Damian Priest Is One Of WWE's Worst Booked Champions (2024)

When Damian Priest won the Money in the Bank briefcase, it was a deserving moment for a 40-year-old wrestler who spent two decades in the business working his way up through the indies, to his time in Ring of Honor as Punishment Martinez, before finally making it to NXT and WWE's main roster. After Priest won the briefcase, however, he began to look foolish as he never cashed it in, even in moments when Seth Rollins was hurt. It all ended perfectly, as the patience resulted in Priest cashing in on the biggest stage of all, WrestleMania 40, beating Drew McIntyre just minutes into his reign as World Heavyweight Champion. Since then, Priest has done little and has felt like nothing more than a placeholder for a bigger feud and more exciting storylines. What was even the point of giving him the title in the first place?

Damian Priest Deserved To Be World Heavyweight Champion

The Judgment Day Became WWE's Best Faction

• Damian Priest became a bigger star in the Judgment Day
• Damian Priest has the look of a major WWE star
• Drew McIntyre lost his newly won Heavyweight Championship to Damian Priest at WrestleMania 40

Damian Priest could have been a midcarder for the rest of his career. If he wasn't going to be a main eventer by 40, then it probably wasn't going to happen. Instead, Priest kept working, going from a mediocre singles star, to being elevated in his status as part of Raw's Judgment Day faction. With the group having no true leader, every member, from Priest, to Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, and Dominik Mysterio felt equally important. All of them became more successful from being together, and although they were bad guys, it was hard to boo them. Rhea Ripley became a babyface without even playing one, and although Dom Dom gets booed out of the building, it's done out of fun, a sign of respect for a superstar who is killing it in his role.

At 6'5" and 250 pounds, with his tattoos, long hair, and deep voice, Damian Priest looked like a main eventer, a man who could easily pass the wrestling airport test. All he needed was to be given a chance. He got it by winning Money in the Bank, but his time with the briefcase was so cold that it began to feel like he was going to lose whenever he did cash in. Instead, he won, becoming World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 40, as nearly 70,000 fans roared with joy. Everything after has gone wrong, but in truth, even the crowning moment itself had its issues.

Damian Priest Is Not The Best Part Of His Feud With Drew McIntyre

CM Punk Has Overshadowed The World Heavyweight Champion

• Damian Priest became champion because CM Punk attacked Drew McIntyre
• Clash at the Castle is in Drew McIntyre's home country of Scotland
• Fans chant for CM Punk even when it's just Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre in the ring

Part of the reason fans cheered so loudly about Damian Priest becoming champion is that it was a celebration of Drew McIntyre losing. WWE went into January hyping the potential of Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania 40, but after Punk tore his triceps at the Royal Rumble, that plan went out the window. This allowed the company to step into an intriguing backup plan. Drew McIntyre was not a fan of Punk being back in WWE, and after it was Drew who accidentally hurt Punk with a Future Shock DDT, it allowed McIntyre to set his sights on Punk, mocking him at every turn to the point of obsession. At WrestleMania, after McIntyre finally had his crowning moment in front of fans and mocked Punk some more, Chicago's favorite son finally struck back, attacking McIntyre and allowing Priest to cash in.

Damian Priest has done very little since becoming champion. He comes out and gives dull promos that go nowhere, and has bounced back and forth between acting as a babyface and a heel so much that fans don't know how to react to him. Priest did have a nice match with Jey Uso at Backlash, but it was a rushed feud where the end was always known. Damian Priest has now moved on to Drew McIntyre, who has been cleared following his own injury. This, in theory, should be great, but for two reasons it's not. One, Clash at the Castle is in Scotland, McIntyre's home country. There's no way he's not walking out of there as World Heavyweight Champion. Two, WWE is setting up Drew McInytre vs. CM Punk, potentially at SummerSlam, even before Punk has been cleared. Drew McIntyre talks about Punk more than he does Priest, and last week, with Priest and McIntyre in the ring, it was Punk the fans chanted for. Damian Priest has become a prop, someone given the title just to further the storyline of others, before he drops it back to the stars we're really interested in.

Drew McIntyre summed it up on Twitter/X, saying that his 5:46 long reign is "talked about more than Priest’s entire run with the belt." He's not wrong.

WWE Teased The Break-Up Of The Judgment Day

Damian Priest Has Taken A Back Seat To The Dominik Mysterio Drama

• WWE was showing division in the Judgment Day
• Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio hog all the Judgment Day spotlight now
• Damian Priest will have to lose his title to recover his character

While Damian Priest deserves a longer reign, it's understandable that WWE wants to go with the big money match of Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk. It looked like Damian Priest was going to have a more interesting storyline without the title anyway, as segments have shown the Judgment Day not getting along, with Priest asking the others to stay out of his business, but they continued not to listen to him, especially Finn Balor. It felt like it was leading to the Judgment Day turning on Priest, sending him to a babyface role, but that has taken a backseat. The Judgment Day stories now are all about Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio, and while those are exciting, it has put Priest in the background again with nothing to do.

Fans want to cheer Damian Priest. He's a good talent that deserves to be at the top, maybe even as a babyface main eventer, but at every turn, WWE treats him as the other person in more important segments. He's the champion, but he doesn't feel like it. Sadly, it's probably going to take him losing the World Heavyweight Championship he just won for anything to change.