Damian Priest was a guest on the Out Of Character podcast with Ryan Satin, where he had high praise for Sheamus.

“The best part about this is, to me, this is the best version of Sheamus. So all the years and all the accolades and accomplishments and all the cool moments he's at. I think he's doing his best work right now and I get to prove myself against that guy. I think that makes it even more for me. So yes, it's it's a big deal, because it's Sheamus and everything that he's accomplished. But he's a bigger deal because of the work he's putting in now. It's not like he's regressed. He's, he's on he's way above. So it feels really good to test myself and him being the person for me to get this opportunity and become champion is experienced, but it's part of the biz, I guess.”

Priest continued to praise other WWE stars like Bobby Lashley and The Miz.

“Oh, obviously, I've been fortunate with everybody that I've been working with lately. So, you know, there's things that I just pick up just watching him even when we're facing off and his cadence, his delivery, and his physicality, and just the way he carries himself. It's like, okay, I could pick apart little things and put them on me that pertained to me, and I try to do that with everybody, to be honest. But when you're working with a guy on his level, it's easy to take more, you know, because he's proven, you know, tested and successful. So there's a lot that I could take from him, and a lot of the guys in this company, obviously, but being that I'm working directly with, and it's definitely a plus for me, and I think it gets me to have these moments like, you know, when I'm interacting with guys like Bobby Lashley, and all these main eventers, it's because I get to work with guys like Sheamus and The Miz, you know, where they elevate me.”