WWE superstar Damien Priest: I wanted to be cool just like Razor Ramon

WWE superstar Damien Priest a former US champion and NXT North American Champion is one of the most talented and technically sound wrestlers in the business today The Puerto Rican has had his fair share of hardships over the years and has come along the way before finally tasting success on the big stageIn a teteatete with middaycom Damien Priest talks about his inspiration behind wrestling his early days while pursuing his career and the challenges he faced and also shares his biggest moment in WWE so farExcerptsWhen did you decide on becoming a professional wrestlerGrowing up I was a big fan of wrestling My friends and I would always joke about being wrestling superstars I never fell out of love for wrestling My friend discussed with me about pursuing it saying that we needed to train at a school But when I was 10 years of age I fell in love with wrestling with the way it made me feel I was emotionally invested and wanted to make someone else feel that same way At a very young age I knew this is what I wanted to doWho was your inspiration behind wrestlingThe first would be The Undertaker I was in awe when I saw a particular segment with The Undertaker and I said to myself I want to do this As you grow older you begin to appreciate other things such as Scott Halls Razor Ramon persona he was Hispanic and since I am too it meant a lot to see someone showcase that heritage through his acting I was inspired by his coolness and wanted to be cool just like Razor RamonGiven your cultural background of Puerto Rican descent did you face any struggles while pursuing wrestlingWell I did but I do not know if it was necessarily coz I was Puerto Rican This business is very hard There were times when I was hopeless During injuries there was no money for medical But things have changed over the years For me first it was the dream to be in WWE It is much better now the way things changed and I am able to be in the spotlight I would not change anything and Im glad I stuck with itTake us through your early days while training to become a wrestlerWhen I began training at the Monster Factory in New Jersey which was owned by Larry Sharp at the time He trained stars like Bam Bam Bigelow Raymond The Godfather The Headbangers King Kong Bundy Theres a whole list that came out from Monster Factory When I walked in for the first time I saw two small rings And it wasnt all the lights and glam that you see on tv It was just a simple warehouse with no airconditioning etc It was a lot of hours and hard work Since I come from a fighting background it was a huge change for me But since I knew I wanted to do this for life I would study and record sessions with a video camera I would then watch what I did during my training sessions whats done right or wrong and then try and make it better the next day I began training in 2003 and my first match came in 2004 in front of 30 people at a firehouse stationOver the years I have developed myself as far as my presentation is concerned I changed my persona and attitude a lot but ultimately Damien Priest now is the closest thing to who I really am that youll see Earlier I pretended a lot and thats why I probably wasnt as successful as I am now It is hard to be yourself on television I remember Triple H telling me the day you figure out how to be yourself you will be very successful I didnt understand what he meant till the day finally came and it all just clicked Now I have fun and all the bruises and injuries over the years make it all worth it I am having a blast being Damien PriestCould you tell us about the camaraderie wrestlers share beyond the ring and backstageWe are always on the road and around each other all the time working We try to find ways to relax But when its time to be focused and serious everybody does But the rest of the time we just kickback Everyone has their set of friends or groups but we all get along fine For me its Riddle Austin Theory Randy Orton Edge and a few other guys If you watch the show you can tell that Riddle is a really funny guy always making everybody laugh Otis is another one entertaining people I also love The New Day those guys are hilarious We do not take it too seriously but when we work we get to business as its showtime I see these guys more than my own family so they become my family Its really great to have such a bondYour finest moment in professional wrestlingMy finest moment has to be when i won the United States title at Summerslam in a soldout stadium in Las Vegas Thats a dream I didnt know would come true To win a major championship in the WWE in front of over 50000 fans in one of my favourite WWE events of the year that was amazing I will never forget that momentYour most notable opponent to date and whyI have had a lot of good opponents Sheamus himself who I beat for the US title stands out The person who I am feuding with now Finn Balor is incredible in the ring But most of my first year I was battling with The Miz He was my most notable foe that villain that I wanted to overcome It took me a while chuckles as we went headtohead for months but I eventually did The Miz being a former world champion and the big WWE superstar that he is helped elevate me So I would go with The MizWatch the LIVE coverage of WWE WrestleMania 38 on SONY TEN 1 English SONY TEN 3 Hindi and SONY TEN 4 Tamil and Telugu channels on 3rd amp 4th April 2022 from 630 am IST