Why Damian Priest Thanks Rhea Ripley For Taking His MITB Briefcase At WWE Fastlane 2023

After The Judgment Day lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso at WWE Fastlane, Damian Priest asserted that he wasn't going to leave the venue empty-handed, which prompted him to entertain the idea of cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship later that evening. Under the advisement of Rhea Ripley, he ultimately decided to wait until he was physically ready to cash in on his guaranteed title shot.

Speaking on WWE's "The Bump," Priest expressed his gratitude for Ripley taking possession of his Money in the Bank briefcase while he rested his knee, which was inadvertently struck with the briefcase (via JD McDonagh) during Fastlane's opening tag team match.

"I didn't let her take [the briefcase] away from me," Priest clarified. "She asked for it, and I gave it to her because this is what we do for each other. We look out for each other, and she was right, I wasn't 100%. And I'm the one that's adamant about doing it at the right time. So she was just reminding me of my own words. She said, 'Give me the briefcase' so I don't make a mistake. I thank her for that moment because that's what we're there for. We have each other's backs, and especially when it's most needed, and there I needed my friends. Sometimes the boys don't always think the smartest and so, Mami, we have her around and she kind of keeps us in line. This is what we do for each other."

While Priest acknowledged that he wasn't in the best physical condition at the time, he does believe that he would've most likely successfully cashed it in on Seth Rollins upon the conclusion of his grueling Last Man Standing match against Shinsuke Nakamura. In the back of his mind, though, Priest raised some concerns, such as the possibility of stumbling and wasting the cash-in opportunity.

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