Damian Priest had the privilege of being one of the original members of the Judgement Day, when WWE Hall Of Famer Edge — also known as Adam Copeland in AEW — recruited him during the creation of the group in 2022. At the time, it was unclear how long the faction would last, as they struggled to gain popularity in the early stages of their run.
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However, two years later The Judgment Day is easily one of WWE’s most successful and interesting groups on television, and in a recent interview with “The Wrestling Classic,” Priest reflected on his time with his former faction and if they achieved their goal of elevating talent.
“Mission accomplished. When Edge and I originally talked about The Judgment Day the idea was look, I want to use you and a few others to like put you on the stage you belong, on the platform you belong … I was a fan of Edge, so now I get to have somebody who I looked up to be a mentor and he’s like what do you think? And I’m like of course it’s a yes, and worst case scenario I just get to have fun with somebody that I’m a fan of and I became friends with, we’re friends to this day. I can’t thank him enough for taking me under his wing and just simplifying things for me on how to be a bigger star.”
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Priest’s thoughts on Rhea Ripley joining the original Judgment Day
Priest then went into detail about Rhea Ripley’s involvement with the group, explaining how thrilled he was that Edge wanted her to be part of The Judgment Day, and believing that the “Rated-R-Superstar’s” vision for himself and “Mami” ultimately proved to be successful.
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“Here’s the conversation, what do you think of bringing Rhea in, and it’s like that’s a no-brainer for me. That’s my homie … I obviously had to talk with her before we joined The Judgment Day, and it was like well this is the reasoning, I think this can help us get to where we believe we belong and here we are as two of the top faces in WWE … so as far as the Judgment day goes, it’s mission accomplished. That’s exactly what the point of The Judgment Day was.”
Priest also commented on the newest iteration of The Judgement Day, calling them a group of individuals that are trying to get along together, and claiming that both himself and Ripley will always be the original essence of the faction.
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Wrestling Classic” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.