Damian Priest

Damian Priest
Priest in 2024
Birth name	Luis Martínez[1]
Born	(1982-09-26) September 26, 1982 (age 42) New York City, U.S.[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Damian Martinez[1] Damian Priest Luis Martinez[1] Punisher Martinez[1] Punishment Martinez[1]
Billed height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[3]
Billed weight	249 lb (113 kg)[3]
Billed from	New York City
Trained by	Monster Factory[1]
Debut	March 25, 2005[4]

Luis Martínez^[1] (born September 26, 1982), better known by his ring name Damian Priest, is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is a former member of the stable The Judgment Day and a former one-time World Heavyweight Champion. Martínez is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Punishment Martinez, where he is a former ROH World Television Champion.^[5] He also worked in Japan through ROH's working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

In WWE, Priest also won the NXT North American Championship and the WWE United States Championship once each, the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships twice each (as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship) with Finn Bálor, and the 2023 Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. He then became the second man after Seth Rollins to cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania. He defeated Drew McIntyre on the second night of WrestleMania XL on April 7, 2024 to win his first World Heavyweight Championship.^[6]

Championships and accomplishments

• Keystone Pro Wrestling
  • KPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matthew Riddle^[7]
• Monster Factory Pro Wrestling
  • MFPW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[8]
  • MFPW Tag Team Championship (2 times)^[9] – with Brolly (1) and Q. T. Marshall (1)
  • MFPW Invitational Cup (2016)^[10]
• New York Post
  • Faction of the Year (2023) as part of The Judgment Day^[11]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Faction of the Year (2023) as part of The Judgment Day
  • Ranked No. 71 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2023^[12]
• Ring of Honor
  • ROH World Television Championship (1 time)^[13]
  • Survival of the Fittest (2017)^[14][15]
• WWE
  • World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[16]
  • WWE United States Championship (1 time)^[17][18]
  • WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Finn Bálor^[19]
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Finn Bálor^[20]
  • NXT North American Championship (1 time)^[21]
  • Men's Money in the Bank (2023)
  • Slammy Award (1 time)
    • Faction of the Year (2024) – as a member of The Judgment Day
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst Match of the Year (2021) vs. The Miz at WrestleMania Backlash^[22]

References

1. "Punishment Martinez has big plans in ROH". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
2. "Damian Priest News, Videos and Biography". December 2, 2020.^{[unreliable source?]}
3. "Damian Priest". WWE.
4. "cagematchprofile". cagematch. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
5. "Punishment Martinez". Ring of Honor. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
6. Powell, Jason (April 7, 2024). "WrestleMania XL results: Powell's live review of night two with Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Universal Championship with Bloodline Rules, Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
7. Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 26, 2016). "KPW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
8. Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 19, 2014). "MFPW Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
9. Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 16, 2013). "MFPW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
10. Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 2, 2016). "MFPW Invitational (2016)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
11. Staszewski, Joseph (December 26, 2023). "The Post's 2023 pro wrestling awards". New York Post. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
12. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. cagematch.net. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
13. Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 16, 2018). "ROH World Television Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
14. Meltzer, Dave (November 20, 2017). "Daily Update: Raw tonight, Kamala, Tribute to the Troops". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
15. Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 19, 2017). "Survival of the Fittest (2017)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
16. "World Heavyweight Championship history". WWE. May 27, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
17. Laboon, Jeff (August 21, 2021). "Damian Priest def. Sheamus to win the United States Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
18. "WWE United States Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Retrieved August 22, 2021.
19. "WWE Raw Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
20. "WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
21. "NXT North American Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Retrieved August 22, 2020.
22. Meltzer, Dave (February 18, 2022). "February 21, 2022 Observer Newsletter: 2021 Awards issue, Cody and Brandi Rhodes leave AEW". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 18, 2022.

Other websites

• Luis Martinez on IMDb
• Damian Priest on Twitter
• Damian Priest on WWE.com