NXT’s Archer of Infamy may not have one his #1 Contender’s match this week on NXT, but he has plenty of time to hone his craft on the black and yellow brand. Damien Priest, who was once known as Punishment Martinez on the indie circuit, talked to Sporting News about how much he’s learned since stepping foot in the WWE Performance Center. “I feel like because of the knowledge that I’ve gained here, it’s like I just started. It really does feel that way and I’m still constantly asking “was that OK, is this good, how can I make this better?” like if I just started.”
Damien acknowledges that he was going through the motions before WWE in some cases, and that kind of action won’t work in his new position. He called this type of instant gratification “indie style.”
Here, we have to explain it to ourselves as to why we do the things we do and have them make sense. Once you can do that, and you can make everything that we do and try to make it make sense, it makes everything so much better. I think I’ve actually gained more knowledge here as far as understanding as far as when I do something, it has to mean the most possible and there has to be a reason behind it.
Priest continued, saying that he never thought about some of the character work that the true legends exploited on a weekly basis.
Before, you just go into a match or promo or appearance but there has to be more to it. I used to fight before I was in pro wrestling and it’s the same thing for preparation. You can’t just go out there and start swinging wildly. You actually have to have a game plan, you have to have a reason and know how to defend yourself and create a game plan. It’s kind of the same thing where I never put two-and-two together and never realized that’s the way I should have always attacked this business.
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