Current WWE Champion reduced to tears as he discusses how thankful he is for his teammates
Several WWE Superstars emerged from WrestleMania XL with championship gold around their waists. A top star experienced the biggest night of his career in Philadelphia and had an emotional moment during a live broadcast when discussing the people who have his back.
Damian Priest teamed with Finn Balor on Night One of WrestleMania XL, but they dropped the Undisputed Tag Team Championship in the Six-Pack Ladder Match. The 41-year-old had a much better WrestleMania Sunday as he cashed in Money In the Bank to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Drew McIntyre just minutes after his title win over Seth Rollins.
The Archer of Infamy appeared on WWE's The Bump today and became emotional when talking about his brothers and sister in The Judgment Day - Balor, Rhea Ripley, JD McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio.
Priest was a bit bemused after Megan Morant asked if there is one lasting moment or one takeaway from WrestleMania 40 Week that will stick with him forever.
"Yeah... there's one moment that is going to stick with me forever. [laughs] It was doing this... [raises title]. That moment, standing on that stage, with my best friends. I've seen the pictures and seen their faces, and how happy they were... that means the world to me, that they were genuinely happy for me. [gets emotional and pauses] I'm proud to have them with me," Damian Priest said of his Judgment Day stablemates. [From 53:00 to 53:42]
Priest's first challenger as World Heavyweight Champion will be Jey Uso. Monday's RAW saw Uso become the new #1 contender by winning a Fatal 4 Way over McIntyre, Ricochet, and Bronson Reed. WWE has not announced when Uso vs. Priest will take place.
Triple H shares backstage moment with new WWE World Heavyweight Champion
Triple H and others were waiting to greet Damian Priest after he returned backstage following his surprise cash-in to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Night Two of WrestleMania XL. Priest cashed in on Drew McIntyre right after his championship victory over Seth Rollins in the WrestleMania Sunday opener.
Triple H took to X to congratulate The Archer of Infamy for his big win on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The Chief Content Officer later revealed footage of a behind-the-scenes conversation he and the Judgment Day member had.
Priest is also celebrating a big non-WWE contract. In the post-match tweet, The Game shared his signature backstage photo and congratulated the former ROH World Television Champion.
"The biggest moment of his career so far, at the biggest #WrestleMania of all time. Congrats to your NEW World Heavyweight Champion, @ArcherOfInfamy," Triple H wrote with the photo below.
Priest is now the second-ever wrestler to hold the World Heavyweight Championship under the current lineage. Rollins was the inaugural champion and WWE has his reign listed as 316 days.