Damian Priest Talks Joining The Judgment Day – Before The Judgment Day reached its current version, Damian Priest received a phone call he didn’t expect. The former United States Champion spoke with Rich Ucchino of “Bleav Pro Wrestling” and was asked about the origins of him aligning with Edge, the original leader of the group. Priest reveals that it was the WWE Hall of Famer himself that called to pitch the idea his way.
“My phone says his name and I’m like, ‘Oh, man,’” Priest said. “… He’s just like, ‘Hey, so I got this idea,’ and like, ‘What do you think?’ And then I’m like, ‘What? Why are you asking me? Tell me what to do!’”
Priest mentioned how he didn’t know how to accept the idea without coming off silly, but inside, he was beaming with excitement.
“It’s the coolest thing [to see] it was Edge calling me to ask me if I’m interested. He didn’t even have to ask, but he did ’cause he’s cool,” he said. “The fact that he thought of me is wild to me. He’s like, ‘Naturally, I thought of you.’ And I’m like, naturally? I don’t even know why I’m so lucky, but cool, it’s Edge. So, it was a great feeling and moment to receive that call.”
The situation became even more exciting for Priest when he got the word that good friend (and pants borrower) Rhea Ripley was going to be joining the faction.
“Edge told me and asked me about The Judgment Day idea, and this was before we even had a name, it was just the idea of forming a group that day. Because he said, ‘You, naturally you,’ and ‘Rhea Ripley.’ We were the first on his list hands down. He wanted us to be with him, which I thought was super cool.
“He saw two people that had a certain style that he digs, similar to Edge. It’s that rock-star-ish, goth, darker vibe, and bigger people. We just have a lot of similarities that he felt like he could mold us into becoming bigger stars than we were, and again, for me, obviously, with our friendship, I was super excited that to know that was the idea. Now, was it going to be 100% a thing? That we didn’t know until the day. You never know, things could always change, even including me being by his side at WrestleMania. That was what we hoped for, but you never know. Creative could change, a lot of things could change in between, especially when there’s a lot of time.”
“I probably was just as excited as Rhea was for her to be a part of this, just cause I was so happy for her, you know? It was known for a while. At least on Edge and I’s viewpoint, we, since the beginning, we knew, or at least we wanted her to be a part of us.”
It was at “Hell In A Cell” where Priest, Ripley, and Edge ended up winning their intergender six-person tag match against AJ Styles, Finn Balor, and Liv Morgan. The Judgment Day secured the win when Edge speared Finn Balor and covered him for the pinfall.
The night after on “Raw”, Balor would actually join The Judgment Day stable. But it was then revealed that he, Priest, and Rhea would be moving forward without their former leader, Edge. That was when they attacked the WWE HoF’er and left him incapacitated after a conchairto.
