Rhea Ripley’s Efforts in Vain as Cody Rhodes Gets Unexpected Help From Damian Priest Against Finn Balor

Coming hot off his big win at SummerSlam against Brock Lesnar, everyone thought Cody Rhodes would take it easy for a few weeks. But injuries and bruises have never stopped the American Nightmare before. Instead of taking a break, Rhodes came out and got a match with former Universal Champion, Finn Balor.

With a four-to-one disadvantage, many would think this was an automatic loss for Rhodes, but the story goes differently. While the fans and Judgment Day might not have expected it at the start of the show, Rhodes would come out on top even with that disadvantage. But he didn’t do it alone, it was a group effort at the end of the day.

The Judgment Day fails Finn Balor as he loses to Cody Rhodes on Raw

In the main event, we saw Rhodes continuously getting the better of Judgment Day. But when Dominik Mysterio slid into a chair, it looked like the match was settled. But the referee saw it and Rhea Ripley used this to distract the referee while Damien Priest tried to pass the Money in the Bank briefcase to Balor, but it backfired.

Rhodes caught the briefcase instead and hit Balor with it, following that with a Cross Rhodes to end the match. This was just another example of miscommunication between the group that Priest talked about at the beginning of the show.

This was a big victory for Rhodes and just goes to show that WWE is not giving up on their golden boy soon. But Balor’s defeat also came at a cost for Rhodes as well as Sami Zayn, who came to save his friend. But both of them met a gruesome side of The Judgment Day as the show came to a close.

READ MORE: “Much Bigger Star”- WWE Legend Justifies Cody Rhodes’ Biggest Failure as a Blessing in Disguise

The Judgment Day showed their dominance by delivering judgment to Rhodes and Sami Zayn. But not before the potential new member, JD McDonagh came in for the save as well. All five of them put the two fan favorites through hell and back. What does this mean for the future of this faction? Only time will tell if these five stick together or will they break as the cracks seem to hint.

WATCH THIS STORY: 50 Years of The Rock: Dwayne Johnson’s Greatest Achievements in WWE

Tell us what you thought about Rhodes’ unexpected victory in the comments below.