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WWE world heavyweight champion Damian Priest has shed light on what happens to his title when he travels.
Priest finally cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win gold in an incredible moment at WrestleMania 40.
Having seen the Judgement Day lose the tag titles on night before, Priest capitalised on CM Punk's attack on newly crowned champion Drew McIntyre, who lost the title just moments after winning it from Seth Rollins.
The 70,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field were sent into raptures as Priest hit a South of Heaven chokeslam that scored the three-count.
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The gold belt looks good around the waist of 'El Campeon' but he does have some issues when boarding a flight.
The title, introduced around a year ago, has to go through airport security - with Priest stuck in the same routine when travelling.
“I literally have to take this bad boy everywhere," he told SPORTbible.
"I’m not complaining. I traded in tag titles and a briefcase for this one awesome one. That’s a good trade off.
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“It’s my carry on, I’ve got it in my bag and usually it goes through the conveyor belt. And then they look and they’re like, ‘What’s this?’. I’m like, ‘Well, what do you think it is?’.
“Then they take it out and everybody wants to hold it and take pictures. I’m usually telling them, ‘Guys, you know I'm here for a flight, right? I gotta go’.
“It’s a trip but I get it, it’s cool to have the title.”
Priest signed with WWE in 2018 and has won both the NXT North American and WWE United States championships in his tenure.
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But it was at the biggest WrestleMania of all-time, in Philadelphia, where he truly cemented himself as a main eventer.
He had held the briefcase carrying a title contract for nine months, picking the perfect moment to strike.
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Priest added: “Having the briefcase, I knew I was just fingertips away.
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"But to do it at WrestleMania and the biggest WrestleMania of all time, you know the numbers tell the story, right? In front of 70,000 fans.
"Words can’t describe how cool that was. The emotion that was flowing through me, I couldn't have written a better book and better ending. That was just the most special moment of my career.
"It kind of worked out for me, you know? I guess people are impatient. They want what they want and they want it right now. And then you give it to them and then they go, ‘Oh no, we should have did this’.That's always the way it is.
“But for me, I was like,’ I'm not going to do this is not for everybody else’. I did this because this is the way I wanted to fulfil my dream.
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“Doing it at WrestleMania, it doesn't get any more perfect than that.”
Backstage the congratulations were led by legends like The Undertaker and The Rock, who were both involved in the arguably the greatest finale in the history of WrestleMania later that night.
He reflected: “Having these guys come up and congratulating you, it's awesome. It's humbling. "For everybody just to be so welcoming, it was like one of us did it.
“One of the ones that wasn't supposed to. That was my favourite part, like ‘title for the boys again’.”
A video posted on social media showed Priest enjoying himself as he celebrated his triumph with family and friends at a nearby spot that had been rented out.
His first official title defence will take place at Backlash in Lyon, France when he takes on the extremely popular 'Main Event' Jey Uso.
McIntyre, the man who Priest humiliated on the grandest stage of them all, has described him as a "transitional champion" after he embarked on his first reign.
“I get where he’s coming from," he fired back.
"He would know, right? He won a title and lost it immediately. That’s what a transitional champion is, right? I’m guessing that’s the definition.
“It’s just words from somebody who's a little hurt. I couldn’t care less. Drew McIntyre, the guy that won a title in front of nobody. Drew McIntyre, the guy I pinned when I was United States champion and shook my hand after the match. "That guy was action. The Drew McIntyre today is just a guy that talks a lot. He loves saying things, he loves going on the internet and getting verbiage from fans.
“I don't know what happened to him, maybe Roman superman punched the brain cells out of him, but he's changed. And he’s just all talk. He can say whatever he wants, he can make fun of me and say all these stupid things and insults and I couldn’t care less. I'm sitting here as champion. He's just whining.”
McIntyre might not be a believer but the man who calls the shots definitely is.
14-time champion Paul 'Triple H' Levesque is chief content officer and head of creative is literally running the show.
And Priest credits 'The Game' for encouraging him to reaching the very top in WWE.
The 41-year-old explained: “Triple H has been my biggest supporter since I walked through the doors, giving me advice since day one, and believing in me since day one.
"He legitimately told me, ‘I see this for you at some point’ and that was from the get-go.
“And here I am. I can't thank him enough for just his trust and believing in me.
“I obviously I had to do my part and I had to earn it. And I'd like to think that I have, clearly, but as a boss and a leader, he wants the best for everyone and how could you not root for a boss like that?”.
WWE have regularly been pushing the new era under Triple H in recent times and already his impact on the product is clear to see.
One of the biggest and most exciting changes has seen huge alterations in productions when it comes to entrances and camera shots.
The fans are lapping it up but according to Priest, the enthusiasm is shared by the roster.
He stated: “For fans it's cool visually all the changes in production and whatnot. But for us, it's a whole other game. We like being creative, right? That's what we do. We create entertainment.
“So, when we see that we can do things differently now and be seen differently with different angles and whatnot, it's exciting. I love the fact that the company's changed for the better as far as like our production side. It was time for a change, and I love it. I think everybody in the locker room agrees that it's so much better and I think it's more enjoyable for the fans.”
Priest's euphoric victory meant the Judgement Day were in possession of the men's and women's world titles after stablemate Rhea Ripley was successful in her title defence against Becky Lynch.
After a 380-day reign, The Eradicator had to vacate the title following a legitimate injury to her right arm suffered in an attack from Liv Morgan.
She will be on the sidelines for an extended period but Priest is worried for the women's division about what might be on the cards when she returns.
“She had to vacate the title but how else was she going to drop the title?" Priest asked.
"She’s on a different level. Nobody could touch her and what she did as champion for the last year was incredible. And it's crazy to think that when she returns she's gonna be even worse. She's gonna be a menace. I feel bad. I don't feel bad for Liv [Morgan] but it's crazy to think what she's gonna do to a locker room when she returns. It's gonna be wild. If she was bad before, we haven't seen anything yet.
“Just talking to her, I told her this morning that I know she's gonna ball out when she comes back.”
Backlash: France airs Saturday 4 May on WWE Network and TNT Sports Box Office.
Tickets for WWE SmackDown & Clash at the Castle: Scotland at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Friday June 14 and Saturday June 15 are available from Ticketmaster.co.uk.
Featured Image Credit: WWE & SPORTbibleTopics: WWE, WrestleMania