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. in February 2018Martinez 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. The next night, Martinez unsuccessfully challenged
Hirooki Goto for the
NEVER Openweight Championship. He returned to ROH on March 14 now under the ring name Damian Martinez, 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 Beginnings in NXT (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, turning heel.
The Judgment Day and World Heavyweight Champion (2022–2024) in April 2022. 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.
Singles competition (2024–present) in August 2024|left 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 despite interference from Carlito and McDonagh, ending their feud. On January 24, Priest was transferred to the
SmackDown brand, and defeated
Carmelo Hayes that same night 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 walking out of the cage, ending their feud. Following his feud with McIntyre, Priest began feuding with
Aleister Black, culminating in a
Last Man Standing match on the October 10 episode of
SmackDown which Priest lost due to interference from Black's real-life wife
Zelina. On the October 24 episode of Smackdown, he prevented Black from winning the United States Championship from Ilja Dragunov. On the November 7 episode of SmackDown, he saved Cody Rhodes from Black and Drew McIntyre. On the January 2, 2026 episode of SmackDown, Priest defeated Black in an
Ambulance match, ending their feud. At the
Royal Rumble on January 31, Priest entered the match at number 7 being eliminated by newcomer
Royce Keys. Following the Royal Rumble, Priest began teaming with
R-Truth, winning the WWE Tag Team Championshiips on March 20, from
MFTs (
Tama Tonga and
JC Mateo). ==Professional wrestling style and persona==