CM Punk is back! However, that may not be a good thing for Damian Priest. Before the former WWE Champion made his return, it appeared that the Judgement Day member was on the verge of successfully cashing in. A big part of it was that there was some genuine focus on Priest cashing in his contract. The other was that it felt like Seth Rollins had nowhere else to go following his win over Sami Zayn. 

Cut to a few weeks later and Rollins' direction for WrestleMania seems clear: CM Punk. The two had their first face-to-face encounter and there’s some genuine buzz over a potential WrestleMania match. Now just because WWE is teasing a future match between the two wrestlers doesn’t mean it’ll take place. Plus, Priest has until July 2024 to cash in his briefcase. Despite those factors, it doesn’t appear that the former United States Champion is ready for the main event. 

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Damian Priest Hasn’t Been Booked Like A Star

For some odd reason, WWE has this weird philosophy that they can book the Money in the Bank winner as a complete loser because he’s already a future world title contender due to the briefcase. Yet, this booking strategy has the opposite effect. The latest name to deal with this issue was Austin Theory, who needed to drop the briefcase and a character change for fans to take him seriously again. 

Priest hasn’t been booked as badly as Theory since he has solid wins over Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, but those wins are few and far in-between. Priest has consistently lost to upper-card names such as Cody Rhodes. If WWE wants fans to take Priest seriously as a singles star then he needs to rack up wins against notable names. 

Priest does deserve to be a World Heavyweight Champion. The guy has a nice star quality about him and he’s one of the best wrestlers on the roster. But his character feels ice cold. In fact, there’s a story about him struggling to be the leader of Judgment Day because he continues to lose. It shouldn’t be that way. At the very least, Priest should be kicking ass left and right instead of being portrayed as a loser. 

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What Does Priest’s Future Look Like As A Champion

There’s a slim possibility that Priest will cash in before WrestleMania. It would be a mistake if he did. WWE desperately needs to spend the WrestleMania season building up Priest as a serious singles competitor. Currently, there’s not a feud that fans are clamoring to see as Priest as the World Heavyweight Champion. 

There was some intrigue with Finn Balor and Priest squaring up at WrestleMania, but that’s not as exciting as CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins. If WWE continues to paint him as someone unworthy of being a world champion, then his reign will go as well as Jack Swagger and the other contenders who were buried into oblivion because they have a briefcase. 

No one will take him seriously as the top champion. When it comes to Priest, plenty of interesting matches could be box office draws - Brock Lesnar, Gunther, and Bobby Lashley are a few. The company just needs to make him feel like he belongs in the same ring as those men.

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Should Damian Priest Successfully Cash in?

Yes, but with reservations. As previously stated, WWE needs to spend WrestleMania season building him up. Plus, he needs a HUGE singles victory over a top star. Priest being a tag team champion isn’t enough as he’s still not being taken seriously as a main eventer. I’m not too sure who he could end up facing. The likelihood of it being Finn Balor is high because it does seem that Judgment Day will turn on him soon. 

But even then, a victory over Finn Balor doesn’t seem like enough. However, anything can happen in seven months and if WWE is truly serious about him being the next World Heavyweight Champion then they need to make sure he’s booked like a future champion. 

The Royal Rumble will be an interesting sign to see how the company views him. WWE typically gives someone the Ironman performance, which is a strong sign that they see potential in that wrestler as a top star. Priest has all the tools to carry the company forward. It’s rare to have a man of his height with charisma and strong wrestling skills.

There’s no telling what the future would have been like if CM Punk never made his return. It seemed like a sure bet that Priest would become the next World Heavyweight Champion. Now, it seems like a missed opportunity because WWE didn’t know how to properly book him. It would be a shame if a talented star is robbed of an opportunity to be the world heavyweight champion.