Damian Priest Explains Reason Behind Dropping Signature Move

Damian Priest had been dominating Monday Night RAW when he was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion but that’s in the past now. He also has an expansive moveset but he did end up changing it somewhat, as he no longer performs one of his signature moves and he has explained why that’s the case.

After moving to WWE’s main roster, Priest initially used the Hit the Lights finisher, a variant of the rolling cutter, to win many of his matches. However, in early 2022, he switched to the South of Heaven chokeslam, which sparked speculation among fans about a major return.

In February 2022, when news emerged that Cody Rhodes had left AEW, fans began to speculate that Rhodes would soon return to WWE. They noticed the similarity between Priest’s Hit the Lights and Rhodes’ Cross Rhodes and assumed Priest might have been asked to change his finisher due to Rhodes’ impending return.

While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Priest clarified that while there was discussion about the similarities between the moves, he was never formally instructed to stop using Hit the Lights. The conversation was more about the similarity and the potential confusion it could cause. Priest mentioned that even Rhodes himself was not concerned about the move and said it was fine for Priest to continue using it if needed.

“That was pretty much the conversation. Actually, they didn’t say you can’t do it anymore. It was like a conversation of look, obviously, it’s a similar move, it’s different, but it’s still similar. I do it differently, but it’s one of those things. They’re like, you might want to [think about it], but they never said change it. And even Cody was like, You don’t have to change it. I was like, Yeah, but if you come back and I’m doing this move every time I hit it, people are gonna think of you.

Priest also pointed out that variations of the rolling cutter have been used by various wrestlers over time. He joked that if he ever faced Rhodes, he would just use the move on him.

“But at the end of the day, it is a rolling cutter, right? So I was okay with it. So basically anytime I face Cody, I’m gonna hit him with it.”

Ultimately, Priest was open to changing his finisher if needed, noting he has several other moves in his arsenal that fans haven’t yet seen. He emphasized that he wasn’t upset about the situation and was more focused on differentiating himself rather than being associated with someone else’s signature move.

“But look, it’s a move. It’s not that serious. I think everybody else thinks it’s more serious than we do. I really didn’t care. I was like, Okay, I’ll just go back to using the South of Heaven or Razor’s Edge or the flat liner that I do. I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to use. I haven’t even started using submissions yet, and I’ve got a few!

There’s a lot of stuff that we can do. I wasn’t mad, I wasn’t upset, I just didn’t want people to think of him every time that I did a move. It’s one thing paying homage to somebody, it’s one thing to do a move similar to someone who works somewhere else, but when they work in the same company, on the same show, it’s like alright, there’s got to be a difference.”

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley were triumphant over Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio at Bash in Berlin but it’s clear the two are not done feuding just yet. Regardless, Priest will continue to use moves that he feels are necessary and that’s all that matters in the end.

What you think of Damian Priest deciding to stop using Hit the Lights? Do you feel there’s a chance he might bring it back? Let us know in the comments section below!

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