Former ROH TV Champion Heading To WWE
He's said his goodbyes over the weekend...
Oct 1, 2018
According to a report from
PWInsider, former Ring of Honor Television Champion Punishment Martinez is heading to WWE after his ROH contract came to an end. The 36-year-old reportedly said his goodbyes to ROH staff and wrestlers alike on Saturday at a set of television tapings in Las Vegas. No date is given as to when we can expect to see Martinez in WWE, but it's said to be "soon."
Martinez lost the ROH TV Championship to Jeff Cobb over the weekend, signifying the end of his time in the promotion. The match came about after Cobb challenged the now former champ to a match - The Survival of the Fittest 2017 winner had just defeated Chris Sabin to retain his title at Death Before Dishonor 2018.
Martinez is set to become the latest signing to WWE following the recent arrivals of Keith Lee, Mia Yim and Punishment's former tag team partner, Matt Riddle (Martinez and Riddle won the Keystone Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championships together).
Martinez has spent the overwhelming majority of his career in Ring of Honor. Debuting under the name Luis Martinez in 2015, he would go on to be known as Punisher Martinez for the early part of his run. Despite losing to Lio Rush in the semi-finals of the ROH Top Prospect Tournament he was signed to a contract and aligned with Kevin Sullivan and BJ Whitmer in their battles against Steve Corino. His crowning glory in the promotion was winning that TV title, which he took from Silas Young on night two of the State of the Art event in Dallas, Texas on 16 June.