Dominik struck Zayn with Priest’s Money in the Bank briefcase. There was a point leading into the finish where Zayn had the match won after giving Priest a Helluva Kick, but McDonagh pulled Zayn out of the ring before the referee could count to three. Ripley then took out Owens with a spear through the barricade.
Balor’s friendship with McDonagh has caused much of the distrust between Balor and Priest in recent weeks. On Raw this past Monday, Priest told McDonagh to stay out of his business. McDonagh isn’t an official member of Judgment Day.
Ripley told Balor & Priest on Raw that changes would be coming to Judgment Day if they didn’t defeat Owens & Zayn.
The Steel City Street Fight included a spot where Owens gave Dominik a Swanton through a table after jumping off of a stairwell.
Following Balor & Priest’s victory, The Judgment Day stood united on the stage with all of their title belts. Ripley currently holds the Women’s World Championship and Dominik holds the NXT North American title. Priest is also still in possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase.
WWE Payback takes place tonight at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and unless something suddenly changes, the show will be void of any Bloodline content — the first pay-per-view/PLE in nearly a year to not feature a match or segment including the stable.
Payback will also not include many of the company’s top stars. Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Logan Paul will not be on the show. Bianca Belair is taking time off, Cody Rhodes will not be wrestling (although he’ll be a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect) and Ronda Rousey appears done with the company for the time being. The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman are not currently advertised either. Many of the top names that have driven WWE’s major storylines last year and this year are simply not featured this weekend.
The Judgment Day will be looking to fill any holes left by the stars not booked. They are officially part of two of the six matches on the card, but Damian Priest’s Money in the Bank briefcase could easily factor into a third. The stable has shown they can be a draw, especially for NXT, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of Saturday’s show revolves around them.
Which match headlines this show should be interesting as well. A case can certainly be made for Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus being the main event. It’s the blowoff to their feud, in a steel cage, and has two of the company’s most recognizable names. However, the angle has not exactly been on fire of late.
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Judgment Day could easily headline the show as well. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura could go on last as well, but the issue there is that few fans believe Nakamura has any chance at all of walking away with the WWE World Heavyweight title…although the aforementioned MITB briefcase looms large.
The show has drawn well. As of this writing, WrestleTix has 12,475 tickets out for the show with the get-in price being $300. It’s a hot ticket in Pittsburgh.
Regardless of the stars not booked, there are plenty of good matches that should make for an entertaining show. Below are previews, my predictions and betting odds for WWE Payback (8 PM Eastern on Peacock/WWE Network):
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus in a steel cage match
Lynch is a -1000 favorite.
The idea has always been for Stratus to put over Lynch and I have to imagine this is the blowoff to their story. Lynch should win clean and Stratus will get her comeuppance in the end.
Lynch’s star power has taken a bit of a hit since her original era as “The Man.” She’s due for a hot storyline to get her back to where she was but unfortunately, this hasn’t been it. I’m not sure when and where this angle lost its luster, but it’s been lacking for a while.
Stratus has put all of herself into this heel gimmick, but it’s hard for fans to hate returning legends. Edge’s heel turn went in a very similar direction. I’m assuming Stratus turns back babyface the next time we see her after Payback, which could be a while from now. She has plenty of projects outside of wrestling that are far easier than taking bumps. This is likely it for her current run, but she could return by WrestleMania.
Prediction: Lynch
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Shinsuke Nakamura
Rollins is a -1000 favorite.
It’s nice to see Nakamura in a top storyline, but he’s not walking away with the title. However, Rollins might not be either due to Priest and the aforementioned briefcase.
Nakamura’s videos in recent weeks, which have been excellent, have focused on Rollins’ injured back — likely to be the eventual downfall of his World title run. Eventually, the physical toll of being a fighting champion will be too much for him and a dastardly heel will pick up an underhanded victory against a vulnerable champion.
AEW has been doing a similar storyline with International Champion Orange Cassidy for the better part of a year now, but I’m expecting WWE to pull the trigger on the champion losing much sooner.
I’m not sure if Priest’s eventual MITB cash-in, which could come this weekend, will be successful or not. Balor could easily mess things up for his stablemate as part of their ongoing story.
Prediction: Rollins retains
WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Raquel Rodriguez
Ripley is a -5000 favorite to win.
The betting world certainly isn’t giving Rodriguez much of a chance here. Ripley, Dominik Mysterio and the rest of Judgment Day are one of the hottest acts in the company right now and, thus, taking the title off Ripley would serve little purpose at the moment.
However, WWE has always booked Rodriguez strong and they will try to find a way for her to get cheated out of winning the title.
This might not be Ripley’s main story of the night either. She’ll be ringside when Finn Balor & Priest challenge Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn as well. Ripley could even appear during a third match if Priest attempts to cash in his briefcase later in the show.
Prediction: Ripley retains
WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defend against Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest)
Zayn & Owens are -1000 favorites.
Not that gambling on WWE results is actually something anyone should do, but if you are going to do it, you might consider putting a little money on Judgment Day. Balor and Priest have not been getting along very well lately and it seems pretty clear an eventual split is coming, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s happening tonight.
Dave Meltzer reported earlier this month that the plan is for Priest to leave the group, likely turning babyface in the process. To me, the likeliest scenario is Balor somehow costing Priest his opportunity to cash in the MITB briefcase. If that’s the case, their split isn’t happening here.
JD McDonagh will likely factor into things here as well as we’ll likely find out more about his standing with Judgment Day on the show.
WWE loves a good storyline of two people who don’t get along having to co-exist as tag champions. I think we could be headed to exactly that. We’ll see.
Prediction: Judgment Day wins the titles
LA Knight vs. The Miz
Knight is a -2500 favorite.
Unless WWE decides they are going to give Knight the Daniel Bryan treatment, it seems very likely he will win this match.
I thought I would hate this feud, but I don’t. Both Miz and Knight can tell a good story in their promos and the angle that Miz thinks Knight is a copy of the Attitude Era and someone with fleeting popularity has been surprisingly entertaining.
Knight should win clean.
Prediction: Knight
WWE United States Champion Rey Mysterio defends against Austin Theory
Mysterio is listed as a -500 favorite.
This has the closest betting odds of the night which isn’t surprising as this could really go either way. The story they are telling is that Santos Escobar was supposed to get the shot at Theory, but Mysterio replaced him in a title match after he was attacked and injured. That seems to signify there could be a dissension-type storyline going on with the LWO soon. I mean, similar stories have worked for The Bloodline and Judgment Day, so why not do it with a third stable?
So far, Escobar seems to be coping with having lost his title shot in a mature and sportsmanlike manner, completely unfitting of a professional wrestler. Will that remain the case? They are going somewhere with this angle, but I just don’t know if an Escobar heel turn is the destination.
Theory regaining his title here seems possible, but so does Mysterio winning clean and then being respectfully challenged by Escobar. I can’t offer a clear prediction for this one because there are multiple avenues the story could take. However, it feels likely Mysterio will retain.
In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided a look at where WWE could be going with its Judgment Day storyline.
Meltzer wrote that, while things could change, the long-term plan is currently for Damian Priest to be out of The Judgment Day. Meltzer added that it’s likely JD McDonagh will join the group, but that isn’t 100 percent confirmed.
While this could easily change, the long-term plan is Priest out of Judgment Day. Whether that means McDonagh is in, that’s a probable but not 100 percent
There’s been growing tension between Priest and Finn Balor in recent months. That tension led to Balor losing his title challenges against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at both Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.
Priest won the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match this July and still holds the briefcase.
Balor’s friendship with McDonagh has recently contributed to the tension between Balor and the rest of Judgment Day.
Despite the dissension, Judgment Day stood tall over Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn on Raw earlier this week after getting help from McDonagh. McDonagh came to Judgment Day’s aid after Rhodes defeated Balor in the main event of the episode. Priest tried to give Balor the Money in the Bank briefcase to use as a weapon, but he slid it too far and Rhodes hit Balor with the briefcase instead.
A tag team match has been made official for Raw’s SummerSlam go-home show.
Seth Rollins will team up with Sami Zayn as they take on Judgment Day’s Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio on Raw this Monday night. The match comes after Rollins and Zayn were laid out by Judgment Day on Raw last Monday.
Zayn’s tag team partner Kevin Owens was also attacked by Judgment Day earlier in the episode. Owens has been wrestling with a legitimately fractured rib. In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Owens & Zayn won’t be defending their Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles at SummerSlam because Owens is getting time off due to his rib.
Judgment Day’s Finn Balor is challenging Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam next Saturday (August 5).
Priest holds the men’s Money in the Bank briefcase and could potentially cash it in for a shot at the World Heavyweight title.
Raw is being held at the Toyota Center in Houston on Monday. Here’s what’s been announced for the episode:
Seth Rollins & Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio
The Judgment Day wreaked havoc throughout last night’s Raw, laying out Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Liv Morgan.
A contract signing for Rollins and Finn Balor’s World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam headlined the episode. In an attempt to get under Balor’s skin, Rollins said there’s no way Balor can actually leave SummerSlam as champion. Rollins said the most obvious scenario is that he’ll defeat Balor. But even if Balor wins, Damian Priest will just cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase to take the title from Balor.
Rollins said SummerSlam isn’t going to be the coronation of The Judgment Day — it will be the end of Judgment Day.
Balor blamed Rollins for his last seven years of losing and promised to get revenge at SummerSlam. The rest of Judgment Day then surrounded the ring. Rollins tried to fight them off, but the numbers advantage was too much. Sami Zayn attempted to make the save, but he was laid out too. The show ended with Rollins being given a Razor’s Edge by Priest, a frog splash by Dominik Mysterio, and a Coup de Grace by Balor.
Zayn’s tag team partner Owens was also attacked by Judgment Day earlier in the night. It happened during a match between Dominik and Zayn. Owens thought his rib was broken in the attack.
Rhea Ripley vs. Morgan was supposed to take place on the episode, but Ripley blindsided Morgan as she made her entrance. Ripley targeted Morgan’s shoulder, including wrapping a steel chair around her arm and stomping on it.
A new match has been added to the lineup for Monday’s Raw.
WWE announced Saturday evening that tag champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens will wrestle Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest in a non-title match on the show.
As The Judgment Day recently got back on the same page, they have continued to provoke the rest of the locker room, running into Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on more than one occasion.
On Raw, the two sides will meet again with The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio and Señor Money in the Bank Damian Priest battling Owens and Zayn.
Other matches previously announced for Raw include Matt Riddle vs. Gunther, Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders, and Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defending the women’s tag titles against Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green.
Monday’s show takes place from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Over 11,000 tickets have been distributed for it, according to WrestleTix.
WWE Raw on 7/17 lineup:
Brock Lesnar returns
Viking Rules match: The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis)
Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
Matt Riddle vs. Gunther (Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser banned from ringside)
WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest in a non-title match
After a successful night on Raw, The Judgment Day will look to build on their momentum as they appear on NXT tonight.
All four members of Judgment Day — Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley — will be on tonight’s episode of NXT. They were challenged to appear by NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.
Judgment Day overcame their recent dissension to defeat Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn on Raw last night. Priest holds the Money in the Bank briefcase and could potentially cash it in for a shot at Hayes’ title.
Hayes’ Great American Bash challenger will be determined by a number one contender’s match between Bron Breakker and Ilja Dragunov on tonight’s show. The special is set for Sunday, July 30.
NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is set for non-title action against Ivy Nile tonight. Stacks faces off with Joe Coffey in an attempt to free Tony D’Angelo. Andre Chase & Duke Hudson take on Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey. And Bronco Nima & Lucien Price will debut.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
NXT opens with the entrance of Judgment Day — Finn Balor, Money In the Bank holder Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio and WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. They enter the soundstage at the Performance Center in Orlando, and they collectively make their way to the ring.
The live studio audience chants “mami” for Ripley, as Finn Balor grabs a microphone. The crowd is chanting “welcome home” just before Balor says, “Daddy’s home.” Balor adds this is the house he built, and Balor is here to “lay down some house rules with The Judgment Day.”
Balor has an introduction for the members of Judgment Day. Priest and Ripley gets pops from the live audience, but Dominik gets heavily booed by the crowd. Priest instructs them to all rise for Judgment Day. Priest then addresses NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.
Priest says Hayes and Williams called thought they were getting a divided Judgment Day. Instead, Priest says they getting The Judgment Day that is running WWE and NXT.
Dominik goes to talk, but he is drowned out by booing and an interruption. Hayes and Williams enter, and Ripley objects to them interrupting “Dirty Dom” as Dom is trying to speak.
Hayes and Williams gets into the ring to confront Judgment Day. Hayes sarcastically thanks them for coming tonight. Hayes addresses Balor, and Hayes at first says he is on the Mount Rushmore of NXT. But now it was Hayes and Williams influence all over NXT.
Hayes goes on to acknowledge Balor beating him in a match on Raw a few weeks ago, but Hayes tells Balor he is now in his arena. Ripley laughs out loud and tells Hayes this was never about Hayes and Williams. There is more banter as Priest begins to speak again to boast about Judgment Day.
Williams tells Priest he is “writing a check his ass can’t cash.” Priest took great exception to this, leading to some posturing between them. This all leads to Hayes challenging Judgment Day to a tag team match tonight.
Balor responds by cautioning Hayes, “If you come at The Prince,’ you best not mess.” Hayes says let’s do it, setting up the main event for later on.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews Tony D’Angelo on Skype about the stipulation match tonight. Not much of note except Tony D pondering whether he knows Stacks anymore.
Gigi Dolan in a pre-tape promo has words for Kiana James. Dolan basically says Dolan is authentic, and James is living a lie. Old photos show James at a younger age. Dolan tries to paint James as a hypocrite, after James previously dumped paint on Dolan. Cut to the locker room, and James is quickly seen trying to delete the photos of her younger self.
Chase U (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson with Thea Hail) defeated Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey
Hudson pinned Dempsey to win the match. Hail gets involved during the finish, as she traps Gulak in an armbar.
Chase & Hudson jump Dempsey & Gulak in the aisle before the bell. Chase runs wild at the start of the match, and Hudson tags in. Hudson is cut off after a double tea,, but he comes back with a hurricanrana. That popped everyone, including the announce team om commentary.
Hudson bodyslams Gulak from the middle rope. Moments later, the live studio audience does the wave while Chase U is in control. Double flip-flop-fly by Chase and Hudson just before the show cuts to a commercial break.
When the show returns from commercials, Hudson is being worked over by Dempsey. Hudson is having his arm worked over after selling his wrist earlier in the match. Hudson creates separation and he makes a hot tag.
Chase is a house of fire. He gets into a slugfest with Dempsey. Chase with a leg sweep to set up a Garvin Stomp. High cross off the top by Chase for a two count, when the pin is broken up. The trade near falls as Chase is double-teamed with suplexes.
Hail fires up the crowd from ringside. Gulak yells at her, and Hail springs off the ring steps to bounce on Gulak. In a bit of poetic justice, Hail locks Gulak in a kimura. The irony is Gulak taught Hail the submission hold. Meanwhile in the ring, Hudson & Chase execute The Fratliner on Dempsey. Hudson then covers Dempsey for a three count, and Chase U celebrates.
Bron Breakker is sitting in the locker room, where he cuts a promo on Ilja Dragunov ahead of their match later on tonight.
Mr. Stone and Von Wagner in a vignette have a heart-to-heart talk.
Cora Jade defeated Kelani Jordan (with Dana Brooke)
Jade pinned Jordan after delivering a Cactus Jack DDT. As they went home, Jordan goes for a springboard, and Jade trips her up. Jordan takes an ugly bump onto the mat. Jade then delivers the DDT, and she covers Jordan for a pinfall.
Jade retrieves her kendo stick after the match and attacks Jordan. Brooke jumps in to make a save, and Brooke dropkicks Jade. The heel flees, and the babyface mentor checks on Jordan.
Dragunov cuts a promo on Breakker ahead of their match, which is up next after a commercial break.
A video package highlights the Underground match from last week, where Eddy Thorpe defeated Damon Kemp. Footage from after the match, Thorpe and Gable Steveson are interviewed exiting the building. Steveson talks about having to make a decision between national, the Olympics, and WWE.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Bron Breakker in a number one contender’s match
Dragunov pinned Breakker in a helluva hard-hitting match. Dragunov in winning becomes the number one contender, getting a title shot against the NXT Champion at The Great American Bash.
An intense Breakker pummels like he is The Terminator. Dragunov attempts to chop him down, but Breakker rises again. Breakker is cut off. They look to be throwing some stiff shots at each other.
Just before a commercial break, Breakker lifts Dragunov for a suplex. They both go over the top rope and land on the floor in a heap. They did some high spots during picture-in-picture, including Breakker leaping off the top rope only to be cut off by Dragunov. They are slugging it out when the show returns from the break.
They trade German suplexes. Dragunov signals for his finisher. Instead, he is hit with a boot from Breakker. After climbing the turnbuckles, Breakker goes for what seems like a flying bulldog off the top rope. Dragunov sells it like he was clubbed in the back of the head.
Dragunov fights back, and he gives Breakker an exploder in a corner. Dragunov goes coast-to-coast with a RVD springbaord across the ring. Dragunov delivers a Torpedo Moscow, but Breakker kicks out for a near fall. Dragunov climbs the turnbuckles and leaps off into a spear out of nowhere by Breakker. Dragunov kicks out for a great near fall.
Breakker pummels Dragunov, and Breakker goes for a finisher. Breakker lifts Dragunov into a military press, but Drahunov counters into a tornado DDT. Dragunov with a powerbomb for a two count. A flying forearm by Dragunov, and another two. Breakker attempts a spear, and Dragunov counters with flying knee strike. Dragunov runs the ropes and delivers Torpedo Moscow. Dragunov then covers Breakker for a three count.
NXT North American Champion Wes Lee is being interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell when they are interrupted by Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. Dominik tells Lee is accepts Lee’s open challenge. Lee responds by saying he stopped doing that, but Lee remarks he can the match booked. Lee goes to leave to do just that, but Dom stops him to say that maybe he can face Lee next week instead of this week. Looks like a title match is set up for next Tuesday.
Baron Corbin is the focus of another vignette where he has dropped all of his old gimmicks. He is searching for who he is. Good luck with that.
NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defeated Ivy Nile in a non-title match
Stratton pinned Nile after the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Nile got to look strong as he catches Stratton in a Dragon sleeper just before the finish. Stratton escapes, levels Nile, and Stratton executes her moonsault finisher.
Nile wore a Creed Brother shirt during the match, and she did some spots paying homage to the Creeds.
Stratton cuts a promo after the match, while the studio audience chants “you tapped out” at her. That upsets her.
Meanwhile, Thea Hail is in the locker room demonstrating to Andre Chase how she tapped out Stratton. In walks Duke Hudson, and he remarks about Stratton getting booed out of the building. Chase hypes up Hail for a rematch with Stratton.
Blair Davenport cuts a promo on Roxanne Perez, threatening to leave Perez “on the shelf for good.”
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo defeated Joe Coffey (with NXT Tag Team Champions Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) to free Tony D’Angelo from custody
Stacks pinned Joe Coffey to win the freedom of Tony D. Stacks proves his loyalty to The Family, as he secures Tony D’s release from jail.
The story leading into the match was Stacks supposedly made a deal with Gallus to betray D’Angelo. Stacks was supposed to throw the match, but Stacks swerves them. Stacks takes a finisher from Coffey, but Stacks kicks out at two.
Coffey yells at Stacks, hollering about them having a deal. Stacks responds by saying he “ain’t no snitch.” The show cuts to commercial break, and Stacks is getting worked over when the show return from commercials. Tony D phones into the show with a collect call from jail to boast about how they swerved Gallus.
Mark Coffey distracts Stacks, allowing Joe Coffey to level Stacks. Bronco Nima and Lucien Price come down during the match to confront the tag champs at ringside.
Stacks with a comeback, and he runs wild. Stacks slides out of the ring to hit Wolfgang. Mark Coffey jumps on the apron again, but Stacks is prepared for him this time. Stacks flips Mark into the ring. The referee is trying to get Mark out of the ring while Stacks retrieves a crowbar he hid.
Wolfgang jumps in, and Stacks does an Eddie Guerrero trick. Stacks tosses the crowbar to Wolfgang, and Stacks takes a phantom bump. Stacks sells like he was hit with the crowbar as the ref turns around to see Wolfgang holding the weapon. The ref ejects Wolfgang and Mark Coffey from ringside. Stacks hits Joe Coffey with a big boot and a stomp. Stacks then covers Coffey for a three count. Tony D is a free man.
The Schism courts Ivy Nile in a backstage skit.
Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz are interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell. They are asked about Noam Dar being unable to do his talk show gimmick.
Leon & Feroz were speaking when they are interrupted by Los Lotharios — Angel Garza & Humberto. They hit on Feroz & Leon, but Feroz & Leon are not impressed. In comes Dragon Lee & Nathan Frazier to stand up for the women. This would seem to set up a tag bout.
Announced for next Tuesday on NXT:
Homecoming celebration for Tony D’Angelo
Dominik Mysterio challenging Wes Lee for the NXT North American Championship
Dragon Lee & Nathan Frazier against Los Lotharios in a tag match
Gigi Dolan vs. Kiana James
Finn Balor & Damien Priest (with Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley) defeated NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams
Balor pinned Hayes to win the match, as Judgment Day get the win. The champion of the NXT brand is beaten again by Balor.
Judgment Day cut the ring in half as they worked over Williams during the match. Hot tag to Hayes, and he is a house of fire. Judgment Day powders as the show cuts to its final commercial break. Balor is working over Hayes as the show returns from the break.
Hot tag to Williams, and Priest bumps and feeds for him. Near fall, but Priest kicks out. Priest and Williams clothesline each other for a double down. Balor and Hayes tag in, and they run through some spots. Good stuff with these two.
Priest gets a near fall on Hayes, but Williams breaks up the count. At ringside, Priest gives Williams a Razor’s Edge on the announce desk. Hayes cuts off Willaims when Williams jumps back into the ring. Dominik distracts Hayes, and Priest tries to capitalize. Hayes counters Priest with La Mistica.
Ripley instructs Dom to get a metal folding chair. Dom tries to get into the ring with the chair, which is a red herring. The ref is distracted by having to stop Dom that he does not see Ripley pass the MITB briefcase to Priest. Dragunov suddenly runs down looking to make a save.
Dragunov takes the briefcase from Priest. Hayes charges in and collides with Dragunov and the case. Priest then chokeslams Hayes with South of Heaven. Balor tags in and climbs the turnbuckles. Coup de Grace by Balor, and he covers Hayes for a pinfall.
Balor has now twice pinned Hayes. Once in a singles bout a few weeks ago, and now tonight in a tag match. Judgment Day stands over a fallen Hayes, and they pose.
As Judgment leave, Hayes glares at Dragunov. Hayes’ next challenger as inadvertently cost Hayes a match, and Hayes is visibly upset.
Bryan Alvarez notes that, the way the situation was described to him, there was an issue in the match and a discussion afterwards, but you couldn’t even really classify it as an argument.
**********
A backstage argument reportedly took place after the conclusion of Monday night’s episode of Raw.
PWInsider reports that an argument involving members of the Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) main event took place backstage after Raw. The report states that the argument was “borne out of the frustration over how the match went but was never in danger of getting physical.”
Judgment Day defeated Rollins, Owens & Zayn in their six-man tag match last night. The finish of the match was Balor pinning Zayn.
The report notes that there were apparently spots in the match that didn’t go as planned and were clunky. Two sources that PWInsider spoke to placed the blame on the fact that aspects of the match were changed at the last second. Another source that PWInsider spoke to placed the blame on one wrestler who the source didn’t want to name to “not make the internet go insane.”
PWInsider wrote that it was seen as “one of those nights” where things just didn’t click and emotions ran high.
It was originally announced that a singles match between Rollins and Dominik would take place on Raw last night. There was an angle during the show where Judgment Day attacked Rollins before the match could get started. Owens and Zayn made the save for Rollins, leading to the six-man tag being announced for the main event.
After recent dissension, Judgment Day were back on the same page following their victory. All four Judgment Day members (Balor, Priest, Dominik & Rhea Ripley) will be appearing on NXT tonight.
At least for now, The Judgment Day are back on the same page.
The group stood united to close last night’s Raw after winning a six-man tag team main event. Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio were able to defeat Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. Interference by Rhea Ripley, a South of Heaven chokeslam from Priest, and a Coup de Grace from Balor led to Zayn being pinned.
While the night ended with Judgment Day as a cohesive unit, it didn’t start that way. Balor still blamed Priest for his loss to Rollins at Money in the Bank. They were only able to get back on the same page when Priest agreed that Balor could have the first shot at another match with Rollins. Priest said he knows Balor can defeat Rollins and become champion. But if Balor doesn’t, they’re still covered because Priest has the Money in the Bank briefcase.
The six-man tag was originally supposed to be a singles match between Rollins and Dominik. It was changed to a six-man tag match after Judgment Day launched an attack on Rollins. Owens and Zayn ran out to make the save for Rollins and even the odds.
Also on Raw: Cody Rhodes issued a SummerSlam challenge to Brock Lesnar, Logan Paul and Ricochet went face-to-face, and Trish Stratus helped Zoey Stark pick up a victory over Becky Lynch.
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the final segments from Monday’s Raw.
Both Alvarez and Meltzer had high praise for the Women’s World Championship match between champion Rhea Ripley and Natalya, which saw Ripley retain the title.
“This match was really good,” Alvarez said.
Meltzer called it the best match on the show, though was disappointed it went through a commercial break.
“I know the crowd’s reacting because it’s really good stuff,” he said. “And there’s no sound. And they come back, and there’s a lot of sound, and this is a show where there’s not been a lot of sound during matches.”
The main event had Seth Rollins defeat Dominik Mysterio by disqualification after Damian Priest ran in and attacked Rollins in an attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
“You couldn’t [have had] a more lame finish,” Alvarez said.
The end of the show saw Finn Balor interrupt Priest attempting to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase by attacking Rollins himself. This got Priest mad and the show ended with the two arguing as Rollins escaped.
“So here’s the thing, they’re idiots. You know why?,” Meltzer said. “Because Finn beating on [Rollins] should have been a positive, not a negative…Finn Balor was just helping you.”
On Tuesday’s NXT, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams appeared backstage. Hayes invited all of Judgment Day to NXT. This follows a threat made by Rhea Ripley on last week’s show, telling Hayes to keep out of the Judgment Day’s business. Finn Balor later appeared in a video and accepted Hayes’ invitation, saying he would see him next week. WWE’s Twitter clarified that the entire group would appear next week.
A match between Stacks and Joe Coffey is also set after Joe Coffey and Stacks visited Tony D’Angleo in jail. If Stacks win the match, D’Angelo will be freed from jail and the D’Angelo family will get a shot at the NXT Tag Team titles. However, if Coffey wins, D’Angleo will remain in jail until his trial.
Andre Chase will return to action, where he and Duke Hudson will take on Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak. Chase made his return to NXT last week, sending Dempsey and Gulak reeling after they turned on Thea Hail and Hudson.
Also set for next week is Cora Jade taking on Kelani Jordan and Tiffany Stratton facing Ivy Nile, one week after The Creed Brothers were forced out of NXT by The Dyad. Bronco Nima and Lucien Price will also be making their debut.
Here is the lineup for next week’s NXT:
Finn Balor & The Judgment Day appear
Stacks vs. Joe Coffey – if Stacks wins, Tony D’Angelo is freed from jail and they earn NXT Tag Team title match
Cora Jade vs. Kelani Jordan
Tiffany Stratton vs. Ivy Nile
Andre Chase & Duke Hudson vs. Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak
Damian Priest says he is “extremely proud” of Dominik Mysterio and is happy to have the best seat in the house to watch him perform.
Priest was a guest on After the Bell with Corey Graves on Friday and spoke about the evolution of Judgment Day over the past year. He said that Dominik has brought something special to the group as well as a whole new level of heat.
Priest said:
[Dominik] was in his dad’s shadow when they were together. And then when he first joined the Judgment Day was still, kind of… He was in his shadow. Not anymore. He’s his own star on his own where he doesn’t need anybody’s help.
He brings a whole different level of – well, level of heat, for sure – but his style, his demeanor, it gives us the opportunity to feed off of something that’s different and create something special. He’s helped us just as much as we’ve helped him. He’s very important to the Judgment Day now. I don’t know what the Judgement Day is like without him now. Without Dom, I say we’re not as strong, I don’t think we’re as popular.
Our own Dave Meltzer wrote in Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Dominik “has more heat than anyone in wrestling in a long, long time.” In particular, Dominik was said to be booed out of the building at WWE’s live event in Paris on 4/29.
Priest continued:
As a friend, a brother, as a co-worker, I am extremely proud of him. I have the best seat in the house to watch him do his thing. It’s special, I love it.
At one point, Dominik was to team with Priest against Bad Bunny and Rey Mysterio at Backlash. The match being changed was also addressed in today’s newsletter.
It has been confirmed that this match was a change and the match that had been teased for weeks with Bunny & Rey Mysterio over Dominik Mysterio & Priest had been planned all along, with Dominik set to lose. There’s no word on why they made that change.
Dominik and the rest of Judgment Day will likely still play a role in Priest’s match at Backlash on Saturday. Priest would also tell Graves he believes it will be the biggest and most high-profile match of his career.
We’re not just performing for WWE fans, it’s crazy the amount of attention that’s on this match. So, it has to be the biggest match [of my career] because of that reason alone.
Edge has opened up about where Judgment Day is today and what the original plan for the faction was.
The 49-year-old was a guest on After the Bell with Corey Graves recently and spoke about aligning with Damian Priest at WrestleMania 38 and the group’s evolution since then.
Edge said:
It really started at WrestleMania the night that Priest and I first joined together and that became the initial nucleus of what this thing was but then it turned into something entirely different and better, honestly.
Edge was kicked out of the faction he created in mid-June last year. Reports at the time suggested this may have been done because he was opposed to WWE wishing to add a “supernatural element” to the act. Edge says the original idea was just to give opportunities to wrestlers he felt deserved it.
Where it’s at now was the goal that I had in mind. I really thought the concept of The Judgment Day, the idea behind it was here’s these really talented individuals who I truly felt weren’t getting the opportunity that they deserved, and if they got that opportunity that they could fly with it, they could run with it.
Edge continued to say that his leading the group as a heel proved to be a greater challenge than anticipated, however.
Thankfully, they were given the reigns to take this in a different direction, an entirely different direction than it would have with Edge at the helm. Again, with Edge at the helm, it’s swimming upstream because we are trying to get the audience to turn on a character but they know the backstory to this character, they know the real-life story behind this character, they know Adam’s story. So it’s like, we don’t really want to hate this character because he fought back for something that he wanted to get back and he’s also doing something that nobody has ever done before, he’s wrestling with a triple fusion in his neck, no one has ever done that. It can be hard to hate that.
When Edge was first approached about forming Judgment Day, the group was described to him as a “New Brood” similar to his former faction with Christian and Gangrel.
Graves would describe the addition of Dominik Mysterio to the group as “the missing ingredient nobody realized they needed.” Edge responded that “Dom has been able to grow into such a major part of making this thing work.”
Let’s face it, Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley can all go, all animals in the ring, all have a great look, talented, can do it all. [I’m] not saying Dom can’t but in a lot of people’s eyes, they go ‘Well, Dom’s there because of Rey.’ So, there’s always that floating above him too.
But this turns it on its head and it’s like, ‘Well, actually Dom’s going to be just fine on his own and you’re going to hate it because of all the layers going into it. That’s been, I think, one of the happiest surprises out of the whole thing is just to see where that has gone and what it adds to the show. It adds to the group but it also adds to the totality of the show and I’m strangely so proud that the Judgment Day has become such an important cog in the machine or Raw and SmackDown, for that matter.
Edge and Finn Balor are scheduled for a face-to-face segment on next week’s Raw from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
