Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest is a product of all his favorite wrestlers he grew up watching, as many professional wrestlers are. He may now be mixing it up against the likes of the new Judgment Day alongside his "Terror Twin" Rhea Ripley, but once, he was just a kid in Puerto Rico or the Bronx, wanting to be like his favorite stars.
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Priest recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet on an episode of "Insight" about who inspired him the most.
"The main one was The Undertaker, I've never been shy about that one. That was my idol," Priest said. "Watching him, and it wasn't even so much the wrestling, it was just the aura, the presentation. Everything. I remember how I felt. That's when I knew I was like, 'I need to make people feel this way.' I was big into comics, 'I want to be a comic book superhero or supervillain. Where people are that emotionally invested in me.'"
Priest also credited Razor Ramon, who he "legitimately" thought was Latino. The late Scott Hall's influence is seen in Priest's in-ring work with his use of the Razor's Edge. He added that as he got older, he thought Sting was the "coolest" when he became "The Crow." Priest said he used to watch WCW just for the cruiserweights, like Rey Mysterio, but would "switch back" after watching them and the nWo.
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"[The] Attitude Era obviously happened. I was in high school Austin, Rock were my favorites," he said. "Obviously, 'Taker was always there. DX, forget it. I was a Bret [Hart] fan, but then the nWo took over and then that was it for me, nWo all the way," revealed the WWE star.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
