Bálor: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Mysterio: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) McDonagh: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Carlito: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Morgan: 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Rodriguez: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
The stable was founded in 2022 by its original leader Edge at WrestleMania 38 with a supernatural/dark gothic theme; Damian Priest was the first to join with Edge, followed by Rhea Ripley. Edge was then expelled from the group following Finn Bálor's addition. Following Edge's removal, the supernatural elements aspect faded to more of a street thug/goth bully group, and a no leadership ideology was implemented. Later that year, Dominik Mysterio betrayed his father to join the group after initially feuding against them. In 2023, Bálor worked to recruit his real-life student JD McDonagh, who officially joined the group in November. The following year at SummerSlam, Priest and Ripley lost championship matches following interferences from Bálor and Mysterio respectively. After unofficially associating themselves with The Judgment Day beforehand, Carlito and Liv Morgan joined the group as replacements following Priest and Ripley's expulsions from the group. Raquel Rodriguez subsequently joined the group at Bad Blood.
On the February 21, 2022, episode of Raw, Edge reflected on all the WrestleMania moments in his career before issuing an open challenge for WrestleMania 38.[1] The following week, his challenge was accepted by AJ Styles, to which Edge responded by performing a low blow on Styles before hitting him with a one-man con-chair-to, turning heel for the first time since 2010.[2] At Night 2 of WrestleMania on April 3, Edge defeated Styles following a distraction by Damian Priest.[3] Following WrestleMania, Edge and Priest revealed The Judgment Day as the name of the team.[4] At WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, despite Priest being barred from ringside, Edge defeated Styles again after interference from a masked individual, later revealed to be Rhea Ripley, who became the stable's newest member.[5]
At Hell in a Cell on June 5, The Judgment Day defeated Styles, Finn Bálor, and Liv Morgan in a six-person mixed tag team match.[6] The next night on Raw, Edge introduced Bálor as the newest member of The Judgment Day, however, Bálor, Priest, and Ripley suddenly attacked Edge with his own signature con-chair-to move, kicking him out of the group.[7][8] The following week, on the June 13 episode of Raw, Ripley, Priest and Bálor appeared on the titantron, interrupting Bianca Belair's interview in the ring where they explained their actions and declared that the group would consist of equality with no leaders.[9]
Mysterio's induction and various feuds (2022–2023)
The Judgment Day then began a feud with The Mysterios (Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio) in an attempt to recruit Dominik into their ranks.[10][11][12] On July 30, Bálor and Priest lost to the Mysterios at SummerSlam after interference from the returning Edge.[13] At Clash at the Castle on September 3, Bálor and Priest lost to Edge and Rey. After the match, Dominik attacked Edge with a low blow, followed by a clothesline to Rey, turning heel for the first time in his career.[14] Two days later on Raw, Dominik officially joined The Judgment Day by helping the group attack Edge and Rey.[15] On the following episode of Raw, Dominik lost to Edge by disqualification after interference from The Judgment Day, who attacked Edge's leg with a steel chair after the match.[16] On the September 26 episode of Raw, Edge returned and challenged Bálor to an "I Quit" match at Extreme Rules, which Bálor accepted.[17] At the event on October 8, Bálor defeated Edge. In the closing moments, Ripley positioned Edge's wife, Beth Phoenix, for a con-chair-to and Edge reluctantly submitted. After the match, Ripley still performed the con-chair-to on Phoenix.[18]
Around this time, The Judgment Day continued recruiting Styles, who turned down several offers to join the group. On the October 10 episode of Raw, Styles seemingly accepted their offer, but rejected it and introduced the returning Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson; a brawl then ensued between the two teams.[19] At Crown Jewel on November 5, Bálor, Priest, and Dominik defeated The O.C. (Styles, Anderson and Gallows) after interference from Ripley.[20] On the following episode of Raw, The O.C. introduced the returning Mia Yim as their solution to counter Ripley.[21] At Survivor Series WarGames on November 26, Bálor lost to Styles while Ripley's team lost to Team Belair in a WarGames match.[22][23] On the following episode of Raw, The Judgment Day defeated The O.C. in an eight-person mixed tag team match to end their feud.[24]
On the January 9, 2023 episode of Raw, Bálor, Priest and Dominik won a tag team turmoil match to win a Raw Tag Team Championship match against The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso).[25] At Raw is XXX on January 23, Priest and Dominik failed to win the titles after Sami Zayn replaced an injured Jimmy Uso.[26] At Royal Rumble on January 28, Dominik, Bálor, and Priest participated in the men's Royal Rumble match. Bálor and Priest were eliminated by Edge, while Dominik was eliminated by the eventual winner, Cody Rhodes. Ripley also appeared at ringside to assist Bálor, Priest, and Dominik in their attack on Edge, only to be attacked by Beth Phoenix.[27] Later that night, Ripley won the women's Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Liv Morgan. With this victory, Ripley became the fourth wrestler (after Shawn Michaels in 1995, Chris Benoit in 2004, and Edge in 2021) and the first female to win the Royal Rumble as the first entrant.[28] On the following episode of Raw, Ripley declared that she would be challenging Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 39. Flair previously won the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble and defeated Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36.[29]
At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Bálor and Ripley lost to Edge and Phoenix in a mixed tag team match despite interference from Dominik,[30] while Priest failed to win the United States Championship inside the namesake structure after he was eliminated by Montez Ford.[31] At Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 on April 1, Dominik lost to Rey after interference from the newly reformed Latino World Order (LWO) and Bad Bunny.[32] Later that night, Ripley defeated Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship in a critically acclaimed match, becoming the seventh Women's Triple Crown champion, the fifth Women's Grand Slam champion, and giving the group their first championship.[33] On Night 2, Bàlor, under his Demon persona, lost to Edge in a Hell in a Cell match.[34] During the match, Bálor suffered an injury after getting hit by a ladder thrown by Edge and was medically treated in the ring; the injury led to Bálor getting 14 staples in his head.[35]
Championship reigns and further expansion (2023–2024)
On the Raw after WrestleMania, Priest confronted Bad Bunny for his involvement in Dominik's match against Rey, chokeslamming him through the announce table.[36] At Backlash on May 6, Ripley successfully defended her title against Zelina Vega,[37] while Priest lost to Bunny in a San Juan street fight after interference from Savio Vega and Carlito.[38] Balor and Priest participated in a tournament for the new World Heavyweight Championship, but they were both eliminated by the eventual champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins.[39] At Night of Champions on May 27, Ripley retained her title against Natalya.[40] On the June 12 episode of Raw, the SmackDown Women's Championship was renamed to the Women's World Championship and Ripley was presented a brand-new championship belt.[41] At Money in the Bank on July 1, Priest won the Money in the Bank ladder match, while Bálor failed to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Rollins after an unintended distraction by Priest.[42] On July 18, Dominik defeated Wes Lee on NXT to win the NXT North American Championship, the first singles title in his wrestling career.[43] At SummerSlam on August 5, Bálor again failed to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Rollins despite interference from Priest.[44] Following the event, Bálor's longtime friend JD McDonagh became involved with the stable, much to the chagrin of the other members.[45][46][47]
At Payback on September 2, Bálor and Priest defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a PittsburghSteel CityStreet Fight after interference from Dominik, Ripley and McDonagh. With this victory, Bálor became the 24th Grand Slam Champion and The Judgment Day became the second faction after The Bloodline to hold titles across all three brands. Later that night, Ripley retained the Women's World Championship against Raquel Rodriguez.[48] At NXT No Mercy on September 30, Dominik lost the NXT North American Championship to Trick Williams, ending his first reign at 74 days.[49] Following an ultimatum from Ripley, Dominik regained the title from Williams three days later on NXT.[50][51] At Fastlane on October 7, Bálor and Priest lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso after McDonagh accidentally hit Priest's knee with the briefcase, ending their first reign at 35 days.[52] Nine days later on Raw, they regained the titles after interference from Jimmy Uso.[53] At Crown Jewel on November 4, Priest attempted to cash in on Rollins after his successful title defense against Drew McIntyre, but Zayn, who defeated McDonagh on the kickoff show, stopped him and ran off with the briefcase before he could officially do so. Later that night, Ripley successfully defended the Women's World Championship against Nia Jax, Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark in a fatal five-way match, while Priest lost to Rhodes despite interference from Bálor, Dominik, and McDonagh.[54]
On the November 13 episode of Raw, Priest and the rest of the group agreed to officially add McDonagh to their ranks as a full-fledged member. Priest and Bálor then retained their titles against Rhodes and Uso after interference from McIntyre.[55] At Survivor Series: WarGames on November 25, Ripley defeated Stark to retain her title, while The Judgment Day and McIntyre lost to Rhodes, Rollins, Uso, Zayn and the returning Randy Orton in a WarGames match.[56] On December 9, at NXT Deadline, Dominik lost the NXT North American Championship to Dragon Lee, ending his second reign at 67 days.[57] The group then began feuding with R-Truth over his efforts to join them.[58][59] On the December 18 episode of Raw, McDonagh lost to R-Truth in a Loser Leaves Judgment DayMiracle on 34thStreet Fight match, but was still considered a member of the group. Later that night, Bálor and Priest retained the titles against the Creed Brothers.[60] On January 1, 2024, Ripley retained her title against their Diamond Mine stablemate Ivy Nile at Raw: Day 1.[61] At Royal Rumble on January 27, Bálor, Priest, Dominik and McDonagh participated in the men's Royal Rumble match, but were eliminated by Bron Breakker, Zayn, CM Punk and Uso respectively.[62] At Elimination Chamber: Perth on February 24, Bálor and Priest defeated New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) to retain their titles, while Ripley, in her home country of Australia, successfully defended her title against Jax in the main event.[63] At Night 1 of WrestleMania XL on April 6, Ripley retained her title against Becky Lynch, while Bálor and Priest lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) and the Raw Tag Team Championship to Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) respectively in a six-pack tag team ladder match, ending their second reign with the undisputed titles at 173 days. Later that night, Dominik and Santos Escobar lost to Rey and Andrade.[64]
The following day, at Night 2 of WrestleMania XL, Priest successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Drew McIntyre to win the World Heavyweight Championship following an attack by CM Punk.[65] On the April 8 episode of Raw, Ripley was attacked in a backstage segment by Liv Morgan, during which Ripley legitimately injured her right arm and was forced to vacate the Women's World Championship the following week, ending her reign at 380 days, tying Bayley's record for the longest reign in the title's history.[66][67] At Backlash France on May 4, Priest successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso in his first defense after interference from Bálor and McDonagh, despite asking them not to interfere.[68] Around this time, Carlito began to insert himself into the group, but was kept at arm's length by Priest, citing their past conflict.[69] On the May 13 episode of Raw, Carlito helped Bálor and McDonagh win a fatal four-way match to become the #1 contenders for the World Tag Team Championship,[70] but they failed to win the titles from Awesome Truth the following week after Braun Strowman prevented Carlito from interfering.[71] At Clash at the Castle: Scotland on June 15, despite The Judgment Day being barred from ringside, Priest defeated McIntyre to retain his title after interference from Punk.[72]
Dissension and betrayals (2024–present)
During Ripley's absence, a storyline began where Dominik was seduced by Morgan. Dominik accidentally helped Morgan win the Women's World Championship from Becky Lynch on May 25 at King and Queen of the Ring,[73] and accidentally helped her retain in a steel cage match two nights later on Raw.[74] Morgan would also aid the group in their matches, helping Bálor and McDonagh win the World Tag Team Championship from Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) on the June 24 episode of Raw.[75] On the July 8 episode of Raw, Dominik teamed with Morgan to defeat Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega after he pinned his father. After the match, just as Dominik was about to kiss Morgan, he was confronted by the returning Ripley.[76]
On August 3, at SummerSlam, Ripley failed to regain the Women's World Championship from Morgan following a distraction by Mysterio, who kissed Morgan and left with her afterwards, while Priest lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Gunther after interference from Bálor.[77] On the following episode of Raw, Ripley and Priest were removed from the group as Carlito and Morgan became official members. At Bad Blood on October 5, Morgan lost to Ripley by disqualification after the returning Raquel Rodriguez attacked Ripley, allowing Morgan to remain champion since titles do not change hands via countout or disqualification unless stipulated. Rodriguez also became the group's newest member.[78] At Crown Jewel on November 2, Morgan defeated WWE Women's ChampionNia Jax to win the inaugural WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship after interference from Dominik and Rodriguez.[79] At Survivor Series WarGames on November 30, Morgan and Rodriguez teamed up with Jax, Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae against Ripley, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, Bayley and Naomi in a WarGames match in a losing effort, with Morgan being pinned by Ripley.[80]
^On the November 13 episode of Raw, after a brief disagreement at first with Priest, the rest of Judgment Day (Ripley, Bálor and Mysterio) agreed that he should be the group's leader (team captain) for just only their Survivor Series: WarGames (2023) match.[81]
^Ripley won the title as the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. The title was renamed on June 12, 2023.