During an appearance on the Rise & Grind podcast, Damian Priest spoke about the new direction for his WWE character.

"It is a new attitude because I'm showing something different. I like to describe it, we all have it in us to be good or bad. We consciously make a decision to choose one. I'm just letting actions and circumstances dictate what comes out of me now. If you disrespect me, you're probably going to get the other side of me that's not so nice. I'm a nice guy, I'm a good dude, but I can get dark and that's what I'm showing off now. You push me to the other side, you're not going to like it."

Priest's new attitude made it's first appearance when his match against T-BAR ended in a disqualification.