Before There Was Damien Priest: There Was Punishment Martinez

The groundwork for the current day Damien Priest was laid in Ring of Honor with Punishment Martinez

Damien Priest has been called a few different names in his career. Some names we have become accustomed to him being called in WWE include El Campeón, Señor Money in the Bank and The Archer of Infamy. Before he was known by those names, he was known as Punishment Martinez as part of the Ring of Honor (ROH) roster.

How did Punishment Martinez become Damien Priest? Let’s look at the traits he carried and the evolution of the character to what we see today.

How Punishment Martinez Became Damien Priest

The Character

After working a few matches under his real name of Luis Martinez, he rebranded himself as Punishment Martinez. Punishment Martinez was easily identifiable by his tall stature, long dark hair, and overall gothic appearance that often included the use of eye paint.

His deep voice gave him a naturally sinister feeling that drove fear into his opponents. His promos often included him using his stature and intimidating voice to tell opponents about the violence he is accustomed to being around and how he will use that experience to inflict pain on his opponents. He often drew on his upbringing, which he would describe as being surrounded by violence to boost the toughness of the character.

The video packages often included a dark and sinister tone that incorporated a lot of gothic colors such as black, grey, and red into them.

Martinez is a fan of heavy metal music and there were often looks that could be used in a metal music video or stage performance incorporated into video packages for matches that Martinez had.

Although his character in NXT and later the main roster of WWE feels more like an energetic front man of a rock band as opposed to a death metal band, the roots of Damien Priest are laid in Punishment Martinez.

The gothic eye paint may be gone, but his gothic-colored ring gear, long hair, and heavy metal attitude are still prevalent. The violent element has been turned down but his upbringing and past experience in the ring is still sometimes a factor in his promos and match packages.

This is noticeable with his current stable, the Judgement Day. All members have a gothic color scheme with the black, silver, and purple themes in the ring gear. The entrance also features a heavier song as they use Alter Bridge’s “The Other Side”. The entrance tends to have dark gothic imagery and sometimes includes the use of fire.

His personal life and upbringing have been toned down as well but does come up in key promos, such as the recent promo on Monday Night Raw with Gunther that ended with the two brawling all over the arena. Although it is not featured in as many promos, the story is brought back when needed to add a more personal touch to a rivalry.

Between the Ropes

Martinez is billed as a 6-foot 5-inch and 250-pound wrestler. His size is a core element of his in ring move set. He has also started martial arts training at a young age. The power moves and tight strikes from both of those factors have become a key part of his offense in the ring.

As mentioned earlier, he is a big fan of heavy metal music. Some of his signature moves are named after heavy metal songs such as the “South of Heaven” chokeslam (Slayer song from the South of Heaven album released in 1988) and the “Hit the Lights” cutter (Metallica song from the Kill ‘Em All album released in 1983).

His power moves and martial arts influenced strikes were prevalent in his early days in a Ring of Honor ring and have been refined and more defined since he stepped into an NXT/WWE ring.

In Conclusion

Although Punishment Martinez and Damien Priest have some differences, a lot of the character has transferred over. Although the gothic and violent nature of the Punishment Martinez character has been toned down. The heavy metal attitude, martial arts and power themed moves, and overall gothic attitude and look have carried through from the early Punishment Martinez days to what we see in the ring with Damien Priest today.

Did you know Damien Priest as Punishment Martinez? What are some of your favorite matches from him? Sound off in the comments below.

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