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After having only one champion through its first year of existence, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship saw itself change hands twice in the span of a few minutes at Night Two of WrestleMania 40. First, Drew McIntyre finally overcame Seth Rollins to win the title, only to see it slip away just minutes later after CM Punk attacked him, leading to Money in the Bank winner Damian Priest cashing in to defeat McIntyre and become champion.
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On the latest episode of "Grilling JR" where he and Conrad Thompson looked back at WrestleMania 40, Jim Ross discussed Priest's championship win, believing it was a nice, surprising move, despite his admiration for McIntyre as a performer.
"I'm a big Drew McIntyre fan," Ross said. "I think he's [a] prototypical pro wrestler; big, athletic, convincing. [He's] got a great look, [his] presentation at WrestleMania was extraordinary, I thought. So I was completely shocked. I hadn't even been thinking about the Money in the Bank scenario. I hadn't thought about it one time. So then when our man right there [Priest] came out, I said 'Oh s**t, this could be something.' And it was. I didn't know if they'd go all the way through with it [though].
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"Damian Priest, he's worked his ass off to become a hell of a hand. And he's got the size that WWE covets as a rule. He's 6'2, 6'3. I saw him on TV on ESPN this week...with the Yankees, Aaron Judge and some more players...I watched Aaron Judge hold the title belt, the strap...and he held it in his hands like a little child, like he couldn't believe he was holding the WWE Championship. So I was surprised. I thought it was very good booking, very good booking. It surprised me, I wasn't ready for it."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
