WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest faced Seth Rollins in a high-stakes match at Money in the Bank 2024. The match also had significant restrictions. If Rollins lost, he wouldn’t get another chance at the title until Priest was no longer the champion. However, if Priest lost the title, he would be ousted from his faction, The Judgment Day.
Ahead of his match, Damian Priest had mentioned to his Judgment Day members not to interfere in the match. The match saw both Priest and Rollins give their all for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, the match saw Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match winner Drew McIntyre interrupting the match. McIntyre saw the opportunity and decided to cash in his contract, making it a triple-threat match.
This marked the second time a Money in the Bank cash-in had resulted in a triple-threat match. Drew McIntyre, targeting both Damian Priest and Seth Rollins, was on the verge of winning the World Heavyweight Championship when CM Punk interfered. This attack allowed Priest to capitalize and pin McIntyre, retaining his title.
Despite a stellar performance by both Damian Priest and Seth Rollins, fans couldn’t help but discuss a potential botch in the match. Before Drew McIntyre cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, Rollins executed a Falcon Arrow on Priest and went for the pin. However, the referee stopped the count at two, even though Priest hadn’t kicked out.
Even WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Triple H, defended Priest in the post-show press conference. However, the question remains: is Priest facing any backstage heat over the botch? Fightful Select has reportedly provided an update on the situation surrounding Priest’s botch.
Backstage reaction to Damian Priest’s botched spot with Seth Rollins
Fightful Select behind paywall reported that neither Damian Priest nor referee Rod Zapata faced backstage heat after the botched kickout spot at Money in the Bank. Sources mentioned that Priest was supposed to be kicked out based on post-show discussions.
Furthermore, reports also mentioned that if the referee had counted to three, Seth Rollins would have won the title. This would have drastically changed the subsequent events. Drew McIntyre’s Money in the Bank cash-in would have become a singles match, eliminating the “No Disqualification” stipulation that allowed CM Punk to interfere. Additionally, Rollins’ stipulation of not challenging for the title again would have been invalid, and Priest would have been kicked out of The Judgment Day.
One WWE backstage source stated, “It was an unfortunate situation, but those don’t usually happen with Damian Priest, and he was probably more bothered about it than anyone. Considering how much he gives of himself, it would be silly for anyone to hold that against him. It’s just a ‘sh*t happens’ situation.”
Meanwhile, Damian Priest retained his title due to CM Punk’s interference, which also means Seth Rollins cannot challenge Priest as long as he remains champion. Furthermore, fans witnessed a heated confrontation between Rollins and Punk after the match.
