Heel Drew McIntyre is Loading, 2 WWE Stars Finally Breaking Through, More Raw Takes

In its October 2 edition, WWE Raw's go-home show for Fastlane continued to focus on The Judgment Day and Imperium as well as their key opponents.

Tommaso Ciampa pushed Gunther to his limit in a competitive main event, before Johnny Gargano returned to aid The Blackheart.

Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso challenged Damian Priest and Finn Bálor to a match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.

Rhea Ripley made her return and gave "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio an ultimatum. He needs to win back the North American Championship or lose the trust of The Judgment Day.

Drew McIntyre made his own statement on the faction's rivals. He refused to help any of them after they failed to help him. He continued his slow heel turn while setting the stage for a big feud with Rhodes.

WWE has an opportunity to set the tone for the holiday season with Fastlane, and Raw gave hints of what that could look like.

Drew McIntyre Poised to Become Raw's Top Heel

The transformation of Drew McIntyre has nearly reached its conclusion. He is working more like a heel than he has in a long time.

The Scot's promo focused on his frustration with fellow faces who have let him down time and again. While he is still working against heels like The Miz, that just seems to solidify his desire to work completely alone.

While his conflict has been with The New Day so far, he has grander ambitions. He has missed no opportunity lately to take subtle shots at Cody Rhodes that will build to a feud.

If McIntyre can leave that feud as a credible contender on Raw, he could quickly transition to a rivalry with Seth Rollins and take over Monday nights completely.

WWE has lacked a strong solo heel throughout 2023. The Judgment Day dominate together but lose individually. Even Roman Reigns has relied too heavily on The Bloodline lately.

Shinsuke Nakamura has impressed in his recent run but has already lost some steam with his first loss to Rollins, and a second loss at Fastlane will put a stop to his momentum. If that happens, McIntyre can be the most dominant heel on the red brand by next week.

Too Soon For 'Dirty' Dom to Leave The Judgment Day

The Judgment Day controls Raw, but there is still dissension among the group members.

Finn Bálor wants to bring in JD McDonagh, but Damian Priest does not trust him. Perhaps more importantly, Rhea Ripley is not pleased with Dominik Mysterio, who lost the NXT North American tile while she was recovering from injuries suffered at the hands of Nia Jax.

If Mami is committed to her words, Dirty Dom will be out of the stable if he cannot defeat Trick Williams in a rematch from No Mercy on Tuesday's edition of NXT.

However, it would be a mistake for Mysterio to leave The Judgment Day at this stage. Outside of Ripley, he is the most important member of the group for its long-term prospects.

While Bálor and Priest can thrive with or without the group, Dirty Dom may struggle on his own. He has gained significant heat by working with Ripley that has not run its course.

For the sake of The Judgment Day, hopefully Ripley's threat is not something she plans to follow through on since Mysterio is unlikely to regain his gold anytime soon.

Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso Must Be One-and-Done Tag Team

Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso will team together for the first time at Fastlane. While they have been on opposite sides of the ring multiple times, they have never wrestled together.

Both have tag team history that should guarantee they work well together, but neither needs to be in a team at this stage in their careers.

They have joined forces in the common goal to take down The Judgment Day, and the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships match could well steal the show at Fastlane.

However, both men need to be solo acts. Rhodes is still best served building a reputation before going after Roman Reigns, while Jey is is trying to prove what he can do without his brother, Jimmy Uso.

They will put on a good match but must then return to a singles focus. The future is brighter for both men on their own.

Vintage NXT Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano Finally Arrive on Main Roster

Gunther vs. Tommaso Ciampa looked set to steal the show at Fastlane, but WWE decided to commit to make it a lengthy and exciting main event on Monday's Raw instead.

This was not the first time The Ring General and The Blackheart have fought one-on-one, but Ciampa was a different man in NXT than he is on the main roster.

Luckily, The Blackheart returned for this moment, and he now has Johnny Gargano back at his side as well. The heart and soul of the black-and-gold brand are much more valuable to WWE at their best rather than playing bit roles in the midcard.

Whether Ciampa and Gargano focus on tag team wrestling or build each other up as solo acts, they have always been better together.