Damian Priest put his newly won NXT North American Title on the line in one of the matches featured on the WWE NXT TakeOver 31 card.
He did so when he squared off with Johnny Gargano in Orlando, Florida. The contest was a typical big guy vs. small wrestler dynamic to kick off the card.
Some highlights included Priest doing an outside dive to accidentally take out some extras before Gargano connected with a superkick after hitting him with a low blow. Priest retained the title with his finisher.
Priest won the title by winning the then-vacant title in a five-way ladder match at TakeOver XXX last month. In fact, Gargano also took part in the contest and it came down him and Priest. The finish of that match saw Priest kick Gargano down and then retrieved the title.
Priest then made his first defense of the North American Title when he retained against Timothy Thatcher. It happened in the main event of a recent episode of NXT.
Shortly thereafter, Gargano and Candice LeRae declared their intentions to come after they’re both coming after championship gold.
