WWE superstar reveals why Drew McIntyre couldn't join top heel faction despite being the no. 1 choice (Exclusive)

WWE Superstar Damian Priest has revealed that Drew McIntyre was his top choice to join Judgment Day during early discussions about the faction with Edge.

Priest is currently a part of Judgment Day alongside Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley. He was Edge's first recruit, but the current trio turned against their group's original leader and viciously removed him from the top heel faction on RAW.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Damian Priest revealed that he wanted former world champion Drew McIntyre as part of Judgment Day. However, the Scottish Warrior was on SmackDown, which prevented his inclusion in the heel stable. Priest also said that he wanted Riddle in the group but had to drop the idea because of the latter's storyline with Randy Orton.

"I mean, there's a lot. I mean, we go across the board, you know, like for me, I was always big on 'let's get Drew McIntyre'. Let's see if we can recruit that guy. Unfortunately, he was on SmackDown. That was my number one. Everybody knows my background and relationship with Riddle. So, that was also there, but he was doing his thing with Randy, so we kind of let him be. Those were the first two names that came to mind when we talked about it," said Priest. [3:09 -- 3:38]

The Judgment Day member also added that there is room for others to join the heel faction in the coming days. However, he refrained from revealing names as he hoped to recruit them down the line and didn't want to spoil the surprise. Priest was quoted as saying:

"There are others, but I think there's always room, there's always spots. You know, Judgment Day is not necessarily a three-person thing. There's always room to grow now, so I don't want to say too many names because we might want to recruit them in the future." [3:39 -- 3:57]

Damian Priest will be in action at WWE SummerSlam, where he will team up with Finn Balor to face Rey Mysterio and Dominik in a tag team match. You can watch the full interview below:

Drew McIntyre seals huge victory on the SmackDown before WWE SummerSlam

After weeks of feuding, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus locked horns in an Irish Donnybrook Match on SmackDown's final show before SummerSlam 2022. The two best friend-turned-enemies locked horns in a brilliant bout that earned heaps of praise from the entire WWE Universe.

The Scottish Warrior fought hard to pick up a massive victory against Sheamus to book himself the Number one contender spot at WWE Clash at the Castle's main event. Depending on who walks out of SummerSlam as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, he will face either Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns for the title. A successful Money in the Bank cash-in could also lead to McIntyre vs. Theory at the British show.