Backstage WWE Update On Main Roster Status Of Rhea Ripley And Damian Priest

WWE News - Update On Rhea Ripley And Damian Priest's WWE Status!

by Andrew Pollard
Edge Damian Priest
WWE.com

Following their appearances at last night’s WWE Royal Rumble PPV, PWInsider reports that their respective Rumble showings served as the official full-time main roster debut of both Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest.

The duo were previously due to make the move from NXT to the main roster earlier in the year, but plans change, pal. Still, Ripley and Priest’s Royal Rumble appearances were part of formally moving the Nightmare and the Archer of Infamy to either Raw or SmackDown.

In terms of where this pair will land, that remains to be seen. The belief is that Priest was most recently pegged to become a Raw superstar, which could mean that we may see him on the red brand as soon as tonight. Purely speculation from your writer here, but Raw would also seem to be a better fit for Ripley right now, with the red brand's women's division desperately in need of some fresh faces.

Advertisement

As for how they fared on Sunday, Rhea Ripley entered this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match at the #14 spot, going on to eliminate seven wrestlers across a 39-minute stay that saw her come second to Bianca Belair in the contest.

For Damian Priest, he likewise turned up at the #14 spot over in the men’s Royal Rumble, throwing out four wrestlers in a 15-minute stint that was brought to an end by United States Champion Bobby Lashley. Both Ripley and Priest last appeared for NXT at the New Year’s Evil special back on 6 January.

Advertisement
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.