Triple H played a pivotal role in moulding WWE’s ‘Punisher’ into the man he is today.
Damian Priest has worked closely with Triple H during both his time in NXT and on the main roster, but it hadn’t always been smooth sailing.
Speaking with WFAN, Priest revealed that Triple H has had to remind him to let loose on camera in both settings, with ‘The Game’ noting that The Undertaker had to give him the same advice when he was in the same position during his career.
“It was what I thought they wanted me to be. I remember my boss, Triple H, came up to me one day. He was like, ‘The day you stop trying to pretend to be you and you’re just you, you’re gonna make a lot of money in this business.’ He goes, ‘Undertaker told me the same advice. I know it’s weird, right? Because how’s somebody telling you how to be yourself, that you’re not being yourself? You know you, but one day, it’ll click.’ Sure enough, one day, it just did. I remember I was in a match in NXT with Finn Balor, and that was the first time that I felt that it clicked. Then, I got called up to the main roster. Somehow I ended up going down that road again of trying to be what everybody wanted me to be. Same thing again. Triple H just being like, ‘You’re like, tense. You’re holding back. Just let loose. Who cares?’ He goes, ‘I’d rather tell when you get back to the curtain, ‘Hey, relax, don’t do that, or you’re going too far.’ Then tell you, ‘Hey, man, I need more from you. The moment he said that, it was another one of those things of, ‘Okay.’ Obviously, it helps when you have your friends around you. Being in the Judgment Day helped my confidence a lot. Just having them in the ring with me, whether I was talking or just in a match, I just fed off of them, and then it was just this calm and smoothness that I just started to feel, and that was a game changer.”
-Damian Priest
After a successful stint on Monday Night RAW that saw him capture the World Heavyweight Championship, Priest now finds himself competing on Friday Night SmackDown.
With an impressive list of accolades during his time with WWE thus far, it’s fair to say that Triple H’s advice to Damian Priest has paid off in spades.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
