Rhea Ripley Planned Ahead For Viral Spot With Dominik Mysterio, Says Damian Priest

WWE programming has been on the upturn in the eyes of fans in recent weeks after Triple H was named head of creative and has multiple ongoing storylines that have produced highly-engaging content.

One rivalry that has been in the spotlight is that of Rey and Dominik Mysterio being the weekly targets of The Judgment Day led by Finn Balor.

The Mysterios have been on the receiving end of beatdowns from the faction, with Dominik being the main target of Rhea Ripley.

Fans have taken notice of the younger Mysterio being Ripley's weekly victim, and fellow The Judgment Day member Damian Priest revealed that it was all a plan from her.

Priest spoke with Sportskeeda Wrestling and explained how she came up with the idea of choking out Dominik on the August 1 episode of Raw.

"We talked about what we wanted to do. She was like 'Oh my God, my creep fanbase are going to go crazy over this.' We knew it was going to happen and they did. The next day we were just laughing hysterically about it," Priest said.

He later added that the immediate fallout from that moment was "pretty much" what Ripley and the group expected to see on social media, which plays into their goal as professional wrestlers: to reach their on-screen characters' goals while ensuring that they generate interest from fans.

"We did our business, she choked him (Dominik) out and we were telling a story. But also, there's the other side where [we will] do something that it'll draw more attention," Priest noted.

Ripley subtly acknowledged the fan reception to that specific attack on the young Mysterio via Twitter and has continued to lean into it even more as fans still make memes of the moment.

WWE has also bought into the attention that Ripley is bringing to the group after posting a short compilation video of all the times Ripley has attacked Dominik on its YouTube channel.

The former NXT and NXT UK Women's Champion has been a massive addition to the group since her reveal back at WrestleMania Backlash in May thanks to her great chemistry with Priest and Balor, as well as Edge when he was still with the group.

Many have compared her look to WWE Hall of Famer and D-Generation X member Chyna because of their similarities in build and work in the ring, plus their dynamic with their respective factions.

Ripley has been able to craft a following of her own since joining WWE in 2017, but her run with The Judgment Day could see her be propelled to new heights and possibly catapult her back to the Raw Women's Championship scene.