The Judgment Day faction was on top of the world following a big title win from Damian Priest and an equally awesome title defense from Rhea Ripley. The faction was very excited and poised to have another big run at upcoming WWE events, but it all came crashing down as of late. Not long after Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate her title following her injury, yet another faction member is out for the count.
Be prepared to look back at Judgment Day highlights with a Peacock subscription if you want to see them at full strength because the odds are they won't be that way for a while. Here's the latest injury to plague the WWE heels and why I'm worried about the overall faction afterward.
Dominik Mysterio Is Expected To Undergo Surgery
The latest issue of Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Inside The Ropes) mentioned that Dominik Mysterio sustained an injury in his match with Andrade on Monday Night Raw on April 15th. Fortunately, Dom was able to update on the situation on his X account and confirm the injury will not require surgery, so he may just need some time to heal up and won't be gone as long as he would with surgery.
The WWE reportedly wants to keep Dirty Dom as a character on TV while he recovers, but one would think he won't be doing any in-ring work for a while. The good news is that grandmas and others can still boo him at events, though it feels mean-spirited now in light of this news.
Judgment Day Is Down To Three Members, And They're Far From Solid
With Dom unable to compete and Rhea Ripley recovering from her injuries, The Judgment Day is down to Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, and JD McDonagh. Bálor has been putting on some of the best matches of his career as of late, but I do wonder about the overall health of the faction with growing tension between McDonagh and Priest. Is the WWE plotting to split the faction up or have the Heavyweight Champion go face?
What might be even more concerning is how these injuries may pause that storyline, considering The Judgment Day is working without two of its central members. Are they going to be able to command the screentime they did in WWE over the past year with fewer members to spotlight, especially when McDonagh is more or less treated as the stooge that eats losses for them. I have some serious doubts, but think Priest's title run will at least keep them in the limelight for a while longer.
The Judgment Day isn't the only faction struggling in the WWE, as the recent introduction of Tama Tonga has shaken up The Bloodline tremendously. While Solo Sikoa looks to become the next Tribal Chief, their storyline may also be interrupted after Jimmy Uso was allegedly injured as well.
Fortunately, there's no shortage of talented main roster talent waiting in the wings, even with the number of wrestlers released over the past week. Perhaps this could be time for Judgment Day or The Bloodline to welcome in new members and hopefully not be bugged by R-Truth now that he's back with The Miz. I look forward to seeing how the WWE handles all these injuries and if they can continue to fire on all cylinders as they have.
SmackDown airs on Fox on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and Monday Night Raw is on USA Network at the same time on Mondays. This upcoming WWE Draft will give us a better idea at what the year holds for superstars, and what feuds we may see as champions look to defend their titles in the calendar year.
