ConfirmedWWE

Priest Says SmackDown Schedule Put His AAA Run on Hold

Summary: Damian Priest said on the Complex Graps podcast, in an episode set for Wednesday, Nov. 11, that his AAA run is on hold because he cannot get to Mexico on Saturdays while working SmackDown on Fridays. He missed two advertised shows.

WrestlingNews.com Staff · 3 min read

The quick version

  • Damian Priest said he and AAA agreed to "put this on hold for now" because SmackDown is on Fridays and AAA shows are in Mexico on Saturdays.
  • He said he was "advertised for two shows, and both shows I ended up not going."
  • He would like a longer AAA stint if WWE gives him a break from SmackDown. We found no comment from WWE or AAA.

Damian Priest said his AAA run is on hold because of his WWE schedule. The SmackDown star spoke on the Complex Graps podcast. Complex said in a post on Nov. 10 that the episode would air on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, at 3 PM ET. Sports Illustrated, F4W Online and Gerweck.net printed his comments. We did not hear the interview and use the quotes as printed.

What Priest said

"Unfortunately, it's scheduling," Priest said. "It's just really hard to get to Mexico on Saturdays when I'm on SmackDown on Fridays." He said he was "advertised for two shows, and both shows I ended up not going." He did not name the two shows in the words we read.

He said the no-shows reflected badly on both sides. "I felt bad because it's making me look like I'm just no-showing, and it makes the brand look bad, too," he said.

So the two sides spoke, he said. "We had a talk, and unfortunately it was like, 'Let's put this on hold for now.'" He added that if he is on a break from SmackDown, "which I've never had," AAA could look at "maybe me spending a few months down with AAA, which I would love."

He also said he wanted more from the run. "There's a lot that I wanted to do there, including winning that championship," Priest said. F4W Online and Gerweck.net both read that as the AAA Mega Championship. Priest's own words, as SI printed them, say only "that championship."

F4W Online quotes more. Priest said he could see The Undertaker's passion for the brand: "He wants this brand to be a serious, serious player." On what comes next, he said, "unfortunately I don't know." He said he had done only one promo and one match, and that "there's still a plan to try and figure that out at some point."

His AAA run so far

Priest debuted on AAA on FOX on July 4, introduced by AAA general manager Rey Mysterio, per SI and F4W Online. SI says he cut a promo in Spanish and said he was targeting all the AAA champions. His one match came at AAA's Ola de Calor show, in a fatal four-way for the vacant AAA Latin American Championship against La Parka, El Fiscal and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., per SI. F4W Online puts that match in August. See our story on Mysterio's suspension in the AAA storyline for the AAA side of the angle.

Where he is in WWE

On SmackDown on Nov. 6, Priest beat Nathan Frazer after a Razor's Edge on the announce table, per our results story. That night at WWE's live event in Bangor, Maine, Trick Williams kept the United States Title over Priest, per our Bangor results story. SI says WWE is positioning Priest for a feud with Williams over the title.

AAA is on FOX this Saturday, Nov. 14. The two items AAA has announced, per our AAA story, do not include him. That card is probably not complete.

What is not known

  • Which two AAA shows he missed. Priest does not name them in the quotes we read.
  • Whether AAA or WWE has said anything. We found no statement from either, and we did not contact them.
  • When a break from SmackDown might come. Priest gave no date and no plan.
How we know

Source: Priest's own words on Complex Graps, as printed by Sports Illustrated (Zack Heydorn), Gerweck.net (staff) and F4W Online (Rosanne Raphael), all read in full. Where the outlets differ in small words, we quote only the wording SI and Gerweck.net share. The Undertaker and "what is next" quotes are from F4W Online alone. We did not hear the show or open Complex's post. We did not contact WWE or AAA. Nothing in this story is a rumor.

Damian PriestAAAWWE SmackDownComplex GrapsRey Mysterio

Sources

How we credit sources: Editorial standards.

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