Damian Priest: The Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde character switch curtailed his momentum

The United States champion, Damian Priest, has had a strong run since becoming champion. He’s arguably been booked as one of the strongest characters on the roster. He was nearly undefeated in singles matches for a year, but suddenly was booked to lose to Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, and then drop the title to Finn Balor. Despite that, there’s been some confusion about his current character which is more of a tweener than his previous babyface role.

Priest needs to return to the “Live Forever” character

One could argue that no superstar benefited from Wrestlemania as Priest has. His teaming with Bad Bunny helped elevate him into a new stratosphere as a character. As a result, he’s been one of the noticeably protected characters on the roster. Rarely losing and consistently picking up clean victories over the competition.

Since becoming United States champ at Summerslam, Priest held the title for 191 days. On October 25, 2021 Priest debuted a new entrance theme that accompanied a new character. The character played on his ring name in the form of an angel versus devil dynamic. Priest began to display aggressive mannerisms during and post-match which could have signified a heel turn was coming. The heel turn eventually came after defeating Balor, but along the way it didn’t make any sense for the sudden shift when he was already firmly over with the fan base.

Now, the heel turn is complete, but one has to wonder if Priest will remain as hot as he was throughout 2021. With so many big names from NXT “failing” when they reach the main roster, Priest’s booking was a breath of fresh air. It looked like he was being built up as someone who could eventually become main-event level competitor. With this shift, there’s a budding amount of anxiety over what will be next for his time on the main roster.

There still is time to salvage the character around this year’s Wrestlemania season. Even with dropping the United States title to Finn Balor, Damian’s only two losses were to Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. Now turning on fans and attacking Balor post-match, he will continue his efforts to regain the US title. Perhaps the Damian side can finally take over for a full heel turn and different edge. An angle where Damian’s rage in consecutive weeks prompts Balor to call upon the Demon seems right for a spot on this year’s Wrestlemania card.

After both nights of Wrestlemania past, rumors are swirling that the brand split may cease to exist. A move to Smackdown could help Priest out after a short hiatus. This can also allow him to quietly return to his previous character if a full heel turn flops. That way we can forget the jekkel and hyde thing ever existed.