Former Judgment Day member reveals scrapped plans for stable
A former member of The Judgment Day has revealed the initial plans for the group that were eventually scrapped.
The Judgment Day was originally formed by Edge (AKA Adam Copeland). He brought in Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, and eventually Finn Balor before the trio kicked out The Rated-R Superstar.
Dominik Mysterio was later recruited as the group began dominating WWE. Ripley has been Women's Champion since WrestleMania 39, Priest holds the Money in the Bank, and the Tag Team Titles with Balor. Mysterio was a two-time NXT North American champion, and JD McDonagh officially joined the faction late last year.
In an appearance on the Notsam Wrestling podcast with Sam Roberts, Adam Copeland discussed how his initial vision for the group was using underutilized guys. Then, it became a "New Brood" kind of stable, and he immediately thought of Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Rhea Ripley.
"The initial inception of The Judgement Day, I really I wanted it to be these underutilized talents that I thought could be far more than what they were being utilized for," Copeland said.
The former WWE superstar added:
"It was brought to me like, 'Hey, we want to kind of start a New Brood,' or something that feels somewhat like that. I'm like, 'Who would it be?' I was like, 'Ripley and Priest.' 'Well, we want it to be four.' So, it's like, 'Balor!' Okay, well, then it was like, 'We want somebody really huge.' I was like, okay. All right and then I got a text two weeks later, 'How about Balor?' I'm like, 'Yep! Amazing idea.'" [H/T: SEScoops]
Check out the video below:
Adam Copeland feuded with The Judgment Day for almost a year, culminating with a win over "Demon" Finn Balor at WrestleMania 39. He then left WWE at the end of September and made his AEW debut on October 1.
The Judgment Day fails to dominate WWE RAW Day 1
Rhea Ripley was the only member of The Judgment Day who had a great night this past Monday on WWE RAW Day 1. Ripley successfully defended the Women's World Championship against Ivy Nile.
Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh lost to the reunited Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth), while Damian Priest failed to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Priest came out with Mysterio in the main event, but Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre thwarted their plans.
Will 2024 still be the year of The Judgment Day? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.