Judgment Day has been one of the top acts in 2023 across all three brands, and that success and R-Truth’s talent make the situation hard to accept. The R-Truth story is hurting the Judgment Day. Judgment Day has not been insulated from campy comedy but has always been a secondary feature.
While Dominik Mysterio is undoubtedly funny, and the group’s presentation started campy, they have all evolved. Dominik’s antics are less and less in the spotlight, and the viciousness of Finn Balor, Damien Priest, and Rhea Ripley has taken center stage. The inclusion of R-Truth as the new recruit swings wildly in the other direction. And that is both intentional and not what they should be doing.
*Crowd Boos Dom*
"Dirty Dom getting boo'd in his own hometown?" – @RonKillings @DomMysterio35 #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/aoiBKKuBhG
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) January 2, 2024
R-Truth is not a heel, so he isn’t a serious threat to join the team. Likewise, while everyone, including former North American Champion Dominik, has started to tell more serious stories, grappling with the ideas of power, loyalty, and dominance, R-Truth’s motivation for joining is unclear. Perhaps it has been to challenge the team.
That, too, would sadly feel like a waste. As a frequent hanger-on, he serves only as a distraction, and if WWE makes a dramatic change, it makes Judgment Day feel disjointed. WWE has had these issues with Judgment Day before, and it has worked out. This time, though, is a real shame after having a stellar year.
Can Comedy Cross Into the Main Event
Comedy in a WWE main event angle is not particularly common. That is because it usually works poorly. The variety aspect of WWE has made it an iconic brand and adds a lot to their product. The top story is primarily reserved for the more severe or dramatic feuds—stories of overcoming obstacles or settling a fiery rivalry.
That doesn’t mean that WWE hasn’t used a comedy act well or even that they have not done it recently. Sami Zayn and the Bloodline story are recent examples. Zayn started his journey with Roman Reigns and the Usos as a comedic hanger-on. His inclusion became the heart and soul of that story, leading to some of the most critical moments for the company in the past two years.
The primary difference, and why the R-Truth story is hurting Judgment Day, is the previous alignment. Sami Zayn was a jokester, but he was also a heel. He was of the same alignment as Roman Reigns and that crew when he tried to join them. It made sense why Zayn would want to ally himself with the top heel on the show; it gave him relevancy.
Likewise, it made sense that Roman would want Sami around; he proved himself useful on multiple occasions. That has yet to be the case with Truth.
He is not portrayed as a particularly bad guy. R-Truth recently fought against Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh on Raw. Comedy has worked for those two members of Judgment Day previously, but they were heels working in service to a bigger villain. Without doing that, the R-Truth comedy feels like the other silly acts, all featuring lower on the card.
Can R-Truth Possibly Play a Real Role
For the time being, this R-Truth story is hurting the Judgment Day. But, he is a talented and experienced worker, and fans respond well to him. Like Sami Zayn in the Bloodline before him, he could still be a vital part of the Judgment Day story. He isn’t a real threat to the faction, even if he makes some strong friends like Julius and Brutus Creed. Instead, though, he could add an edge back to the group and give the fans a reason to fear the faction despite recent losses in high-profile matches.
One of Judgment Day’s most vicious attacks includes the now-retired Edge (AEW’s Adam Copeland). They beat him down and officially removed him from the team. Rhea and her crew have used beatdowns and attacks far less effectively than the Bloodline. Each time they have, though, it has worked. WrestleMania season will likely be an important time for the group, and adding heat to the group will be essential.
That can come from a brutal attack on Truth for continuing to insert himself into Judgment Day or after he tries to stand up to them. If R-Truth plays the role of a sacrifice, he can raise the stakes for Judgment Day and make the matches each one has in Philadelphia feel more prominent and more consequential for whoever wins.
WWE Can Stop The R-Truth from Hurting the Judgment Day
The way R-Truth and Judgment Day have been booked so far, they are a midcard comedy feud with extra television time. Apart from their frequent appearances in the final segment, the faction has had to contend with foolishness, starkly contrasting with where the team was a month ago. Additionally, Truth has often faced off against his “team” on Raw.
The current situation is for the easy laugh. His wins against the JD are emblematic of this issue. They could be using this to make Truth a real threat to the team, but that is unlikely, with his only wins coming against the lower-level team members. Instead, the product is disjointed, and the comedy attached to the team now is higher than it ever before as of a few weeks ago.
The current status of this feud doesn’t need to be the case, though. The beloved and lighthearted R-Truth would make an excellent sacrifice after his recent return. He is not a credible challenger or henchman for the faction to reestablish their edge. A feud against R-Truth would feel like a letdown, even for a comedy guy like Dominik.
Including R-Truth would either make him heel, which isn’t what fans want or make the faction part of Truth’s comedy routine. Although it hasn’t been great, that they have let Truth mess around for so long could actually make the impact greater for an attack in the upcoming weeks.
If the next attack makes their first beatdown look tame, it could easily restart their momentum after incurring some significant losses. Additionally, it could go a long way in explaining this comedic departure following November’s excellent WarGames.
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