Damian Priest’s tattoos are a big part of his wrestling look. His arms and chest carry the most visible pieces, and several stories connect directly to wrestling. The collection includes a Japanese-inspired sleeve, Latin lettering, a bat cover-up of an Undertaker tribute, and a small scale symbol linked to Rhea Ripley.

Why Damian Priest’s tattoos stand out

Priest wrestles with a mix of size and speed, plus a theatrical edge. His tattoos suit that look, but they grew over time rather than appearing as one planned design. Some pieces are colorful and busy, others are black and gray, and a few are easy to miss until he takes his shirt off.

His real name is Luis Martínez. He is a Puerto Rican American wrestler known in WWE as Damian Priest, and the company has called his character The Archer of Infamy. Some of the artwork fits that hard-edged image, while the stories behind the tattoos are personal. A tribute can be covered later; an idea from a trip can stay with someone for years.

The Japanese-inspired sleeve on his left arm

The largest, easiest-to-spot section is the Japanese-inspired work across much of Priest’s left arm. Photos show flowing waves, a dragon-like figure and cherry blossoms layered through the sleeve. From a distance, the shapes read as one composition; closer in, the smaller details separate.

The waves wrap around the arm, while the blossoms break up the heavier shading. That gives the sleeve movement and keeps it from reading as one solid dark block. The color also gives the larger piece some contrast.

If you’re planning a full sleeve over several sessions, this is a useful approach to study. Let a few large shapes guide the eye, then use smaller details to fill the spaces around them. The individual subjects can stay recognizable while the arm still feels connected.

A closer look at the arm detail

Stage photos do not show every part of the sleeve. In close views, the upper arm has the strongest focal point, with dark outlines and warm color around it. Smaller shapes and texture continue through the rest of the design. That is why the arm can look like one illustration in one photo and several separate tattoos in another.

Lighting makes a difference. Dark ink can disappear against black clothing or in an arena shot, while a clear portrait shows the edges, shading and color changes. The sleeve has a direction, and the smaller parts still hold their own.

Chest tattoos with a different feel

Priest’s chest pieces use rounder, more graphic shapes than the sleeves. One of the easiest to recognize sits high on his chest and has a bold, mask-like look. Other designs sit near the shoulders and connect visually with the arms, making the front feel balanced without matching side to side.

A bird and other smaller shapes sit around the upper chest; lettering and darker lines add weight toward the center. Priest often wears black on television, so these pieces show more clearly in WWE portrait photos.

The chest work leaves the arms as the most detailed area. It gives the front a few clear points to look at without copying the sleeve’s style. If you’re collecting tattoo references, it shows how chest pieces can sit alongside a full arm.

Latin lettering and personal symbols

Not every tattoo is a large image. Priest also has Latin phrases and smaller symbols among the larger work. A close-up may make the lettering legible, but it cannot tell us the private meaning behind each word.

The lettering adds another layer to the collection. Images and movement give the sleeves their shape; words may point to a belief, a memory or a line that mattered to him. Priest has not explained every small mark, so it is safer to describe what is visible than to guess.

The Undertaker tribute that became a bat cover-up

One of Priest’s best-known tattoo stories involves The Undertaker. He once had Undertaker’s symbol inside a skull as a tribute to the wrestler who helped spark his interest in wrestling. When Priest began working the independent circuit, a promoter warned him that carrying another wrestler’s logo could cause problems. He covered it with a bat.

The original came from respect; the cover-up followed a career decision. Priest has said he later regretted changing it because, after reaching WWE himself, the tribute would have been a piece of wrestling history to keep.

The bat marks that chapter in his career. The cover-up changed the image, but the story behind it stayed with the tattoo.

The small scale tattoo connected to Rhea Ripley

Priest has a small scale symbol on his right leg, connected to Rhea Ripley, who has a similar mark under her eyes. He has said Ripley drew the symbol on paper and a tattoo artist traced it onto his leg during their trip to Puerto Rico for Backlash 2023.

This is a different kind of story from the sleeve and the Undertaker tribute. It is a small shared symbol from a trip with a close WWE friend, not a large statement piece. The story gives it context that its size alone would not.

Ripley’s own tattoos make a useful comparison. See our look at Rhea Ripley’s tattoos. The two collections have their own styles, while the scale symbol links them.

How the tattoos fit his wrestling image

The tattoos give Priest’s wrestling look a sense of history. The sleeves add weight to his silhouette, and the chest pieces show in close-up. Darker designs suit the mood of The Judgment Day era; the color and older pieces show that the collection developed over time.

Clear photos make it possible to separate the dragon, waves, blossoms, lettering, chest symbols and shading. A general portrait can show what Priest looks like; a useful tattoo photo lets you see the designs themselves.

Other athletes build their collections with a similar mix of larger pieces and smaller personal marks. Cody Garbrandt’s story is different, but the balance is worth comparing. See Cody Garbrandt’s tattoo collection for another example.

Which Damian Priest tattoo is the most interesting?

The Undertaker cover-up has the clearest story because the tattoo changed as Priest’s career changed. The Japanese-inspired sleeve is the largest visual piece, especially in good light. The small scale symbol may be the most personal because it connects Priest and Ripley through a shared mark.

Each one shows a different reason for getting tattooed: style, an influence, or a moment with a friend. Together they give the collection more history than a perfectly planned catalog would.

Watch Damian Priest explain the Undertaker cover-up

Priest has talked about the original tribute, the cover-up and how he feels about it now. In the WWE interview below, he explains the story in his own words.

Final take

Damian Priest’s tattoos grew through different parts of his life and wrestling career. The Japanese-inspired sleeve brings the most color and detail; the chest pieces give the front a clear layout; the Latin lettering is harder to interpret from photos. The bat cover-up carries a story about The Undertaker, and the scale connects him with Ripley.

The collection is bold enough to show from the arena, but clearer photos reveal the smaller choices. Where a photo leaves a detail uncertain, it is better to leave the meaning open than guess.