Finn Bálor’s shocking split from The Judgment Day may have been a long time coming behind the scenes.
Monday’s episode of WWE RAW featured a major storyline development when Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Liv Morgan, and Raquel Rodriguez turned on Bálor and brutally attacked their longtime stablemate, officially bringing his run with the faction to an abrupt end.
The betrayal followed several weeks of tension between Bálor and the group. In recent episodes, Bálor had been attempting to distance himself from The Judgment Day while making it clear he wanted to climb back into WWE’s main event picture on his own terms.
Things escalated after Bálor refused to help Mysterio defend the Intercontinental Championship against Penta on the previous week’s RAW. Without backup from his stablemate, Mysterio ultimately lost the title.
Bálor addressed the situation during Monday’s show and explained why he stayed out of the match. According to Bálor, he wanted Mysterio to learn how to handle his own battles instead of constantly relying on others. During the heated exchange, Bálor even admitted that WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio might have been right about his son, bluntly stating that Dominik can act like a spoiled brat.
That comment didn’t sit well with Dominik.
The confrontation quickly turned physical when Dominik shoved Bálor, only to be met with a sudden Pele Kick. For a brief moment it looked like Bálor might stand tall, but the numbers advantage soon caught up with him when JD McDonagh aligned himself with Dominik and the rest of the faction.
From there, the beatdown was on.
By the end of the segment, The Judgment Day stood tall over Bálor, leaving the former leader laid out and officially exiled from the group.
Interestingly, the storyline reportedly could have played out much earlier.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at F4WOnline.com, WWE had originally planned to run Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam 2025. However, the creative team ultimately decided to hold off on the split because they felt The Judgment Day storyline was still performing very strongly at the time.
As a result, the SummerSlam plans changed. Instead of facing Bálor, Dominik went on to defend the Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles at the event last August.
Meltzer also noted that the original concept for the match included Bálor bringing back his Demon persona for the showdown with Dominik.
