Is Damian Priest settling for second by chasing after Gunther’s crown?

An expected twist might cause damage to Priest and the Money in the Bank concept.

Austin Theory shocked the world in 2022 when he redeemed his Money in the Bank contract to challenge for the WWE United States title. While the contents of the Money in the Bank briefcase allow the holder to challenge any champion, many expected Theory, like everyone before him, to aim for a world championship, the pinnacle of wrestling achievement. But his decision to pursue a lower-tier title, which ended in failure, was seen by many as a wasted opportunity and a creative misstep by WWE.

Still, that moment set a new precedent for future Money in the Bank proprietors as now all champions are a possible target. However, the idea of chasing after anything but WWE’s top prize is baffling. It’s even more dumbfounding when considering the success of past Money in the Bank keepers, as 83% of all holders — men and women — went on to win a world title.

That brings us to the current custodian of the Money in the Bank briefcase, Damian Priest.

This week on Raw, Priest and his allies from Judgment Day confronted Imperium, focusing their attention on the Intercontinental Champion Gunther. Priest stated that their plans call for taking Gunther’s title at WrestleMania, with Dominik Mysterio confronting Gunther and echoing Priest’s words. The IC Champ responded by shoving Dominik, prompting Priest to lunge at Gunther before being restrained by the other members of Judgment Day.

The prospect of seeing two heel giants like Priest and Gunther colliding for the coveted Intercontinental title is something no one saw coming. Now that WWE has teased such a spectacle, one might be hard-pressed to find a person uninterested in witnessing this collision at WWE’s premier event. But as monumental as such an encounter seems, it’s an equally big letdown should this be how WWE concludes Priest’s Money in the Bank storyline.

In reality, pursuing the Intercontinental Championship should make sense. The Intercontinental crown is the second-oldest title in WWE, arguably making it the company’s second-richest prize, behind only the WWE Championship. Thanks to Gunther and his nearly two-year reign as champion, the title has seen a resurgence, with its value reaching a peak not seen since the 1980s. And because Gunther’s dominance has been on par with that of a world champion, a victory over him should be seen as significant as defeating someone like Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins.

However, the problem is with the execution.

Had Priest kept his intentions a mystery after becoming Señor Money in the Bank last summer, perhaps a potential cash-in on Gunther would seem less like a step back. Instead, Priest has openly been intent on winning the World Heavyweight Championship. At times, his eagerness to redeem his golden ticket to the top has caused friction within Judgment Day, with many of his attempts blowing up in his face before he even had a chance to cash in.

One could argue that Damian Priest’s decision to target Gunther and the Intercontinental title is a no-brainer, given the absenteeism of WWE’s two world champions. Roman Reigns is an infrequent inhabitant of the WWE Universe, and Seth Rollins is currently unable to compete due to injury, reasons Priest touched on in explaining why he hasn’t attempted to cash in his championship voucher in recent weeks.

But with Reigns and Rollins scheduled for title defenses at WrestleMania, that Priest would choose to chase Gunther instead of capitalizing on a vulnerable situation for either The Tribal Chief or The Visionary makes him appear weak for compromising his goal. That could negatively impact how fans see him, as it did with Austin Theory, ultimately lowering Priest’s value and decreasing his chances of becoming a world champion in the future.

It’s also worth considering what damage, if any, WWE is doing to the Money in the Bank concept by having its keepers pursue something less than a world championship. Part of the magic of the briefcase is the unpredictability that comes with an unexpected world title match, as the results often introduce chaos in WWE’s main event scene.

Then again, if a Priest-Gunther battle leads to a five-star brouhaha at WrestleMania, maybe no one will care so long as Priest doesn’t come up short as Austin Theory did.