In his first title defense since winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, Damian Priest beat Jey Uso at WWE Backlash on Saturday to retain the title.
While he didn’t necessarily welcome their involvement, the champion got a helping hand from Judgment Day stablemates Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh.
After defeating Uso, though, Priest angrily stopped his teammates from giving the challenger a further beatdown.
What a series of events at #WWEBacklash! pic.twitter.com/Az5oVN9Sgs
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
Priest won the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match last year, and while he teased cashing it in on multiple occasions over the next several months, he waited until he was on The Grandest Stage of Them All to officially do so.
After Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship to open Night 2 of WrestleMania 40, the Scot was on the receiving end of an unexpected attack.
McIntyre celebrated his win at the announce table in front of CM Punk, who was on commentary and unable to compete due to a torn triceps suffered during the men’s Royal Rumble match.
It was widely assumed The Best in the World would not be able to get physically involved in any way, but he shocked the WWE Universe by taking off his arm brace and attacking McIntyre with it.
With The Scottish Warrior laid out as a result of Punk’s beatdown, Priest ran to the ring and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract by handing the briefcase to the referee.
He quickly pinned McIntyre to become the new world heavyweight champion, making him only the second Superstar to cash in a Money in the Bank contract at The Show of Shows.
On the Raw after WrestleMania, a Fatal 4-Way match was held to determine who would be Priest’s first challenger at Backlash.
The match involved Uso, McIntyre, Bronson Reed and Ricochet, and while the Scot was favored to win based on what happened to him at ‘Mania, he was foiled once again.
Punk interfered to cost McIntyre, which opened the door for Uso to score one of the biggest singles victories of his career and set up a world title match against Priest.
While Uso seems poised to be a top babyface and world title contender for a long time to come, Priest prevailed in his first defense and established himself as a potentially dominant champion who will be tough to knock from his perch.
