Dominik Mysterio has spoken candidly about his ascension to the top of The Judgment Day, the ousting of Finn Bálor, and why he thinks JD McDonagh is better off without his former best friend.
In an interview on The Collection with Brad Gilmore at Reality of Wrestling in Houston, Dom addressed the faction's March 9 attack on Bálor and his own position atop wrestling's most dominant stable.
It had to be done," Mysterio said plainly. "There were a lot of differences going on. We weren't being a cohesive unit. At the end of the day, we played the Finn Bálor playbook and that's what happened. He should have seen it coming.
The shadow of Finn Balor
Dom was particularly effusive about JD McDonagh being the one to pull the trigger on the betrayal, calling it a long time coming for the Irishman who spent years operating in Bálor's shadow.
I'm so happy for JD for finally being able to leave Finn's shadow — he's been in it for too long," Mysterio said. "Finn Bálor had his time. Past tense.
He also offered a pointed summary of Bálor's place in Judgment Day history:
We're in the future now, and the future is about Dom. It's about JD. It's about Liv. It's about Raquel... and Roxanne Perez, of course.
Original Plans for Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor
Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio was reportedly scheduled for SummerSlam last year, but WWE opted to hold off on that matchup, feeling the Judgment Day storyline was still running hot and the change should come at a later date.
At the time, the plan had Bálor bringing back the Demon gimmick for the event, according to the Wrestling Observer.
Dom initially reluctant to Judgment Day
In a candid moment during the interview with Brad Gilmore, Mysterio admitted he wasn't a true believer when Judgment Day first recruited him.
No, not at all. I fought it for a long time. It felt weird and hokey at the very beginning," he said. "But then something happened where all four of us clicked outside of the ring. We were all riding together, so it all transitioned to inside the ring. And man, it just worked.
Dom pointed to the faction's uninterrupted run of championship success as proof of concept, noting that Judgment Day has held at least one title throughout its entire existence as a group. The faction is showing no signs of slowing down even as it enters a new chapter without another founding member.
