Photo credit: WWE.com
Damian Priest defeated Drew McIntyre at WWE Clash at the Castle on Saturday to retain the World Heavyweight Championship despite The Judgment Day being banned from ringside.
During the latter stages of the match, McIntyre hit Priest with a Claymore Kick while the referee was incapacitated. Another referee seemingly ran down to make the count, but it was actually CM Punk.
Punk, who has been in the midst of a heated feud with McIntyre, hit Drew with a low blow, allowing Priest to execute the South of Heaven chokeslam for the win in McIntyre’s home country of Scotland.
WWE @WWE
It’s CM PUNK!!!#WWECastle pic.twitter.com/T8SsLiAaqi
The foundation for Saturday’s bout was laid at WrestleMania 40 when McIntyre faced Seth Rollins for the world heavyweight title in the opening match of Night 1.
McIntyre was victorious, making him a three-time world champion in WWE, but his time as the titleholder was short-lived due to his rivalry with Punk.
Since Punk was unable to compete at WrestleMania after suffering a torn triceps in the Royal Rumble match, he was on commentary for McIntyre vs. Rollins. Following his win, McIntyre taunted Punk, leading Punk to attack The Scottish Warrior despite his injury.
That prompted Priest to run down the ramp with his Money in the Bank contract in tow, and he successfully cashed it in on McIntyre to win his first world championship in WWE.
Coming out of WrestleMania, McIntyre was largely preoccupied by his hatred of Punk, as their rivalry continued to reach new heights despite the fact that Punk wasn’t medically cleared to wrestle.
Meanwhile, Priest entered into a brief program with Jey Uso, who won a multi-man match to become No. 1 contender for the world title due in part to Punk screwing McIntyre over again. In his first major title defense, Priest beat Uso at Backlash.
At around that same time, McIntyre called for Priest to give him a title shot, and after the Judgment Day member agreed, their match was made official for Clash at the Castle.
It was the ideal setting for McIntyre since Clash at the Castle took place in his home country of Scotland.
Also, two years ago, McIntyre challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship at the first Clash at the Castle in Wales. Many expected McIntyre to prevail, but interference from Solo Sikoa allowed Reigns to win.
While Clash at the Castle represented the perfect opportunity for McIntyre to make up for the many misfortunes he experienced in recent years, he was once again on the wrong end of a title match, as Priest retained.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.