WWE's Damian Priest Says Fighting Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico Will Be 'Biggest Thing I Ever Do' (Exclusive)

The Puerto Rican wrestler once teamed up with Bad Bunny at WrestleMania, but Saturday night they’ll go toe-to-toe at WWE Backlash

Damian Priest knows how important his pro wrestling match against Bad Bunny this Saturday night is, especially for the young Puerto Rican fans in attendance.

"I truly believe it's going to be the most special thing I do in my career," Priest tells PEOPLE ahead of his matchup in Puerto Rico with Bad Bunny, a friend outside of WWE's scripted storyline.

The 40-year-old WWE star, who was raised in the U.S. territory, is set to take on the "Moscow Mule" singer in a street fight Saturday night, a rare matchup that has no disqualifications and includes the use of "weapons" like tables and chairs.

The fight between the two Puerto Rican entertainers will headline WWE's first premium live event in the country since 2005.

The backdrop, Priest says, is just as important as the immense fame of his music superstar opponent.

"I fell in love with wrestling in Puerto Rico," says Priest, who landed in WWE in 2018 after a long and winding career. "It's like religion out there. I looked up to these superstars like they were superheroes and it's wild to me that I get to bring that feeling to the island and maybe some kid sees me and thinks the same. That means the world to me."

The former WWE United States Champion has experience sharing the gift of pro wrestling, too. Just ask Bad Bunny.

Related:Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny's Relationship Timeline

The wrestler and the singer made their WrestleMania debuts together in 2021, teaming up in a tag team match that helped put Priest on the map and shocked wrestling fans who were left impressed by Bad Bunny's ability in the ring.

Priest helped train the three-time Grammy Award winner, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, in the months leading up to their match. And Priest says he knew right away the rapper, who is a passionate pro wrestling fan, wasn't just showing up on WWE television to promote his music.

"I saw the work he put in," Priest says. "I saw how quickly he picked it up. I would explain things to him once and he'd be able to just do it. He showed up at WrestleMania."

Priest and Bad Bunny won their WrestleMania 37 match, earning the rapper praise for being the rare celebrity guest who takes the scripted art form to heart. "That day — I'm not 100% sure — but I think that [was] the best day of my life," Bad Bunny even told James Corden back in March.

Related:Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny Step Out Together for 2023 Met Gala Afterparty

The rapper, who says he's "loved wrestling ever since I was a kid," has continued a working relationship with WWE in the years since that match, appearing at last year's Royal Rumble event and becoming a downloadable character in the company's latest WWE 2K23 video game.

"He loves the business," Priest says. "He's a big fan. And he's treated it with respect. So, I know for him to come back now, he's not here promoting anything and he wants to be involved in the product, so I would imagine he's just as happy now as he was for his first match at WrestleMania. He was like a little kid, excited, and nervous, I remember that. It was awesome."

But on television in recent weeks, Priest has found himself at odds with Bad Bunny.

It all happened quickly: Three days after Bad Bunny headlined Coachella, singer popped up again to promote his appearance in WWE 2K23 and got pulled into an ongoing feud between revered WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio and his rebellious son Dominik, one of Priest's on-screen teammates.

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When Bad Bunny jumped out from the audience to defend Mysterio, one of the most famous Latin wrestlers of all-time, Priest became fed up with the rapper's involvement and threw him through a table.

Then last week was when Bad Bunny challenged Priest to the one-on-one match in their native Puerto Rico — an offer the WWE star says might be more important to him than any championship he could ever win.

"Individually, yeah, I could win the big title or I could have that 'WrestleMania moment,' but this? This is so much more than just about me or him," Priest says, noting that he's long pushed WWE to return to Puerto Rico. "This is about our culture and our heritage and that cannot be duplicated, that feeling of being involved in something this important. It's got to be the biggest thing I ever do."

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Read the original article on People.