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As WrestleMania 42 fast approaches, the Raw locker room was jockeying for positions of power on Monday night. One man who did not gain any momentum was Finn Balor, who was left laid out in the ring by his now-former Judgment Day teammates.
After a confrontation with Dominik Mysterio, Balor delivered a kick to Mysterio, which eventually led to a beatdown by Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. It appears Judgment Day is now entering a post-Balor era.
Also on Monday night, Penta retained the intercontinental championship with a win over El Grande Americano, and Bayley secured the No. 1 contendership to the women's intercontinental title after winning a six-woman gauntlet match.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Finn Balor violently ousted from Judgment Day
Dominik Mysterio was furious backstage and asked his Judgment Day teammates if they'd seen Finn Balor. Mysterio made his way to the ring and said since he couldn't find Balor, he would air out their dirty laundry in public. Mysterio blamed Balor's lack of help for his losing the intercontinental championship to Penta the week prior. Balor eventually made his way to the ring and said that he has spent years trying to teach Mysterio that sometimes you have to stand on your own, but Mysterio hadn't learned the lesson. Balor said that Mysterio father, Rey, may have been right and that Dominik is just a "spoiled prick." Mysterio shoved Balor in the face and Balor responded with a Pele kick. Eventually, JD McDonagh turned on Balor, hitting a clothesline before Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez jumped on Balor to continue the attack. Mysterio ended things by hitting Balor with the ring bell hammer before a pair of frog splashes, the second with a steel chair over Balor's body.
It's been a long time coming, but Balor is finally on his way out of Judgment Day. He was no longer a great fit, with Mysterio as the clear "main guy" in the group, but Balor is more accomplished and shouldn't be playing a backseat role. Now, Balor can target Judgment Day and give Mysterio and McDonagh someone to work with. On a show where there was a lot of spinning of wheels, this felt like something with some momentum. Grade: B+
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- Seth Rollins got one over on The Vision again. Adam Pearce called out Rollins to start the show, which led to Rollins emerging from a swarm of masked men. Pearce said he has issues with The Vision as well, but Rollins isn't medically cleared and is putting himself in danger. After Austin Theory and Logan Paul came to the ring, the group of masked men shuffled together, losing Rollins in the crowd before everyone escaped. LA Knight then came to the ring to attack The Vision before he was joined by The Usos to help run off Paul and Theory.
- Women's International Championship No. 1 Contender Gauntlet Match -- Bayley last def. Asuka via pinfall after a Rose Plant. Iyo Sky beat Lyra Valkyria and Raquel Rodriguez before Rodriguez attacked Sky after the elimination. This allowed Ivy Nile to easily eliminate Sky before being eliminated by Bayley, who went on to pin Asuka in the confusion of interference from Kairi Sane and Valkyria. Also during the match, Stephanie Vaquer ran off Liv Morgan from ringside.
- Intercontinental Championship -- Penta (c) def. Impostor El Grande Americano via pinfall after a Mexican destroyer. This was originally scheduled to be Penta against "The Original" El Grande Americano, but that Americano was taken out by Rayo and Bravo after being "cursed" for being rude to Danhausen.
- Kofi Kingston pitched Je'Von Evans on joining The New Day. Kingston said he saw a lot of himself in Evans and that Evans just needs the right team to help him eventually get to a world championship.
- Oba Femi def. Rusev via pinfall after hitting Fall From Grace.
- CM Punk refused to apologize to The Usos for his words about their family during his confrontation with Roman Reigns the previous week. Jey Uso was particularly upset about the situation, but Punk, even when talking up his past with The Usos' family members, could not bring himself to fully apologize and repeatedly issued non-apologies, putting the blame on Reigns. Punk finally pushed too far when he said that if Reigns had a problem, he could have come himself, not sent his "young boys," which led to Jimmy Uso dropping Punk with a punch before The Usos walked off to end the show.
