Adam Copeland Credits Judgment Day Run for Unlocking Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, Says Vince McMahon Didn’t See It Coming

AEW’s Adam Copeland has offered a candid take on the rise of Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, suggesting that Vince McMahon failed to recognize Ripley’s potential before she became part of the Judgment Day faction.

Speaking on the SHAK Wrestling podcast, Copeland reflected on his time working alongside Ripley and Priest inside the faction and expressed that both performers have grown well beyond what he anticipated when they were together. Central to his comments was the claim that McMahon — who was still running WWE creative at the time — simply didn’t see what Ripley was capable of before the Judgment Day chapter of her career began.

The observation carries weight given what followed. Ripley went on to become one of the most dominant figures in WWE, capturing the Women’s World Championship and maintaining a top-of-the-card presence that made her one of the company’s most talked-about stars. Priest, meanwhile, climbed to the World Heavyweight Championship, cementing his own transformation from mid-card talent into a genuine main-event player.

Copeland, who originally joined Judgment Day before eventually being written out and transitioning to AEW, was in a unique position to watch both performers up close during a pivotal stretch of their careers. His comments suggest that whatever was unlocked during that faction run — whether it was confidence, character definition, or simply opportunity — made all the difference.

It’s a reminder that in wrestling, the right environment at the right moment can completely redefine a career trajectory, sometimes in ways even veteran observers don’t see coming.