Damian Priest Admits He Wasn’t 100% Invested In Leon Ruff Storyline At First

Leon Ruff shocked the world on the November 11 episode of NXT when he defeated Johnny Gargano to win the NXT North American Championship. 

Ruff got some help from Damian Priest, who distracted Gargano, which allowed Leon to take advantage and steal the victory. Priest and Gargano had been feuding for months, culminating with Gargano winning the NXT North American Title from Priest at NXT Halloween Havoc. 

Speaking to X-Pac on the return of X-Pac 12360, Priest revealed that he wasn’t totally feeling the storyline with Ruff at first, but then got to know Leon a little better. 

“When we first started [the storyline], I wasn’t 100% invested in it,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what to expect and, of course, everybody has a better idea and everybody is the best booker ever.  In my head, I had other ideas and I didn’t know him. ‘What are we doing?’ We did and got it done. Then I got to be around him a little more and have conversations. As we progressed and everything happened, I couldn’t imagine a cooler storyline that wasn’t about me but actually elevated and helped someone else, deservedly. I really like Leon Ruff. He’s just as loveable, humble, and respectful (as you see on TV). I’m really happy he’s getting this spotlight. I don’t know how his career is going to develop, but I look forward to watching it and being along for the ride. He hit my heart, just like most of the audience. I felt a bond to the person. He loves this business. It wasn’t something I was super enthused about, but I learned my lesson of, ‘not everything is going to be the way you think, but it’s probably going to be pretty good if you just trust.'”

Ruff lost the NXT North American Championship to Gargano at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in a triple threat match that also featured Priest. 

If you missed anything from NXT TakeOver: WarGames, check out Fightful’s full report on the show by clicking here.

If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.