When Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over primary booking duties for WWE from his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, it turned Vincent M. McMahon's company into the wild, wild west. Sure, some acts would be elevated, with Bayley returning at SummerSlam with Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to form the team eventually nicknamed Damage CTRL, while others, like Lacey Evans and the “Youngest Failed Money in the Bank Briefcase Holder,” Austin Theory saw their push tank right down into the toilet.
One team that found themselves at an interesting crossroads under Levesque's new reign was Judgement Day, the team that saw its leadership switched over from Edge to Finn Balor in one of the final landmark moves of the McMahon regime. Would Judgement Day, who weren't exactly popular heading into the Levesque regime, fizzle out to a spectacular degree, or would Balor, Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio put it all together and find a way to legitimately elevate themselves to something greater than the sum of their parts?
Well, as it turns out, the group has seemingly found a way to put it all together and firmly fall into the latter category.
Sure, they still get booed from time to time, as any good heel group should, but it's hard to argue that their current run against The OC plus Mia Yim has been anything but a success, even if most of the accolades are being showered on Ripley, the clear breakout star of the group.
But why have things seemingly turned in Judgment Day's favor? Is it because they've finally moved on from Edge in favor of the tried and true ex-Bullet Club Civil War, or have fans simply accepted that the group is here to stay and they must embrace their spot in the company instead of hoping a flock of boo birds will get them out of the ring?
Well, a sizeable part of the credit has to go to Levesque himself, who has reportedly become a big fan of the faction, according to GiveMeSport.
“I know back in late July or early August, whenever this whole shift happened, from what I was told Hunter wasn’t really cool with Judgement Day,” GiveMeSport was told from WrestleVote. “Not personally, but he just didn’t like the idea. But since he’s grown behind it, and I think that they’re going to be around for longer than anticipated.”
Finn Balor likes Judgement Day's spot in the WWE Universe.
When asked by Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports about what it's been like to work with Triple H in the WWE Universe, Balor explained how easy it is to meet with the booker and discuss ideas with a clear channel of communication.
“Certainly the availability to exchange ideas and compromise and come to an agreement on something or just get a face-to-face explanation of what the direction is,” Balor said about what most excites him moving forward (h/t Comicbook.com). “The way things were set up before, there were many layers of management. Sometimes it was very hard to get a straight answer or, at least, a straight answer in a short time, which is needed for live television. But I feel like now the channels of communication are a lot more direct for everyone. I feel like that has certainly helped people stress less about the direction and focus more on executing the ideas as opposed to the ping-pong back and forth that was between all the different layers of management and creative writers, and writers and writers' assistants, and writers' assistants' assistants' assistants.”
While Levesque isn't universally loved across the wrestling world, performers in WWE do seems to genuinely prefer working for him than the previous model of having the show completely rewritten an hour before the 8 pm bell. Balor was also asked about the addition of Dominik Mysterio to Judgement Day, who helped to provide a new element to Ripley's persona and removed one of the faction's stalest opponents, Rey Mysterio, from RAW.
“He's a young guy in a cutthroat industry that probably has a lot of people jealous of him, given the fact that his opportunity was maybe rushed due to who his father was,” Balor said. “He has adapted and overcome and fitted into that role in the tag team with his father. Just as he's getting comfortable in that role, he then has to completely change direction and adapt and fit into a new role.”
“I feel like he's far exceeded anyone's expectations already, not only as a babyface but as a heel. He's really touched the heartstrings of people that truly seem to dislike him right now, which is the hardest thing to achieve being a heel character. He's got a huge future ahead of him. He has an incredible amount of potential and, obviously, his family lineage speaks for itself. I have no doubt that in the future he will step out and exceed his father's shadow.”
For all of the hate Dom got for his work with his father during their shared run in WWE, it's safe to say he's finally doing his own thing as a member of Judgement Day. For better or worse, he's his own man now, with his own storylines that are completely divorced from his father, and ultimately the WWE Universe is better for it.
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