Damian Priest had quite the praise for two his previous opponents.
Finn Balor and AJ Styles have had similar career paths over the last 10 years. Both men found success in NJPW as part of a faction known as Bullet Club, which has since had successful members such as Kenny Omega, Jay White, and EVIL, amongst others. Balor, in the Jr. Heavyweight Division, won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship three times and the Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships six times. Styles, on the Heavyweight level, won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on two different occasions.
Both men won their first WWE World Titles in 2016, with Styles becoming WWE Champion by beating the then Dean Ambrose and Finn Balor becoming the inaugural Universal Champion by beating Seth Rollins in the finals of a tournament. Unfortunately for Balor, he had to relinquish the title the following night due to injury.
Priest has worked with both Balor and Styles in the past few months and he explained what working with them has been like while on Unlocking The Cage with Jimmy Smith.
“They’re two guys that it’s home run, after home run, after home run, every performance,” Priest stated. “And by the way and saying that they have a big fight because of their size, those are two of the hardest-hitting guys I’ve ever been in the ring with, so don’t let that fool you.”
“… I knew that everybody has their, ‘I hope I can work with this person’. AJ and Finn were at the top of my list. Like, they were two towards the top.”
Styles and Balor have both had success since their initial year. Balor won both the United States Championship and Intercontinental Championship, with the latter being won on two separate occasions. Balor also spent some time back down in “NXT” where he won the NXT Championship for a second time. Styles has won the Intercontinental Championship, The United States Championship three times, the WWE Championship twice, and the Raw Tag Team Championships alongside the “Nigerian Giant” Omos, with the last completing the cycle to make him a grand-slam champion.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Unlocking The Cage with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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