After months recovering from an injury, Rhea Ripley finally returned to WWE programming this week, and it was to a thunderous pop that a prime Stone Cold Steve Austin would have been pleased with. She chased off Liv Morgan, gave Dirty Dominik Mysterio the evil eye and stomped back to the locker room. Most WWE fans on social media seem very confident about where her story is going to go. More specifically, they believe The Judgment Day is about to break-up, with Finn Bálor being revealed as the mastermind behind all the Liv Morgan drama, but even if that’s ultimately the case, it still leaves one huge question. What’s going on with Dominik Mysterio?
The basic premise here is simple. Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, or The Terror Twins, have long had a close relationship. That was obvious before Judgment Day, and it’s been repeatedly shown in storylines over the past few years, as evidenced this past week by Priest being the only Judgment Day member Rhea told she was coming back. She’s also long been a babyface in everything but name, as the crowd loves her. He’s also taken real steps toward becoming a babyface, as we’ve seen with him repeatedly telling other Judgment Day members he wants to win or lose without outside help since his epic cash-in. So, yeah, they’re both turning face at some point.
And Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh seem to be going the opposite way. The internet was all over Finn pocketing Liv Morgan’s room key on a recent episode of Raw, and despite her being Rhea’s enemy, he’s quite clearly embraced her much more openly than any of the other members. He also accused Priest of changing and has given him more than his share of looks that seem to promise an upcoming heel turn. As his tag team partner and also, trainee, McDonagh will assumedly follow Bálor if/ when he turns on the other members. So, yeah, they’re turning heel.
Now, I don’t know exactly how this split is going to happen. Maybe Finn will cost Damian his match and title against Gunther at SummerSlam. Maybe he’ll help Liv Morgan beat Rhea in their inevitable match at SummerSlam. Maybe we’ll get a few months of rising tensions before things boil over. There are a lot of ways WWE can do it, but I am in agreement with the fanbase that this is where things will eventually go.
But what does that mean for Dominik Mysterio? He’s denied being a part of Liv Morgan’s schemes, and to be honest, I believe him. I’m not saying he’s handled everything in the best possible way, but his behavior strikes me as believable for a dude who just wants to eat chicken nuggies and make sure Mami’s not mad at him. I think Finn and Liv are behind it all and trying to cause issues between him and Rhea. Based on my conversations, I think most fans probably feel that way. But turning Dominik face is all kinds of complicated.
I’m not saying Dominik Mysterio is the best heel on the entire WWE roster, but a strong case could be made that over the past few years, he has generated more heat than any other heel on WWE’s roster. I was at a live show where a grandma next to me literally screamed at him and said she'd beat his ass. Everything about his persona, from his absurd haircut to his mustache to his cowardly behavior is designed to make him as hateable as possible. Most of the time people don’t even let him talk without booing over his voice; so, is there really a world in which fans would want to cheer him?
If The Judgment Day fractures in two, we know Rhea and Damian are going to turn face. We know Finn and JD are going to stay heels. Recent acquaintance Carlito could go either way, depending on what the storyline calls for, but Dom? He’s in a tricky place, and whatever WWE does, they’re gonna need to figure out how to navigate that. He’s been one of the best parts of Raw over the past few years, and it would be a huge mistake to ruin his momentum.
So, WWE has a choice. They can bring him along with Damian and Rhea, who are the bigger stars and he has a ton of natural chemistry with, but also risk losing all of his momentum if people don’t accept him as a face. Or they can keep him with Finn and JD, who aren’t as popular with the crowd and he has less natural chemistry with but would allow him to continue playing a villain. It’s low key a huge decision for WWE to make, and it’s one i think a lot of fans are overlooking.
