Adam Copeland Says Vince McMahon Didn’t Know What He Had In Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley

Adam Copeland is proud of the rise of Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley in WWE.

Following Damian Priest helping Edge defeat AJ Styles during Night Two of WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, the pair formed The Judgment Day before later being joined by Rhea Ripley. The faction has undergone numerous changes since its formation, with Edge notably being replaced by Finn Bálor early in its run, although the original trio was one Vince McMahon was reportedly unsure about at first.

Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports ahead of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge in WWE, reflected on his time leading The Judgment Day and revealed that he personally chose Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley as the faction’s founding members, despite Vince McMahon not seeing the value in either star.

“Vince said, ‘I want you to start a group and I want it to be like The Brood.’ And I went, ‘Okay, okay.’ So I’m thinking three people and he said, ‘Who would that be?’ I was like, ‘Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley.’ No hesitation. Those are the two people that could make this pretty cool group. He was kind of surprised by that, and that made me realize he didn’t understand what he had in those two, and I thought that was a shame. I truly thought this can be a vehicle, so hopefully they just start getting more reps and some more experience. And I think that’s essentially what it did. And then I got to feud with them for a year, so I got to be their babyface along with Rey [Mysterio]. And when you got two babyfaces like us, chances are your heel group is gonna do okay. I’m super proud of them. I’m proud of Rhea and where she’s taken it and gone with it, and it’s exactly where I thought it could go.”

-Adam Copeland

Now signed to All Elite Wrestling and competing under his real name, Adam Copeland is currently one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions alongside long-time friend Christian Cage. The pair are set to defend the titles against David Finlay and Clark Connors of The Dogs at Forbidden Door on Sunday, June 28.

Meanwhile, The Judgment Day remains one of WWE’s most prominently featured factions, with its current line-up consisting of AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio, Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, JD McDonagh, and Roxanne Perez.

No longer part of The Judgment Day, Damian Priest is currently one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions alongside R-Truth as Wepa Up, while Rhea Ripley is the reigning WWE Women’s Champion.

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As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on future plans for Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley as soon as we hear more.