Damian Priest on cashing-in at WrestleMania 40: “It was a long wait in Gorilla”
There was quite a wait, but it paid off in a spectacular moment at WrestleMania
With WrestleMania taking place this weekend, Undisputed is running a special series each day this week.
The Road to WrestleMania is a series of stories detailing some of the most defining moments throughout the history of WrestleMania.
Tuesday: Damian Priest on cashing in at WrestleMania 40
Wednesday: Shawn Michaels on his first singles match at WrestleMania VIII
Thursday: Hulk Hogan on initial plans for the original WrestleMania
Friday: WrestleMania 41 predictions
For Damian Priest, waiting was the hardest part
By the time WrestleMania 40 rolled around, Damian Priest was a seasoned veteran.
Priest was set to cash-in his Money at the Bank contract and become World Heavyweight Champion. But after nearly two decades in the industry, he didn’t require any refresher that the card is always subject to change.
“I’ve been around long enough to know you never know,” said Priest. “Even that day, people were coming up to me saying, ‘Don’t get your hopes up.’ I knew things could change, even up to the last minute.”
A year ago, Priest had been wrestling for 17 years. Surprisingly, he had never been world champ with any major company.
And there was a good reason for it: Priest was a late bloomer.
Priest is Luis Martínez, a proud native of New York City. Though that is where he was born, he was raised in Puerto Rico. He didn’t learn how to speak, read, or write English until he was 11.
This late bloomer has a history of transforming into a rose, even when he is growing in concrete.
“Early in my career, I relied on generic big man wrestling, and I added in some of my martial arts background,” said Priest, who has mastered a hybrid of multiple styles, allowing him to deliver a variety of matches. “That only took me so far. I had to change to keep doing what I love doing, and I started studying the people I loved watching in wrestling.”
Priest has flourished in professional wrestling, especially over the past decade, largely because of his unrelenting work ethic. When he signed with NXT in the fall of 2018, he instantly became a locker room leader. That was a credit to his mature approach to the job, which caught the attention of Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
“Triple H had faith in me,” said Priest. “He put me in a leadership position when I came in. When something was going wrong and we’d have these all-in meetings, he’d say, ‘Let the talent handle this.’ And he’d say, ‘Priest, be the one who talks.’ This was the Adam Cole, Undisputed Era, and there were a lot of stars here. I felt honored.”
While it took Priest nearly two decades to reach the height of the industry, it should come as no surprise that he owned the moment when it finally arrived. That took place when he cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot last year at WrestleMania, capitalizing on new champ Drew McIntyre’s weakened state.
McIntyre had wrestled a brilliant match against Seth Rollins to win the title, then took his celebration outside the ring too far when mocking CM Punk. Once Punk got the upper hand on McIntyre, anticipation built as Priest sprinted out to the ring. Priest then fulfilled his wrestling destiny by becoming world champ.
“When Seth and Drew were wrestling, it was a long wait in Gorilla,” said Priest. “I was laser focused on the match. I had to, otherwise I’d have gone crazy. When I heard the bell ring, I thought, ‘Oh boy.’ That’s when it became real.”
Priest began his title run as a heel, then organically shifted to a crowd favorite. He held the belt until SummerSlam, where he lost to Gunther. Now, a year later, he is back wrestling McIntyre at WrestleMania–this time in a Sin City Street Fight.
There is no gold at stake in this match, but it serves as a prime opportunity to showcase why he belongs back in the title picture. That is exactly where Priest longs to be, and he is putting in the work to return to that very spot.
“As much as I accomplished, there’s still so much more,” said Priest. “I’m hungrier now than ever.”