Damian Priest recently spoke about moments leading up to winning the World Heavyweight Championship, and he also his feelings surrounding his recent loss of the championship to Gunther. Damian Priest rose through the ranks of the WWE roster this year. He went from being a midcard tag team champion to winning the World Heavyweight Championship.
The peak of Damian Priest’s career so far is certainly winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase during Night 2 on Drew McIntyre, who had just won the title from Seth Rollins. The cash-in was successful, granting Priest the highly coveted championship.
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During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Damian Priest spoke about the night of WrestleMania XL. He revealed that winning the championship was not set in stone and was told things could change up until the moment he walked out. he stated the following:
“That whole day at WrestleMania 40, it was insane. So many things had already changed. The closer we got to it, many people who are very, very smart came up to me and said, ‘Things can change.’ So you never know. I knew things could change, even up to the last minute.
“I was sitting in Gorilla for the whole match, laser-focused on the match. I had to, otherwise I’d have gone crazy. Then, when the bell rang, that’s when it became real. Like I said, it was insane.”
Damian Priest Cashing in His Briefcase Paid Off
Priest had won the Men’s Money in the Bank match almost a year earlier. He held onto that briefcase the whole time up until WrestleMania. It was starting to become a running joke how many times he attempted to cash in his briefcase only to fail in the process. At WrestleMania, Priest finally decided it was time, and he finally won the World Heavyweight Title.
Having the World Heavyweight Championship around Priest’s waist put him on top of the Raw roster. He held the title for 118 days before losing the title earlier in the month to Imperium’s Gunther at WWE SummerSlam 2024. Priest explained to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso about his title loss and what the high-profile match meant to him. He continued:
“It’s inevitable. When you win this belt, the only guarantee is you’re going to lose it. But I’m not losing sight of what we accomplished. I’m the world champ walking into SummerSlam–that’s crazy.And forget for a moment about everything GUNTHER has said to me and what I’ve said to him. We’re not part of that class of the main guys.”
“We’re seen as strong characters on TV, but we’re not Seth Rollins, we’re not Punk, we’re not Drew or Roman. We’re not the regularly scheduled programmed guys. AJ, Randy, Finn, we’re none of those guys. The fact it was GUNTHER and me in this high-profile world title match, that’s big. There were so many boys and girls in the locker room who were like, ‘One of us made it.’ That was my favorite part, hearing my peers talk about when it meant to them.”
The loss should not count out Damian Priest. He noted that losing the title has only grown his hunger for victory. Now, Priest is setting his sights on new accomplishments, noting that he is “hungrier now more than ever!
Priest being so focused on defending his World Heavyweight Championship had left a flaw in Judgement Day. It was a flaw Liv Morgan exploited and created a divide in the powerful faction. Finn Bálor betrayed Priest and cost him the championship in his match with GUNTHER. The heart-and-soul of Judgement Day, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, betrayed Ripley and cost her the match with Morgan.
The current standing with Judgement Day is Priest and Ripley vs. everyone else. It’s a tough position to be in and they may need to call in their secret member and backup, R-Truth. However, without the distraction of the other group members Priest can focus on regaining his championship and accomplishing larger goals. Once he has dealt with his betrayers of course.
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Do you think the way Damian Priest won the World Heavyweight Championship was the right way to do it? Or should it have been a singles match with the champion? Would you rather have seen a singles match with him and Seth Rollins or with Drew McIntyre for the championship? Do you think GUNTHER was the right choice to take the title? Let us know on social media what you think will happen next with the Judgement Day.
SOURCE: Sports Illustrated
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