Damian Priest Addresses Recent Issues With Finn Balor, What Happened at Money in the Bank 2023

By Connor Casey

This week's Monday Night Raw closed out with a shouting match between Damian Priest and Finn Balor of The Judgement Day over yet another miscommunication that might have cost the group the chance to claim Seth Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship. Saturday's Money in the Bank pay-per-view saw Priest win the titular briefcase, only for him to inadvertently distract Balor during his title match with Rollins and cost "The Prince" the opportunity to settle a seven-year-old grudge. Rollins then took on Dominik Mysterio during Raw's main event, which ended in a disqualification but had Rollins on the receiving end of a three-on-one beatdown. It looked like Priest would cash in his briefcase, only for Balor to hit the scene. His attack knocked Priest off the apron, halting the cash-in attempt. 

Priest then appeared on The Bump this week and recapped what happened from his perspective (h/t Fightful) — "So (Dom) gave me the briefcase, and I thought about it. I was like, you know what, maybe I shouldn't wait. Maybe I'll do this right now. Unfortunately, Finn came out, and I wasn't expecting that. It was just a lack of communication. I have a whole year with this thing if I want to, so I'm good being patient."

The big man then tried to explain his actions from the Money in the Bank pay-per-view — "I was simply just standing up. I wanted Finn Balor to beat him. I was out there, not to cash in, realistically. I was there to make Seth feel the pressure of me cashing in, throw him off his game so that my buddy could beat him for the title. Unfortunately, Finn Balor, again, this is our own fault, this was a lack of communication. He thought I was trying to do something else, and his eyes drifted away from the prize, and unfortunately, he got beat. But yeah, my intention was never to cash in on Finn. Actually, I wasn't even going to cash in on Seth in that moment. I wanted Finn Balor to win."

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Is The Judgement Day Breaking Up

While the visual of Balor and Priest standing on opposite sides with Ripley and Mysterio caught in the middle made it seem like the group is heading for a breakup, Priest denied that idea. The faction was originally founded in 2022 with Edge as its leader, though he was kicked out when Balor joined that summer. 

"We're a machine, ain't no stopping us. I'm not concerned at all. The Judgment Day is not going anywhere, we're good. Like I said, families can have arguments, but they're still a family. Nobody's going anywhere. I am not concerned. Rhea and Dom, I'm not concerned. We're just as good as ever. Just because we have arguments or disagreements doesn't mean we stop ruling the WWE. We still run Monday Night Raw. The Judgment Day will always rise," Priest said.

WWE Money in the Bank 2023 Results

  • Damian Priest def. Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, Butch and Logan Paul (Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match)
  • WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez def. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler 
  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Matt Riddle
  • Cody Rhodes def. Dominik Mysterio
  • Iyo Sky def. Becky Lynch, Zelina Vega, Zoey Stark, Bayley and Trish Stratus (Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match)
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
  • The Usos def. Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa

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