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The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Damian Priest and Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank was abruptly elevated to a triple threat dynamic as Drew McIntyre cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase in the midst of the action. McIntyre's championship pursuit was ultimately squandered by an ambush from CM Punk that later paved the way for Priest to retain. On a recent episode of "Busted Open Radio," former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman weighed in on this title match's finish, particularly the moment in which Priest failed to kick out of a pinfall attempt from Rollins.
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"Back when we were learning .... we were taught that, and this is what Vince [McMahon] wanted to do, that for something like that, to protect the referee, he counts three, and then you deal with the repercussions after that," Coachman recalled. "What ended up happening is all of the [questions] with Drew, 'Oh, now was it the lights? Was it the music? Was it his fault?' Then he comes down and CM Punk [attacks Drew]. You have all of that, but yet all anybody's talking about is the fact that Damian Priest could have been knocked out for a moment and didn't kick out."
"What the referee should have done in the moment is counted to three," Coachman continued, "and then you could have pivoted and it could have been Drew going after Seth as the champion and then kind of make it all make sense."
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As Coachman alluded to, Rollins' pinfall attempt on Priest came on the heels of laying him out with a Falcon Arrow. Rather than counting to three, since Priest's shoulders remained grounded on the mat, the referee stopped the count at two, ruling that Priest had kicked out. WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque has since claimed this to be a "mistake" that he hopes isn't dwelled on for too long.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
