Punishment Martinez

Punishment Martinez
Martinez in 2017
Birth name Luis Martínez[1]
Born (1982-02-04) February 4, 1982
New York City, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Damian Martinez[1]
Luis Martinez[1]
Panisher Martinez[1]
Punisher Martinez[1]
Punishment Martinez[1]
Billed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[1]
Billed weight 251 lb (114 kg)[1]
Trained by Monster Factory[1]
WWE Performance Center
Debut 2004[2]

Luis Martínez[1] (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Punishment Martinez, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, performing for their developmental territory NXT.[3] He formerly worked for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion. Through ROH's working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Martinez has also worked in Japan as Punisher Martinez.

Early life

Martínez was born within the Puerto Rican diaspora of New York, but raised in the municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico.[4] While living in Dorado he saw the World Wrestling Council on television and got the interest to become a pro wrestler.[4] 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.[1] When he returned to the states, Spanish was still his first language and he underwent a period of adaptation.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Martínez trained at the Monster Factory and 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)

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.[5]

Martínez made his return in Ring of Honor, billed as Punisher Martinez, at the ROH Top Prospect Tournament where he defeated Colby Corino in the first round.[6] Martinez lost to Lio Rush in the semifinals; however, in spite of the loss, Martinez was signed to a contract by Ring of Honor. He subsequently aligned with BJ 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.[7] 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.[8]

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 Japon members Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito to defeat Dalton Castle, Hiroshi Tanahashi and 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.[9][10][11][12][13] 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.[8] 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 Champion 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

NXT (2018-present)

On October 12, 2018, it was reported that Martínez had signed a contact with WWE.

Championships and accomplishments

  • Monster Factory Pro Wrestling
    • MFPW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[18]
    • MFPW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brolly (1) and QT Marshall (1)[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Punishment Martinez has big plans in ROH". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  2. ↑ "cagematchprofile". cagematch. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Punishment Martinez". Ring of Honor. Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  4. 1 2 Alfredo R. Berríos (March 8, 2018). "Cumple Punishment Martínez su sueño en Ring of Honor". ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  5. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Damian Martinez « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database".
  6. ↑ "PUNISHER PREDICTS PAIN FOR TOP PROSPECT OPPONENTS". ROHwrestling.com. Colby Corino recently learned just how apt that moniker is. Martinez scored an impressive victory over the second-generation competitor in the first round of the tournament to advance to the semifinals this Saturday
  7. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Damian Martinez « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database".
  8. 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Damian Martinez « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database".
  9. ↑ "Honor Rising:Japan 2017". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Honor Rising:Japan 2017". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Honor Rising 2017 Night 1 Results". Ring of Honor. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Honor Rising 2017 Night 2 Results". Ring of Honor. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Honor Rising:Japan 2017". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  14. ↑ Powell, Jason (2018-06-17). "6/16 ROH in Dallas results: New ROH TV Champion crowned, The Briscoes vs. Killer Elite Squad for the ROH Tag Titles, Cody vs. Shane Taylor, The Young Bucks vs. The Boys, Jay Lethal vs. Marty Scurll vs. Flip Gordon". Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  15. ↑ "Death Before Dishonor recap". ROHWrestling.com. Las Vegas, NV: Ring Of Honor. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  16. ↑ https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120609/spoiler-top-roh-star-finishes-with-company-updated.html?p=1
  17. ↑ https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=2946
  18. ↑ https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=2989
  19. ↑ https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=2990
  20. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2018". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  21. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (November 20, 2017). "Daily Update: Raw tonight, Kamala, Tribute to the Troops". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 20, 2017.

Punishment Martinez on WWE.com

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