6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (5 June - Review)

5. Finn’s Side-Eye Game Is On-Point

The Judgment Day Seth Rollins
WWE.com

If WWE was trying to get you to think about Damian Priest as a solo babyface, what better way to do it than the leader of his group giving him a constant side-eye during a promo battle with the World Heavyweight Champion.

Priest and Seth Rollins jawed a bit in the ring to open Raw – as is customary for WWE – but Damian’s lines rubbed running buddy Finn Balor a bit wrong a few times. Priest called Rollins “a deserving champion” who had beaten all comers, with Balor – who lost to Seth in the WHC semi-finals – casting a glance at him both times.

Then as Rollins upped the ante by asking Priest to leave the rest of the Judgment Day in the back, Damian responded that he didn’t need Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio or Finn to beat Seth – again drawing a cocked head and incredulous look from Balor.

The entire episode served well to establish Priest as an “honorable heel” to some extent, at least in that moment, allowing fans to see him as willing to fight his own battles, even if it ruffles his stablemates’ feathers.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.