I’m in the camp of people who want to see Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio leaning even more into the “lie, cheat, steal” motto of his “father,” Eddie Guerrero, and tonight during his championship defense against Penta, we got to see that. During his match with Rusev a few weeks ago, Mysterio pulled the ol’ Guerrero trick of laying down, pretending to be injured, while throwing the title belt at his opponent for the referee to see when they turn around, but tonight, his tactics were even slicker.

This time, Mysterio got the ring bell hammer, in addition to the championship belt, and got in the ring. He put the title in the middle of the ring for the referee to find, while he hit Penta with the hammer, then shoved it in his boot to use it once again when he hit the 619. He followed it up with a frog splash for the victory. While I usually hate Penta losing, I really enjoyed this.

It was a very small part of “Raw” tonight, especially when you consider the shocking finish that every fan is going to be talking about for the next week, but it was something I really enjoyed. Mysterio doesn’t need his Judgment Day stablemates around him anymore, and it’s like he’s leaning how to cheat well on his own. Mysterio’s championship defenses may not be clean victories, but I rather see him digging into his Guerrero “roots” than relying on Finn Balor and JD McDonagh to run to his aid. 

Honestly, there’s no real need for Judgment Day as a faction anymore, but with the recent happenings on the red brand, it seems like they’ll hang in there for a little while longer, likely until Liv Morgan returns and she and Mysterio can continue a Bonnie and Clyde kind of act. If Mysterio can keep cheating his way to holding on to the IC gold, as well as the AAA Mega Championship, in the meantime, he’ll remain one of the brightest and most interesting points on “Raw.”

Written by Daisy Ruth