User blog comment:Piyush Banerjee/Shin DxD 2 discussion/@comment-92.21.29.42-20190623153730/@comment-28884330-20190625173127

How did they downplay it? First of all, they didn't say that Issei would retire in one shot, just that Rias' shots could deal great damage to him if they landed. Second, are you even aware of what Power of Destruction is? Because you're implying as if it's no different than a normal demonic power blast, ignoring that is something completely specialized toward offense and reaching hax levels in that regard. Third, Issei used a stronger form against Apophis than he did against Rias.

Overall your whole comparison doesn't make the slightest sense, especially when you try to use Rias' lack of combat success in the past, completely ignoring that Balor Rias is not her alone, but her and Gasper, who has a Longinus. It's on the level of saying "Issei shouldn't be able to defeat Vidar and Apophis because he has always been useless unless he uses Ddraig's powers, Ophis' or both!". Also the following statement is just your baseless speculation, so it has no bearing on the discussion.