At Money in the Bank this weekend, Damian Priest defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins. Late in the match, Rollins laid out The Judgement Day member with a Falcon Arrow and immediately attempted a pin.
For some reason, Priest didn't kick out and the referee stopped counting. Fans in the building and at home were confused, with the clear botch somewhat distracting from Drew McIntyre's subsequent cash-in attempt.
Talking at the Money in the Bank post-show press conference, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque addressed the confusing spot.
"Human beings in a ring, mistakes happen, things happen. It is what it is," he acknowledged. "It's funny, for me, now looking at that, if that was something I was involved in as a talent, I don't care how good the rest of it was, that would be all I would think about."
"To me, it's a shame that that's all people will talk about, and that's all people will hit Damian Priest with, while he had a phenomenal performance tonight," The Game continued. "But a bunch of people will attack that, criticize that, comment on that."
Triple H later defended Priest and pointed out, "He has stepped up to a place where when you see him as a performer now, I feel like I'm watching a champion come out. I feel like I'm watching a top tier guy."
The Game added that, while he'll be speaking to the referee, the official's decision is final, meaning there will be no do-over (we would, however, be shocked if this isn't somehow referenced on RAW tonight).
Fightful Select has also shared some backstage news on what happened, with insiders claiming Priest was indeed meant to kick out. Referee Rod Zapata is thought to have done the right thing as him counting to three would have been a disaster for what came next with McIntyre and the returning CM Punk.
One source told the site, "It was an unfortunate situation, but those don't usually happen with Damian Priest, and he was probably more bothered about it than anyone. Considering how much he gives of himself, it would be silly for anyone to hold that against him. It's just a 'shit happens' situation."
While there's been speculation that McIntyre's music was meant to interrupt the count, it doesn't sound like that was the case and this may have been an issue with timing or Priest potentially being dazed after taking that move from Rollins.