Damian Priest Giving Up Finisher Due To Impending Cody Rhodes WWE Debut?

Damian Priest might be forced to give up The Reckoning, his version of the Cross Rhodes finishing move, due to the impending WWE debut of Cody Rhodes.

On last week's RAW, Priest furthered his rivalry with Finn Balor, attacking the new United States Champion during his match with Austin Theory. Fans must have noticed that Priest dropped Balor with the Razor's Edge but didn't use The Reckoning.

According to Fightful Select, although WWE agents/producers have not been briefed on Cody's impending debut or signing, those close to the former AEW EVP weren't aware that Priest didn't use his finisher on WWE TV last week. The report also quoted one WWE producer as saying that Priest ditching the finisher wasn't an accident.

Those close to Cody said that he didn't even know that Damian Priest didn't use The Reckoning/Cross Rhodes on TV last week until we inquired about it. One WWE producer says they don't believe that could be an accident, though.

As noted earlier, the Cody Rhodes WWE return situation is said to be up in the air. WWE had reportedly planned a Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins match for WrestleMania 38, but the creative team has been asked to hold off on creative for the match until Rhodes signs his WWE contract. With Monday's RAW being held in Jacksonville, there has been a lot of chatter of Rhodes returning to WWE TV this week.