Damian Priest’s WWE rise has only just begun on journey to SummerSlam: ‘Can’t go backward’

It’s still so “surreal” to Damian Priest that he doesn’t want it to end or see himself slide backward.

The Bronx native won his first world championship with an epic Money in the Bank cash-in on Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 40 to become World Heavyweight champion.

It’s allowed the 41-year-old Priest to establish himself among WWE’s main event talent while being a leader of one of its hottest factions in The Judgment Day all in the later stages of a career that began in 2005 at Old Time Wrestling in New Jersey.

“I don’t feel out of place. I don’t feel uncomfortable. I’m enjoying it I think everyone around me is as well,” Priest said of his recent work with Judgment Day. “It gives me something to build on where now I can’t go backward. I just got to keep going forward now. If this is now, I can only imagine later on where I’m going to be. It’s a good sign for things to come.”

Fans will get an in-depth look back at Priest’s journey — which includes a drastic body transformation and working his way up through the indies to Ring of Honor and NXT — to this point in his “WWE 24” documentary that drops on Peacock on Aug. 5, two days after he defends his title against Gunther at SummerSlam in Cleveland (August 3, 7 p.m., Peacock).

Priest and other WWE stars will be at a live screening of the film on Aug. 2 at The Agora Cleveland that fans can attend.

Priest said he was “pretty uncomfortable” letting his guard down and opening up for the documentary that includes his family, but hopes his story can inspire others to “do more and want more” earlier than he did.

He wouldn’t change a thing about his path because of where it led him, even as being a world champion still hasn’t sunk in.

“I’m surprised every day that I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to live this way,” Priest said. “After everything had taken so long, I was still able to achieve this little boy’s dream. It means the world to me. I feel every bit of excitement and proudness and just gratefulness with my crazy ass journey.”

The most recent part of it has seen him prove to himself, his peers and WWE fans that he is amongst the best performers the company has to offer after title defenses against Jey Uso and former world champions Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins at premium live events.

Michael Rubin bringing some of the biggest names in sports to massive NYC event

He has made it a point to go into these clashes not seconded by other members of Judgment Day because he doesn’t want to be another champion only winning due to outside help from his friends.

“It’s not a generic ‘this is how it is’ type of thing,” Priest said. “For me, it’s I need to do it on my own because if I don’t I am just like everybody else who was in a faction who really wasn’t able to be on that level. They were only there because of [the faction]. I don’t want to be a ‘because of.’ I want to be for me and ‘because I.’”

He noted that one of the reasons it took him so long to reach these heights is he wasn’t concerned enough about doing things for himself, saying you need to be able to look in the mirror and say ‘I deserve to be in this position.”

Hearing others say it has followed.

“If I can get in the ring with these incredible superstars, to me, it makes me feel like, ‘OK I do belong.’ I can do this. I can do this here and hang with these guys and work at this level,’ ” Priest said. “It’s something special. Also, to have them have that same vibe back where they look at me and know that I belong. They’re saying it and they mean it. That to me is one of the most important things in our business when you get the respect of your peers and the top peers.”

Defeating a seemingly invincible force in Gunther, the longest-reigning Intercontinental champion in history at 666 days who in storyline has been saying would bring more prestige to the championship, would only add to that.

Priest called Gunther “at the top” of the list of in-ring performers in WWE right now.

“That reign that he had and the people he beat and how he beat them it’s kind of hard to argue that,” Priest said. “So for me, regardless of everything he says, a win over him just solidifies what we’re talking about and my position in the company.”

Not everything has gone perfectly during Priest’s reign.

During a critical point late in his match against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank, he did not kick out when he was supposed to.

We found the best prices for all 2024 WWE events: Smackdown, Summerslam, more

But the referee smartly did not count to three so he was eventually able to turn McIntyre’s cash-in attempt thanks to outside help from CM Punk.

Priest didn’t want to get into anything medical around the situation, saying it was personal, but did want to set one thing straight.

“The idea that I forgot to kick out, that’s not a thing,” he said. “That’s not a thing. We don’t forget to kick out. Twenty years in, I’m pretty sure there is some kind of muscle memory there. So me forgetting was not the case. There was nothing outside that was supposed to happen. It was a matter of there was a situation, but I’m OK. Everybody’s fine, the story continues.”

He was “kicking himself” because the moment happened as he and other performers strived for perfection. Any reaction to it on social media didn’t bother him because ‘it’s not real” and said when he showed up on Raw the next night he got a great reaction from fans “there for the story and the big picture.”

“It doesn’t affect anything,” Priest said. “The show goes on and I think fans are very invested in everything that’s going on. The ones that matter knew the situation and nobody thought twice about it. It was, move on.”

While Priest has excelled in the ring, he also moved into a more complex role during Judgment Day promos and backstage segments with Rhea Ripley out around three months with an injury and to get married.

Priest was eager to get a larger role and has been the on-screen voice of reason in the faction as the love triangle drama between Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio and Ripley — who returned two weeks ago — has played out.

He said after almost everything they do he has to walk away because he needs a second to compose himself as they are having so much fun.

Priest added that it has been “a little weird” watching it after working with Mysterio and Ripley for so long, but understands it is character development and the audience is intrigued by it.

“Whether we like it or not, ultimately that’s the goal,” Priest said. “They are making people feel emotionally invested in what they’re doing and what they’re gonna to do next. As weird as it is, this is also exciting because I know this is gonna go down a path that everyone is going to be talking about.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR STARTING LINEUP NEWSLETTER

Ripley’s presence has been missing on-screen and off it for the group, which Priest said would field different if any member stepped away but called her a “huge piece” of what they do.

“I don’t think there is one person around that’s not happy to have her back, maybe Liv,” Priest said.

Ripley and Priest have grown close after being the original members of the group with Edge in April 2022.

“We just got back from the gym and we were riding in the car and I literally told her, ‘Man, it’s really good to have you back.’ I’ve felt like I’ve been missing something and it was my friend,” Priest said. “It’s my road buddy. It’s my backstage buddy. Besides our TV dynamic, it’s everything else. I missed having that person next to me that also pushes me.”

Now that he’s reached world championship status it comes with some perks of getting briefly work with three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes — who Priest said was very nice and looked legitimately happy to be there,  on Raw and visiting the Yankees before a game in The Bronx where he grew up.

There he told Yankees captain Aaron Judge that he got the idea of using his “All Rise” as a Judgment Day catchphrase from him.

Priest said Judge was already aware of its use and the champ was surprised how many people on and around the team were WWE fans, recalling interactions with Nick Swisher and manager Aaron Boone.

The amount of fans that they are, to me is super cool,” Priest said. “And now that I get these relationships with these players and we message each other all the time, just talk. I talk baseball to them. They talk wrestling to me. That was one of the coolest days of my life.”

It’s a ride Priest has no intention of ending, only adding to it.

He said he needs to add some new goals now with so many accomplishments, striving to be a WWE Hall of Famer and eventually win the Intercontinental championship that would make him a Grand Slam champion.

“I have a spot now where my name is in the history books, who can’t take that away? It’s got to live on,” Priest said. “I need more. I want more.”

For the latest in sports, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/sports/