After trying to get A.J. Styles to turn to the dark side of the Heel-Babyface paradigm for weeks, Finn Balor finally got a chance to face off against his fellow former Bullet Club leader at a WWE “Premium Live Event” and needless to say, the match was great. Sandwiched between a firey female WarGames match and a SmackDown Women's Championship showdown between Ronda Rousey and Shotzi that drawn the ire of even the most diehard WWE fan, Styles and Balor worked a bout that would have been right at home in the Tokyo Dome, delivering a near-20 minute masterclass on NJPW-style in-ring work.

Though Balor did get some help from his Judgement Day brothers, Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest, they were quickly neutralized by Luke “The Big LG” Gallows and “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson, who everyone knowns steps up his game under the bright lights. After neutralizing the outside forces, Balor and Styles turned their attention back to each other one-on-one, and after working over “The Prince's” leg for much of the match, “The Phenomenal One” delivered a brutal calf crusher followed by a Phenomenal Forearm to secure the win once and for all.

Fortunately for Styles, he got the win, which is huge, considering he hadn't won the match on a “Premium Live Event” since July of 2021, but alas, the celebration might have to be short lived, as it's clear Judgement Day isn't going anywhere any time soon. Why? Because Balor believes his faction is filled to the brim with future stars.

Finn Balor believes his faction is filled with future WWE stars.

Speaking with Rob Armstrong on The Run-In for BT Sports, Balor was asked to talk about Rhea Ripley, whom he gave a glowing endorsement to ahead of her huge WarGames match, as transcribed by Fightful.

“She has that ‘it' factor that you just can't put your finger on,” Balor said. “She is still so young, and she's going to grow and develop into more of a superstar than she already is. It's so beautiful for me to watch that growth up close and personal.”

Balor then turned his attention to Dominik Mysterio and explained how he's grown considerably in his new role as the heelish son of a WWE legend.

“To see Dominik slip into the role so seamlessly,” Balor said. “People forget, he debuted about a year before he turned heel and was learning on the job. He wasn't really doing that much training. I mean that with the greatest amount of respect, but he had a couple months training with Lance (Storm) and a little here and there with his dad and stuff, but not an immense amount of training to be in the deep end on live TV for WWE. He was only kind of adapting to that, and then he was thrown this huge curveball where he's turning on his dad and portraying a completely different character. The way he's stepped into that character is incredible to watch. I remember that first night when he was going out to do a heel promo and going up to him to try and calm him down a little. ‘Don't worry, it's going to be cool.' He's like, ‘I'm cool. Don't worry.' ‘You know what you're going to say?' ‘Nah, I'll figure it out.' [laughs]. He went out there super chilled and that's how he is. I think he's going to be a huge star for us.”

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Booker T with a text bubble reading "I would love to see them back in WWE" with the blacked-out silhouette of Matt Hardy on his left, and the blacked-out silhouette of Jeff Hardy on his right, and the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Jade Cargill with the blacked-out silhouette of Rhea Ripley on her left and the blacked-out silhouette of Nia Jax on her right with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Jade Cargill with a text bubble reading, "Everybody wants to see me succeed" with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Switching gears to talk about his own recent run in the company, Balor detailed how he's been afforded a chance to showcase his creativity more as a legitimate force within the promotion instead of being wedged into the background as a mid-card player, as also transcribed by Fightful.

“A lot,” Balor said. “That's something that was stifled for a lot of years with just the way things work, working for such a big company with so many different departments that you have to keep happy. Everything from merchandise to TV to media, you have to keep all these departments happy. Sometimes, I've done that at the expense of my own happiness, that's something that I've changed in recent years, and I feel like that's helped me flourish.”

Is Judgement Day approaching its end, with Ripley serving as the “Heartbreak Kid” in a faction of Marty Jennetties? Or will they continue to cause mischief around the WWE Universe – at least on RAW – into 2023? Well, considering Ripley and Mysterio's video segment where they crashed Rey's Thanksgiving already has 1.5 million views on Twitter and counting, it's safe to say the factions' heat had plenty of fuel to propel it into the future.