Damian Priest

= Damian Priest =
Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Damian Priest.
Damian Priest 	Damian Priest
Priest in February 2017 	Priest in February 2017
Birth name 	Luiz Martínez
Born 	September 26, 1982 (age 39)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Professional wrestling career	Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) 	Damian Martinez
Damian Priest
Luis Martinez
Punisher Martinez
The Bow Man
Punishment Martinez
Billed height 	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Billed weight 	249 lb (113 kg)
Billed from 	New York City
Trained by 	Monster Factory
Debut 	2004
He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Punishment Martinez, where he is a former one-time ROH World Television Champion. Through ROH's working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), he has also worked in Japan as Punisher Martinez.
== Early lifeEdit ==
Martínez was born in New York City to Nuyorican parents, but raised in the municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico.While living in Dorado he saw the World Wrestling Council on television and got the interest to become a pro wrestler.He learned Japanese Gōjū-ryū karate from his martial artist father. After winning two national championships in full-contact martial arts, Martínez decided to embark on a career in professional wrestling. When he returned to the States, Spanish was still his first language and he underwent a period of cultural adaptation.
== Professional wrestling careerEdit ==
=== Early careerEdit ===
Martínez trained at the Monster Factoryand went on to win several titles in Monster Factory Pro Wrestling. In 2014, Martínez attended a Ring of Honor(ROH) training camp and went on to train at the ROH dojo.
=== Ring of Honor (2015–2018)Edit ===
His first appearance at a ROH show was in 2015 under his real name, Luis Martínez, where he competed in two dark matches, losing the first to The Romantic Touch and winning the second alongside Shaheem Ali against Hellcat and Mattick.
Martínez made his return in Ring of Honor, billed as "Punisher Martinez", at the ROH Top Prospect Tournamentwhere he defeated Colby Corino in the first round. Martinez lost to Lio Rushin the semifinals; however, in spite of the loss, Martinez was signed to a contract by Ring of Honor. He subsequently established himself as a villain when he aligned himself with B. J. Whitmer and Kevin Sullivan, entering a rivalry with their adversary Steve Corino. On September 16, 2016, Martinez took part in the 2016 Honor Rumble, where he had an impressive showing before ultimately being eliminated. In early November he participated in the 2016 Survival of the Fittest, where he ended up being eliminated in the final Six Man Mayhem match. Martinez and Whitmer went on to briefly feud with the former ROH World Tag Team Champions War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe), first wrestling them to a no contest and then defeating them in an anything goes match.
Through ROH's working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Martinez appeared at the two-day Honor Rising: Japan 2017 event. On the first night, Martinez teamed up with Los Ingobernables de Japón members Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito to defeat Dalton Castle, Hiroshi Tanahashiand Ryusuke Taguchi, with Martinez picking up the win for his team. On the second night, Martinez unsuccessfully challenged Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship.Using the name Damian Martinez, he returned to ROH to unsuccessfully compete in a Manhattan Mayhem Battle Royal for the #1 Contendership to the ROH World Championship. Martinez also entered a Battle Royal for the #1 Contendership to the ROH World Television Championship, which he also lost. On February 11, Martinez and B. J. Whitmer defeated War Machine, but after the match Martinez turned on Whitmer by hitting him with his South of Heaven finishing maneuver.
Martinez won his first championship in ROH on June 16, 2018, defeating Silas Young for the World Television Championship at night two of the Promotion's "State of the Art" event in Dallas, Texas. Martinez had qualified for an opportunity at said championship earlier that same evening by pinning Cheeseburger in a six-way Proving Ground match. Martinez would make another successful title defense at Best in the World 2018 against "Hangman" Adam Page in a Baltimore Street Fight. At Death Before Dishonor XVI, he successfully defended the title against Chris Sabin. After the match, he attacked Sabin, until Jeff Cobb made the save. On September 29, his contract with Ring of Honor expired and he opted out of a contract offer. In his final appearance for the promotion, Martinez dropped the Television Championship against Cobb.
=== WWEEdit ===
==== Beginnings (2018–2020)Edit ====
On October 12, 2018, it was reported that Martinez had signed a contract with WWE, six days later he was formally introduced, among other new members to the NXT brand. On November 28, at an NXT TV taping in Winter Park, Florida, Martinez, as Punishment Martinez, made his debut as a heel, losing to Matt Riddle. While on April 15, 2019, it was reported that Martinez would be repackaged and go by the new ring name "Damian Priest", he was still wrestling under the "Punishment Martinez" name on NXT house shows during April and May. Vignettes began airing starting at NXT TakeOver: XXV in June, reintroducing Martinez under this new character of Damian Priest.Debuting as Damian Priest, he defeated Raul Mendoza and then defeated Keith Lee in his second appearance.
On October 2, 2019, episode of NXT, Priest started a feud with Pete Dunneand Killian Dain, culminating in a triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: War Games (2019) for #1 contendership for the NXT Championship, where Dunne was victorious. Priest would also become a part of 5-on-5-on-5 Survivor Series pay-per-view match, representing Team NXT in a losing effort to Team SmackDown also involving Team Raw, where he was eliminated by Randy Orton. In January 2020, Priest was included in a storyline around the NXT North American Championship with Keith Lee and Dominik Dijajkovic. Priest would have an opportunity for the title against Lee and Dijakovic on April 1, 2020, and a singles match against Lee on April 22, being defeated both times.
==== NXT North American Champion (2020–2021)Edit ====
His next storyline started when, on April 22, 2020, episode of NXT, Finn Bálor got attacked backstage by an unknown attacker. On May 13, 2020, Priest was revealed as the unknown attacker and both faced each other at TakeOver: In Your House, where Priest was defeated by Bálor. Despite the loss, Priest's in-ring performance in this match was highly appreciated by Triple H and also by the fans, followed by Priest turning face in a backstage interview where he praised Bálor.On 10 June 2020 episode of NXT, Cameron Grimes flaunted his previous victory over Finn Bálor and deemed Priest as a "loser" in a backstage interview, leading Priest to attack him, confirming Priest's face turn. This ignited a small rivalry between Grimes and Priest, which concluded just before the tournament held for the vacated NXT North American Championship.
After defeating Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland, Priest qualified to a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX for the NXT North American Championship, where he won the title, thus earning his first championship in WWE. Priest held the title for 67 days and defended against Timothy Thatcher, Johnny Gargano at NXT: TakeOver 31, and Dexter Lumis, but lost it against Gargano at NXT: Halloween Havoc in a Devil's Playground match.
Gargano however, lost the title to Leon Ruff just two weeks later, due to a distraction during the title match by Priest. Ruff retained the championship in a rematch against Gargano the next week by disqualification, when Priest punched Ruff during the match, thus disabling Gargano to win the championship.This soon transitioned into a triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship which would take place at NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2020). During the match, Damian Priest again got attacked by the same masked character and its gang that attacked him previously at Halloween Havoc, who was revealed to be Austin Theory. As a result of that, Priest lost the match, with Gargano winning the title by pinning Ruff.
On the December 9 episode of NXT, Priest looked forward to take revenge from Austin Theory following his attack at WarGames, however, he got viciously attacked by a returning Karrion Krossfrom behind, after which Priest had to be helped out of the arena. The next week, Kross challenged Priest to a match at NXT: New Year's Evil, which Priest accepted. In that match, Priest lost to Kross, thus making it his final match in NXT.
==== United States Champion (2021–2022)Edit ====
Priest made his next appearance in the 2021 Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant, entering at #14. He eliminated John Morrison, The Miz, Elias and Kanebefore being eliminated by Bobby Lashley. The following night, Priest made his debut on Raw after being introduced by Bad Bunny during a Miz TV segment. He would proceed to defeat The Miz in a singles match, marking his first win on the main roster. The next week on Raw, he defeated Angel Garza in another singles match. On the February 15 edition of Raw, Priest helped Bad Bunny win the 24/7 Championship by knocking out Akira Tozawa, who pinned R-Truthmoments ago. In subsequent weeks, Priest racked up a winning streak by defeating Angel Garza, Elias and Jaxson Ryker, however, The Miz and John Morrison continued their rivalry against Bad Bunny and Priest, after The Miz attacked Bad Bunny using a guitar after Priest's match against Ryker. Priest and Bad Bunny then challenged The Miz and Morrison to a tag team match at WrestleMania 37, which they accepted. At WrestleMania, Priest and Bad Bunny defeated The Miz and Morrison.
On the next night, the Raw after WrestleMania, The Miz and Morrison challenged Damian Priest to a two-on-one handicap match, where, despite dominating most of the match, Priest lost due to outside interference by Maryse, making it his first loss on the main roster. In the subsequent weeks, Priest won singles matches against both The Miz and John Morrison, and also won a tag team match, teaming up with The New Dayagainst The Miz, Elias and Jaxson Ryker. Eventually, conflicts also started arising between the Miz and John Morrison themselves, although they continued their rivalry with Priest, eventually setting up a lumberjack match between The Miz and Priest at WrestleMania Backlash. In that match, Priest defeated The Miz.The next night on Raw, Priest also defeated John Morrison in a lumberjack match. Briefly after, he took time off due to a back injury.
After making a few minor TV appearances, Priest made his return by saving Humberto Carrillo, when Carrillo was being attacked by Sheamus, the reigning United States Champion after their title match.Following this, Priest and Sheamus had a match on Raw, where Priest defeated Sheamus. This started a rivalry between the two men and they continued to face off each other. Priest then challenged Sheamus to a match at SummerSlam for the WWE United States Championship, which Sheamus accepted. At the event, Priest defeated Sheamus to win the title.Priest then successfully defended his title against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus, earning McIntyre's respect in the process. Subsequently, a singles match was held between McIntyre and Sheamus to determine the number one contender for Priest's United States Championship, which was won by Sheamus, setting up a rematch for the title between the two at Extreme Rules. Eventually, Jeff Hardyalso became a contender for the championship after defeating Sheamus, turning the title match at the event into a triple threat. Priest successfully retained his title at the event. The next night on Raw, Priest again defeated Sheamus in a no disqualification title rematch, ending the feud.
Priest returned to Raw on October 25, 2021 with a new, revamped character and won a match against T-Bar by disqualification, when the latter threw a chair at the former outside the ring. As a result, Priest viciously attacked T-Bar, turning himself into a tweener. The next week, T-Bar attacked Priest with a stick during their match, due to which Priest again attacked T-Bar in a similar fashion, further developing his new character and mannerisms, before getting challenged by Apollo Crews.
At Survivor Series, Priest had a match against Shinsuke Nakamura, the reigning Intercontinental Champion at the time. During the match, Nakamura's ally Rick Boogs repeatedly distracted Priest, despite the latter warning the former not to do it. After another distraction, Priest attacked both Nakamura and Boogs, thus losing the match by disqualification, making it his second loss on the main roster.
On the November 23rd edition of Raw, Priest again showed face mannerisms, thus maintaining his tweener personality, while also having successful championship defenses against Sami Zayn, Crews, and Robert Roode in the subsequent weeks. After Priest's defense against Roode, Roode's ally Dolph Ziggler attacked Priest, starting a small rivalry between Priest and The Dirty Dawgs. On the January 17, 2022 episode of Raw, Priest lost to Kevin Owens in a non-title match, which marked his first clean loss on the main roster. As a result, Owens got himself a match for Priest's championship on Raw next week, which he won by disqualification, but Priest retained the title. Priest was also a part of 2022 Royal Rumble match, entering at #7. He scored no eliminations and was eventually eliminated by Omos.
In the subsequent weeks, Priest successfully defended his title against AJ Styles and Shelton Benjamin, before getting challenged by Finn Bálor. On February 28th episode of Raw, Priest lost to Balor, ending his championship reign at 191 days, following which Priest attacked Bálor, thus fully turning heel for the first time since May 2020. In the following weeks, Priest started to use the crucifix drop powerbomb (Razor's Edge) more frequently.
==== The Judgment Day (2022–present)Edit ====
Main article: The Judgment Day
At WrestleMania 38, Priest made his appearance by distracting AJ Styles during his match against Edge, causing Styles to lose the match. After the match, Edge celebrated his victory with Priest, starting an alliance between the two. Over the weeks, they continued to feud with Styles, further developing new mannerisms and character. On the April 25 edition of Raw, Edge and Priest were dubbed The Judgment Day after which Priest defeated Bálor in a singles match. At Hell in a Cell on June 5, The Judgment Day (Edge, Priest and Rhea Ripley) defeated Styles, Finn Bálor and Liv Morgan in a six-person mixed tag team match. The next night on Raw, Edge introduced Bálor as the newest member of The Judgment Day; however, Bálor, Priest and Ripley suddenly attacked Edge, kicking him out of the stable.
== Professional wrestling style and personaEdit ==
Martinez is known to have a deep voice, which has helped him in his promos to maintain the menacing, dark character while working as Punishment Martinez in ROH Wrestling. In WWE, "Damian Priest" was previously intended to be a similar, but darker, more intense character than the characters that Martinez has represented previously in other promotions, however, his character gradually evolved and developed a more machismo, rockstar-like attitude that pursues more fame, recognition and success, and the character is further emphasized by portraying bars, parties and women frequently with him in backstage segments. Therefore, he has been referred to as "The Archer of Infamy".
On 25th October edition of Raw, Martinez debuted a new theme song, new mannerisms, and a slightly changed appearance, suggesting a character change. The new character and the theme song culminates two sides of Priest: one side is the calm, composed side known as "The Priest", similar to his previous character, and the other is a new darker, fiercer side known as "The Damian", which would be seen if Priest would get provoked or disrespected.
His wrestling style involves various power moves as well as high flying moves, and his striking is heavily influenced by his background in martial arts. He uses the Razor's Edge (a crucifix drop powerbomb, inherited from Razor Ramon, his childhood wrestling idol) and also a release Falcon Arrow which has been dubbed Broken Arrow. His finisher is an inverted swinging cutter, called The Reckoning. After debuting on the main roster, it was renamed Hit The Lights since the 2021 Royal Rumble, potentially due to sharing the name with Mia Yim, also known as "Reckoning" at the time, as a member of Retribution. The name was reverted back to The Reckoning on July 26, 2021 episode of Raw. He also used a sit-out chokeslam called the South of Heaven as his finisher, when he was working with ROH, which he still uses in the WWE as one of his signature moves, but not as a finisher.
== Personal lifeEdit ==
Martinez is a melophile, being heavily influenced by rock and heavy metal.He and his family has known and interacted with various music bands and personalities, like Bad Bunny, Dee Snider, and Eddie Ojeda.
Martinez is also a big fan and a collector of hand-to-hand combat weapons.
Martinez cites Pedro Morales, Scott Halland The Undertaker as his inspirations in wrestling. He is friends with Keith Lee, Matt Riddle and Rhea Ripley.
== Championships and accomplishmentsEdit ==
* Keystone Pro Wrestling
** KPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matthew Riddle
* Monster Factory Pro Wrestling
** MFPW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
** MFPW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brolly (1) and Q. T. Marshall (1)
** MFPW Invitational (2016)
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
** Ranked No. 85 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500in 2021
* Ring of Honor
** ROH World Television Championship (1 time)
** Survival of the Fittest(2017)
* WWE
** WWE United States Championship (1 time)
** NXT North American Championship (1 time)
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter
** Worst Match of the Year (2021) vs. The Miz at WrestleMania Backlash
== References ==
== External links ==