Yahoo News WWE's Damian Priest on facing Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico: "We're coming to deliver"
WWE's Damian Priest is preparing to face rapper Bad Bunny at Backlash on Saturday (May 6) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The event is the first WWE PLE to be held in Puerto Rico since 2005 and is hugely significant for both Priest and Bad Bunny.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy ahead of the match, Priest, who was raised in Puerto Rico, said it will be emotional for him to perform on the island with WWE.
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"Wrestling in Puerto Rico is almost like religion," Priest said. "To be able to do that... for me, growing up on the island, it's just special to be there in front of my family.
"I'm so excited and it's one that I'm sure I'm going to feel emotional afterwards, just because it really touches me so much."
Priest went on to say that while growing up he would watch WWE with his friends and fantasise about one day becoming a Superstar himself.
"The dream was to meet the Superstars and see the Superstars and maybe visualise ourselves being a Superstar and now, fast forward all these years, I get to perform on the island, it's just wild. I don't know how I got here but I'm extremely grateful."
Priest is going from teaming with Bad Bunny in the rapper's first-ever wrestling match to now facing him in a San Juan Street Fight. Speaking about the match, Priest said: "We're looking to beat each other up pretty good.
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"It's wild, but the representation— Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest — he was born there, I was raised there in the same town as him which is crazy. It's great for everybody involved.
"This is huge because representation matters and the fact that we're getting this highlight just puts us in the front view within wrestling, Sports Entertainment and the Latin Community," he added. "This is extremely special and we know how important this is. So we're coming to deliver."
As for how he thinks the rapper will do competing in a Street Fight, Priest said: "I'm sure he's had his share of street fights.
"I think he likes the opportunity. I'm sure he likes the attention but he's not going to like the pain."
But putting their on-screen feud aside, Priest said he respects everything Bad Bunny has done for Puerto Rico.
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"What he's done for Puerto Rico, the Latino Community around the world, whether it's in WWE, or his music, or in his movies, or any other form of entertainment that he's in, it's tremendous.
"He's done a lot and he's definitely appreciated by people like myself and others . He inspires others to try to do more. I'm trying to find different ways to promote and just do things for the community because I see how much he does. It's so inspiring.
"What he does is tremendous as far as his effort and that to me means more than any performance, anything you can do in the entertainment business," he added. "What he's done for the community means so much more and I'm sure that that means more to him as well."
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