Hall of Famer thinks backstage reason could decide Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre winner (Exclusive)
Drew McIntyre will challenge Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at Clash at the Castle on June 15. Legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter expects the much-anticipated match to end with a title change.
Many fans and experts think McIntyre will capture the World Heavyweight Championship, especially as the event takes place in his home country of Scotland. However, it has also been widely speculated that The Scottish Warrior's rival CM Punk could try to jeopardize another title win.
Apter, a member of several wrestling Hall of Fames, appeared on the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine with Mac Davis and Teddy Long. He questioned whether some backstage in WWE would prefer McIntyre to win the title for marketing reasons:
"I think it's gonna be an excellent match. Drew McIntyre, to me, a lot like Randy Orton, is better on this time around, that he's come around. I think right now, in terms of marketing, that Drew McIntyre needs to be champion. As great as Damian Priest is, when you ask people about who is the world champion in WWE, you ask a casual fan, they can't think of who it is," Apter said. [From 04:29 – 05:02]
While he has no issue with Priest as World Heavyweight Champion, Apter thinks McIntyre has more star power right now:
"Because as great as Priest is, he doesn't have that fever that Drew McIntyre has to go way far beyond and make people remember him. When Drew McIntyre wins the championship, everybody's gonna be talking about him. That's what I think." [From 05:02 – 05:23]
Watch the video above to hear Teddy Long's reaction to the news that Jim Ross and Missy Hyatt dated for two years.
Bill Apter on Drew McIntyre possibly losing to Damian Priest
Regardless of whether Drew McIntyre wins or loses, Bill Apter expects his storyline with CM Punk to feature prominently on television after the event.
In Apter's opinion, McIntyre winning the title from Damian Priest would make a future match with Punk even more interesting:
"Think how much more valuable this will be if Drew McIntyre loses the match because of a distraction or Drew McIntyre wins the belt and then the ante goes up when CM Punk challenges him for the World Heavyweight Championship, which is something I'd like to see." [From 07:37 – 08:01]
Since WrestleMania XL, Priest's only televised title defense came against Jey Uso at Backlash France. He has also defended the gold at untelevised events against superstars including Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
What do you think will happen between Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
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