WWE has a Damian Priest problem. It’s weird to say out loud because Damian Priest is a good wrestler with a fantastic look. He’s part of Judgment Day, the best non-Bloodline stable in WWE, is one half of the Tag Team Champions and has arguably gotten more screen time than anyone but a handful of people on the WWE roster over the last year. He’s great and one of my favorite guys on Raw, but flukey circumstances and poor timing have conspired to make his Money In The Bank briefcase a major inconvenience. So now, WWE only has a few months to figure out what to do without harming long-term story plans and without doing long-term damage to Priest’s character.
Let’s back up for a second and talk about how we got here. Last summer, Judgment Day was on a terrific run. They were main eventing most episodes of Raw, and Damian Priest seemed like the next character, after Rhea Ripley, that was ready to break out from the faction. WWE rewarded him with the biggest win of his career at Money In The Bank, which allowed him a shot at any title he wanted at any time. Most fans assumed he’d grab the World Heavyweight Championship off Seth Freakin’ Rollins at some point, but instead, WWE decided to have Finn Bálor feud with Seth and use the briefcase to sew dissension in Judgment Day. Then CM Punk came back, Seth Rollins got hurt, Drew McIntyre went on the best run of his career, and now, it’s almost WrestleMania and Priest is still holding on to his briefcase.
Over the last few months, the general consensus has shifted from Priest will definitely cash in his briefcase successfully on Seth Rollins to Priest is probably going to fail whenever he tries to cash in his briefcase. Failed cash-ins have to happen. It’s important for WWE to leave some doubt about a Money In The Bank win, but it’s also important to acknowledge that failing to cash-in can be a career setback. Poor Austin Theory went from looking like a rising star to being treated like a joke by fans when he blew his cash-in, and the list of the other people who have lost with the briefcase is filled with several who never regained their momentum like Damian Sandow and Baron Corbin.
I want to see Damian Priest successfully cash in. I think he has more unfulfilled potential and is worthy of at least a transitional championship run, but WWE needs to do it thoughtfully and at the right time. If I was in Triple H and Bruce Prichard and company’s ears, here’s what I’d recommend…
Seth Rollins is recovering from an injury and Drew McIntyre’s story has been that Covid robbed him of his big moment when he won the title without fans. I’d like to see Drew McIntyre get that big moment at WrestleMania 40. I’d like to see him beat Seth Rollins and just as he goes to celebrate it, I’d like to see Damian Priest cash-in and take it away from him. That would give Drew McIntyre the big money WrestleMania win his character really needs, while also putting him immediately in a position to chase the title again.
McIntyre has been positioned as a heel for the last few months, but I think he works best as a tweener. I want to see him fighting everyone, and the fans can decide whether or not to root for him based on who else he’s involved with. When he eventually faces CM Punk down the line, they can boo him and root for Punk. If he were to face Damian Priest at Backlash, the fans can root for McIntyre. It would be the right evolution for his character.
And it would allow Priest to look pretty strong. No one thinks he should be beating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. He has a long way to go before he’s truly on that level, but having even a short run with The World Heavyweight Championship would really solidify him as a lower main event guy and give WWE so many possibilities down the road.
The conventional wisdom has been that Damian Priest needs to fail in his cash-in because he’s obviously not beating Roman Reigns and the program between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre is too hot right now to disrupt. I agree. Cashing in on Drew McIntyre after he wins, however, would only give The Scottish Warrior another valid reason to be furious, and it would set up a great main event for Backlash, while protecting Priest's character. To paraphrase Judgment Day, I'd rise for that.
