Damian Priest’s recent heel turn on R-Truth was not WWE’s original long-term direction. According to a new backstage report, a sudden shift in creative plans and Rhea Ripley’s injury heavily influenced the decision to split the popular duo.
During an October 5 Q&A session, TC of WrestleVotes revealed that WWE initially intended to keep the “Terror Twins” pairing of Priest and Ripley together on television. However, once Ripley sustained an injury, creative executives had to pivot quickly to give Priest a meaningful storyline in her absence.
“I can tell you that his booking was kind of a wait-and-see on where Rhea Ripley was with her injury,” TC explained. “They like the Terror Twins a lot, and they wanted to continue the Terror Twins pairing in some form and fashion. As they continued to play the waiting game with her return, it seemed the best thing to do was to put a title on him and Truth and see how far they can go on that.”
Why WWE Shifted Damian Priest Back To A Heel Role
While Priest and R-Truth captured the Tag Team Championship and entertained audiences for several weeks, WWE management eventually felt the comedic pairing limited Priest’s overall potential on the roster. Consequently, creative writers decided to transition him back into a solo role that fit his natural character dynamics.
“They were Tag Team Champions for a few weeks,” TC noted. “It felt like, you know what, Damian Priest is more than this tag team with R-Truth. If anything, it’s reducing him rather than improving him. So how do we go back to where it started? Turning heel. At some point, when Rhea Ripley is back, you can turn Priest back to face and they can be Terror Twins yet again, or maybe they shelved the idea with the prognostication of how Rhea is. But I can tell you, at some point, they wanted to continue the Terror Twins pairing. She’s put on the shelf, you put him in a tag team with Truth. Alright, that’s as far as we can go with these guys. One’s gonna turn, and it’s gonna be Damian Priest, who is more of a natural heel.”
Following their tag title loss, Priest brutally attacked R-Truth at the WWE Performance Center to solidify the turn. Additionally, WWE began leaning heavily into Priest’s darker roots and Bronx background on the September 25 episode of SmackDown, proving the company remains fully committed to his heel run.
RELATED: Damian Priest Assaults R-Truth At WWE Performance Center In Heated Angle
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