User:Champion KnightRay
| Chris RayStorm | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 5, 1981 Unknown |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chris RayStorm Knightmare Martinez Chris Champion KnightRay (Used during his title reigns) |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 274 lb (124 kg)* |
| Debut | 2013 |
| Retired | 2020 |
Chris "Martinez" RayStorm, is a former professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment from late 2013 up until early 2020. He is a former Intercontinental Champion and a former Unified Tag Team Champion with his real-life brother, Lake-Show. Martinez was best known for his tag team performance with his brother Lake-Show and real-life girlfriend Estelle; the three members of former wrestling stable Blackout.
Independent Circuit
[edit]Before the debut of Martinez, his older brother, Lake-Show (Lake at the time) started an early career with Deep South Wrestling around April of 2013. Months later, Martinez (simply Chris at the time) joined the fed and began tag teaming alongside his brother. Chris & Lake became a balanced tag team at the time and founded the name Brotherhood for their new alliance. For a while, the two jobbed to some of the more popular stars of the Indy federation. Eventually, they came across a young woman around their age who would later become their manager, Estelle. Estelle managed the duo and joined in their every match at ringside. She often distracted the referee to give the duo the advantage (mainly in tag team matches). Several months after forming Brotherhood, the trio parted ways with the circuit and searched to move on together in a more larger promotion.
World Wrestling Entertainment
[edit]Blackout & Unified Tag Team Champion (2014-2015)
[edit]Along with his team members, Lake-Show & Estelle, Chris RayStorm made his debut in the WWE appearing on the RAW brand with his team. He began wrestling under his ring name Martinez. The trio make their debut as a stable named Blackout, a heel alliance in which their gimmick was that of two brothers and a close friend, consisting of them dressing in thuggish street clothing and street dancing around the stage like degenerates. Their Titantron displayed a series of vignettes showcasing their most extreme wrestling moments as well as street dances often performed after their match victories. Martinez, much like Estelle, were more laid-back and easy going with lack of mic skills, where-as Lake-Show was more charismatic and energetic when spitting on the mic. Estelle was the manager of both boys in Blackout. She also fought alongside them in Intergender Tag Team Matches.
Their first match was against William Regal & Vladimir Kozlov, which they got over with the help of Estelle. Estelle jumped on the apron and argued with the referee, distracting him from the match. While the ref was distracted, Regal & Lake-Show were down on the mat. Martinez clipped Kozlov from the apron, then ran in and hit the Blackbuster (without the striking combination) on Regal. He quickly dragged his brother in over Regal for the pinfall and ran back to the apron. With the referees view obstructed due to Estelle, he slid to count the pin to a 3-count, marking the debut win of Blackout.
Split & Hiatus (2015)
[edit]Martinez & Estelle would unknowingly talk to Mr. McMahon about a singles title shot, after losing the tag team titles. Without Lake-Show knowing, Mr. McMahon would give Martinez a shot at Randy Orton's WWE Championship. At a later time, Estelle would be considered a given push for Michelle McCool's Divas Championship, but never got the shot. With Estelle & Martinez not knowing, Lake-Show began smoking backstage with a few other members of the RAW roster including Jeff Hardy and MVP. On a Monday night episode of RAW, Lake-Show walked up to Martinez backstage and asked him why him & Estelle haven't been active in the show much lately. Martinez said though he lost the tag team titles, he has received a shot at Randy Orton's WWE Title in a singles match later tonight. Martinez explained that if he won the WWE title, then he would still bring gold to Blackout and make it 'one for all'. Lake-Show disagreed and grew jealous that his younger brother was getting a push instead of him, as he thought he was the one that deserved it, not Martinez.
In the main event the same night, Martinez & Randy Orton fought for the WWE Championship in a singles match. After numerous distractions, Estelle was banned from ringside and forced to be kept backstage by security until Martinez made his way out of the arena. Martinez attempted to hit his Takin' It All Back finisher, but it was countered into an RKO by Orton, who scored a quick pinfall of 3 and retained the WWE Title. After the match, Lake-Show ran in and began assaulting his brother, gaining instant heat. A few moments later during the assault, Randy Orton would join in and help beat Martinez down. Moments later, John Cena ran in to make the save, charging Lake-Show out of the ring and hitting Orton with the F-U to the outside matting. The run-in by John Cena gave Martinez a cheap pop. The next week on Monday night RAW in a backstage segment, the frustrated Martinez confronted his brother, with Estelle stuck in the middle of the argument. Martinez shoved his brother before the confrontation, asking him why he beat him down after his match for the WWE Championship. Lake-Show responded, saying there was no explanation why seeing as he believed he was the one who deserved the push all along. The brothers kept arguing, disagreeing and fighting back and forth. Lake-Show noted, "I'm the one who brought you two into this company! Hell, I'm your older brother, Chris! If it wasn't for me, your ass wouldn't have interest in wrestling whatsoever!" Martinez shoved Lake-Show down to the floor and proceeded to walk off. At the moment Estelle proceeded to leave with him, Lake-Show got up and pushed her (in an attempt to knock down his brother.) Martinez got back up angrily and speared his own brother, proceeding to beat him down. Estelle finally got the strength to stand up and separate the two from fighting. The last noted match of Lake-Show was a brother vs. brother match against Martinez, with Estelle being the special guest referee. It should be noted that due to Martinez' pop, Estelle acted as a neutral referee, but would favor the odds of Martinez in the end. The two brothers competed in a normal match with regular rules. Estelle was an impartial official for the most part, breaking up submissions near ropes and using the rules that of a Senior Referee follow. Lake-Show attempted to achieve a cheap victory by pinning Martinez with his feet on the ropes. Estelle counted a very close near 3 fall, but when she looked over and saw Lake-Show using the ropes for leverage, she immediately stopped the count. Lake-Show argued with Estelle, asking why the hell she stopped the count. After explaining why, he slapped her across the face, receiving instant heat from the crowd. She signaled for the bell to ring, resulting in disqualification for Lake-Show and automatic win for Martinez. Estelle responded by attacking Lake-Show, kneeing him in the gut and trying to set him up for the Spyder Web, turning face in the process. However, Lake-Show reversed it and threw her outside of the ring. Before Lake-Show could turn his back, Martinez got back up and clotheslined his brother, resulting in a face turn for him as well. After assaulting his older brother, Martinez helped Estelle up and helped her backstage.
On the same evening Mr. McMahon kayfabe fired/suspended Blackout from the WWE. While the reasoning behind Estelle & Martinez' suspensions remained an enigma, Lake-Show (along with Jeff Hardy, MVP and a few other stars) were fired for illegal substance use backstage. Although Martinez & Estelle were only given a year-long suspension, they never reappeared in the WWE until 2017. The trio took time off from the WWE for unknown reasons.
Return, Feud with Chris Jericho & Relationship with Estelle (2017-2019)
[edit]Years following their unknown departure, Martinez & Estelle returned to the WWE. Lake-Show, however, did not return due to his kayfabe suspension for drugs. They redebuted on the RAW brand, still heroes, but with their degenerate gimmick as well as the Blackout name completely dropped. Martinez used his real-life character as a gimmick, an easy-going, laid back superstar. Estelle returned with a gimmick similar to a hardcore good-hearted rocker-type female, which consisted of her briefly playing an electric guitar on her way to the ring. Now a hero, she did not use her electric guitar as a weapon, however. Estelle & Martinez entered an on-screen relationship; a love angle that began when Martinez ran in to save Estelle from being attacked by Chris Jericho & Beth Phoenix. The angle took place after Estelle lost to Beth Phoenix in a submission match, tapping out to Beth's Glam Slam. Chris Jericho came out to the ring and proceeded to lock the falled Estelle into the Liontamer. Before he could roll her over completely, Martinez ran into the ring and speared Jericho off of Estelle, then proceeding to beat him down outside of the ring. As Martinez persistently beat down Jericho, two referees tried to pull him off while Beth yelled to the outside of the ring. Distracted by Jericho's beatdown, Estelle snooped up behind The Glamazon and nailed her with a new move. Dubbed by Estelle as "Jaded," it was a swinging neckbreaker. However, everyone believed the move was botched due to this being the debut performance of her new finisher, along with the fact that she held her head in pain afterwards. This stared a new feud with the new face Martinez & Estelle (M.T.E.S.T.) and the heel Glamazon & Jericho. As part of their love angle, M.T.E.S.T. were put in an extreme, dark [feud] against their rivals. Aside from the two being involved in adult situations backstage and in the ring, M.T.E.S.T. feuded with Jericho & Beth Phoenix in a more extreme manner.
Over the course of several months, Martinez & Estelle's relationship stirred up controversy and grew more intense down the road. After a mixed tag team match against Chris Masters & Eve Torres, Vince McMahon (heel a the time) came out told Martinez to kiss his girlfriend goodbye - as announced that next week, Martinez would tea up with Beth Phoenix to compete against Chris Jericho & Estelle in a NO-DQ Mixed Tag Match. M.T.E.S.T. didn't agree with the offer and had not wanted their relationship to come to an end. Showing their signs of anger, Martinez kneed his boss and set him up for his Set N' Snap DDT. Things began to get interesting once the couple got a pop. Estelle got her electric guitar from outside of the ring and placed it on the canvas. Martinez then drove McMahon's head straight into Estelle's electric guitar. The couple began to leave the arena but at the moment they walked up to the stage, Vince McMahon announced their next match with a stipulation added - Martinez & Estelle vs. Jericho & Phoenix vs. Masters & Eve in a Triple Threat Mixed Tag Team Match. The stipulation was, if Martinez or Estelle used their finisher and lost the match, then they must break up the following week on live TV.
The following week on RAW, M.T.E.S.T. fought in their triple threat tag match. M.T.E.S.T. won the match when the referee's view was obstructed, allowing Estelle to strike Jericho with her signature guitar and drag Martinez over Jericho for the fall. The referee counted a slow 3-count. After the match, Vince McMahon appeared on the Titantron. He explained how he was pleased with the match as well as the outcome, but due to use of a foreign object, he forced Martinez to break up with Estelle. Martinez spoke, saying it was over, as Estelle agreed that they would move on. The segment went by pretty quickly and well planned. Though M.T.E.S.T.'s kayfabe relationship ended, the two remained a close mixed tag team as well as an actual couple in real-life.
After their on-screen relationship, Estelle received a push for the Divas Championship, winning and making her a two-time Divas Champion. Martinez was heavily pushed for a shot at the Intercontinental Title, despite it being at the bottom of the championships. He won however, making him an Intercontinental Champion, despite having a single reign. During his entrances, he dubbed the name "Champion KnightRay," signifying him being a champion.
Reunion of Blackout & Departure (2020)
[edit]On a Monday Night episode of RAW, Martinez was put in a tag team match with John Cena against his long-time rival Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. After the duo lost the match, Jericho & Orton proceeded to attack Martinez & Cena. Moments later, Martinez' brother Lake-Show would make a face-turn, by returning to RAW and saving his younger brother & John Cena. Lake-Show helped his brother up and rose his arm in victory as Cena hit Orton with the F-U on a fallen Jericho. The three heroes stood in the ring, raising their arms in victory as Estelle cheered them, following loud pops from the crowd. That same night, Lake-Show was interviewed backstage. After his long hiatus, he explained that this was the final time he would turn his back on his younger brother. Lake-Show then announced that Blackout would make a return and in the main event tonight, Blackout (Martinez, Lake-Show, John Cena & Estelle) would compete in an 8-person intergender tag team match against Chris Jericho, Jack Swagger, Randy Orton & Beth Phoenix. Later that night, Blackout won their first match as a team in five years.
Following the months after Lake-Show's return, Blackout's appearances in the WWE became sporadic. Their last appearance was shortly after Summerslam 2020. On August, 2020, the night after Summerslam, Blackout returned near the end of RAW to face their rivals one more time in a normal 6-person intergender tag team match. While not confirmed, this match was listed as a blow off. Blackout was unsuccessful and lost their first match in several months. The trio was set to appear on Smackdown the same week to possibly prolong their rivalry, but never showed up for unknown reasons.
On August 27, Martinez, Lake-Show, & Estelle left the company, ending their 7 year run with the WWE. Ironically, they were all released from their WWE contracts the following day.
Personal life
[edit]In wrestling
[edit]- Finishing moves
- Blackbuster (Single Knee Facebuster often delivered after a striking combination) - Independent Circuit / 2014-2015
- Gamebreaker (Stalling Suplex dropped into a three-quarter facelock jawbreaker) 2017-present
- M.D.T. (Snap DDT) 2017-present
- In The Hole 2017-present
- Signature moves
- With Lake-Show
- Entrance themes
- "Fall Back" by Athletic Mic League (Used while tag teaming with Lake-Show)
- "I Hate You" by Sick Puppies (2017-2020)