WWE United States champion Damian Priest recently spoke with Fightful about his move from NXT to the Raw brand, and how all of his interactions with company Chairman Vince McMahon have been overly positive. Highlights from the champ’s interview can be found below.
Recalls the moment Triple H told him he would be moving to the Raw roster:
Triple H came up to me backstage at an NXT show. He was like, ‘Hey, man. Want to tell you how proud I am. Blah-blah-blah. You’re moving on. Looks like you’re gonna be on Monday night RAW. I’m not sure, but it’s looking like RAW. So, congrats.’ I just kinda stood there staring at him ‘cause I didn’t know what to say. I was like, am I supposed to be happy? ‘Cause I’m leaving NXT. I’m one of his guys… I’m like, ‘How do you feel about it?’ I turned it on him and he’s like, ‘What? Yeah, I’m happy for you.’ ‘Okay, I’m happy, too. I think. I don’t know.’ I was just so awkward. I didn’t know how to react. ‘Cause I was just a ball of emotions. This was the dream. I always wanted to be a WWE superstar. I grew up watching RAW and Smackdown. So, to know I’m going to be a part of these shows now, I needed a moment. Now, it’s just crazy.
How all of his interactions with Vince McMahon have been positive:
He’s somebody that knows what he wants for his show. He knows what he wants out of you. He’s been honest with me and the whole time he’s been like, ‘I need more of this, I need more of that, or less of this.’ But, it’s always positive. He’ll explain to me why. It’s always like, ‘Oh, I get it.’ He has a way of speaking to people that if you don’t get it after he talks to you, you shouldn’t be here. So, my interactions with him has actually been very positive. He seems like he likes me, so that’s a good thing.
Says McMahon does tend to get physical:
He hasn’t tried to wrestle me. He’s grabbed me a few times while he’s explaining stuff and I’m like, ‘Whoa. Take it easy, man. Like, I gotta go perform. You don’t hurt me now.’