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#2 Damian Priest could appear at Royal Rumble
Damian Priest's rise in NXT was similar to what Keith Lee had in NXT. Priest was first a heel and had middling success. He turned face earlier this year and won the North American title in a ladder match at TakeOver: XXX.
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As Champion, he battled Gargano and others but has maintained his face status. Conventional thinking would lead the WWE Universe to think that he might enter into the NXT Championship picture at some point. But since he's the first target of a returning Karrion Kross, that might not happen.
Priest is one of the more polished prospects in NXT and could easily make a debut in the Royal Rumble. He has shown that he's confident in his character and his in-ring skill is ready for the main roster. The Royal Rumble would also give Mr. McMahon and the creative a look at what he can do since he may not follow NXT.
It certainly seems like Priest has the "It Factor" that stars need to get over, but the main facet that drives that is faith from the creative. If he isn't going to go much further in NXT, decision-makers might see something in Priest and call him up to RAW or SmackDown. The Royal Rumble could be a big break for someone like Damian Priest.
