WWE
Diva Kelly Kelly and the late Andrew "Test" Martin were not dating at the time of his unfortunate passing, but the wrestler's ex-girlfriend tells The Daily Star that the deceased wrestler remains on her mind.

"Not a day goes by when I don’t think about Andrew. He was an amazing person who had so much love to give the world – he loved wrestling," says Kelly. "I like to talk about him – to tell the world how great a man he was. He was a big part of my life, we were together for two-and-a-half years. When I first started, Andrew looked after me."

She adds that Test, who died in March of 2009, was the "love of her life."

Since Test's passing, Kelly explains that she has been dedicated to improving as an in-ring performer.

Noting that the Divas make the same time commitment to WWE as the male Superstars, she stresses, "We’re all good-looking girls but we want to be seen as legitimate athletes and not just pretty faces. "

"We’ll prove to the world that we do belong in there with the guys," adds Kelly, who credits Katie Lea for teaching her a lot about the in-ring side of wrestling.

Labels: kelly kelly, Test

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

According to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, a police investigation following Andrew “Test” Martin’s death on Friday revealed drugs in his Hillsborough County residence. Tampa police discovered prescription drugs, including painkillers and steroids, at the Harbour Place apartment of the former WWE wrestler.

Martin appeared to be in the middle of a meal when he died, according to Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy. Police found a half-eaten pizza and soda near where his body was found.

On Friday night, a neighbor had become suspicious after watching Martin lie motionless on a couch for hours and called police for a wellness check. Authorities will determine Martin’s actual cause of death in a few weeks when a toxicology test is completed and results are available. In another note, today would have been Martin’s 34th birthday.te

Labels: Test

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE Intercontinental Champion John Bradshaw Layfield has updated his WWE Universe blog. Here are some highlights:

Andrew “Test” Martin: “Very saddened to hear about Andrew Martin’s death. Andrew was a good friend and I hate to see someone so young with so much promise not get to live a full life.”

His WrestleMania Surprise: “I know you are getting sick of me saying it, but I still plan on doing something historic at Wrestlemania. I can’t let the 25th anniversary of Mania go by without JBL doing something big. I do plan on doing something big in my great home state of Texas.”

Ohio Valley Wrestling: “I want to reiterate that I don’t own OVW, I am an advertiser there in the same way I advertise with Fox 17 in Nashville and 97.5 the Rock in St Louis. We have good distribution in these areas so it makes sense to advertise where we have products on shelves. The hardest thing in retail is not to get on shelves but to get them off the shelves by customers buying the product.”

Labels: jbl, Test

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

SmackDown play-by-play announcer Jim Ross posted a blog on his official website remembering Andrew “Test” Martin, who was found dead in his Tampa apartment last night.

Ross is quite familiar with Martin as he hired him alongside two other Canadians in Adam “Edge” Copeland and Jay “Christian” Reso in the late 1990’s.

“I hired Andrew in the same class with his other fellow Canadians Edge and Christian in the late 90’s in an outstanding group of young talent whose advanced training was over seen by future WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk and by Tom Prichard,” Ross wrote.

Ross recalls a conversation with Martin at WrestleMania XXIV last year in Orlando. The two spoke at length regarding his real estate endeavors and his plans to become a physical therapist. Martin also told Ross he saved his money and only wrestled “when he wanted to.”

“Andrew had done well in WWE, saved his money, made some good investments, and told me he only wanted to wrestle when “he wanted to” which the randomly scheduled international tours would allow him to do,” Ross wrote. “He did not express interest in the American indy scene and was genuinely excited about the prospects of the aforementioned physical therapy career.”

In a bit of previously unreported news, Ross reveals that Martin took up World Wrestling Entertainment’s offer to enter a rehabilitation facility in West Palm Beach, Florida last August. At the suggestion of others, his former employer reached out to him to see if he needed some help handling some alleged personal issues that he was rumored to have been experiencing.

“The rumors of Andrew’s issues were true and he was afforded the opportunity by WWE to attend The Hanley Center Rehabilitation facility in West Palm Beach, Florida for several weeks beginning in August of 2008,” Ross wrote. “Andrew successfully completed the WWE funded program and was highly regarded by the Hanley Center with being such an asset to them after completing the program of which Andrew took seriously, according to the facility. Since being released from the facility after successfully completing the program, Andrew had been doing well in his 12 Step AA program and was in contact with WWE with regular phone calls. Ironically, Friday was the day for his regularly scheduled “touching base” but when called his voice mail box was full.”

It should be noted that Ross was not aware of Martin’s alleged problems and stint in rehab until recently.

Ross concludes his post with the following note remembering Martin: “I will remember this young man as a bright, intelligent individual and am thankful that my last conversation with him was so positive and that he was excited about his future in a new field. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans and may God rest his soul.”

Labels: jim ross, Test

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Another sad day in wrestling as another young man is dead. Today AP as well as other news sources around the country are reporting the death of Andrew "Test" Martin, who of course worked for years in the WWE as well as in TNA.

Here is the AP Piece on Martin's death:

Authorities say former professional wrestler Andrew Martin, who was known as "Test" and "The Punisher" to fans, has died at his Tampa home. He was 33.

The former World Wrestling Entertainment champion was found dead at his apartment Friday night. Police say a neighbor reported that she could see into his apartment window and that Martin appeared motionless for several hours.

Police say there was no indication of foul play. A cause of death will be determined after an autopsy.

During his time with Stamford, Conn.-based World Wrestling Entertainment, Martin held the Intercontinental, European and Hardcore belts. He was also a tag-team champion.

Martin most recently worked for TNA Wrestling under the name "The Punisher."

Martin was a big part of a couple of WWE storylines, the biggest of which was his "marriage" to Stephanie McMahon, which in the end led her to her "marriage" to Triple H (which of course is now real).

The last time he was in the WWE he was in ECW as a heel, and was a mid-level wrestler on the shows as he would get on a hot streak, only to then lose before gaining any real momentum. Thoughts and prayers go out to Martin's family today.

Labels: Test

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Following was posted on Let's Wrestle on February 27th 2007:

A WWE/ECW superstar has bit the dust, as the company announced this afternoon the release of Test (Andrew Martin). Test had recently been suspended by the company for 30 days for some sort of violation of substance. The release of Martin ends (of now), a long career with the company, that included a "wedding" to Stephanie McMahon. That wedding, which is one of the better ones in WWE history, was stopped by future real life husband of Steph, Triple H. The storyline was that HHH got Steph drunk, then took her to a Vegas chapel to get married. It was one of the funnier storylines the company had pulled off in years.

Test was gone for the company for sometime, then returned to be a part of ECW, where he had been wrestling shortly after the rebirth of the brand. His biggest program was with ECW Champ Bobby Lashley, who he at one point fought, and lost to three times in seven days. He was also a mainstay opponent of Lashley at house shows across the country. You can bet that Martin will take a long look at moving to TNA.

Labels: bobby lashely, Test

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments