WWE has stagnated Damian Priest, popular name explains

In some ways, Damian Priest is one of WWE's breakout stars in 2024. Unfortunately for Priest, not every program the company booked him in has worked. Freddie Prinze Jr. felt that Finn Bálor's interference in the former Judgment Day star's World Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series: WarGames did not have the desired effect.

Gunther wound up retaining the belt after Bálor hit a Coup de Grace on Priest outside the ring and in turn got hit with a boot in the face from the champion. The moment was exactly how things ended at SummerSlam in August, where The Ring General won the title from Damian Priest.

Speaking on his podcast Wrestling with Freddie, Prinze Jr. felt that the Stamford-based promotion had stagnated the 42-year-old and that after his loss to Gunther, The Archer of Infamy would possibly have to go to the back of the line again. However, he predicted this current storyline to culminate with Priest possibly decimating The Prince.

"So apparently, we're going to get the destruction of Finn Bálor, or maybe the destruction of Damian Priest, I would assume that it's the destruction of Finn Bálor to keep Damian strong," he said.

Freddie pointed to the lack of a reaction from the live crowd to Balor's interference. He feels that this feud was long past its expiration date and felt "overcooked" right now. However, the former WWE writer feels that something good can still come out of it, with WWE possibly surprising its fanbase.

"What I thought was settled beef is unsettled beef; it's uncooked beef, it's raw. They got to cook it up more. This stuff between him and Finn Bálor, right now anyway, at least in that moment, felt overcooked and unnecessary. Kind of took away from the match a little bit. Crowd wasn't into it, that's for sure. But we'll see where they go with it," he added. [From 23:43 to 24:22]

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Finn Bálor jumps ahead of Damian Priest at Saturday Night's Main Event

On December 14, Finn Bálor will challenge World Heavyweight Champion Gunther. The bout was announced last Monday after The Ring General confronted The Prince.

Meanwhile, Priest was nowhere to be seen. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the 42-year-old could sabotage Bálor's title shot, considering the latter has cost him the World Heavyweight Championship twice now.

Damian Priest and Finn Bálor have wrestled already at Bad Blood in October, where the former World Heavyweight Champion walked away with the win. How WWE keeps fans hooked to this storyline bears watching.

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If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Wrestling with Freddie and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.