In an interview with the website Digital Spy, NXT North American Champion, Damian Priest, has spoken about his father defeating martial arts expert Chuck Norris in an exhibition fight.
During the interview, the subject of the importance leaving a legacy arose, with Priest relaying that he wanted his name to live forever. This want came from the father of ‘The Archer of Infamy’, who Damian said had lived an extraordinary life.
On his father meeting the future, Walker, Texas Ranger, the NXT Superstar had this to say:
“The story was something that I heard from, not just him, but from other martial artists that were around in that era, in the 70s, and it was before Chuck Norris was even a name. They had an exhibition fight that wasn’t meant to have a winner, but they all said that if there was one by points, or whatever, my father landed way way more strikes and kind of outperformed Norris so he would have won the fight in that sense.”
Chuck Norris made a one-off appearance at the 1994 WWF Survivor Series to back-up The Undertaker in his Casket Match against Yokozuna. He first rose to fame as Bruce Lee’s enemy in the movie, Way of the Dragon/Return of the Dragon and his subsequent action and western film roles.
During the interview, Priest explained how his father impacted his life and inspired him to leave the legacy he currently strives for:
“I think I got the idea from him of not being complacent and always wanting more, always needing more and that’s where I got the ‘live forever thing.’ I want my name to live forever. Not me literally, I’m not a vampire. But it’s the idea of my name standing the test of time and not being willing to just stand in place because you think that that’s your place in life. I’ve always been like, ‘no I have to be more.'”
Damian Priest will defend his NXT North American Championship against Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver 31 on October 4th.