Likely reason for Damian Priest's massive botch at Money in the Bank, according to WWE legend

Damian Priest walked out of WWE Money in the Bank as the World Heavyweight Champion. A WWE legend recently gave his two cents about a botched spot during the big match that nearly ruined the finish.

Damian Priest defended his World Heavyweight Championship in a high-stakes match against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank. Late in the contest, Seth had Damian down with a knee strike and pinned him for the three count. Priest could not kick out of the pin attempt in time, causing confusion as the referee stopped the count before three regardless.

Seconds later, Drew McIntyre’s music hit and The Scottish Warrior cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during the show. His involvement made the match a Triple Threat Contest.

Many blamed Damian Priest for not kicking out in time and forcing the referee to stop before the three count. Meanwhile, others blamed the WWE production team for being too late in playing McIntyre’s music. WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray noted that it was the referee who knew what was going on in the ring and did not go ahead with the planned move.

Speaking on the latest edition of Busted Open Radio, Bully said that Damian Priest looked to be knocked out by Seth Rollins’ knee prior to the pinfall. He noted that The Archer’s fingers were moving unnaturally.

"It's a very unnatural movement in the ring, and whenever something goes wrong, I look for unnatural movement in a wrestler's body," Bully said. "Does a wrestler's body go stiff? Does it contort in a weird way? I looked at Priest's eyes, and he looked away, and there was nothing there. He was out... I think Priest got knocked out for a quick second, thus why he couldn't kick out. That's the only thing that makes logical sense to me."

He added that the referee was put in a difficult position as he couldn’t just stop counting with the World Heavyweight Champion’s shoulders on the mat.

"So the referee obviously knows what the finish is, and knows that's not the finish right in front of him, "Bully said. "So he doesn't count the three. But once you don't count the three, you leave everybody in a very precarious and exposed position. However, the referee that knows that if he does count to three, whatever is going to happen after that has now been affected. It's a hard situation to be in." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)

CM Punk ruined the party for McIntyre, who had won the Money in the Bank briefcase that very night. He viciously attacked The Scottish Warrior and allowed Damian Priest to pin him for the win.

---

Damian Priest will be glad to have Rhea Ripley back after WWE Money in the Bank

Damian Priest has been leading Judgment Day over the past few months after Rhea Ripley suffered an injury. However, not everything has been well in the group after Liv Morgan has worked to take down the faction.

Ripley returned on the latest edition of WWE RAW after Money in the Bank. She chased off Liv Morgan and is seemingly set to get some answers out of Dominik Mysterio.

The focus will now shift to Rhea Ripley again as she looks like the most dominant member of the group. WWE can continue her storyline with Liv to make matters more interesting in the coming months. Meanwhile, Damian Priest can focus on his title as he will face Gunther at SummerSlam.