Damian Priest has looked back on one of the biggest matches of his career and how he had to fight to make it a possibility.
2023 was a breakout year for The Judgment Day member. On top of winning the Money in the Bank briefcase in London and the Tag Team Championships later in the year, Priest also faced off against music megastar Bad Bunny at Backlash. Airing live in Puerto Rico, a hot crowd loudly cheered on Bad Bunny in what was easily the match of the night.
While the match was heavily praised for both Priest and Bunny’s performances and the great atmosphere from the fans, it almost did not happen.
Speaking on The Rob Brown Show, Priest discussed the match and how important it was for him, adding that he and Bad Bunny fought to make it possible:
“It’s one of those things that it goes beyond one match, one performance, one win or loss. What we did culturally was big. We set the tone for the idea that WWE would do all these events outside of the United States and have success. You listen to the crowd; you saw the records that were broken. It’s obvious that this could be done everywhere. Not to say that the company wasn’t going to go in this direction anyway, but I think it made everybody feel a little more comfortable knowing that there is a positive to come.
You had Bad Bunny and myself doing something special on the island. We fought for the show, by the way. It wasn’t guaranteed that Backlash was going to be in Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny and I specifically fought for it. We fought to get others like Savio Vega and Carlito involved and other Latinos, in general, on the show. We needed them to represent. No matter where their heritage was from, we needed representation.”
Continuing, Priest noted how Backlash in Puerto Rico was able to set the stage for hometown heroes appearing at future international events such as Rhea Ripley and Drew McIntyre:
“That set the table for things like Rhea Ripley headlining in Perth and that show revolving around her. We have Berlin coming up, and that’s going to be Gunther’s domain. He was Scotland, and that’s Drew McIntyre’s domain. It’s cool that we’re going to all these different places internationally and having someone to represent them. That shows the expansion of the company, the individuals, and our fanbase growing.”
Interesting Detail About Damian Priest’s WWE Contract Negotiations
Shortly after WrestleMania, Damian Priest confirmed that he had re-signed with WWE in what was another achievement to add to his eventful past 12 months. In a new report by Fightful Select about the deal, it was noted that negotiations between the two sides “came down to the wire” and that his deal was “days away” from expiring.
H/t to Fightful.