Damian Priest

Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Damian Priest and is a former one-time World Heavyweight Champion. He is also known for his tenure in Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Punishment Martinez, where he is a former one-time ROH World Television Champion. He also worked in Japan through ROH's relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

Martínez joined WWE in 2018 and began on its developmental brand, NXT, under his ring name, winning the NXT North American Championship. In 2021, he moved to WWE's main roster and won the WWE United States Championship. He rose to popularity during his time as a co-founding member of The Judgment Day from 2022 to 2024, where he won the 2023 Men's Money in the Bank contract, became a four-time tag team champion, holding the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships twice each under the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship banner with former Judgment Day stablemate Finn Bálor (being the only tag team to achieve such an accolade), and won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL after becoming the second man in history to cash in successfully at the namesake event.

Early life

Luis Martínez was born in New York City to a Nuyorican family, but raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, where he first saw the World Wrestling Council (WWC) on television and developed an interest in becoming a professional wrestler. He learned 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 New York, Spanish was still his first language and he underwent a period of cultural adaptation. He was ten years old when he returned and lived primarily in The Bronx. At one point, Martínez was homeless and often slept on the streets, also working as a bouncer to make ends meet.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2005-2015)

Martinez made his wrestling debut in 2005 performing in independent promotions in the East Coast for the next decade, mainly in New Jersey and New York before making his debut for then-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).

Ring of Honor (2015–2018)

Martinez's first appearance at an ROH show was in 2015, where he competed in two dark matches under his real name, losing the first to The Romantic Touch and winning the second alongside Shaheem Ali against Hellcat and Mattick.Martinez returned to Ring of Honor in early 2016 to compete in the ROH Top Prospect Tournament, under the new ring name Punishment Martinez, defeating Colby Corino in the first round. Martinez lost to Lio Rush in the semifinals; however, despite the loss, Martinez was signed to a contract by Ring of Honor. He became a villain when he aligned himself with B. J. Whitmer and Kevin Sullivan, entering a rivalry with their adversary Steve Corino. On September 16, Martinez took part in the Honor Rumble, but was eliminated. In early November, he participated in the Survival of the Fittest, where he was 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 event Honor Rising: Japan. On the first night on February 26, Martinez teamed up with '' Los Ingobernables de Japón'' members Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito, defeating Dalton Castle, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi. The next night, Martinez unsuccessfully challenged Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship. Using the name Damian Martinez, he returned to ROH on March 14, unsuccessfully competing in a Manhattan Mayhem Battle Royal for #1 contendership to the ROH World Championship.

At the promotion's State of the Art event on June 16, 2018, Martinez pinned Cheeseburger in a six-way Proving Ground match to earn a shot at the ROH World Television Championship immediately following the match, defeating Silas Young to win the title. On June 29 at Best in the World, he defeated "Hangman" Adam Page in a Baltimore Street Fight to retain the title. At Death Before Dishonor XVI on September 28, Martinez successfully defended the title against Chris Sabin. After the match, he attacked Sabin before Jeff Cobb made the save. In his final appearance for the promotion, he dropped the Television Championship to Cobb. On September 29, Martinez's contract with Ring of Honor expired and he opted out of a contract offer.

WWE

Early beginnings (2018–2020)

Before signing with WWE, Martinez made an appearance at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on June 29, 2014, playing the role of a security guard standing behind Stephanie McMahon, who confronted The Bella Twins.

On October 12, 2018, Martinez signed a contract with WWE; six days later, he was formally introduced among other new members to the NXT brand. At an ''NXT'' taping on December 5, he made his debut as a heel under the Punishment Martinez ring name, losing to Matt Riddle. On the June 5, 2019 episode of ''NXT'', a vignette aired, reintroducing Martinez as Damian Priest. He made his debut under the character on the June 19 episode of ''NXT'', defeating Raul Mendoza. On the July 24 episode of ''NXT'', he defeated Keith Lee in his second appearance.

On the October 2 episode of ''NXT'', Priest started a feud with Pete Dunne and Killian Dain, culminating in a triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on November 23 for #1 contendership to the NXT Championship, which Dunne won. The next night, at Survivor Series, Priest was a part of the 5-on-5-on-5 Survivor Series match, representing Team NXT in a losing effort to Team SmackDown and Team Raw; he was eliminated by Randy Orton. In January 2020, Priest was involved in a storyline around the NXT North American Championship with Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic, fighting for the title against Lee and Dijakovic and in a singles match against Lee on the April 1 and 29 episodes of ''NXT'', respectively, but lost both times.

NXT North American Champion (2020–2021)

On the April 22 episode of ''NXT'', Finn Bálor was attacked backstage by an unknown attacker. It was revealed on the May 13 episode of ''NXT'' as being Priest, leading to a match between the two at TakeOver: In Your House on June 7, where Priest lost to Bálor. Despite losing the match, his performance was highly praised by Triple H, and on the June 10 episode of ''NXT'', he praised Bálor during a backstage segment, turning face in the process.

Priest defeated Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland on the August 5 episode of ''NXT'' to qualify for the NXT North American Championship ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX. At the event on August 22, Priest won the NXT North American Championship, his first championship in WWE. He made his first title defense on the September 16 episode of ''NXT'', defeating Timothy Thatcher. The following week, NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Priest would defend the title against Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver 31 on October 4, in which he successfully retained the title. Priest lost the championship to Gargano at Halloween Havoc on October 28 in a Devil's Playground match, ending his reign at 65 days.

On the November 11 episode of ''NXT'', Priest distracted Gargano during his title defense against Leon Ruff, causing Gargano to lose the title to Ruff. The following week, Ruff retained the title against Gargano by disqualification after Priest punched Ruff during the match, disabling Gargano to win the title. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames on December 6, Priest failed to win the title from Ruff in a triple threat match involving Gargano after he was attacked by a masked character and its gang that had previously attacked him at Halloween Havoc, who was soon revealed to be Austin Theory. On the following episode of ''NXT'', Priest looked forward to revenge against Theory, but was viciously attacked from behind by the returning Karrion Kross. At New Year's Evil on January 6, Priest lost to Kross, marking his final match in NXT.

United States Champion (2021–2022)

On January 31, 2021, at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Priest entered the Royal Rumble match at #14, eliminating John Morrison, The Miz, Elias and Kane before being eliminated by Bobby Lashley. The next night on '' Raw'', Priest made his debut for the brand after being introduced by Bad Bunny during a ''Miz TV'' segment, defeating Miz later that night. On the April 5 episode of ''Raw'', Priest and Bad Bunny challenged John Morrison and the Miz to a tag team match at WrestleMania 37, which they accepted. At Night 1 of WrestleMania on April 10, Priest and Bad Bunny defeated The Miz and Morrison. On the following episode of ''Raw'', Priest lost to The Miz and Morrison in a 2-on-1 handicap match after outside interference by Maryse, marking his first loss on the main roster. At WrestleMania Backlash on May 16, Priest defeated Miz in a Zombie Lumberjack match (as part of a promotional tie-in for the 2021 zombie film '' Army of the Dead''), ending their feud. Following the event, he went on a brief hiatus due to a back injury.

Priest returned on the July 12 episode of ''Raw'', saving Humberto Carrillo from an attack by United States Champion Sheamus after their title match and starting a feud between the two. He challenged Sheamus to a title match at SummerSlam on the August 9 episode of ''Raw'', which Sheamus accepted. At SummerSlam on August 21, Priest defeated Sheamus to win the United States Championship for the first time in his career. He made his first successful title defense against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat match on the August 30 episode of ''Raw''. Priest retained the title against Jeff Hardy on the September 13 episode of ''Raw'', and in a triple threat match also involving Sheamus at Extreme Rules on September 26. On the following episode of ''Raw'', Priest defeated Sheamus in a no-disqualification, no count-out match to retain the title, ending their feud. He then successfully defended the title against Hardy in a rematch on the October 4 episode of ''Raw''.

On the October 25 episode of ''Raw'', with a new, revamped character, he defeated T-Bar; after the latter threw a chair at the former outside the ring, Priest viciously attacked T-Bar, turning himself into a tweener. At Survivor Series on November 21, Priest lost to Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a champion vs. champion match by disqualification after repeated distractions from Nakamura's ally Rick Boogs, causing Priest to attack both of them, marking his second loss on the main roster. Over the following months, Priest successfully defended the title on ''Raw'' against the likes of Sami Zayn, Apollo Crews, Robert Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. On the February 21, 2022 episode of ''Raw'', Finn Bálor challenged Priest to a title match on the following episode of ''Raw'', where Priest lost the United States Championship to Balor, ending his reign at 191 days. After the match, Priest attacked Bálor, fully turning heel for the first time since May 2020 and the first time on the main roster.

The Judgment Day (2022–2024)

At Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Priest distracted 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. Following WrestleMania, Edge and Priest were dubbed The Judgment Day. 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. The Judgment Day then began a feud with the Mysterios ( Rey and Dominik) in an attempt to recruit Dominik into their ranks. At SummerSlam on July 30, Priest and Bálor were defeated by the Mysterios following interference from a returning Edge. On September 3, at Clash at the Castle, Priest and Bálor lost to Edge and Rey Mysterio, after which Dominik turned heel on both of them to join The Judgment Day. At Crown Jewel on November 5, Priest, Bálor, and Dominik defeated The O.C. (Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson) in a six-man tag team match after interference from Ripley. On the November 28 episode of ''Raw'', The Judgment Day defeated The O.C. in an eight-person mixed tag team match to end their feud.

On the January 9, 2023 episode of ''Raw'', Priest, Bálor and Dominik won a tag team turmoil match for a Raw Tag Team Championship opportunity against The Usos. At '' Raw is XXX'' on January 23, The Usos successfully defended the championship against Priest and Dominik despite Jimmy Uso's injury, with Sami Zayn taking Jimmy's place. At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Priest entered the Royal Rumble match at #22; although he and Balor were eliminated by the returning Edge, they eliminated him as a result with help from Dominik afterwards. On the February 6 episode of ''Raw'', Priest defeated Angelo Dawkins to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match for the United States Championship. At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Priest failed to win the title inside the namesake structure.

On the ''Raw'' after WrestleMania 39, Priest got involved in Dominik's confrontation with his former tag team partner Bad Bunny, chokeslamming him through the announcer's table. Bad Bunny returned on the April 24 episode of ''Raw'' and challenged Priest to a San Juan Street Fight at Backlash on May 6, which Priest lost after Savio Vega and Carlito equalized in fending off his fellow Judgment Day stablemates. The match was met with critical acclaim, with many deeming it the best match of the event. Priest, alongside Bálor, were then selected as the Raw participants for the new World Heavyweight Championship tournament, but Priest lost his qualifying match to Seth "Freakin" Rollins at the quarterfinals round on the May 8 episode of ''Raw''. On the June 5 episode of ''Raw'', Priest unsuccessfully challenged Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. Bálor interfered during the match to Priest's chagrin as Priest claimed he did not need The Judgment Day to beat Rollins.

On the June 12 episode of ''Raw'', Priest defeated Matt Riddle to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match on July 1, where Priest successfully retrieved the briefcase. Later that night, Priest appeared halfway through the World Heavyweight Championship match between Bálor and Seth Rollins. Priest's presence distracted Bálor, allowing Rollins to take advantage and win the match, much to Bálor's irritation. At Payback on September 2, Priest and Bálor defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship after interference from Dominik, Ripley and JD McDonagh. Priest became the third wrestler to win a title and hold the Money in the Bank briefcase simultaneously, the first being Rob Van Dam with the Intercontinental Championship in 2006 and The Miz in 2010 with the United States Championship. On the September 25 episode of ''Raw'', Priest and Bálor defeated Owens and Zayn in a rematch to retain their titles. At Fastlane on October 7, Priest and Bálor lost the titles to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso after McDonagh accidentally hit Priest with the briefcase, ending their first reign at 35 days. Priest and Bálor, however, regained the titles in a rematch on the October 16 episode of ''Raw'' after interference from Jimmy Uso.

At Crown Jewel on November 4, Priest attempted to cash in on Rollins after his successful title defense against Drew McIntyre, but Zayn stopped him and ran off with the briefcase before he could officially do so. Later that night, Priest lost to Rhodes. On the November 13 episode of ''Raw'', Priest and Bálor defeated Rhodes and Uso in a rematch to retain their titles after interference from McIntyre. On the November 24 episode of ''SmackDown'', Priest and Bálor retained their titles against the Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford). The next night at Survivor Series: WarGames, Priest participated in his first WarGames match alongside The Judgment Day and McIntyre, losing to Rhodes, Rollins, Uso, Zayn, and the returning Randy Orton. On the December 18 episode of ''Raw'', Priest and Bálor successfully defended their titles against The Creed Brothers ( Brutus Creed and Julius Creed). At Royal Rumble on January 27, 2024, Priest entered the namesake match at #26, eliminating R-Truth before being eliminated by Sami Zayn. On the following episode of ''Raw,'' Priest and Bálor defeated #DIY ( Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) to retain their titles. At Elimination Chamber: Perth on February 24, Priest and Bálor successfully defended the titles against New Catch Republic ( Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate). On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL on April 6, Priest and Bálor lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) and the Raw Tag Team Championship to the Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) respectively in a six-pack tag team ladder match, ending their second reign with the undisputed titles at 173 days.

The following day, at Night 2 of WrestleMania XL, Priest successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Drew McIntyre to win the World Heavyweight Championship following an attack by CM Punk, becoming the second person, after Rollins, to cash in at WrestleMania, as well as the first world champion of Puerto Rican descent, and second overall, since Pedro Morales in 1971. At Backlash France on May 4, Priest defeated Jey Uso in his first defense after interference from Bálor and McDonagh, despite asking them not to interfere. On June 15, at Clash at the Castle: Scotland, Priest successfully defended the title against McIntyre in the latter's home country after interference from Punk. On the June 17 episode of ''Raw'', Priest challenged the returning Seth Rollins to a title match at Money in the Bank, which received a stipulation the next week; if Rollins lost, he would be unable to challenge Priest for the title as long as he held it. but if Priest lost, he would be forced to leave The Judgment Day. At the event on July 6, Priest successfully defended his title against Rollins and McIntyre, the latter of whom cashed in his newly won Money in the Bank briefcase during the match, but was attacked by Punk. Priest subsequently pinned McIntyre to retain his title. After the event, Priest began showing more respect to his opponents as his crowd support gradually increased, teasing a face turn in the process. At SummerSlam on August 3, Priest lost the title to King of the Ring winner Gunther via technical submission, ending his reign at 118 days. In the closing moments, Priest hit Gunther with a ''South of Heaven'' chokeslam, only for Bálor to betray Priest by placing Gunther's foot on the bottom rope to void the pin, fully turning Priest face for the first time since February 2022.

Singles competition (2024–present)

On the following episode of ''Raw,'' Bálor officially kicked Priest and Ripley out of the group (the latter having been betrayed by "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam) and introduced the "new" Judgment Day, consisting of himself, Mysterio, JD McDonagh, and the new additions of Carlito (once an associate member of the group now an official member) and Liv Morgan. Later that night, during Priest's match against McDonagh, he was ambushed by Bálor and the rest of The Judgment Day, until Ripley came out to save him. Priest and Ripley would afterwards embrace each other, staying together as a team and going by their unofficial tag team name, The Terror Twins. At Bash in Berlin on August 31, Priest and Ripley defeated Mysterio and Morgan, with Ripley pinning Morgan despite interference from The Judgment Day. At Bad Blood on October 5, Priest defeated Bálor despite interference from Carlito and McDonagh. On the November 4 episode of ''Raw,'' Priest defeated "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Sheamus in a fatal four-way match to become the #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. At Survivor Series WarGames on November 30, Priest failed to regain the title from Gunther after interference from Bálor. At Saturday Night's Main Event on December 14, Priest once again challenged Gunther for the title in a triple threat match also involving Bálor in a losing effort. On the January 13, 2025 episode of Raw, Priest defeated Bálor in a street fight match despite interference from Carlito and McDonagh, ending their feud.

On the January 24 episode of ''SmackDown'', Priest was transferred to the SmackDown brand, and defeated Carmelo Hayes in his first match as part of the brand. At Royal Rumble on February 1, Priest entered the men's Royal Rumble match as entrant #28, eliminating "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Drew McIntyre before being eliminated by LA Knight. On the February 14 episode of ''Smackdown'', Priest qualified for the Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber: Toronto by defeating Braun Strowman and Jacob Fatu in a triple threat match. At the namesake event, he eliminated McIntyre but was eliminated soon after by Logan Paul after McIntyre attacked him in retaliation. This led to a match on Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, where Priest lost to McIntyre in a Sin City Street Fight. At Backlash on May 10, Priest unsuccessfully challenged Jacob Fatu for the United States Championship in a fatal four-way match, also involving LA Knight and McIntyre. At Saturday Night's Main Event on May 24, Priest and McIntyre faced off in a rematch contested in a Steel Cage match, which Priest won by escaping the cage, ending their feud.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Martínez is known for his deep voice, which has helped him in his promos to maintain his menacing, dark character. In WWE, "Damian Priest" was previously intended to be a similar, but darker, more intense character than the "Punishment Martinez" incarnation he 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, 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".

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 powerbomb, inherited from his childhood wrestling idol Razor Ramon) and a release suplex slam called the ''Broken Arrow''. His former finisher was a rolling cutter called ''The Reckoning''. Priest now utilizes a sitout chokeslam called the ''South of Heaven'' as his finisher, which he had originally used during his time with Ring of Honor before using it again after joining The Judgment Day in 2022.

During his time as a member of The Judgment Day following Edge’s departure, Martínez would begin to pay homage to his Puerto Rican heritage by incorporating spoken Spanish into his promos and refer to some of his nicknames in the language, such as “Señor Money In the Bank” while holding the Money In the Bank briefcase, and “El Campeón” during his reign as World Heavyweight Champion. After leaving The Judgment Day, he began to speak with a New York accent during his promos while still paying homage to his Puerto Rican roots.

Personal life

Martinez Jr. is a , being heavily influenced by rock and heavy metal. He and his family have known and interacted with various music bands and personalities, like Bad Bunny, Dee Snider, and Eddie Ojeda. He also revealed on the After The Bell Podcast that he is a fan of short range combat because of his collection of weapons, particularly katanas, nunchucks, sai (weapon), and other Martial Arts weapons, which he showcases in his home.

Martinez Jr. cites Pedro Morales, Scott Hall and The Undertaker as his inspirations in wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

Keystone Pro Wrestling
**KPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matthew Riddle
**KPW Big Monster Glazer Champion (1 time)
* 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 Cup (2016)
*''New York Post''
**Faction of the Year (2023)
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
** Faction of the Year (2023)
**Ranked No. 6 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2024
*Ring of Honor
** ROH World Television Championship ( 1 time)
**Survival of the Fittest (2017)
* ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''
** Worst Match of the Year (2021)
*WWE

** World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
** WWE United States Championship ( 1 time)
** WWE Raw Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) – with Finn Bálor
** WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) – with Finn Bálor
** NXT North American Championship ( 1 time)
** Men's Money in the Bank (2023)
** Slammy Award (1 time)
*** Faction of the Year (2024) – as a member of The Judgment Day

References

External links

*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Priest, Damian
1982 births
Puerto Rican male professional wrestlers
American male professional wrestlers
American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent
Entertainers from the Bronx
Gōjū-ryū practitioners
American male karateka
Living people
NXT North American Champions
NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions
ROH World Television Champions
Sportspeople from the Bronx
21st-century male professional wrestlers
21st-century American professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from New York City
Money in the Bank winners
World Heavyweight Champions (WWE, 2023–present)
WWE Tag Team Champions
World Tag Team Champions (WWE)