WWE Going All in with Judgment Day, Fixing AEW's Women's Division, More Quick Takes

Will SummerSlam end with every member of The Judgment Day having a championship (or contract) to their credit?Credit: WWE.com

As The Judgment Day's domination of WWE programing continues, the only thing missing from their conquest for complete control is Finn Bálor holding gold of his own.

That could become a reality as soon as SummerSlam if he's able to best Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship, but it remains to be seen if the company is willing to go all in on the group or move forward with them breaking up as had been previously teased.

Uncertainty also surrounds AEW's women's division at the moment. The less-than-stellar bout between Britt Baker and Taya Valkyrie on Wednesday's Dynamite was proceeded by an alarmingly accurate crowd sign that only further illustrated the issue.

The women of AEW indeed deserve better booking, and even in the absence of some notable names, making the division more of a priority is undoubtedly doable.

This installment of Quick Takes will examine how AEW can improve in that area, ramping up the build to August's All In event, Asuka entering afterthought territory, and more.

Similar to how SmackDown has revolved around The Bloodline for the better part of the past three years, Raw has quickly become The Judgment Day's show since the WWE Draft in the spring.

The once-unstable stable has found their footing this year and has been a recurring highlight every Monday night. All four members gelled exceptionally well together and have cemented themselves as the red brand's most dominant force.

Currently, only Finn Bálor is without an accolade, but with the way they've been firing on all cylinders, that should change coming out of SummerSlam.

Although Seth Rollins is still early on in his run as World Heavyweight champion, Bálor beating him for the belt would freshen things up with his character and add to Judgment Day's unstoppable aura.

Rollins recently revealed on the Impaulsive podcast that he's been working hurt for years, and an extended absence could serve him well in that sense.

Most fans assume Rollins is retaining this weekend, so Bálor taking the title in unexpected fashion would not only be a welcome swerve but also delay Judgment Day's inevitable demise. There's a story to be told with Damian Priest teasing cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Bálor and building up Cody Rhodes as a challenger once he wraps up his rivalry with Brock Lesnar.

WWE and AEW have officially gone overboard with the excessive amount of Battle Royals as of late.

As confirmed on Friday's SmackDown by Adam Pearce, the latest addition to the SummerSlam card will see Superstars from SmackDown and Raw collide in a Battle Royal sponsored by Slim Jim.

This comes immediately after a tag team Battle Royal was held on Rampage to crown new number one contenders to the AEW World Tag Team Championship, one week removed from another Battle Royal (also on Rampage) that determined the number one contender to the AEW TNT Championship.

Unlike those two, however, the SummerSlam Battle Royal currently has nothing on the line, and therefore fans have no reason to care about the outcome.

Assuming it isn't bumped to the Kickoff show, it will ensure several top talents missing from SummerSlam this year will be included in the card, most notably LA Knight. He could get a memorable moment out of it if he wins, but that doesn't excuse the lack of stakes.

Both companies should make a conscious effort to tone down the tournaments and Battle Royals going forward and put something worth fighting for up for grabs to make them worthwhile when they are used.

This past year, AEW has had a tendency of waiting until the week of pay-per-views to announce a majority of the card. While most of the shows end up delivering anyway, it does a disservice to the weeks of television leading up to them when nothing is formally advertised ahead of time.

As one of the company's biggest events of all-time, All In on August 27 should be the ultimate exception.

Despite that, not a single match has been made official for the show, and worse yet, fans don't have a clear idea of what to expect, either.

MJF is bound to defend his AEW World Championship, but it's unknown if Adam Cole will be the challenger. Sting has said he has planned to compete at All In, but having not appeared on programming in over a month, there is no obvious opponent for him.

AEW Women's World champion Toni Storm isn't in the midst of a significant storyline at the moment, and the anticipated CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks rematch is taking place next Saturday on Collision instead of at Wembley Stadium (unless a third match is in the cards).

All of these questions will likely be answered in the coming weeks, but this week's set of shows should be where most of these matches begin taking shape to avoid the audience feeling like they're being left in the dark.

As star-studded of a Triple Threat as the WWE Women's Championship match appears to be on paper for SummerSlam, it's been painfully apparent that Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair is the focal point of the program, rendering current champ Asuka an afterthought.

It's more or less been the story of her entire main roster run in WWE. Any time she's been built up, she's been overshadowed by The Four Horsewomen or fresher faces such as Belair or Rhea Ripley.

The Empress of Tomorrow ended Belair's record-setting reign as champion in late May, yet SmackDown's women's division has been built around the brewing tension between Belair and Flair. Asuka has essentially been booked as the third heel heading into SummerSlam.

The only way her reign can be validated is if she retains by beating both women in decisive fashion at the event. Otherwise, the efforts she's made to overhaul her character will have been for nothing.

Flair and Belair can continue to feud post-SummerSlam, but it doesn't need to involve the gold. Asuka vs. Iyo Sky looks to be on the horizon, and a Money in the Bank cash-in could be coming soon, but Asuka needs an emphatic victory for that to mean anything.

The women's division has long been AEW's Achilles' heel–and not for a lack of talent.

The promotion has done a wonderful job of bolstering the scene with world-class competitors over the last four years and producing several standout matches but not too many earth-shattering storylines. It remains an issue even now with there being next to no ongoing feuds for the females.

The Outcasts have dominated the division with Toni Storm at the helm as champion, but there hasn't been any progression with them as a group in months. Their feud with Britt Baker quietly ended without any resolution, and challengers are being built up at random.

Kris Statlander has lost a lot of her momentum since returning to claim the AEW TBS Championship at Double or Nothing, and it hasn't helped that Thunder Rosa, Jamie Hayter and Jade Cargill are all out at the moment for various reasons.

Booking one women's match per show is the bare minimum. More must be done to make them an exciting fixture on the weekly programming as opposed to a novelty.

Storm vs. Hikaru Shida on Wednesday's Dynamite is a solid step in the right direction, but it should be more than a one-off with All In fast approaching. Consistent storytelling with the women is integral to elevating the division to the level it should be.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.