5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (8 July - Results & Review)

4. Building Doubt

The moment Damian Priest left Money in the Bank with the World Heavyweight Championship still in his possession, conventional wisdom said he was on borrowed time as champion, with Gunther looming at SummerSlam. After all, the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in company history has only lost once on the main roster, while Priest is still trying to prove himself as a champion. It stacks up as a tough road for Damian.

On Raw, however, Priest sowed a bit of doubt by exhibiting confidence. In a backstage conversation with Seth Rollins, the two shared mutual respect, leading to Damian offering to drop the stipulation that Rollins couldn’t challenge him for the world title again. Priest then offered a rematch – after he defeats Gunther.

By talking about being champ after SummerSlam and making it part of a character arc of babyface growth and confidence, Priest injected some doubt as to whether a Gunther title win is a foregone conclusion.

For his part, Gunther’s video package later where he talked about how he enjoys making people miserable and how it’s his mission to restore honor and prestige to wrestling made him once again feel inevitable. Smart money might be on the Ring General, but kudos for making Priest sound like a champion rather than a placeholder.