Backstage Details on Damian Priest’s Botched Kickout at WWE Money in the Bank

Controversy marred the World Heavyweight Championship match between Damian Priest and Seth Rollins at the WWE Money in the Bank 2024 Premium Live Event held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The incident centered around a botched pinfall attempt, and new details about the incident have recently come to light.

In a high-stakes match at WWE Money in the Bank, Damian Priest defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins with a pivotal stipulation: if Priest retained, Rollins could not challenge for the title as long as Priest held it, but if Rollins won, Priest would have to leave The Judgment Day. As the match neared its climax, Rollins executed a Falcon Arrow, but the referee controversially stopped counting at two, despite Priest not kicking out.

Amid the confusion, Drew McIntyre appeared with his Money in the Bank briefcase, signaling his intent to cash in. The bell rang, and McIntyre attempted a Future Shock DDT on Priest, who countered with a clothesline. In the ensuing chaos, CM Punk made a surprise appearance, assaulting McIntyre with a chair, choking him with a cable, and striking him with the title belt. Seizing the opportunity, Priest capitalized by pinning McIntyre to retain his championship amidst the chaotic conclusion.

Keen-eyed viewers observed that Priest did not actually kick out as Rollins pinned him during the match. There was speculation about whether the incident was a mistake by the referee, if Priest forgot to kick out, or if there was a timing issue with Drew McIntyre’s interruption.

While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer clarified that Priest simply didn’t kick out. Meltzer explained that after asking around, he learned that Priest didn’t kick out. There might have been a timing issue where the music was supposed to hit at a specific moment, coinciding with Drew’s arrival, but it was confirmed that Priest just didn’t kick out.

Whether Priest was disoriented or something else happened, the noticeable mistake was discussed post-show. Triple H commented that he needed to talk to the referee, implying the storyline aspect. He also mentioned that everyone would criticize Priest despite his great performance, emphasizing that the focus should be on the overall match rather than the mistake. The referee had no choice but to stop the count, given the situation.

 “I had asked around, and basically the story I heard was that he didn’t kick out. I think there’s a possibility that there might have been a timing…. this is not what I was told when I watched it [but[ maybe there was a timing thing where it was supposed to be like one or two, and then the music hits, and then because Drew’s coming down right away. And then maybe like that’s supposed to be the thing in the music, but when I did ask it was, ‘he just didn’t kick out.’ And you know, that was that so whether he was rocked, whatever it was, I don’t know. But yeah, yeah, you know, there was a very, very noticeable thing and Levaue even was asked about it after the show, and just kind of gave this thing of, well, ‘I need to talk to the referee,’ because he basically said, yeah, the guy didn’t kick out and he talks the referee way held up the count. But he also said it like Triple H, ‘I’m doing this,’ which basically saying, ‘wink wink.’

The storyline. But then he started with everyone’s going to be on Priest’s case, and Priest wrestled such a great match, and why be so negative, you know, everyone’s gonna talk about how he screwed up. But it’s like he had such a great match. So that was kind of like the way it was, so yeah, it was he didn’t kick out, and they said that he didn’t kick out, and the referee stopped the count, and the referee shouldn’t stop the count, but the ref in that situation. Boy, did he have no choice. Boy, did he have no choice. What could he have done?”

Triple H has also defended Damian Priest after the major botch at Money in the Bank. Regardless, the upcoming weeks will reveal how Damian Priest will be booked as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It’s evident he will defend his title against Gunther at SummerSlam next month, setting the stage for a massive match.