Dating back to 2022, Judgment Day has become one of WWE’s longest-running and most decorated factions. On paper, their collective resume includes four members winning three different world championships, besides the unusual distinction of members holding gold across the WWE main roster, NXT, and AAA.
Add onto that four different permutations winning tag team championships, a Royal Rumble victory, and a Money in the Bank win and it’s hard to question the group’s success.
Ever since ousting Edge from Judgment Day, Finn Balor’s had some claim to being the faction’s leader—often sharing some tension with others like Priest, Mysterio, and Liv Morgan for that role. Moreover, Balor’s exceptional in-ring talent and credibility as past main eventer have helped the group at every stage of its development.
As 2026 gets rolling, though, there’s a real question as to whether it's time for Balor to move on to other things.
Finn Balor Had Been Judgment Day’s Longest Tenured Member
Finn Balor is the longest tenured member of Judgment Day, well-exceeding founding leader Edge, as well as earlier inductees Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest. Indeed, Balor has, in many ways, been at the heart of the group, joining months before Dominik Mysterio and carrying forward the legacy of being the last remaining contributor who betrayed Edge in a hostile takeover of the faction in June 2022.
Balor’s talent has seen him regularly featured as a spotlight singles performer in Judgment Day, in addition to winning tag team gold alongside both Priest and JD McDonough.
Three and a half years into his membership, it is, in some ways, difficult to imagine Judgment Day without Balor or vice-versa. On the other hand, there’s a real case to be made he’s done all he can do with the group. At 44, Balor hasn’t openly discussed retirement, and all external indicators suggest he has years as an in-ring performer left on him. That said, one might argue he’s squandering the tail end of his prime in a largely supporting role for his heel group.
Judgment Day Can Be OK Without Finn Balor
At several stages of Judgment Day’s development, the group truly needed Finn Balor. Indeed, without him, the group would’ve been less of a proper faction than an intergender team of Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley by summer 2022.
From there, after Priest was out of the group effective SummerSlam 2024, there was a credibility gap to address. For all the heat and general improvement he underwent, Dominik Mysterio’s character was not credible in the ring as anything more than a mid-card or tag team guy at that point, while JD McDonough, Carlito, and R-Truth were all very clearly situated as supporting players who alternately took bumps or provided comic relief, they weren’t about to wage war with Priest or flirt with a world title picture.
Balor’s stock as a credible main eventer has grown tainted over time in losing major feuds and failing to recapture a world title since his snake-bit Universal Championship win. He was still essential to Judgment Day feeling like a threat, though for some time. The picture has changed, though. 2025 saw Dirty Dom really come into his own as Intercontinental Champion, AAA Mega Champion, and the man to pin John Cena in his final PLE match. Moreover, between Liv Morgan as the group’s top female star and Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez each coming along nicely as serious threats in the women’s division, the group doesn’t feel short of star power.
So it becomes time for Balor to fill a very different Judgment Day role than he has for over three and half years. Rather than the bedrock solid hand and stable character, he may actually carry more value now as the group’s next major nemesis after he parts ways with it.
Finn Balor Has Crowd Support
To close out 2025, Finn Balor cut a promo in which he discussed refocusing and bringing singles gold back to Judgment Day. His words got a warm response, the message clear that WWE fans are ready to see him in a featured role again after spending so much of the last two-years-plus out of the spotlight.
Add onto that, despite playing the heel quite well, Balor is an excellent in-ring worker whose aerial offense and look make him naturally appealing to fans. He’s an Internet darling who honed his craft pre-WWE and someone fans want to see succeed.
Add up all the factors, and a path forward became clear when Balor challenged CM Punk to a match in Ireland. It feels unlikely Balor will be the one to unseat Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. With a groundswell of home country support, though, and every possibility of a banger of a match, Balor will more likely than not emerge from this match feeling an awful lot like a hero.
If there’s one thing WWE has consistently done well with Judgment Day, it's demonstrating patience in allowing twists and turns to unfold. Don’t expect Finn Balor to full-on turn babyface in the next week. Do, however, keep an eye out for WWE to plant those seeds that may well blossom by WrestleMania as the original Universal Champion enters the next chapter of his WWE career.
