WWE Prevented Damian Priest From Starring In Major Movie Role

Thanks, Vince.

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The pro wrestler to Hollywood-heavyweight path has never been more clear than it is today.

The Rock broke down countless barriers on his way to becoming the world's biggest box office draw. Dave Bautista followed suit and became a lynchpin for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. John Cena is currently on fire with film and TV projects like Peacemaker. Drew McIntyre is starting to dip his toe into the filmmaking pool, too, with the recently released The Killer's Game.

No longer does the Hollywood elite look down upon the squared circle's bruisers, and for good reason--they make fantastic actors when they take the craft seriously. James Gunn once commented that Cena was the best improv actor he's ever worked with. That's a mighty claim coming from one of the biggest filmmakers on the planet.

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We almost had another big WWE star in a superhero film, but that opportunity was nixed. Damian Priest had the role of a lifetime in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but it was taken away from him.

Priest sat down with Chris Van Vliet for an installment of his interview series and revealed that he had the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever role. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to appear in the film.

"It's a long story," Priest said, "but, basically, it got taken away from me. But not from Marvel."

CVV intimated that the regime "was a little bit different at that time" to which Priest replied, "Exactly." (Starts at the 48 minute mark.)

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Let's decode this.

The regime was "different", meaning that Vince McMahon was still running the ship. McMahon was notoriously protective of his talent and their characters, so it's not rare that he'd do something like take a major film role from one of his performers. So, basically, McMahon likely blocked Priest from being in one of the biggest Marvel films ever.

Hopefully, we still see Priest in a big film role in the future. He certainly has the look and talent to be the next wrestler to Hollywood success story.