Damian Priest World Title Push Begins, Unstoppable Rhea Ripley, More WWE Raw Takes

The Judgment Day continue to dominate WWE Raw, taking up much of the run time on the October 23 episode.

Damian Priest and Cody Rhodes agreed to a match for Crown Jewel on November 4 before The Judgment Day launched a heinous attack on The American Nightmare's left ankle. But the babyface still helped run off the faction and protect Jey Uso at the end of the night.

Rhea Ripley signed the contract for her Fatal 5-Way at Crown Jewel. She will face Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, but few doubt she will win.

Dominik Mysterio and Logan Paul found some common ground in a hatred of Rey Mysterio. The Ultimate Influencer even protected Dirty Dom from an attack by Ricochet.

In non-Judgment Day news, Johnny Gargano won his first singles match on Raw in over seven months. Indi Hartwell put up a good fight against Becky Lynch, while Xia Li continues to tease a challenge to The Man. Even Akira Tozawa got a match.

The red brand delivered a solid filler episode on the road to Crown Jewel. The following are the major takeaways from the night.

It's Time to Build Damian Priest as Next World Champion

Damian Priest won the Money in the Bank briefcase for a reason: He is ready for a world title run.

However, if he is going to escape the fate of most Money in the Bank winners, he needs a bit more singles credibility.

As dominant as The Judgment Day has been, The Archer of Infamy has been treated as the least important member of the group at times.

Rhea Ripley is the leader of the faction, Finn Bálor has been viewed as the more immediate credible world title challenge, and Dominik Mysterio has more heat than anyone in WWE.

Priest needs his own focus. He must find the same aura that has elevated Ripley to super-stardom. With his size and speed, he can look unstoppable. He needs to feel unstoppable.

He can build that reputation by truly challenging Cody Rhodes one-on-one at Crown Jewel. He may not win, but if he can push The American Nightmare to his limit, he will look like a more credible champion.

Please Don't Pair Logan Paul and Dominik Mysterio

"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio was recently on the verge of leaving The Judgment Day. Rhea Ripley gave him an ultimatum to regain the NXT North American Championship or walk away. He succeeded, but his future in the group still seems unsure.

That uncertainty opens up a new window of opportunity. How can he keep his heat without the faction in his corner? WWE's answer may be Logan Paul.

Dirty Dom showed his support for Paul challenging his father, Rey Mysterio, on Monday night. And the social media star showed his respect to the NXT North American champion.

This sounds like a decent pairing on paper, but the two do not mesh. Dirty Dom has built his heat by taking advantage of those bigger than him, while Paul has developed his own heat through his ventures outside WWE.

This comes off as WWE trying to garner more heat for the YouTuber than actually aiding a full-time top heel like Mysterio. Moreover, it's just not time for him to leave The Judgment Day.

While the dominance of the group can be overwhelming, Dom is more important to its long-term success than anyone outside of Ripley.

WWE Needs Months—Maybe Years—to Build Credible Star to Dethrone Rhea Ripley

The stage is set for Rhea Ripley to challenge the four baddest woman on Raw at Crown Jewel. And while they are all imposing figures, none of them is a real threat to the women's world champion.

Hopefully, WWE has plans to branch off to Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler for a singles match, but even then The Queen of Spades is a filler challenger rather than a threat.

An argument could be made that Nia Jax is the most credible opponent for the Australian, but that's only because she has so recently returned. Nobody is clamoring for another title run by The Irresistible Force.

Becky Lynch is the biggest name on Raw, but would WWE actually cut off Ripley's momentum by having her lose to a made star? That is unlikely, and The Man is preoccupied with her work as NXT women's champion.

Raw has the talent but not the built-up credibility. WWE must make a concerted effort to create fresh acts that can reasonably contest Ripley in a couple months.

Maybe that will be Jade Cargill? Candice LeRae remains an untapped talent with serious potential, and a healthy Liv Morgan could be the one in 2024.

If these options don't pan out, it would take a complete roster shake-up after WrestleMania 40 to present real challengers to Ripley.

Bianca Belair remains an enticing option for the right moment.

Triple H Finally Utilizing the Depth of Raw Roster

WWE has always had an unfortunate habit of forgetting healthy signed talent. While The Judgment Day, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch cannot miss TV, those lower on the totem pole just hope for booking on Main Event.

That may be changing with some recent booking improvements for Raw. Johnny Gargano's return has also elevated his former NXT group, The Way, with Indi Hartwell getting some serious in-ring time against Becky Lynch on Monday.

Lynch has been pushing for fresh challengers, including Tegan Nox and Xia Li. Nikki Cross could be next up after returning to action this week in a tag team match alongside Natalya.

Akira Tozawa has finally found a direction as the new "junior" member of Alpha Academy.

While it's been clear for a while that Triple H was interested in pushing a variety of stars, elevating Imperium, Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet, some were still left on the sidelines. That seems to be changing.

A deeper roster makes for a better product. WWE has always struggled to keep things fresh, and any new stars are welcome on a show that is a bit too Judgment Day-focused at the moment.