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I feel bad for Priest. Even though he cashed in, he’s sorta been 2nd fiddle in it all. It’s not his fault, but they pulled the trigger too late. His stock was at an all time high last year with Bad Bunny
Not only that, but Seth just couldn’t lose it before WM. The other 3 belts were all held by heels. Hell even the tag titles were held by heels. Both women’s belts were held by heels, and the women’s tag titles were held by heels prior to WM too. A face had to hold something.
It's not really shitty? Priest got to be World Heavyweight Champion for a while. It gave Drew and Punk fuel for their story. Priest will get another shot some day. I'm sure he's thrilled he got to get the ball and run with it for a while.
I wouldn’t have minded but I never really needed a shinsuke world title run, the AJ feud is the only time I’ve been interested in it and that’s also the only time I really cared about him outside of nxt and njpw
Yeah most of the time first-time champs don’t get long runs. It’s basically a “trial run” if they do good more could be in the future.
Priest has excelled in this role so far. Win or lose he’ll continue to play a prominent role in the show.
When you’re the champion it should mostly be about you. And will he get a shot again? He turns 42 in September and you have Drew and Punk as basically forgone champions. Guys like Sami, Shinsuke and definitely Gunther could always go for the title. Add in the young stars from NXT that were brought up I fear he may not hold it again
I bet if you asked a 42 year old wrestler if winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania and carrying it for a few months was "shitty", he would tell you, "no."
I think the issue is that money in the bank is a yearly tradition and instead should be brought back every 2-3 years as a special match at Wrestlemania. The money in the bank has thrown a wrench in plans more often lately than it did in the past.
I love the match, but creatively it just makes things more complicated than it should be. There should be limitations on it. Think the dragon balls in DBZ. Can bring so much, but can’t be used to defeat Frieza. Well maybe the money in the bank can’t be available again until a full year after the most recent cash in. Or if it’s successful, it’s not around for a year. Unsuccessful can come back next year.
It’s a little convoluted, but it could be smoothed out to make more sense.
But he didn’t establish it. The title was just pushed aside during the Cody storyline for Wrestlemania. It would’ve turned out much better if he had lost it earlier to Finn.
Your right, Seth reign didn’t do anything for the title, don’t get me wrong Seth great but his involvement in the build for WM where he was involved in the universal title storyline made the title look way worse than it already did. Finn fighting Drew for the title which ends with Drew being cashed in would’ve at least allowed us to have a champion that cared about his build and wasn’t distracted with Cody
This. Seth busted his ass to establish the heavyweight title, but all his effort went out of the window when he himself prioritized finishing someone else's story over defending his own title.
It feels almost impossible to not see it as a secondary title, it barely feels above the Intercontinental or US championship. The Undisputed title feels so far into its own league after Roman, now Cody and the fact that Roman already combined the two previous world titles.
Not only was the heavyweight title blatantly created as a consolation prize, it's also glaringly obvious that first Roman and now Cody are the face of the company. A title's prestige always depends on the title holder and currently, the undisputed title happens to be the one held by the clear-cut top guy in the company. (Who is 3-0 against Seth, once beat him in spite of a torn pec.)
By the same token when they tried to give the new face of the company the heavyweight title the fans straight up rebelled. So we bear a small bit of the blame on its secondary status. We clearly established our preference in the matter and they listened.
Bow that said, Priest has had a solid 1st run. I suspect he's got a few more in him in the next couple years. Drew will take it and run with it til it's tiem to drop it to Punk. As long as they don't make Priest fall off he will stand amongst a damn fine grouping of the few Champs for that title.
It's still in that establishing phase but so far so good. Especially given the outside issues like seths injury, Punks injury, Mania, and even Drew's injury.
Seth should have lost to Finn at Summerslam. It was the perfect story to due it and the crowd was ready for it. Kinda took the air out of the building when he won.
I think in hindsight it does look like that, but back when Priest won the mitb there probably wasn't many who thought that cm punk coming back and building a great feud with drew was really a possibility.
To be honest, I think they pulled the trigger on him winning MITB too soon. I don't believe in putting the title shot on a guy who has very little legs as the champion and Priest's mic game and presence just isn't there yet. Then Rhea got injured and it kinda stalled the groups momentum a bit. I think Judgement Day getting hot definitely covered that for a while but it doesn't seem like he improved all that much to me from that run
>Priest's mic game and presence just isn't there yet.
It's subjective, but I find Priest very well rounded, as the gigantic dude in Judgment Day who can go in the ring, and is more laidback around the other personalities like Dom and Rhea. He's been the perfect foil for people like Drew, Finn, Rhea, Dom, R-Truth and Bad Bunny to bounce off of, and Priest deserves some of the credit for that.
He's a believable threat to anyone in ring, but also vulnerable, and he's sneakily held ratings steady through a huge amount of RAW main events over the last couple years.
I like that he's not as over the top like Cody and Roman dominating any storylines he's in. And that he's a great cog holding together multiple storylines and dynamics right now, which is perfect for ensemble television. I would get rather weary of two "epic" or "face of the company" type runs at once.
He can always win it again another day. Reliable company man and not the flighty ego of other champs. He existed to hold this spot that will obviously go to Drew to then lose to Punk. Circle of life
I think he'll find his way on the mic soon too. He's already halfway to the character he was trying to be, which is similar to his real life demeanor it seems. Regardless I'm excited to see how the rest of his career turns out
That's the problem with MITB every single year since you have to use the briefcase to create a new top guy every year. But its hard to determine who that winner should be and now you have a year to establish them as a top guy or them winning the briefcase was considered a failure.
I felt the same way when Big E won the WWE title. I was so happy he won it, but then any feud or big match he was a part of, it didn't seem like he was the focus.
Not his fault that he won the title and then was fed to lose to Roman in a non-title match, even though he needed the win more. After that loss, his reign was barely anything worth talking about.
i mean he didn’t even have money in the bank yet at that point. i don’t think they waited too long i just think a lot of the stories on raw rn are just more compelling then him and drew.
Nothing against Priest, but let's be real: he's a midcarder who got the MitB contract when the world title scene was looking very soft and when his own stock was at an anomalous high point based on the PR match against Bad Bunny.
It was just done to have Punk screw Drew. Priest did good for the spot he was put in. Punk was a transitional champ at first too. I want Punk to lay out tomorrow or even help Drew, to really piss him off. The only thing that would ruin Drew winning the title would be Punk helping. I’d rather him stay out of it though.
At this stage I'd rather Punk have a stable who go after Drew i.e. Heenan family v. Hogan. But less jobbery.
No need for the man to get injured again when his talent lies in his charisma and mic skills.
It typically takes about 3 world title level wins to be a true WWE main eventer unless something crazy happens like with Cody.
Ultimately Priest has been established as a top 10 guy over the last year and that is perfectly fine for now. He’s not gonna lose much by taking an L in a 25 minute match to a top 5 guy in what amounts to a road game.
They can even protect him if Punk interferes on Drew's behalf. That way, Punk can then go around and claim that Drew is "only champ because of me", and that he did it because he wants to personally beat Drew for the title.
He does but I really don’t think he’s getting it now. I think Priest is holding it until SummerSlam then Gunther wins it. Drew has a feud with Punk setup that doesn’t need the title. I also don’t see Drew/Gunther being the SummerSlam match unless by some chance Punk can’t wrestle by then.
I think their overarching goal is to establish this title more. But right now, the money feud on Raw is clearly Drew/Punk, plus they are the bigger stars. So in this sense, the title would be elevated by being a focal point in a hot, well-built feud between two top stars at the biggest non-mania PPV of the year. Conversely, the title remaining on Priest and playing second fiddle to the Drew/Punk feud would further bury it.
Yup because it be most likely a third storyline to punk/drew and whoever Cody fighting. The world title 100% needs to be on Drew or punk or Gunther. Make it a triple threat or if punk not ready just do Drew vs gunther
Scotland needs a win this weekend cause neither the unholy union nor Piper are winning
You can't give the home crowd 3 l's of all their native wrestlers losing
I am SO TORN between wanting Drew to win here in Scotland versus wanting Drew to go all the way with his hypocrite character and win via a MITB cash in.
How about both? Give him the title here, but he loses it at Raw due to his own hubris and Punk fucking him over. Then have him win the briefcase and cash in later on.
Have Drew take Punk out, and he skips most of the match, only to come back at the very last second and win. It'll be Drew's fault for taking him out at the start, and letting him play possum til the perfect moment, as everyone forgets about him.
They’ve already done that, that was his Wrestlemania moment which led to priest getting it. Him winning it to drop it immediately for the 2nd time back to back for his own ego would hurt his credibility I feel.
I was thinking more in the way of him doing an open challenge, Punk literally costing him that match and then he cashes in on Punk with the briefcase for a bit of revenge and hypocrisy on his part.
If that happens Drew becomes WHC three times in less than a year for title that’s not even three years old. Creative has got to not let this title hot potato to much. I really think that devalued the TNT Title on AEW when the belt just moved around every month it seemed.
I think a mini feud between Drew and Damian where the belt switches between *only* those two wouldn’t be too bad. By utilizing the rematch clause, they’d have the leeway to hold WHC matches during the week.
I don’t think that worked for the original Raw Women’s Championship. They hot potatoed it between Charlotte and Sasha Banks, and by the end of the year, Charlotte had 4 reigns already, and Sasha had 3. All of those reigns happening between April and December. If it didn’t work for that belt, it won’t work for this one
Yes, I remember, but I’m thinking even farther back when they did that. The RWC was during a time WWE didn’t have momentum like they do now, women’s wrestling wasn’t being taken seriously and under a certain McMahon’s regime.
A few more differences: the RWC was a completely new belt with no established history compared to the WHC that does follow the Big Gold lineage.
As you mentioned, Charlotte was involved. She had go away heat at the time.
Finally those title defenses happened to PPVs, so the crowd and audience had to sit through *months* of it. I’m proposing changing that to weekly. Have them put on absolute bangers for a short term stint.
They did it back in the AE, and it was successful.
Ultimately, I think you need to choose one and commit to it. We’ve already seen him win and get screwed out of it in a short time frame, and I don’t think it moves the story forward to retread that same ground.
I think it’s EITHER give him the win and a deserving reign OR have him screwed out of winning in the first place so he stoops down to using MITB, then having a long reign when he cashes that in.
What’s incredible about all this is either option will be great. Drew is on fire right now, in Scotland, this would be the perfect place and time for him to win. Buuuuuuuut in the other hand, he’s been going on and on and on about how terrible it is to win via MITB, and it would be so delicious to have him cave and win the same way. I wish I could live in both realities to see how they both play out, but ultimately I think you have choose one and go all the way with it rather than trying to do both.
Drew doesn't need an MitB win. He will be the cashee rather than the casher, making it the third time he loses due to the briefcase. That's more in line with his character.
What I think will happen for the inevitable Punk match is that they'll build them both as tweeners (bit like what they're doing with Drew here). Make it so they're both right on some things and both wrong on others. Blur the lines and let the fans decide who to root for.
"What emergency surgery was your wife receiving the day before you won the title?"
"Well, you see, she was performing a root canal treatment"
"Excuse me?"
Honestly it still feels like most people agree that Drew vs Punk is happening at Summerslam. Gunther winning the tournament seemed to have got rid of that possibility if Drew won the title since he can’t go one on one with Punk for the title.
So that lowered the chance of Drew winning. Or unless they wanted to get crazy and have Drew win to then have Punk cost him at MITB and get cashed in on again.
Punk vs Drew at summerslam are wishful thiking by the fans
there's no guarantee that Punk will cleared in time for summerslam. if they really want to go with that match that means Punk is should have been cleared by now or 1 month in advance at the least. but we still not receive any news about Punk getting cleared. he might be get cleared in the bash at the berlin or probably even at survivor series
I’d be down for that but honestly Seth/Punk seems like a cold feud compared to Punk and Drew right now. Always time to heat it up, and no doubt they will eventually, but man it’s crazy how invested I am in Drew/Punk and most of it’s due to McIntyre.
I think Gunther winning KOTR and getting a title shot at Summerslam killed any chance of Drew winning. Also, they are going too hard on the transitional champion and not belonging stuff for Damien to lose right now.
I still think Punk is going to mess with Drew by taking out Damien for him, “handing” drew the title.
Drew will refuse because Punk can say he only has it because of him.
Do want drew to win though, even if I like priest.
That's interesting. The most "obvious" thing is Punk screwing Drew, but some people are still like "Oh IMAGINE if Punk screws Drew? RIOTS LOL" Like, no, that's the most OBVIOUS thing. This, however, Punk screwing Priest?? THAT is a plot twist, THAT is evil. Having Drew WIN BECAUSE OF PUNK, and Punk being able to hold that over him? Amazing.
I think even in the US, Punk might get a few boos. It's one thing to screw over Drew after he injured you and is getting in your face on the commentary booth. Another to fly across the world just to mess with him, in front of his home town and with no provocation.
Punk, a babyface, is not going to screw Drew in one of the biggest events of Drew's career where Drew himself is being positioned as a face. I'm honestly surprised so many people are expecting Punk to interfere. At best, I can imagine Punk and Drew having a staredown after Drew wins the match and the title.
Drew is going to be a heel as soon as they get back to the States, so nothing Punk does will affect that. And in kayfabe, Punk is paying Drew back for all of the months of shit talking him.
Punk already interfered once before and cost McIntyre a title match at Backlash France. Interfering now would just be bullying from Punk's point of view given that McIntyre has been purely focused on Priest for the past month.
It makes no sense for Punk to interfere at Glasgow. The face/heel dynamics are different. McIntyre already lost at CatC before vs. Reigns. Now he has a beatable opponent. There's no incentive to make him lose in front of his home crowd.
Rather, McIntyre wins the title and proceeds to shit on Punk and reignite the feud. Punk then has the ammo to re-interfere at MitB and cost McIntyre.
Like I said, Drew has been shit talking about Punk for months.
More than anything, Punk is, at best, a tweener. He is not Cody Rhodes or John Cena, he's going to torture anyone that pisses him off. He is 100% going to fuck with Drew out of pure spite.
Yup i think this is make it certain. Drew is gonna lose
Punk cost him a match that he dedicated to his wife in front of his people would hurt hundred times more than when Roman beat him. Punk said he will make Drew suffer and what could be better to break a man than made him not able to fulfill his promise to his wife
though if they really go to this direction then Punk is about to become biggest villain to the scottish
As german - I'm hoping for a scottish clean sweep, honestly.
I usually don't care much about underdog storylines, but the way one of the scottish players framed it - "we only want to advance. That would be our victory. No scottish team has *ever* managed that. For that feat alone, we would be called heroes!" .. yeah, that fucking spoke to me man, let 'em be heroes.
I think Zoey is getting pinned by either Jade or Bianca. I think people forget that Jade and Bianca serve a story and functional point. The team is together so Jade can develop while not being left alone to dry and has someone very experienced like Bianca. I don’t Alba or Isla will get pinned but they aren’t winning
Yes but I think knowing how Triple H books title reigns these two probably aren’t losing till like WrestleMania or next year’s Summerslam when they implode
Piper is losing, Drew imo is definitely winning in my mind. He's not up against Roman this time, I see 0% chance of Damian walking out still champion honestly.
If Punk is ringside or sommat, then that goes up to 10/20% maybe.
I'm probably setting myself up to be pissed when Punk costs him 😅
The UK has adopted Bayley, so Piper winning wouldn't necessarily be a loss for Scotland. I'm fairly certain there's still going to be more "If you'll be my girl" chants for Bayley than Piper chants in the match.
Idk how Drew doesn’t win the title here. If Punk interferes and costs Drew the title, security better be ready.
Them Scots don’t fuck around. I’ve seen Braveheart.
Wtf I had no idea Nia is Australian. I thought she was Samoan.
Edit: Born in Australia, of Samoan descent. I had no clue! Also, she is the only biological relative of Peter Maivia in wrestling.
Hometown losses haven't really been a thing lately. Rhea won in Australia. Sami just recently won title matches in both Montreal and Saudi (basically his second home) that said I still think Drew gets screwed lol
I think Triple H just likes to book wrestlers in their hometowns/countries but won’t let it interfere with his plans, resulting in a 50/50 split of wins and losses depending on if the person is actively being pushed.
I honestly think we are going to see Drew blow a kiss at Punk after he finds a way to win. That or Punk purposely helps Drew so he can use that to gloat to Drew that he is the reason Drew had his dream moment happen, to continue getting in Drews head. If rhea deserved to win in her hometown, Drew deserves it as well.
I am not watching the conference so can anyone clarify. Drews wife is a nurse so is she having an emergency surgery or helping perform an emergency surgery
Despite them booking Priest to be the lead of JD, I think Balor should be the lead while Ripley is out. Priest is the muscle. Dom and JD as the regular members.
EDIT: whoops dunno where this comment should have gone. Anyways Drew really deserves a real title run.
Priest has had a fun little reign, and I wouldn’t mind him having another in the future, but Drew deserves to win tomorrow. I think even punk would get booed out the damn universe if he cost Drew.
I'm happy to see the guy get the title and in this fashion, in his home country, and especially after how his original run went during the pandemic, but I really hope they have a plan in store for Priest that is ready to go. It would be a major disappointment if this title change hurt the Judgement day story or turns Priest into the least interesting part, because imo him and Finn have a very good chance of having a killer blood fued when this all eventually blows up.
I have always felt Priest's title run is a audition for a longer, more meaningful one down the line. I don't think he's done bad in the role, and I do think he and creative knows what he needs to work on. One day he will be world champion again, but no way in fucking hell does Drew lose in Scotland. No fucking way. Kill that noise. Drew is getting his win.
I know the chances are there's another screw job in the wakes or at least an attempted one - but Drew's going to go in against Punk as the mega-babyface of the feud at this rate.
Oh he’s definitely losing lol imagine how much heat Liv/Punk will get when they cost Drew the title in front of his fellow country men while his wife is in the hospital
I’m expecting Punk to try to cost Drew the match, but accidentally costs Priest the match and sets up a 3-way feud to extend Punk-Drew to WM next year.
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I have nothing negative to say about priest but drew deserves a real title run.
I feel bad for Priest. Even though he cashed in, he’s sorta been 2nd fiddle in it all. It’s not his fault, but they pulled the trigger too late. His stock was at an all time high last year with Bad Bunny
The heavyweight title has been kinda odd, Seth probably should've lost it sooner and Priest would've benefited from a longer run
But you needed a tip guy like Seth to establish the title. It was a shitty situation all around
Not only that, but Seth just couldn’t lose it before WM. The other 3 belts were all held by heels. Hell even the tag titles were held by heels. Both women’s belts were held by heels, and the women’s tag titles were held by heels prior to WM too. A face had to hold something.
It's not really shitty? Priest got to be World Heavyweight Champion for a while. It gave Drew and Punk fuel for their story. Priest will get another shot some day. I'm sure he's thrilled he got to get the ball and run with it for a while.
Nothing wrong with 2 month reigns. I'm super sick of long reigns
Exactly there needs to a variety and it’s not like this has to be Priest only run
I wouldnt have minded a 1month Shinsuke reign in the middle of Seth's reign tbh
I wouldn’t have minded but I never really needed a shinsuke world title run, the AJ feud is the only time I’ve been interested in it and that’s also the only time I really cared about him outside of nxt and njpw
Yea Punk was a transitional champ. Priest will be fine.
Yeah most of the time first-time champs don’t get long runs. It’s basically a “trial run” if they do good more could be in the future. Priest has excelled in this role so far. Win or lose he’ll continue to play a prominent role in the show.
When you’re the champion it should mostly be about you. And will he get a shot again? He turns 42 in September and you have Drew and Punk as basically forgone champions. Guys like Sami, Shinsuke and definitely Gunther could always go for the title. Add in the young stars from NXT that were brought up I fear he may not hold it again
I bet if you asked a 42 year old wrestler if winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania and carrying it for a few months was "shitty", he would tell you, "no."
He's on TV every single week and got to win a championship at Wrestlemania. I'm pretty sure he's extremely happy even if he never holds in again
I think the issue is that money in the bank is a yearly tradition and instead should be brought back every 2-3 years as a special match at Wrestlemania. The money in the bank has thrown a wrench in plans more often lately than it did in the past. I love the match, but creatively it just makes things more complicated than it should be. There should be limitations on it. Think the dragon balls in DBZ. Can bring so much, but can’t be used to defeat Frieza. Well maybe the money in the bank can’t be available again until a full year after the most recent cash in. Or if it’s successful, it’s not around for a year. Unsuccessful can come back next year. It’s a little convoluted, but it could be smoothed out to make more sense.
This whole situation, belt and feud only exists because Roman Reigns got sick on Day 1.
Well that and Brock/Paul wanted a double title match
No, he held it way too long. It was established 6+ months ago
But he didn’t establish it. The title was just pushed aside during the Cody storyline for Wrestlemania. It would’ve turned out much better if he had lost it earlier to Finn.
Your right, Seth reign didn’t do anything for the title, don’t get me wrong Seth great but his involvement in the build for WM where he was involved in the universal title storyline made the title look way worse than it already did. Finn fighting Drew for the title which ends with Drew being cashed in would’ve at least allowed us to have a champion that cared about his build and wasn’t distracted with Cody
This. Seth busted his ass to establish the heavyweight title, but all his effort went out of the window when he himself prioritized finishing someone else's story over defending his own title.
Exactly and I’d argue it was out of character but people loved that build so I’ll just pretend it made sense
Once it was obvious Punk was out for Mania and Seth was hurt too they should've had Priest cash in so Seth could go get healthy.
It feels almost impossible to not see it as a secondary title, it barely feels above the Intercontinental or US championship. The Undisputed title feels so far into its own league after Roman, now Cody and the fact that Roman already combined the two previous world titles.
Not only was the heavyweight title blatantly created as a consolation prize, it's also glaringly obvious that first Roman and now Cody are the face of the company. A title's prestige always depends on the title holder and currently, the undisputed title happens to be the one held by the clear-cut top guy in the company. (Who is 3-0 against Seth, once beat him in spite of a torn pec.)
By the same token when they tried to give the new face of the company the heavyweight title the fans straight up rebelled. So we bear a small bit of the blame on its secondary status. We clearly established our preference in the matter and they listened. Bow that said, Priest has had a solid 1st run. I suspect he's got a few more in him in the next couple years. Drew will take it and run with it til it's tiem to drop it to Punk. As long as they don't make Priest fall off he will stand amongst a damn fine grouping of the few Champs for that title. It's still in that establishing phase but so far so good. Especially given the outside issues like seths injury, Punks injury, Mania, and even Drew's injury.
Yeah he should have probably lost it to nakamura when they had the last man standing match or was it falls count anywhere
Seth should have lost to Finn at Summerslam. It was the perfect story to due it and the crowd was ready for it. Kinda took the air out of the building when he won.
I think in hindsight it does look like that, but back when Priest won the mitb there probably wasn't many who thought that cm punk coming back and building a great feud with drew was really a possibility.
Yeah. Its just the timing if it all I guess. I really don't expect drew to lose a second title match in front of his people.
To be honest, I think they pulled the trigger on him winning MITB too soon. I don't believe in putting the title shot on a guy who has very little legs as the champion and Priest's mic game and presence just isn't there yet. Then Rhea got injured and it kinda stalled the groups momentum a bit. I think Judgement Day getting hot definitely covered that for a while but it doesn't seem like he improved all that much to me from that run
>Priest's mic game and presence just isn't there yet. It's subjective, but I find Priest very well rounded, as the gigantic dude in Judgment Day who can go in the ring, and is more laidback around the other personalities like Dom and Rhea. He's been the perfect foil for people like Drew, Finn, Rhea, Dom, R-Truth and Bad Bunny to bounce off of, and Priest deserves some of the credit for that. He's a believable threat to anyone in ring, but also vulnerable, and he's sneakily held ratings steady through a huge amount of RAW main events over the last couple years. I like that he's not as over the top like Cody and Roman dominating any storylines he's in. And that he's a great cog holding together multiple storylines and dynamics right now, which is perfect for ensemble television. I would get rather weary of two "epic" or "face of the company" type runs at once.
He can always win it again another day. Reliable company man and not the flighty ego of other champs. He existed to hold this spot that will obviously go to Drew to then lose to Punk. Circle of life
I think he'll find his way on the mic soon too. He's already halfway to the character he was trying to be, which is similar to his real life demeanor it seems. Regardless I'm excited to see how the rest of his career turns out
That's the problem with MITB every single year since you have to use the briefcase to create a new top guy every year. But its hard to determine who that winner should be and now you have a year to establish them as a top guy or them winning the briefcase was considered a failure.
I felt the same way when Big E won the WWE title. I was so happy he won it, but then any feud or big match he was a part of, it didn't seem like he was the focus.
I still believe that Big E could have been a credible world champ (not groundbreaking but credible) if booked correctly.
Absolutely. His world title run being mediocre had nothing to do with him.
Not his fault that he won the title and then was fed to lose to Roman in a non-title match, even though he needed the win more. After that loss, his reign was barely anything worth talking about.
i mean he didn’t even have money in the bank yet at that point. i don’t think they waited too long i just think a lot of the stories on raw rn are just more compelling then him and drew.
Nothing against Priest, but let's be real: he's a midcarder who got the MitB contract when the world title scene was looking very soft and when his own stock was at an anomalous high point based on the PR match against Bad Bunny.
It was just done to have Punk screw Drew. Priest did good for the spot he was put in. Punk was a transitional champ at first too. I want Punk to lay out tomorrow or even help Drew, to really piss him off. The only thing that would ruin Drew winning the title would be Punk helping. I’d rather him stay out of it though.
At this stage I'd rather Punk have a stable who go after Drew i.e. Heenan family v. Hogan. But less jobbery. No need for the man to get injured again when his talent lies in his charisma and mic skills.
It typically takes about 3 world title level wins to be a true WWE main eventer unless something crazy happens like with Cody. Ultimately Priest has been established as a top 10 guy over the last year and that is perfectly fine for now. He’s not gonna lose much by taking an L in a 25 minute match to a top 5 guy in what amounts to a road game.
They can even protect him if Punk interferes on Drew's behalf. That way, Punk can then go around and claim that Drew is "only champ because of me", and that he did it because he wants to personally beat Drew for the title.
I wouldn’t mind if Drew and Damian played hot potato with the WHC just to show that both men are championship caliber players
This! Let it go back and forth a bit. Like JD gets its revenge and wins Priest back his title post Clash.
He does but I really don’t think he’s getting it now. I think Priest is holding it until SummerSlam then Gunther wins it. Drew has a feud with Punk setup that doesn’t need the title. I also don’t see Drew/Gunther being the SummerSlam match unless by some chance Punk can’t wrestle by then.
I think their overarching goal is to establish this title more. But right now, the money feud on Raw is clearly Drew/Punk, plus they are the bigger stars. So in this sense, the title would be elevated by being a focal point in a hot, well-built feud between two top stars at the biggest non-mania PPV of the year. Conversely, the title remaining on Priest and playing second fiddle to the Drew/Punk feud would further bury it.
Gunther has a guaranteed title shot at SummerSlam. They can’t do Drew/Punk for the title at SummerSlam.
This isn’t about Priest, it’s about Gunther.
Yup because it be most likely a third storyline to punk/drew and whoever Cody fighting. The world title 100% needs to be on Drew or punk or Gunther. Make it a triple threat or if punk not ready just do Drew vs gunther
I have grown to really enjoy Priest. I like him more than Drew at this point. But Drew needs to win this weekend.
Scotland needs a win this weekend cause neither the unholy union nor Piper are winning You can't give the home crowd 3 l's of all their native wrestlers losing
I am SO TORN between wanting Drew to win here in Scotland versus wanting Drew to go all the way with his hypocrite character and win via a MITB cash in.
How about both? Give him the title here, but he loses it at Raw due to his own hubris and Punk fucking him over. Then have him win the briefcase and cash in later on.
Him cashing in on Punk would be peak
Or punk cashes in on him and Drew literally combusts
Punk would crumble into dust in a MiTB
Yeah he's well known for doing poorly at MITB...
You can book him not doing any serious spots. Just have him be the guy that knocks ladders over and punches peoples backs
Have Drew take Punk out, and he skips most of the match, only to come back at the very last second and win. It'll be Drew's fault for taking him out at the start, and letting him play possum til the perfect moment, as everyone forgets about him.
Jey wins the briefcase and cashes in on Drew, full circle moment for Drew’s heel turn
Sounds about right, I think Jey and Tiffy are my Money in the Bank picks.
They’ve already done that, that was his Wrestlemania moment which led to priest getting it. Him winning it to drop it immediately for the 2nd time back to back for his own ego would hurt his credibility I feel.
I was thinking more in the way of him doing an open challenge, Punk literally costing him that match and then he cashes in on Punk with the briefcase for a bit of revenge and hypocrisy on his part.
If that happens Drew becomes WHC three times in less than a year for title that’s not even three years old. Creative has got to not let this title hot potato to much. I really think that devalued the TNT Title on AEW when the belt just moved around every month it seemed.
I think a mini feud between Drew and Damian where the belt switches between *only* those two wouldn’t be too bad. By utilizing the rematch clause, they’d have the leeway to hold WHC matches during the week.
I don’t think that worked for the original Raw Women’s Championship. They hot potatoed it between Charlotte and Sasha Banks, and by the end of the year, Charlotte had 4 reigns already, and Sasha had 3. All of those reigns happening between April and December. If it didn’t work for that belt, it won’t work for this one
Yes, I remember, but I’m thinking even farther back when they did that. The RWC was during a time WWE didn’t have momentum like they do now, women’s wrestling wasn’t being taken seriously and under a certain McMahon’s regime. A few more differences: the RWC was a completely new belt with no established history compared to the WHC that does follow the Big Gold lineage. As you mentioned, Charlotte was involved. She had go away heat at the time. Finally those title defenses happened to PPVs, so the crowd and audience had to sit through *months* of it. I’m proposing changing that to weekly. Have them put on absolute bangers for a short term stint. They did it back in the AE, and it was successful.
Ultimately, I think you need to choose one and commit to it. We’ve already seen him win and get screwed out of it in a short time frame, and I don’t think it moves the story forward to retread that same ground. I think it’s EITHER give him the win and a deserving reign OR have him screwed out of winning in the first place so he stoops down to using MITB, then having a long reign when he cashes that in. What’s incredible about all this is either option will be great. Drew is on fire right now, in Scotland, this would be the perfect place and time for him to win. Buuuuuuuut in the other hand, he’s been going on and on and on about how terrible it is to win via MITB, and it would be so delicious to have him cave and win the same way. I wish I could live in both realities to see how they both play out, but ultimately I think you have choose one and go all the way with it rather than trying to do both.
Drew doesn't need an MitB win. He will be the cashee rather than the casher, making it the third time he loses due to the briefcase. That's more in line with his character.
Bro said "Nah i'd win" when Cole asked him what'd he do if he loses clean. Fuck I really hope they dont let Punk screw him
I’ll be genuinely shocked if Punk doesn’t screw him. I 100% expect it.
double turn coming
It wouldn't be a double turn, it would be a bizarro world situation.
Heel Drew is too good, you can’t get rid of it just yet.
Agreed. Screwing Drew in Scotland is a heel move, but really only in Scotland. So playing it up like this makes sense.
What I think will happen for the inevitable Punk match is that they'll build them both as tweeners (bit like what they're doing with Drew here). Make it so they're both right on some things and both wrong on others. Blur the lines and let the fans decide who to root for.
At least an attempt at it.
Yeah, I expect Punk to try to screw him, but Drew wins anyway.
I’m expecting Punk to try to fuck him over only to unintentionally help him win
We all know what happened to the other man who said that
Punk is gonna to tell Drew to stand proud.
But Gojo was being serious when he said that, not ironic
Emergency surgery? I’m not able to watch the stream but did they say what for? I assume that is real haha. That’s crazy if so and feel bad for Drew.
His wife is a doctor, so it’s unclear if she’s having surgery or performing surgery.
Honestly it'd be really funny if he presented it like this but in actuality she's operating on someone lol
"What emergency surgery was your wife receiving the day before you won the title?" "Well, you see, she was performing a root canal treatment" "Excuse me?"
Mrs. McIntyre, DMD
That'd be so fitting of his character tbh
Performing surgery on...herself
She lives in Antarctica and her appendix burst.
She's playing the Jean-Ralphio game show Open Heart Surgery
Yeah sounded real, and nah he didn't say what for.
This is giving me massive 1997 British Bulldog vibes
This still makes me angry to this day.
Honestly it still feels like most people agree that Drew vs Punk is happening at Summerslam. Gunther winning the tournament seemed to have got rid of that possibility if Drew won the title since he can’t go one on one with Punk for the title. So that lowered the chance of Drew winning. Or unless they wanted to get crazy and have Drew win to then have Punk cost him at MITB and get cashed in on again.
Drew can be cashed in on between MITB and Summerslam.
If Punk somehow did a Cena recovery and won MITB that would be great. Not happening but imagine Punk torment Drew with the briefcase.
Is it really worth Drew winning the title for the moment only to drop it 1 month later?
Was Daniel Bryan winning the title for the moment at WrestleMania XXX worth it?
Nah Drew getting cashed in 3x now is just cruel
Punk vs Drew at summerslam are wishful thiking by the fans there's no guarantee that Punk will cleared in time for summerslam. if they really want to go with that match that means Punk is should have been cleared by now or 1 month in advance at the least. but we still not receive any news about Punk getting cleared. he might be get cleared in the bash at the berlin or probably even at survivor series
SummerSlam is wayyyyy too early, Drew v Punk is WM41.
I would say we are getting a triple threat with Seth involved at Mania next year.
I’d be down for that but honestly Seth/Punk seems like a cold feud compared to Punk and Drew right now. Always time to heat it up, and no doubt they will eventually, but man it’s crazy how invested I am in Drew/Punk and most of it’s due to McIntyre.
I think Gunther winning KOTR and getting a title shot at Summerslam killed any chance of Drew winning. Also, they are going too hard on the transitional champion and not belonging stuff for Damien to lose right now.
Agreed. My guess is Priest holds it until SummerSlam to fight off the “transitional champion” take, and drops it to Gunther.
I felt bad for Drew last time but if he gets screwed again that’ll be a nasty gut punch
Punk is about to get Dom level of heat!
I wouldn't be surprised if he gets stabbed for real
I still think Punk is going to mess with Drew by taking out Damien for him, “handing” drew the title. Drew will refuse because Punk can say he only has it because of him. Do want drew to win though, even if I like priest.
That's interesting. The most "obvious" thing is Punk screwing Drew, but some people are still like "Oh IMAGINE if Punk screws Drew? RIOTS LOL" Like, no, that's the most OBVIOUS thing. This, however, Punk screwing Priest?? THAT is a plot twist, THAT is evil. Having Drew WIN BECAUSE OF PUNK, and Punk being able to hold that over him? Amazing.
Would be a shame if a certain Chicago superstar screwed him...
He would have to be surrounded by security if they want to try and pull any serious fuckery off.
Funny thing is he'd go right back to being a face in the US
I think even in the US, Punk might get a few boos. It's one thing to screw over Drew after he injured you and is getting in your face on the commentary booth. Another to fly across the world just to mess with him, in front of his home town and with no provocation.
Guess we’re about to see that.
They gotta ship that man out in a production boat to smuggle him out of the country.
I suspect Punk tries to screw him and it goes awry and Drew wins anyway
Failed Punk/JD interference. Huge hometown pop for Drew, starts Priest pulling away from JD/turning face
Well we know it's the main event, so there's a chance
I love how everyone is expecting and hoping for it because it's going to be so damn funny
Punk, a babyface, is not going to screw Drew in one of the biggest events of Drew's career where Drew himself is being positioned as a face. I'm honestly surprised so many people are expecting Punk to interfere. At best, I can imagine Punk and Drew having a staredown after Drew wins the match and the title.
Drew is going to be a heel as soon as they get back to the States, so nothing Punk does will affect that. And in kayfabe, Punk is paying Drew back for all of the months of shit talking him.
Punk already interfered once before and cost McIntyre a title match at Backlash France. Interfering now would just be bullying from Punk's point of view given that McIntyre has been purely focused on Priest for the past month. It makes no sense for Punk to interfere at Glasgow. The face/heel dynamics are different. McIntyre already lost at CatC before vs. Reigns. Now he has a beatable opponent. There's no incentive to make him lose in front of his home crowd. Rather, McIntyre wins the title and proceeds to shit on Punk and reignite the feud. Punk then has the ammo to re-interfere at MitB and cost McIntyre.
Like I said, Drew has been shit talking about Punk for months. More than anything, Punk is, at best, a tweener. He is not Cody Rhodes or John Cena, he's going to torture anyone that pisses him off. He is 100% going to fuck with Drew out of pure spite.
Yup i think this is make it certain. Drew is gonna lose Punk cost him a match that he dedicated to his wife in front of his people would hurt hundred times more than when Roman beat him. Punk said he will make Drew suffer and what could be better to break a man than made him not able to fulfill his promise to his wife though if they really go to this direction then Punk is about to become biggest villain to the scottish
Drew and Piper both deserve to win. If Scotland goes 0-3 tomorrow that will suck.
0-4. They ain’t beating Germany.
As german - I'm hoping for a scottish clean sweep, honestly. I usually don't care much about underdog storylines, but the way one of the scottish players framed it - "we only want to advance. That would be our victory. No scottish team has *ever* managed that. For that feat alone, we would be called heroes!" .. yeah, that fucking spoke to me man, let 'em be heroes.
Saw your inspiring post and then checked the score. RIP lmao
Yeah ... the ONE time our boys get their shit together, lol. Sorry lads.
Piper definitely should not win. Bayley deserves a real title run
She's been champion for over 2 months and I'm still waiting for it to matter beyond the win itself.
Scotland is winning the tag team, piper is losing, drew is a tossup
I think Zoey is getting pinned by either Jade or Bianca. I think people forget that Jade and Bianca serve a story and functional point. The team is together so Jade can develop while not being left alone to dry and has someone very experienced like Bianca. I don’t Alba or Isla will get pinned but they aren’t winning
No reason they cant be 2x tag champs
Yes but I think knowing how Triple H books title reigns these two probably aren’t losing till like WrestleMania or next year’s Summerslam when they implode
Becky and a returning Charlotte are my pick to dethrone them and start sowing the seeds for a split and big money singles feud.
No reason they need to be.
There's no way Jade and Bianca are losing the titles so soon and to a tag team that had not even been on tv for months before last week
Piper is losing, Drew imo is definitely winning in my mind. He's not up against Roman this time, I see 0% chance of Damian walking out still champion honestly. If Punk is ringside or sommat, then that goes up to 10/20% maybe. I'm probably setting myself up to be pissed when Punk costs him 😅
The UK has adopted Bayley, so Piper winning wouldn't necessarily be a loss for Scotland. I'm fairly certain there's still going to be more "If you'll be my girl" chants for Bayley than Piper chants in the match.
Scotland is not going to win anything, including today's EURO game against germany.
Small but true story, his wife was my chemistry lab partner in college, so in an alternate timeline I’m married to Drew
Jordan 12's on the feet!! Damn! When did all these wrestlers start rocking all this heat?
What's scarier than a scotsman ? An angry scotsman
Damn that’s good stuff. Hope his wife recovers.
If they book him to lose in Glasgow after all the other shit they’ve put him through, man. Fuck them.
Punk about to interfere and get murdered af
Idk how Drew doesn’t win the title here. If Punk interferes and costs Drew the title, security better be ready. Them Scots don’t fuck around. I’ve seen Braveheart.
I really hope Drew wins this time but I know WWE loves booking the hometown guy to be a loser like last time.
I mean, Rhea won in Perth.
But Nia is Australian, therefore hometown person lost
Wtf I had no idea Nia is Australian. I thought she was Samoan. Edit: Born in Australia, of Samoan descent. I had no clue! Also, she is the only biological relative of Peter Maivia in wrestling.
Home burials were a Vince McMahon trademark though in direct response to the Bret Hart issues. Triple H booking doesn't always go that way.
Hometown losses haven't really been a thing lately. Rhea won in Australia. Sami just recently won title matches in both Montreal and Saudi (basically his second home) that said I still think Drew gets screwed lol
I think Triple H just likes to book wrestlers in their hometowns/countries but won’t let it interfere with his plans, resulting in a 50/50 split of wins and losses depending on if the person is actively being pushed.
Which I like. We get the home wins once in a while, but he doesn’t go overboard and make it predictable either way.
I honestly think we are going to see Drew blow a kiss at Punk after he finds a way to win. That or Punk purposely helps Drew so he can use that to gloat to Drew that he is the reason Drew had his dream moment happen, to continue getting in Drews head. If rhea deserved to win in her hometown, Drew deserves it as well.
Low key might lose
I am not watching the conference so can anyone clarify. Drews wife is a nurse so is she having an emergency surgery or helping perform an emergency surgery
scottish kevin nash was right
Cm Punk rubbing his hands menacingly
This is spectacular, the nuclear heat Punk is gonna get will be awesome
Man when Punk screws him its going to be so good.
Unfortunately for him, a certain superstar who doesn't drink will be there to see him lose
Fuck he has to win it now
Lol imagine if he loses in Scotland *again* Oh man that arena would burn down
Despite them booking Priest to be the lead of JD, I think Balor should be the lead while Ripley is out. Priest is the muscle. Dom and JD as the regular members. EDIT: whoops dunno where this comment should have gone. Anyways Drew really deserves a real title run.
25 years ago the british Bulldog dedicated a championship match to his sister who had cancer. He ended up losing to shawn micheals.
Priest has had a fun little reign, and I wouldn’t mind him having another in the future, but Drew deserves to win tomorrow. I think even punk would get booed out the damn universe if he cost Drew.
Priest really *is* gonna be a transitional champion lol. McIntyre literally coined that for him on live television💀
drew is huge man
I'm happy to see the guy get the title and in this fashion, in his home country, and especially after how his original run went during the pandemic, but I really hope they have a plan in store for Priest that is ready to go. It would be a major disappointment if this title change hurt the Judgement day story or turns Priest into the least interesting part, because imo him and Finn have a very good chance of having a killer blood fued when this all eventually blows up.
I have always felt Priest's title run is a audition for a longer, more meaningful one down the line. I don't think he's done bad in the role, and I do think he and creative knows what he needs to work on. One day he will be world champion again, but no way in fucking hell does Drew lose in Scotland. No fucking way. Kill that noise. Drew is getting his win.
British bulldog vibes
I know the chances are there's another screw job in the wakes or at least an attempted one - but Drew's going to go in against Punk as the mega-babyface of the feud at this rate.
Still say punk coasts him the title.
This has CM Punk costing him the match written all over it.
Oh he’s definitely losing lol imagine how much heat Liv/Punk will get when they cost Drew the title in front of his fellow country men while his wife is in the hospital
He is smilling somwhere.. 
The heat when Punk costs him the title could fuel Scotland for a generation.
How can he lose with stipulations like that! Damn, this one is going to be a toss up.
Priests run has been extremely forgettable. Pass it to Drew.
I mean how can he possibly lose.
Punk is gonna cost drew tomorrow, period.
Priest needs to drop the title lmao bro is not and has never been championship material
I’m expecting Punk to try to cost Drew the match, but accidentally costs Priest the match and sets up a 3-way feud to extend Punk-Drew to WM next year.
Joe Hendry is about to become the local hero once again and stop CM Punk from interfering.
Bro the punk heat will be so good