There was a litany of stars exploding onto the professional wrestling scene in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. One of them was memorable for his combination of size and skill, as well as his introductory storyline in WWE as Stephanie McMahon’s then-fiancé. “Test” Andrew Martin carved out a memorable niche for himself before we lost him on this day in wrestling history, March 13, 2009.
It started with a meeting
Some may call it the “luck of the Irish,” and maybe being born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1975 played a role. Or maybe him becoming a wrestler came down to plain hard was planned.
So many of us have dreams of running into someone that’ll change our lives. We want to build a relationship with them and branch out, often under their guidance. For Test, that happened when he met Bret Hart at a restaurant. He would then train under Hart and Leo Burke for the next eight months before debuting as Martin Kane or TJ Thunder (depending where he wrestled) on the Canadian independent circuit.
It took just a year for him to gain the attention of Vince McMahon and make his WWE debut in 199B on Sunday Night Heat. His gimmick was simple, yet ingenious as he was a bodyguard for the hair metal band Motley Crue, who performed that night.
In a scripted event, a fan tried to rush the stage and he aggressively confronted him. Then, he appeared on RAW is WAR six weeks later as Testosterone, or Test for short. He helped the Rock against Triple H, then joined the Corporation faction the next week.
Eventually, he was kicked out of the Corporation and his storyline where he dated Stephanie McMahon began. Once he was engaged to Stephanie, Test and Shane McMahon would feud over Test being good enough for Stephanie. Test would eventually win, but on their wedding night, Triple H announced he had already married her when she was drugged. It was a farce, as Stephania proved to be as twisted as her father’s Mr. McMahon character.
Following his breakup with Stephanie, Test turned heel and joined Albert in Trish Stratus’ faction and they became T&A.
While they didn’t secure tag team gold, they did lodge a few impressive wins at WrestleMania and Backlash in 2000.
Despite Test and Albert’s abilities, this became a springboard for Trish Stratus as she soon afterwards began her Hall of Fame singles career.
Over the next couple of years, Test bounced between tag team and singles competition and back again, challenging for the Intercontinental and United States Championships. He would eventually undergo spinal fusion surgery. He was released from WWE four months later.
His release caused a still as she was promised the chance when he was fully healed, and critics and his fellow wrestlers spoke out. Interesting enough, Albert was released the same day. Coincidence? Gotta ask Vince McMahon.
Retirement and death
Test bounced from promotion to promotion over the next few years before announcing his retirement in 2007, but he never actually retired and wrestled his last match a month before his death.
On March 13, 2009, he was found dead in his Tampa, Florida home. He was only four days shy of his 34th birthday.
His death was ruled an accidental overdose of oxycodone, but it was later determined that Test had suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It’s the same type of brain damage Chris Benoit had suffered from prior to his death.
Remembering the ghosts of the past can be a blessing and a curse. We get a chance to think about our favorites once more and even watch their matches. We’re able to relive what it had been like to watch them as children and young adults. Though their time was limited, they managed to touch many of us in a way that’ll make them immortal for their fans.
It’s things like this that make this day in wrestling history fun to do. Never can tell what nuggets we’ll turn up.
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