If you pulled anyone off the street and asked them what The Judgment Day should be focusing on before their Six-Pack Challenge Ladder Match at WrestleMania 40, I guarantee you that not one of them would say “the guy who took out their rookie member in a gauntlet match.” Well, here we are.

Instead of focusing their efforts on intimidating or sabotaging the confirmed challengers for their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships, The Judgment Day are instead choosing to spend their time and energy targeting … Ricochet. Ricochet serves no threat to their tag team title reign, and The Judgment Day decide that instead of targeting The New Day, Awesome Truth (they literally have so much history with R-Truth), and DIY, their energy would be best spent focusing their efforts on Ricochet. With three weeks to go to WrestleMania, there is not nearly enough time to give this match the build-up and catharsis it deserves.

So why are we even wasting time on this side quest?

If it’s to fill out another spot on TV: save it. The Judgment Day literally are defending their titles at WrestleMania 40 in a ladder match that combines newer tag teams like DIY with veteran, record-setting duos like The New Day. There are so many possibilities to fill in that time slot and get The Judgment Day on TV. Right now, The Judgment Day are made to be side characters in their own title defense. It’s ridiculous, it’s disrespectful, and it’s doing a huge disservice to the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships. What good are the champions and the titles they hold if they choose to focus their efforts on Ricochet with less than three weeks until ‘Mania?

If it’s to get Ricochet on TV: now is not the best time. Again, with less than a month until WrestleMania, there is no way to get Ricochet on that card in a satisfying way. If you wanted to reintroduce Ricochet into the WrestleMania pool, that should have been done earlier. If you just wanted to get Ricochet back on TV, period, then the “Raw” after WrestleMania would be perfect to bring him back as a high-profile return. Bringing him back now just to have him in this barely-a-feud with Judgment Day does nothing except fill a time slot.

Ricochet is an incredibly talented performer who put out a great showing against Dominik Mysterio Monday night, but he is the unfortunate victim of pre-WrestleMania booking. He has the potential to be a main course, but right now he is being treated as Judgment Day’s appetizer. The thing is: you don’t need an appetizer before WrestleMania — it’ll spoil the rest of the meal.

At this point, it doesn’t even feel right to call it a side quest. Side quests at least offer you experience and reward items upon completion. Whatever this is? This will pay off for nobody.

Written by Angeline Phu