Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor

[5.0] "Another "Super Cena" type of Priest match. The match is fine but I've gotten over Damian always kicking out of finishers and then just...winning."

[4.0] "Another underwhelming match on the Bad Blood card. This match felt off due to the small heel vs the empowering face dynamic, and the match just felt flat. Priest is not a convincing big time babyface, and it's disheartening to see Balor take yet another convincing loss.,"

[6.0] "Finn Balor was getting dogwalked this whole feud man. The feud itself was a huge letdown considering it was the same thing every week until Priest handed Balor's ass on a silver plater. This didn't need to be on PPV if it was being booked like this. [***1/4]"

[7.0] "Solid match that flowed well, but was very one sided until the end. The finishing sequencies came off well, even with the predictable interference."

[8.0] "I quite like both of these wrestlers and I genuinely feel like this particular feud probably deserved a bigger stipulation, considering the amount of storytelling that went into its setup. Priest's monster face fire at the beginning was fantastic, , whipping and ragdolling Finn around. Finn sells for Priest like physics were disabled for him, only to sling blade Priest onto the concrete. Priest has some of the damnedest strikes of the night with his short arm elbows, and the two have a great kick-trading spot that Finn finishes with his signature pele kick. It is a shame these two weren't given a bigger spotlight to do a bigger match, so the scope of this is only really slightly larger than a TV main event affair, but both do what they can to make this the best match of the night at this point. Priest survives a Judgement day run in and a barrage of Coup De Graces on various parts of his body to hit a South of Heaven for the finish."

[5.0] "This booking pissed me off, the match as well wasn't great until the last half of it, but Finn barely getting offense until there was interference upset me because Finn is more than that. Match was decent but the booking decision and the production of the match disappointed me."

[6.0] "This match was one of the biggest disappointments of the year, considering it should have been a candidate for the best match of the year, don't no why they didn't put them inside the cell as well. The history between the two of them and the betrayal of Balor costing Priest the world title should have been more than enough to produce an epic encounter, but then it lost so much momentum, Balor wasn't even involved in the tag team match in Berlin, then the piss poor build up after that led to a boring match between the two, even after the PLE their rivalry just faded away."

[7.0] "This match could've been better if Finn was booked stronger. This match got some high moments in it but in the end Damian won the match with ease."

[7.0] "I liked this more than most, but I also think it was a bit underwhelming. Bálor's recent in-ring work has been a little lackluster for the most part, though I also think these two should have gotten more time considering the whole story going into this."

[4.0] "Judgment Day EXPLODES! A big disappointment here, though I wasn't really anticipating much from this one. Damian Priest is a guy I feel like could be something, but he never actually shows his full potential. Balor has always been a workhorse, but he seems to be suffering for a lack of passion in recent years."

[6.0] "The in-ring was fun, however it felt more like a Monday Night RAW match than a PLE match. I was super hyped for this match and to see Finn get a PLE win like he deserves but it just didn't happen. Priest no sold multiple Coup De Graces and then hit one South of Heaven for the win which felt super underwhelming. I was pretty disappointed with the finish."

[6.0] "The in-ring level of the match saves it so much, because everything else here sucks terribly. There is nothing good I can say about it. How can we care about this feud if WWE is the first one that doesn't? They only cared to make Rhea and Priest look strong over the whole Judgment Day, despite those 2 or 3 times where it was the other way around because then the whole feud would be pointless. In the particular story of Priest and Bálor, they had so many powerful things they could've exploited, but they didn't care to do it. They were too much superfitial with the feud, the only thing they used to give it some deepness was the SummerSlam 2023 stuff and Priest's leader behavior since becoming Champion (despite being like that before Survivor Series actually), but they ignored the Money in the Bank match prior to that, they didn't care to do more sensitive and emotional segments and promos between both after the bond they shared together. They traveled together, they got matching tatoos, they weren't just friends, they were brothers, they got over together, they run RAW together, they were champions together, they wrestled WrestleMania together. How nothing of that was used to make this stand out? Did you see any of that in this match? Because for me it wasn't different than any random RAW match aside from Priest wanting to break the table with Finn. And on top of that, the Judgment Day keeps getting buried one more time. I don't use that word that much, I don't think someone gets buried because of just losing, but the Judgment Day has been made to look bad since betraying the Terror Twins, so how can anyone care about the faction at all? WWE just cared for two things: making Priest look strong and showing some lame ass rappers during Priest's entrance, hurting the little drama this feud could have. Priest and Bálor showed some really good chemistry together, the pacing was good, the moves were rightly done. When it comes to in-ring work, they did what they could with what they were given. With the right tools, this would've surely been a banger (***)"

[6.0] "A good match, but it never really hit the gear of becoming PPV-level, and rather just seemed like the same TV style matchup that would fit Monday Night Raw. The obvious Judgment Day interference spot leading to the distraction and the rest. Except, the end really upset me. Priest takes 3 of Finns finishers atp (2 to the neck), but completely no sells them and hits just one South of Heaven chokeslam to end the match. This is a far cry from what Finn Balor was even a year prior during his program with Seth Rollins, let alone during his NXT runs. No complaints against Priest winning, but I also feel like Balor winning was the right decision here for the sake of restoring his credibility, but alas. ***."

"In a vacuum this was an incredible match for Priest. They made a statement and elevated him to World Title strength as a minted former World Champion. He moves like the Terminator, only lumbering and slowing momentarily as members of the JD get their best moves off trying to slow them down but Priest Is Inevitable. He got to show off more of his move set than usual and although he always gets the Undertaker comparisons I saw some Savio Vega in the way flung 8ft round house kicks across across the ring mixed in with the typical stiff boots. Balor's involvement just made it clear how much they wanted to elevate Priest to monster status with this win and they more than succeeded for me. My only nitpick would be that it feels like they'd done this match 3 times already in the weeks during the build up and thoroughly illustrated Priest could beat these guys. The outcome never seemed in doubt but he completely overwhelmed them, dirty tricks and all. Loved it and hope we get another run for El Campeón!"

[6.0] "A fine match, but Priest is beginning to suffer from Rhea's curse of just being booked too damn strong. I never expected him to lose here, even with JD interference, and its sad because this match should've been special because of how good the blood feud was (one sided beatdowns notwithstanding)."

"A solid match between two veterans, but was missing that extra bit youd expect during a rivalry such as this."

[5.0] "This was alright , I expected much more , and the interference of the judgment say is insufferable at this point. I can't stand them always getting involved, in ring wise this was solid , but that was to be expected between Finn and Priest. Both are great wrestlers, and it felt like a very standard match here , I wanted better from them. Ok match, but definitely one of the weaker matches of the night."

[6.0] "Although I didn't dislike the match, it felt more like a Monday Night RAW's Main Event, than a PPV match. What I dislike is the Judgement Day's booking: kicking out Damian out of the group, like he's a "weak link", then having him beating the "leader" of the group with other two members interfering. The match did help Priest, but made the whole stable look like idiots. (***)."

[2.0] "I expected more from the match between these two men, but it didn't go according to my expectations and they didn't do anything special in the match, and it really doesn't deserve a higher Rating."

[5.0] "Lord, what has happened here? Priest was on a real hot streak and Balor is or was one of the best wrestlers in WWE's arsenal. This match was just so lacklustre. It had some okay spots, but in a world where we get only 5 matches a PPV, you have to move the story on or you are guaranteed to have the same thing keep happenening, this wasn't moved on one iota by this match and there was no resolution, but also no build up. I'm not excited to see these guys clash again, and that makes me sad."

[4.0] "Finn Balors Downfall is sad man, wheres the litteral demon gone? Another overbooked TV Judgement Day main-event on a PPV. Pure boring wrestling from the moment the bell rang the first time to the time it finally meant my screen was realeased from projecting nonsense."

[3.0] "Good story but poor match. Damiean Priest should have been a monster in the ring, but he didn't And it didn't hurt Finn's leg that much either Balor also had a very bad performance and did not do what he should in the ring The details of the competition, such as ending and starting, etc., were not followed properly"

[4.0] "Yes, this match was FINE in terms of an actual match, but when you take the context of what happened around the match it just makes me feel... bad. Finn has been utterly underutilized as an in ring talent, especially for someone as talented and aging as Finn. First you have Finn turn heel, and it starts to get my hopes up, but then you make Finn look incredibly weak by having him run away week after week, and then you have their first one on one match have the heel lose in a clean fashion? Finn landed FOUR COUP DE GRACES. FOUR. AND DAMIAN SHOOK ALL OF THEM OFF TO WIN WITH ONE FINISHER. CLEAN."

[5.0] "A pretty whatever match to me. This was probably good by WWE standards, but it wasn't much more than a passable match by my own standards."

[6.0] "This was ok, maybe even good and maybe that's on me for expecting greatness out of Finn in 2024 but I set the bar high for that match and I was disappointed. It wasn't bad or anything, it's just I expected an old school match with a clear story told and instead I got an objective checking WWE style match."

[6.0] "Totally passable WWE style match where none of the wrestling really matters that much. Priest does a solid job of being the big guy taking everyone out and overcoming the odds, making the entire the Judgement Day look like idiots in the process. Balor's credibility is completely gone already after losing in this fashion. I did like the finishing sequence with Priest eating the diving foots, not letting himself stay down before catching Balor for a South of Heaven. ***"

[6.0] "The most Gentlemen's Three match you'll ever see. Professional. Acceptable. Completely forgettable. Couldn't tell you a single spot with any assuredness. ***"

[7.0] "Ca aurait dû être bien mieux, surtout si on avait laissé l'overbooking de côté et que Finn Balor soit réellement en 1 vs 1 du début jusqu'à la fin"

[5.0] "Just a decent, generic match with nothing special about it. Just like every other PLE match nowadays, this needed a stipulation. I dont want anything crazy, just like a no holds barred or submission? This appears to be the culmination of a very long-term storyline between finn and damian going back to SS 23, and it didnt really need to end like this. I dont care much for Finn so it doesnt bother me that he lost, but again, match is nowhere near the violence levels the story called for. Kinda just a nothing match, with an ending that involved damian no-selling finns finisher to the back of the neck two times, which I interpreted as finn not landing it correctly, but whatever. Im just glad the judgement day storyline is over for now, but considering this stable has been around since 2022? Not a great way to go out."

[5.0] "If the PPV was titled "Stomping Grounds" this match would fit in just fine as the opener. At the heart of a card called "Bad Blood", two matches after one of the most brutal matchups in recent company history? Nope. I've got nothing but respect for Finn and his work but until he has a match that's semi-interesting again, WWE can't pay me to care about what he's up to. The finish was a bit deflating, but if it leads to the end of this bloated and dragged out Judgment Day story to finally come to a close, I'm all for it."

[5.0] "A fine match with an awful booking decision. Finn Balor and the Judgment Day being treated as a threat when they can't even beat someone 3v1 is hilarious. A lot or no-selling from Priest towards the end of the match as well."

[6.0] "Damian Priest vs Finn Balor was just fine. It felt more like a Raw match than a PPV match. Balor's booking has made him into a consummate jobber to the stars. All for using Judgment Day to elevate Priest, but Balor needed more than to lose in this manner."

[7.0] "There's good stuff in this match. I enjoyed it a little more than I expected. The run in spot was done successfully as the pop for the Damian kickout was great. Not sure what happened with the one double foot stomp but overall a good match."

[6.0] "I had no expectations from this fight on account of willinglessness dive into their rivalry deeper than I actually did. Finn Balor hadn't been satisfied with Damian Priest since 2023, but decided to reveal the alledgedly shocking truth only year after. Finn endured voluntarily. Why? I still don't understand. Balor approached to Bad Blood being a failure who shouldn't beat one of the hottest RAW's superstars, Damian Priest, and it happened so. More than that, Balor's weakest alliance was demolished by Priest easily, which was a logical move as The Judgment Day's turned into a joke with an old drifter Carlito, strange teen couple of Dom and Liv and the leader of this group - cruiserweight classic material who hasn't been relevant like 5 years since he came back from NXT again. The match overall was a bit higher than average, yet I'd been sure during the match that Priest should've beaten Balor in 8 minutes."

[6.0] "Yet another addition to Balor's long line of "solid pro" affairs, giving this a traditional undercard match until the closing shenanigans. Admittedly, those are a lot, also impacting the work's prior silk as they meet a bump or two in the road to their finish. Much like the match before this though, that interference and such is what really grabs Atlanta's attention, which is something worth monitoring moving forward. For now, the bells and whistles leave this feeling like a pretty good TV main event, which was comfortably enough make it the peak of this chunk of Bad Blood. ***"

[6.0] "It is a decent match between both men, but it didnt have the amount of impact or feel that it shouldve had for the feud that they had going on and everything else was just predictable with the interferences and result."

[5.0] "Priest hit a massive right to a leaping Balor which caught my attention. Match was pretty dull, though nothing offensive, for the most part. It picked up towards the end though with Priest fighting off JD and Carlito, and ultimately it was the right decision for Priest to go over. Hopefully he can move on from Judgment Day, but I'm not sure to do what. Balor and JD should be put in more focus in the tag division."

[5.0] "Just like the match before and after this one, it was just there. I will not remember this match in the future because it was just a match you could have placed in a random RAW main event and it would have been totally fine. Priest got the win over Finn which was pretty obvious and I understand it although I am still sad to see Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day being presented to us as total goofs who not only fail on their own, but also do so when they have the others interfering in their matches. They just seem incompetent and this match did not help."

[0.0] "Jesus can you just give Finn Balor a win? Like I know hes getting older and Damian Priest is your hotter star, but cmon, the guy had his stablemates come out, hit his finisher on Damian 3 times, and then lost to ONE SOUTH OF HEAVEN CHOKESLAM. JUST ONE? THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME AND HE LOST TO ONE PUNK ASS CHOKESLAM? Really gets on my nerves being a Finn fan in 2024. You give the guy a cool ass stable, awesome promo packages, and you know he was robbed of a universal title run, yet you keep flip flopping from pulling the trigger on him and making him look weak. Finn Balor isnt one to mess with, Triple H, you literally were the one booking The Demon back in the NXT black and gold days. You booked him during his 2nd run, please book this guy properly!"

[6.0] "This wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected it to be. The blood feud these two have are underrated because of the Punk/Drew "I want you to die" levels of anger, but this just didn't feel like that kind of match. It felt like a TV match more than anything, and it didn't do much to add to the story aside from Damian winning, but clearly the feud isn't over. I feel like they'll up the ante soon though, so I'm hopeful it'll be a better match later compared to this one."

[6.0] "Disappointed. I had big expectations. Damian seemingly no seller 2 finishers at the end which was weird. It ended right when it was picking up steam."

[6.0] "Pretty meh. Wasn't bad, wasn't good. I expected a lot more but I'm assuming that in classic WWE fashion they're intentionally holding back because every feud has to be three matches in 3 months."

[7.0] "A perfectly fine match that nevertheless was missing that extra PLE oomph. Just felt standard and empty. Needed a stipulation or something distinctive other than another lame Judgment Day interference and Finn losing clean."

[6.0] "This was a solid match for both Finn and Damian. The story has kind of run its course but these two guys can work and are great talents so the match is never going to be bad. I would like to see Finn billed less as a chicken shit who needs constant interference to win and more of a singles threat. Pretty decent offense on both sides with Damian coming out on top which I hope ends this feud and both move on to other programs. The judgement Day showing up was predictable but again they are just used as cannon fodder for Damians wrath."

[6.0] "Good/solid match. Priest winning was the right call. Had the other Judgment Day members (Carlito, JD McDonagh) try to interfere, but to no avail. But overall, just an okay/average match. Started quickly, built, Judgement Day interference and then it was over. No real back and forth. Now near falls or close calls. Just a run-of-the-mill/ho hum match. Not boring by any means. Predictable outcome with Priest winning, but it was correct. I'm assuming this is the end of the Priest/Judgement fued? I think? Didn't really feel "final, " but we'll see what happens."

[5.0] "honestly creative has done them extremely dirty with this feud, no build to this match & a Raw quality match here tonight. Really unfortunate & Finn getting the loss is just plain stupid"

[8.0] "There was very predictable Judgement Day interference but still a good match with the correct result. It was given the time it needed to tell its story and sometimes that is all you need."

[7.0] "I dont understand why they didnt go for a straightforward 1v1 match without interferenceI think it wouldve been better. The match was solid, but they made Finn look weak here. He got help from JD and Carlito, used three finishers, and still got pinned after just one South of Heaven."

[6.0] "I do feel as if this match wouldve been so much better had the opener and the main event not cut so much time off the show (or you know..just dont book a Takeover formula for your show HHH..). Even with the criminally minimal time these two had, they still had a decent enough match to pass by. Not anything they shouldve had, considering their talents and previous endeavors, but it will suffice. I do hope they get a blowoff, because this felt lethargic a lot of times. I know they can do something with a stipulation. A match with these two talents, and their history shouldnt go unnoticed. ***1/4"

[6.0] "This looked like a Raw match. Not bad, but I wanted more from them. They are great in the ring but the story could've been so much better. Balor losing after those Coup de Grace and Damian not selling theme was awful in my opinion, but the match is not bad. I expected Balor to win: if Priest can beat Carlito, Balor and JD all by himself where is this rivalry going?"