Damian Priest Comments On His Comparatively Lighter WWE Schedule This Year

After the highs of 2024, when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania XL to become World Heavyweight Champion and then went on to have a pretty decent reign, Damian Priest has had a lackluster 2025. The Archer of Infamy has not been featured in the main event scene, and his feuds with Drew McIntyre and Aleister Black have dragged on longer than fans would have liked.

In a recent appearance on Delivering Happiness, Damian was commenting on his WWE schedule when he brought up his lighter itinerary this year. Priest revealed that he has taken a step back this year, as he is pretty “banged up,” adding that the company has been quite supportive, urging him to “take it easy” as it wants to ensure that he lasts longer.

“Yeah, fortunately, a little less for me lately. This past year, I’ve taken a step back, been banged up a little. So kind of giving the bones and joints and ligaments and everything in between a little bit of a break. But no, no, I would say, but it’s still a weekly travel thing. We’re on the road every week. I’m just not performing five days in a row like I used to.

“It’s unfortunate, and I don’t like to bring it up too much, and I don’t like breaks. Since I’ve been in WWE, I’ve literally taken zero days off. I’ve never asked for time off because I’ve been hurting. The company now this year decided, like, ‘Let’s take it easy on him,’ because I’ve been going hard for a while. I tore my shoulder a couple of times last year and a half. My knees are banged up. My back is oof. I need a lot of work done, but I choose to not and because if I don’t have to, I won’t, and I’ll just, you know, I’ll figure it out. Like, let’s do rehab and just keep me in the game, coach type of thing. So we’ve been doing that for a while. But this year, I think the company was like, ‘Okay, we’re happy with you, but we need to make sure you’re going to last here.’ So they’ve been forcing me to take it easy; put [it] that way, and you know, [it’s] not the easiest thing to do.”

Check out the conversation below:

Damian Priest reunited with Rhea Ripley last Friday on SmackDown. The Terror Twins defeated Aleister Black and Zelina Vega in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

Please credit Delivering Happiness and give an H/T to 411Mania for the transcription if you take quotes from this article.