Damian Priest left club job to pursue WWE career, marking a defining turning point that reshaped the wrestler’s life trajectory. The WWE SmackDown standout recently opened up about the moment he chose professional wrestling over a promising future in club management in Atlantic City.
Damian Priest’s bold decision to leave club management for wrestling
Damian Priest, known to fans as “The Archer of Infamy,” revealed details about his life before entering WWE. In a conversation with Cody Rhodes on the What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Priest shared that while managing a strip club in Atlantic City, he was offered a promotion and a substantial raise. However, the offer came with a firm request from ownership: he would have to give up wrestling on weekends.
“One day, one of the owners came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, we want to give you more responsibility, give you a raise, you know?’ We like you, and it was all positive stuff. And I’m like, awesome. He goes,”
You just got to stop doing that wrestling thing you do sometimes on the weekends,” said Priest.
—Damian Priest, WWE Superstar
Faced with a choice between a lucrative, stable position and his weekend passion for wrestling, Priest decided to prioritize his dream. He described this moment as a series of realizations about his own feelings of dissatisfaction and the need to pursue what truly mattered to him.
“But that day specifically, because I had gotten to the point a few nights that I was, I realized that I was actually unhappy, miserable, and self-sabotaging, and then I knew that I was like not doing what I was supposed to be doing. And that day was perfect timing because I was feeling all those things, and the owner told me that. And without hesitation, I said, ‘Yeah, you have my two weeks notice.’ I walked out of that office and I was like, ‘What did I just do?’”
added Priest.
—Damian Priest, WWE Superstar
Priest’s decision to leave his club job behind marked the turning point that set him on the path to WWE stardom. Since then, he has steadily risen through the organization, building a following and competing in some of the brand’s most notable matches. His most recent in-ring appearance saw him defeat Drew McIntyre in a Steel Cage match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event last month.
Criticism of Priest’s rivalry with Drew McIntyre surfaces
Despite Priest’s momentum, not all wrestling figures are satisfied with his current creative direction. Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently voiced concerns about the ongoing rivalry between Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre. On Sportskeeda Wrestling’s BroDown, Russo claimed the feud had become stale and seemed to lack clear purpose from WWE’s creative team.
“We have seen these two brawl so much over the last four weeks, it means nothing. You know what it means? Here’s what it means, Mac, I’ll tell you exactly what it means. We don’t have anything creatively. So let them brawl on the show. That’s it. It doesn’t mean anything. They’ve done it to death. So that wouldn’t have been a good hook to the show. It was not new, it was not fresh, and all we’ve seen is these two guys brawl over the last four weeks.”
—Vince Russo, Wrestling Veteran
This criticism opens up questions about how WWE will evolve the storylines for both stars. With the rivalry being called “overdone,” fans and industry insiders alike are watching to see if new creative directions emerge, or if Priest will embark on a solo path that matches the dramatic life choice he made when leaving his club job years ago.
Priest’s willingness to walk away from security in Atlantic City, choosing uncertainty for the sake of passion, continues to define his image both inside and outside the ring. As WWE plots its next moves for him and Drew McIntyre, the journey that began with that pivotal decision still shapes Priest’s reputation and future in professional wrestling.
