Aleister Black: I Want Damian Priest To Get Away From His Moral Code, It’s Holding Him Back

Aleister Black discusses his feud with Damian Priest.

For weeks now, Black and Priest have been going back-and-forth on SmackDown in a heated rivalry. Things went even further on the November 10 edition of WWE Raw, as Priest’s eye injury — caused by Black — prevented him from defeating Rusev in The Last Time Is Now tournament.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated for a new interview, Black spoke about why his character is not cut from the same cloth as other “dark” characters.

“People think that dark characters are all cut from the same cloth. And with my character, especially in this iteration, it’s much more a societal criticism with what this Aleister Black is. He’s pulling out from looking at what the human race is from the outside and seeing all the hateful comments, the indecisiveness, the wanting to be rewarded and awarded constantly.”

Black went on to criticize Priest for choosing his moral code over his ability to use violence.

“That’s your nature. Indulge in that behavior. You’re a destructive race, so be destructive. I look at someone like Damian Priest, who has this violence to him, but at the same time has this inhibiting moral code where he will still stand up for other people. In Aleister’s eyes, I want him to get away from that, because it’s holding him back.”

In his character’s eyes, Black is setting Priest free.

“Don’t worry about these people. You be you, and if I have to sacrifice myself to prove that point, I will do that. I’m corrupting you further and further, but in [my character’s] eyes, it’s not really corrupting. It’s just setting you free. And I think that Damian plays that character really well, because he’s slowly divulging deeper and deeper into doing things to Aleister Black that he wouldn’t have done three months prior.”

When asked about the end game of his feud with Priest, Black said that he wants Priest to reveal his true self.

“I see the end game as being able to, win or lose, look him in the eyes and say, ‘Look at what I’ve made you do. Look at all the things that I’ve made you do. You’re not as good as you think you are, but you shouldn’t feel as much remorse as you probably feel. This is the true you. This is you cut out from your skin. This is you without the code of morality stitched to your skin. This is who you’re meant to be.”

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Special thanks to Sports Illustrated for the quote(s).