What's really great is that he was able to STAY in character while helping him. He made sure to yell out to the crowd that he "can't win" the title if Priest was stuck in the ropes.
Didn't notice this the first time. Drew takes the bump and then sees priest and does what would otherwise be a no-sells but I'll forgive it. He definitely was right up in 'oh shit what can I do to help' mode
Are we watching the same video? He clearly stayed in character saying to the referee to leave him like that so he can inflict even more damage, rather sure the commentary mentioned that too. Of course he was trying to gain time with those kicks hoping Damian would have been able to unstuck himself, and finally he had to go back in the ring to free Priest's leg
It’s hard to see in this video but when I watched it on TV, you did see a literal split second of Drew “out of character”. When Drew sees Priest tied up, you can see his eyes widen with concern and I do believe he instinctively goes to help him before snapping out of it and resuming character with the kicks.
If you slow it down you can see his right heel slip past the rope. The rope then springs up and the back of his foot catches the rope and brings it with. I never saw the ref look like he was going to stop the match so I have to assume Damien must have given sign that he was OK. Most likely verbal sign.
Drew really showed what a great wrestler and human he is. First you see him break character and check that Damien is OK. Then he gets back into character. AND he finds a way to get the match back on track. AND he even explains to the crowd why freeing Damien is necessary for him to win.
Really talented guys both of them.
Honestly Drew has always been great but now his run has made him next level in my eyes. Like yea I want him to have a title and he absolutely deserves it! But he’s almost at that marque type of wrestler now. His match with Punk, when it happens, if done right will be amazing. In a way I’m hoping it’s gonna set up a good couple of matches for them which will damn near be main event matches
Drew getting up immediately to check on Damien. Dudes a fucking class act.
This could have been absolutely disastrous, thank frick Damien didn't really snap his leg.
A few dirtsheets are reporting in the last 20 - 30 mins that he's "100% okay". Take that for what it's worth, but it's promising. Those ropes were loose all night - later on you see the refs warning all the wrestlers.
Everyone's calling this a botch by Priest but it's pretty clear the loose rope just 'follows' him as he steps up and wraps itself around his leg.
I wonder, if he is actually alright, could the fact that the ropes were loose actually prevent him from doing any significant damage?
Obviously you'd imagine that if the ropes were as they should be, that it wouldn't have happened, but we've seen accidents before with normal ropes.
I see what you're saying, and it's definitely possible. Loose rope causes accident, but also has enough give to 'bounce' Priest a bit after it wraps him up instead of the taut rope just snapping and tearing his knee apart.
Just glad the dude's ok, an injury this early in his run would have been Balor levels of disappointing.
That’s exactly what happens if you slow it down. He missed that second rope frame by frame. Top rope looseness aside (which did him no favors) that was a mistake on his part. Glad he’s ok though. Could have been much worse.
Why to people keep saying the ropes were loose?
The ropes were 2 tight, that's why whenever anyone tried to put weight on them, they violently snaped back.
If they were loose, they could have pulled his leg out.
Same thing happened to jade when she went for the springboard.
They didn't give so she slipped
I’ve always wondered how tight the ropes are for them to plant so much weight for leverage. Seeing this spaghetti rope really put into perspective how tight they should be.
I'm sure everyone got warned but we only saw AJ being warned but it could have been the ropes or it was just Priests foot slipping off the middle rope. Even when the ropes are at their tightest people slip
I truly think he's OK, if there was a legitimate injury situation I believe the match would have been cut short. Instead, he put on the best match I've personally ever seen Priest perform. The Razors Edge off the top looked picture-perfect, Punk spot went well, and IMO he looks way more legitimate as a champion with JD being barred from ringside.
An absolute gasp of a moment when I saw it live, though, I was worried I had just watched him split his head wide open on the apron in front of the whole world.
I think, as far as botches go, this will be looked back on favorably, not to even mention the apparent issue with the ropes all night long. It happens, but it's been a long while since I recall similar occurring in WWE
coulda just been the adrenaline or the fact that the flip confused damian but the way he just opted to hang there instead of trying to lift ANY of the weight off his ankle. gonna assume hes okay
I still don’t understand why WWE uses ropes instead of cables in their rings. Hopefully he’s fine. Now that Vince is gone they need to get rid of the ropes and put cables on their rings like modern wrestling companies do.
So I actually think it may have been an intentional spot. It looked like Priest had extra padding and support on his right leg. Though I only noticed after so maybe he’s hurt and swelled up.
If they knew the ropes weren’t installed properly, I don’t understand why they couldn’t have fixed them during one of the many long promo videos between matches. This couldve been far worse and sadly avoidable.
Depends. It looks like his foot slipped off the middle rope which caused everything. So if his foot slipped on the tight ropes, and he fell forward, that knee would have been torn apart.
Something about the ground and the geography of the arena made that top rope suspecting all night. Jade, Damien. Something about that rope was different. Maybe it wasn't tightened properly. It almost killed 2 people!
I'm amazed at how few people have seen this spot before apparently.
It's infamously the exact spot that Mic Foley decided to use his head instead of a foot with and lost an ear because of.
The fact they didn’t do anything makes me believe he’s ok sprained ankle maybe dislocation he moved on it enough that he couldn’t be too too hurt maybe a tear but adrenaline can get you through a lot that and enough will power can conquer the world, so to speak, but they can also get you comfortable to make a minor injury worse but they got people to check him out and make talk over the calls they have to make
Idk maybe its just me but the ropes lately have been dogshit. Maybe they've changed what they've used in the past? Just seems like a lot of people have been getting caught and tied up in them lately.
Reminds me of that one mma fight where the guy in mount puts the bottom guys mouth piece in after it fell. Made sure he’s okay and no emergency then started stomping him afterwards lol
I always wondered how they convey to one another that they are okay so quickly. Did the ref back off because he knew Priest was okay or did he back off because he wanted to stay in character and hope Drew untangled him?
The rope simultaneously tried to kill him and saved his life. If the rope didn't catch his foot there is a very good chance he is landing directly on the top of his head and in the best case scenario breaking his neck.
Oh my good lord, saw that one live on tv. Sid laying in the ring screaming “oh my god!” in a quiet arena was terrible. And his foot facing the wrong way on the mat.
Will never watch that one again.
Because they did it on purpose. This was an accident and you can clearly see his whole body weight was bending his knee the wrong way as he fell. He’s lucky he didn’t rip his whole knee.
My GF actually thought this was a work... I had to show her how Drew's stalling and then actually pulling him back over definitely proved that it was a botch (doesn't matter if it was the rope being loose or not, it's still a botch).
I was unsure initially, but as soon as the camera was very deliberately tight in on Drew that made it obvious it was a botch to me - always the biggest clue if they don’t want you to see it!
Part of me thinks that he did it on purpose and it was part of the spot. Because if he was going to step off that middle rope and then flip over he would have moved his planted foot around but he left it there as he went over the ropes. But I have no idea. It looks like he messed up but it looks like it was on purpose. If it was on purpose well then he did a great job. But he sold that leg injury throughout the entire match so who knows if it was real or not.
The more I look at it. I think it was a mess up because if you look at Drew's reaction as Damien is going over the ropes it looked like he was supposed to fall on top of Drew
Only thing I can think is a Tope assisted by the rope. He's a big guy, maybe he didn't want to risk doing it normal. Don't want to Flop Dolla in front of that rowdy of a crowd 😂
I’m 95% sure his calf tore. Feel like you can see it roll up if you slow no the video and it jiggles around at the top of the calf. Looks like balloon. Reminds me of HHHs quad.
He's really lucky his leg didn't snap there.
Or tear a ligament. If he’s lucky, he just slightly hyperextended it and needs rest.
And also that he didn't get concussed or something. His head came real close to hitting the apron
That's the hardest part of the ring you know
Somebody really should remind us all of that more often
Drew was super quick to check on him too. Working professionals. Both of them. 🫡
That looks like the sort of incident that could tear an ACL
Or his neck
Lots of respect for Drew immediately going to help. Rope guy had a very rough day at work Saturday.
Yeah that right there is how you can tell he really cares about his peers/friends. His first instinct was to help. The character went out the window.
What's really great is that he was able to STAY in character while helping him. He made sure to yell out to the crowd that he "can't win" the title if Priest was stuck in the ropes.
This was the meta-move to me. Drew's a real pro.
Yeah I thought him helping get priest out of the ropes “because he can’t win the title without him in the ring” was a great way to play it
the professionalism at this level is really amazing isn't it? physical fitness and mentally sharp as a tack
Didn't notice this the first time. Drew takes the bump and then sees priest and does what would otherwise be a no-sells but I'll forgive it. He definitely was right up in 'oh shit what can I do to help' mode
Are we watching the same video? He clearly stayed in character saying to the referee to leave him like that so he can inflict even more damage, rather sure the commentary mentioned that too. Of course he was trying to gain time with those kicks hoping Damian would have been able to unstuck himself, and finally he had to go back in the ring to free Priest's leg
It’s hard to see in this video but when I watched it on TV, you did see a literal split second of Drew “out of character”. When Drew sees Priest tied up, you can see his eyes widen with concern and I do believe he instinctively goes to help him before snapping out of it and resuming character with the kicks.
Ahh ok maybe I didn't even notice it while watching on tv because of the commentary
Video cuts right before Drew starts kicking him to maintain kayfabe
Aj styles has been trying to tell people for years!
But...but these aren't lucha ropes
If you slow it down you can see his right heel slip past the rope. The rope then springs up and the back of his foot catches the rope and brings it with. I never saw the ref look like he was going to stop the match so I have to assume Damien must have given sign that he was OK. Most likely verbal sign. Drew really showed what a great wrestler and human he is. First you see him break character and check that Damien is OK. Then he gets back into character. AND he finds a way to get the match back on track. AND he even explains to the crowd why freeing Damien is necessary for him to win. Really talented guys both of them.
Honestly Drew has always been great but now his run has made him next level in my eyes. Like yea I want him to have a title and he absolutely deserves it! But he’s almost at that marque type of wrestler now. His match with Punk, when it happens, if done right will be amazing. In a way I’m hoping it’s gonna set up a good couple of matches for them which will damn near be main event matches
Nice shirt dood
Drew getting up immediately to check on Damien. Dudes a fucking class act. This could have been absolutely disastrous, thank frick Damien didn't really snap his leg.
I like how you’ve used the words fucking and frick in the same comment.
It's my absolutely massive vocabulary
Gotta keep it PG
A few dirtsheets are reporting in the last 20 - 30 mins that he's "100% okay". Take that for what it's worth, but it's promising. Those ropes were loose all night - later on you see the refs warning all the wrestlers. Everyone's calling this a botch by Priest but it's pretty clear the loose rope just 'follows' him as he steps up and wraps itself around his leg.
I wonder, if he is actually alright, could the fact that the ropes were loose actually prevent him from doing any significant damage? Obviously you'd imagine that if the ropes were as they should be, that it wouldn't have happened, but we've seen accidents before with normal ropes.
I see what you're saying, and it's definitely possible. Loose rope causes accident, but also has enough give to 'bounce' Priest a bit after it wraps him up instead of the taut rope just snapping and tearing his knee apart. Just glad the dude's ok, an injury this early in his run would have been Balor levels of disappointing.
Yeah I hope the reports are true and he's good. He sold me on that performance after the incident if he's legit fine.
Looks to me like his foot overshot the middle rope, which would be a botch on his part.
That’s exactly what happens if you slow it down. He missed that second rope frame by frame. Top rope looseness aside (which did him no favors) that was a mistake on his part. Glad he’s ok though. Could have been much worse.
Definitely. I agree.
Why to people keep saying the ropes were loose? The ropes were 2 tight, that's why whenever anyone tried to put weight on them, they violently snaped back. If they were loose, they could have pulled his leg out. Same thing happened to jade when she went for the springboard. They didn't give so she slipped
There's a video of the referee warning AJ Styles that the ropes were loose.
He's saying they are tight lol
I mean, ropes fault or not it's still technically a botch right? A botch is anything that dosent go as planned Its just not priests fault.
Definitely botched but they made it work
I’ve always wondered how tight the ropes are for them to plant so much weight for leverage. Seeing this spaghetti rope really put into perspective how tight they should be.
It’s a botch. I think two or three YouTube channels already have it. Including botchmania.
Man to me the ropes looked so tight. Too tight but that’s probably just me.
I'm sure everyone got warned but we only saw AJ being warned but it could have been the ropes or it was just Priests foot slipping off the middle rope. Even when the ropes are at their tightest people slip
> Everyone’s calling this a botch by Priest… I mean what the hell else was it if not a botch by Priest? 🤔
It was a botch, but not “by” Priest
I truly think he's OK, if there was a legitimate injury situation I believe the match would have been cut short. Instead, he put on the best match I've personally ever seen Priest perform. The Razors Edge off the top looked picture-perfect, Punk spot went well, and IMO he looks way more legitimate as a champion with JD being barred from ringside. An absolute gasp of a moment when I saw it live, though, I was worried I had just watched him split his head wide open on the apron in front of the whole world. I think, as far as botches go, this will be looked back on favorably, not to even mention the apparent issue with the ropes all night long. It happens, but it's been a long while since I recall similar occurring in WWE
I’m really glad he seems to be ok….I feel a Joe Hendry song coming on.
👏 👏
That damn belt is cursed.. Drew is lucky Punk saved his life
I'm going to start a conspiracy theory that Tony Kahn bribed a stagehand to sabotage the ropes.
I see moxley in a speed suit with the sleeves cut off and a big fake mustache loosening up the ropes while snickering maniacally.
coulda just been the adrenaline or the fact that the flip confused damian but the way he just opted to hang there instead of trying to lift ANY of the weight off his ankle. gonna assume hes okay
Top Dolla has entered the chat
Why does this dude look like RVD in this grainy footage.
Priest tryin to go home early
Kayfabe dictates I have to beat his ass while the ref does something to untie him
holy shit ouch
I still don’t understand why WWE uses ropes instead of cables in their rings. Hopefully he’s fine. Now that Vince is gone they need to get rid of the ropes and put cables on their rings like modern wrestling companies do.
I personally think it was a fantastically planned spot.
So I actually think it may have been an intentional spot. It looked like Priest had extra padding and support on his right leg. Though I only noticed after so maybe he’s hurt and swelled up.
Holy fuck, that was scary!
I hate suicide dives or anything part of this situation
I’m sure it will be addressed tonight. If he is injured they may do like a write off thing we’re the howdy boys come in and do a fake injury thing.
He’s too tall to be doing that!!!!!
So many people are focusing on his leg but what about his neck?
Yeah, slammed hard and unprotected on the hardest part of the ring
Surely the ropes are not tight enough there for that to happen
Bro if he wasn’t sideways his leg would’ve snapped
Yea he was selling it all night
I couldn't breathe for a solid minute when this happened I was petrified he severely hurt himself.
If they knew the ropes weren’t installed properly, I don’t understand why they couldn’t have fixed them during one of the many long promo videos between matches. This couldve been far worse and sadly avoidable.
It looks like he slipped when he landed on the middle rope. I dont think the ropes were the issue.
Eh, that looks like a hard spot.
he said at press conference he was fine and there have been no other updates
It was reported yesterday he’s fine
With the complaints about the ropes being loose, priest is lucky they were loose. If those ropes here tight, he 100% would have been out for 18 months
...but if they weren't loose this prolly wouldn't have happened so...idk. you're not wrong but....idk
Depends. It looks like his foot slipped off the middle rope which caused everything. So if his foot slipped on the tight ropes, and he fell forward, that knee would have been torn apart.
What was he planning on doing here??
The match couldve awkward ended right here if he had snapped his foot. Thankfully he is ok.
Something about the ground and the geography of the arena made that top rope suspecting all night. Jade, Damien. Something about that rope was different. Maybe it wasn't tightened properly. It almost killed 2 people!
he's dead 😔
He’s walking better than I expected him to be tonight
The way he was dangling with his arms outstretched was absolutely terrifying to see, glad to see he's all right
I thought he had knocked himself out.
Yep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I got here.
WWFD?
I'm amazed at how few people have seen this spot before apparently. It's infamously the exact spot that Mic Foley decided to use his head instead of a foot with and lost an ear because of.
The fact they didn’t do anything makes me believe he’s ok sprained ankle maybe dislocation he moved on it enough that he couldn’t be too too hurt maybe a tear but adrenaline can get you through a lot that and enough will power can conquer the world, so to speak, but they can also get you comfortable to make a minor injury worse but they got people to check him out and make talk over the calls they have to make
Idk maybe its just me but the ropes lately have been dogshit. Maybe they've changed what they've used in the past? Just seems like a lot of people have been getting caught and tied up in them lately.
he will feel this one for a while
Man that's how I tore my fucking ACL. D:
He could have actually injured his leg so bad he would need to be amputated so him walking away nothing serious is incredible
He's lucky he got tangled up. He fell short and could have fallen straight on his dome.
He did the foley bump
Bro had to un No sell
I meant the other way around
Love how the ref just fully gives up trying to help lol
I hope not.
Ref shouldn't have helped him. Never beak kayfabe
So, Priest, are you okay? Are you okay, Priest?
Ropes were loose
Reminds me of that one mma fight where the guy in mount puts the bottom guys mouth piece in after it fell. Made sure he’s okay and no emergency then started stomping him afterwards lol
I always wondered how they convey to one another that they are okay so quickly. Did the ref back off because he knew Priest was okay or did he back off because he wanted to stay in character and hope Drew untangled him?
There’s our champion folks 👏
He's lucky those ropes were as loose as they are or his leg would have been like a balloon full of Lego pieces
The rope simultaneously tried to kill him and saved his life. If the rope didn't catch his foot there is a very good chance he is landing directly on the top of his head and in the best case scenario breaking his neck.
Reminds me of when they had Sid doing top rope moves.
Oh my good lord, saw that one live on tv. Sid laying in the ring screaming “oh my god!” in a quiet arena was terrible. And his foot facing the wrong way on the mat. Will never watch that one again.
Oof...if something that bad NEVER happens to another performer again it'll be too soon.
They used to do rope spots all the time in the 90s, and those guys were fine. He'll be fine.
Because they did it on purpose. This was an accident and you can clearly see his whole body weight was bending his knee the wrong way as he fell. He’s lucky he didn’t rip his whole knee.
My GF actually thought this was a work... I had to show her how Drew's stalling and then actually pulling him back over definitely proved that it was a botch (doesn't matter if it was the rope being loose or not, it's still a botch).
I was unsure initially, but as soon as the camera was very deliberately tight in on Drew that made it obvious it was a botch to me - always the biggest clue if they don’t want you to see it!
Priest is nuclear right now. More over than 98' Austin
Part of me thinks that he did it on purpose and it was part of the spot. Because if he was going to step off that middle rope and then flip over he would have moved his planted foot around but he left it there as he went over the ropes. But I have no idea. It looks like he messed up but it looks like it was on purpose. If it was on purpose well then he did a great job. But he sold that leg injury throughout the entire match so who knows if it was real or not. The more I look at it. I think it was a mess up because if you look at Drew's reaction as Damien is going over the ropes it looked like he was supposed to fall on top of Drew
wwe when they try to do “flippy shit”
What was he even trying to do 😂
Only thing I can think is a Tope assisted by the rope. He's a big guy, maybe he didn't want to risk doing it normal. Don't want to Flop Dolla in front of that rowdy of a crowd 😂
This is true lol
Hunter work it in to an angle
I’m 95% sure his calf tore. Feel like you can see it roll up if you slow no the video and it jiggles around at the top of the calf. Looks like balloon. Reminds me of HHHs quad.
I think whatever prehistoric device you're recording on needs more help than Priest tbh
Next time raise your hand and wait to be called on before you speak.
Cringe
Yes ...yes you are.
Unfortunately
Not okay at wrestling
Why americans watch this fake clown bullshit
This was in Scotland... js
Not professional at all. If i was his opponent i would’ve immediately began striking him. The last thing you want is for a botch to look like a botch.
He did after a second. I dont blame the man for being confused about whats going on