Joey Mercury believes the manner of Edge’s victory over AJ Styles on the second night of WrestleMania 38 did not make any sense.
Edge defeated Styles in 24 minutes and five seconds, making it the longest match on the card. Following the lengthy contest, Damian Priest formed an alliance with Edge after appearing at ringside to distract Styles.
Mercury, a former WWE producer and superstar, told WSI’s James Romero that Priest’s sudden appearance in the closing stages lacked logic. If the former United States Champion really wanted to help Edge, Mercury thinks he would have arrived earlier in the match:
“Logically, to me, this was the sh**s," Mercury said. "It doesn’t make any sense. There were several times that AJ Styles went out to the apron in an attempt to show that he wanted to connect with his Phenomenal Forearm. [Where] the f*** was Damian Priest?! He got really lucky that AJ didn’t connect with those first two attempts!” [57:17-57:47]
Mercury added that the match felt like a 24-minute vehicle to get The Ultimate Opportunist and Priest to stand next to each other at the end. Given the animosity between Styles and The Rated-R Superstar, he also questioned why the rivals used basic wrestling moves like abdominal stretches.
Joey Mercury predicts big things for Damian Priest after aligning with Edge at WrestleMania 38
Damian Priest pledged his loyalty to the Hall of Famer during an in-ring promo on the post-WrestleMania 38 episode of RAW. The two men also attacked AJ Styles, prompting a group of referees and producers to save the two-time WWE Champion.
Having worked with Priest in Ring of Honor, Joey Mercury is confident he will succeed in his role as Edge’s new ally:
“He can do anything and for as long as he wants to, especially now as evident by the end of this thing," Mercury said. "Being aligned with Edge is something that’s gonna give him a rub and elevate him past what he was doing. It’s good to see because that guy, once he gets elevated, he’s gonna stay there.” [56:38-57:05]
Priest held the United States Championship for 191 days between August 2021 and February 2022 before losing the title to Finn Balor. Prior to that, his only other title reign came during his time in NXT when he held the North American Championship for 67 days.
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