During the WWE ThunderDome era amid the pandemic, AEW’s Bryan Danielson revealed he wanted Damian Priest to debut against Roman Reigns. This plan was pitched while WWE taped shows in Florida with virtual audiences, highlighting the potential for Priest’s impactful introduction.
Danielson’s Proposal for Damian Priest’s Introduction to WWE’s Main Roster
The ThunderDome concept saw WWE recording events with fans appearing virtually, providing a unique backdrop during the pandemic. Roman Reigns was the reigning Universal Champion leading the SmackDown brand. At the same time, Bryan Danielson was involved with SmackDown’s creative team. In a recent interview, Danielson shared he strongly advocated debuting Damian Priest against Reigns, not in a wrestling match but in a televised segment that would showcase Priest’s star potential.
“I had pitched this really hard… We were doing the ThunderDome in Tampa. He was living in Orlando. I thought, like, let’s debut Damian Priest right now. Let’s have him come in. Because he’s tall, he looks like a star, all this kind of stuff. Let’s debut him against Roman, not in a match, but in [a segment],” said Danielson. —Bryan Danielson, AEW star
Insights Into WWE’s Use of Crowd Noise and Vince McMahon’s Role During ThunderDome
Danielson also revealed behind-the-scenes efforts during this period, focusing on how WWE manipulated crowd reaction sounds to elevate certain wrestlers. He explained that Vince McMahon would purposely adjust audio levels to intensify the reception for specific talents, including plans to apply this tactic to Priest’s debut to maximize his impact.
“I saw Vince do this. It was really weird. He was like, ‘I want the crowd noise louder for a certain wrestler, I want it louder.’ So let’s have Damian Priest go out there and let’s hit that noise button. Bring him out, bring him right up, because he looks like a star.” —Bryan Danielson, AEW star
Following his departure from WWE in 2021, Danielson made his AEW debut at the Jacksonville-based promotion’s All Out event in September. His insights emphasize the creative decisions and challenges wrestlers faced during the unusual ThunderDome period.
