Damian Priest kept true to his word about the Money in the Bank cash-in a year ago: What did the WWE star say?

Damian Priest shocked the world at WrestleMania XL by cashing in his Money in The Bank briefcase on Drew McIntyre and becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He waited nine months to cash in but created one of the most memorable moments in 'Mania history on Night Two at Lincoln Financial Field in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

The Archer of Infamy picked the bones of McIntyre, who CM Punk attacked after The Best in the World was mocked by the Scottish heavyweight after his victory. McIntyre went just over 10 minutes with Seth Rollins in a finisher frenzy Night Two opener for the world title and triumphed.

Damian Priest flew down the ramp, smashed the hapless Scottish Psychopath on the head with his briefcase, and cashed in. The new World Heavyweight Champion hit his South of Heaven Chokeslam to ensure he'd get the three count, which was inevitable given the punishment McIntyre had endured previously.

However, the circumstances of Priest's victory come as no surprise, at least to himself. The 41-year-old foreshadowed winning the title by heaping more woes on a downed champion just four days after winning the briefcase.

Check out what he said on WWE's The Bump on July 5th, 2023:

"To all the champions, I'm gonna make it known, this is not a secret, you don't have to guess. I'm not gonna cash in this contract in a respectful way. I'm gonna wait until my opponent's beaten, battered, useless, that's when I'll cash in. So for all the champions, when you're down and out, and you think things can't get worse, I'll be seeing you!" [26:55]

Damian Priest is the third holder of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Fans had concluded that he'd either run out of time to cash in the briefcase or lose his opportunity but the former two-time Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion set the world on fire with one of the best cash-ins in history.

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Damian Priest's WrestleMania 40 cash-in was reportedly planned months in advance

Fans grew impatient with Damian Priest's indecisiveness about cashing in his Money in The Bank briefcase. The clock was ticking towards its expiration date, which would have been at this year's Money in the Bank event on July 6.

That may have been an intriguing story to see Priest rushing to try and get a cash-in secured in the final moments. It was inconceivable that The Judgment Day member would cash in on either Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes as they were rivaling in possibly the biggest story in WWE's history.

However, the World Heavyweight Championship picture was intriguing, given Seth Rollins was concentrating on his WrestleMania 40 main event. He teamed with Rhodes in a loss to Reigns and The Rock.

Damian Priest cashing in for the world title at 'Mania appears to be a long time coming. SEScoops' Aaron Varble reported that it wasn't a last-minute booking decision and had been planned six months in advance.

Intriguingly, CM Punk looked likely to be Rollins' challenger at Lincoln Financial Field until he tore his tricep at the Royal Rumble. One has to ponder whether Priest would've cashed in on The Best in The World if he'd prevailed.