After setting his match with Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at , Drew McIntyre kept Damian Priest from cashing in his Money in the Bank opportunity on the current champ. One week later, on the season premiere of Monday Night RAW, de facto Judgement Day leader Rhea Ripley told Priest not to retaliate against McIntyre, preaching patience instead. The two incidents seemed unrelated, but some behind-the-scenes footage unearthed by Rollins suggests Ripley and McIntyre may have something else going on.
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During Monday’s new episode of RAW, Rollins and McIntyre exchanged words regarding their upcoming title bout. A couple of shady statements from Rollins about McIntyre’s intentions caused the Scottish Warrior to ask more direct questions of his opponent. Rollins called for the video team to roll footage of a conversation between Adam Pearce and Richochet backstage.
On the surface, the footage seemed like nothing but a simple conversation. However, zooming in on the footage caused everyone in the crowd to see McIntyre and Ripley speaking out of earshot of anyone else on the roster. Take a look!
Rollins obviously brought this up to McIntyre, and he denied it had anything to do with the Championship. That said, it makes some earlier comments from Ripley even more suspect. She told the rest of the Judgement Day that she had an important phone call and was “taking care of Judgement Day business.” One could assume this had to do with the group’s partnership with the Bloodline, but now there are potentially even more deals in the works for Ripley and the Judgement Day.
As for McIntyre, this would be a much more surprising move. He wants a shot at Rollins’ title, and certainly wants to beat a healthy champion in order to put the gold around his own waist. Working with Ripley would keep his shot intact, but what could he be bringing to the table that would benefit her stable?
Seth Rollins Injury Won’t Affect Current Run
Earlier this year, Rollins revealed that he’s been dealing with a back injury for a few years now, one that will eventually require surgery. However, Rollins hasn’t been worried about that injury changing anything for his current run in WWE. It’s been a big part of the story as of late, but he is still promising to be a fighting champion.
“It is what it is. All of us have something,” Rollins said on The Bump last month. “We’ve all got some sort of nagging injury, we’ve all got something that’s pulling at us, telling us we need to slow down. That’s just part of the game. I know that. Everybody knows that. Now, my injury might be a little more serious than some people. But I know how to manage it. I told Shinsuke, I told the world. I won the World Heavyweight Championship with a broken back. I’ve been defending the World Heavyweight Championship with a broken back.
“So even though Shinsuke’s the first guy to really target that injury, I feel like I know what it takes to manage it. I’ll be just fine, I promise you. I promise everybody out there who’s concerned. I’m gonna be fine. I promise you guys, I will be fine. The championship is in good hands,” he continued.
