"I almost cried when I did that" - Damian Priest talks dreamlike Royal Rumble and RAW debut [Exclusive]
It's hard to ask for a better debut on Monday Night RAW than what WWE had in store for Damian Priest this past week. He competed in his first Royal Rumble match, got a tip of the cap from two WWE legends, won his debut match, and got to work with a Grammy-nominated artist.
Speaking to SK Wrestling recently, Damian Priest said his debut week couldn't have kicked off in a more appropriate way. The Royal Rumble was his favorite event every year growing up, and when he found himself competing in the Rumble match this year, he was hit with all the emotions.
"I was going out of my mind and I was like 'I can't believe this is happening.' You know? When you hear people say, like, that was a special experience or that was cool and I'll cherish that and remember it for the rest of my life. I think that gets said a lot and it just gets, you know, kind of lost because people say so often. But for me, that's one of those that's actually true. Like, this is the one."
Damian Priest said his Royal Rumble performance, to date, is the biggest moment of his career - in large part due to the other stars in the ring with him. When Priest hit the ring, he was battling it out with the likes of Edge, Bobby Lashley, and Kane. Squaring off against The Big Red Machine was a truly special experience for Priest because that was an opportunity he never thought he'd get to experience as a star.
"If he's going to appear, then he's going to be with some special people. Like I just figured, I don't know, I just counted myself out of that situation. And then... here it is. Like 'oh man, he's in the ring'! And then yeah, I eliminated him. I almost cried when I did that."
Damian Priest joked that he was apologetic when he tossed Kane out of the ring and wanted the veteran to get back in there and throw him out. The Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, did one better though. Instead of seeking revenge, he put The Archer of Infamy over for a second time in a backstage interview.
Not to outdo the nod of approval from the Devil's Favorite Demon, but the next night on RAW, Damian Priest got the old handshake and a pat on the back from Edge. It turns out that the 2021 Royal Rumble winner went out of his way to get the quick segment on TV.
"He did that on his own. That did nothing for him. Like, he doesn't gain anything by going out of his way to say nice things about me. You know like, 'okay that's cool.' But for me, I'll know that and that means the world to me. And the same thing with Kane. I had no idea. I saw it on social media like everybody else. I had no idea he said anything about me. Then when I heard what he said, I was like, 'What?!" And then by the time I saw it I couldn't even find him to thank him."
Damian Priest called his interactions with the stars that came before him truly unbelievable and made him pause and think about how he got to this point in his career.
Working with Bad Bunny was the icing on the cake for Damian Priest
As if competing in his first Royal Rumble match, making his RAW debut, and getting high praise from two of the industry's best wasn't enough, Damian Priest also got to be onscreen with one of the most popular recording artists today.
Bad Bunny provided the distraction needed during the Royal Rumble to allow Damian Priest to eliminate The Miz and John Morrison. Bad Bunny chose to get involved in the match after The Miz smashed his equipment with the Money in the Bank Briefcase.
After the former Tag Team Champions were eliminated from the Rumble, Bad Bunny jumped to the top rope and delivered a splash that would have made Snoop Dogg jealous.
Damian Priest was front and center as Bad Bunny went flying. The next night on RAW, the Grammy nominee lent a helping in hand in his match against The Miz. For Damian Priest, working with Bad Bunny was the icing on the cake of a truly great weekend.
"Tell me how I should complain about being involved with one of the hottest and most popular human beings on the planet. Yeah, sounds good to me. But also like, I love what I do and I love just being happy and loving life. And seeing him doing that, I was excited for him. He was so excited and so happy. Cause he's a huge fan. So for me to see him, you know, like his enjoyment made me happy as well, just because he's a good dude."
Damian Priest told SK Wrestling that Bad Bunny genuinely loves wrestling and was having the time of his life this week at the Royal Rumble and on RAW. Priest said that getting to watch Bad Bunny react to everything in the back and interact with the people was really cool to see.
Make sure to check out the video above to hear Damian Priest address the rumors about Bad Bunny working at the WWE Performance Center and a possible match with him at WrestleMania 37.