Why Damian Priest Vs. Elias Was So Long On Last Night's WWE Raw
Real reason WWE booked Damian Priest vs. Elias to go over 15 minutes on last night's Raw.
Elias and Damian Priest worked a lengthier match than one would typically expect on last night's WWE Raw, going toe-for-toe for over 15 minutes before Priest finally put his opponent away, nailing Hit the Lights for the victory.
The length was down to Bad Bunny, who joined Priest at ringside.
Per Dave Meltzer on today's episode of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE believes that the longer they have Bunny on television, the more Hispanic viewers are going to tune in and check the show out. Bunny, who recently became WWE 24/7 Champion, was also onscreen as part of a pre-match segment with Priest, Elias, and Jaxson Ryker.
Meltzer added that Bunny's YouTube clips typically do well for WWE as well. This appears to have worn off slightly in recent weeks, as last night's Elias segment has just 80,000 viewers at the time of writing, making it the third least-watched clip after Rhea Ripley's debut vignette and Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler's backstage promo.
Working with Bad Bunny has already proven beneficial to WWE's business, with the rapper shifting over $500,000 in merchandise within his first week with the promotion. He and Priest are expected to face The Miz and John Morrison at WrestleMania 37.