- Andrew 'Test' Martin passed away yesterday in his Tampa, FL., apartment at
the age of 33. No details have been released regarding his death and Tampa
police refused to comment at first. Born in Canada, Martin signed with WWE
in 1998 and made his debut as a bodyguard for the band Motley Crue. He then
joined The Rock at the end of 1998 and eventually aligned himself with The
Corporation. Perhaps Test's biggest TV angle was when he was supposed to
marry Stephanie McMahon on RAW but Triple H ended up getting one up on him,
drugging Stephanie and taking her to Las Vegas to get married. His first run
with WWE ended in 2004 after he had back surgery. In 2006 he returned to WWE
but only lasted till a year later and was released again after he failed the
Wellness Program test and was suspended for 30 days. Martin said that the
release was something he requested and had nothing to do with the Wellness
failure. In 2007 he joined TNA Wrestling as The Punisher but he didn't last
very long. Last year he was booked for DUI and arrested in Pasco County,
Florida but was released a day later. During his time in WWE, he won the
European title once, Hardcore title once, Intercontinental title once, Tag
Team title once with Booker T and also the WCW tag team title during the
Invasion angle once with Booker T.
- A neighbor in the same block of apartments where Andrew Martin lived
called the police yesterday evening asking for a welfare check as she could
see him through the window laying motionless for several hours. Lieutenant
William Ferguson from the Tampa Police Department said that officers entered
the apartment shortly afterwards and discovered the dead body. Lt. Ferguson
added that at this time there is no indication of any kind of foul play and
an autopsy will determine what was the cause of death. The date of the
autopsy is not determined at this time. The statement from Tampa police
listed that Martin was a "former wrestling champion with the WWE," which
will surely bring more bad publicity to the company. No mention of TNA was
made in the statement.
- Former girlfriend and WWE Diva Kelly Kelly, whose real name is Barbara
Blank posted the following message on her MySpace page: "You
were my world ... my best friend the one I always ran to ... You were
always there for me ... what happened to our plan ...Why did God take
you away from me ... my heart is always with you and you only ... I know
you're in heaven watching over me now my angel ..."
- "You're an actor, you're acting now!" That's what Linda Bollea's attorney,
Ray Rafool, had to say to the Hulkster when Hogan confronted him while he
was giving his comments to press reporters after a court hearing on
Thursday. Hogan - on crutches - interrupted the attorney and the man in the
suit cut his own promo on the WWE Hall of Famer while in front of him!
Hogan's lawyer, David Houston, then jumped in to make it a two on one
handicap match but Linda's attorney held up his own and eventually Hogan and
his legal man exited the court. "I guess I got the feeling what it's like to
be in the WWE now," said Linda's attorney to the reporters who were present
for the whole face off. "You know what, you don't get reporters speechless
much," he joked, noting that none of the reporters opened their mouth during
the confrontation. The funny thing is that Rafool requested an autograph
from Hulk Hogan for his son before the court session started. "I hope your
son enjoys the autograph," Hogan said before he left. "Thank you Hulkamaniac
brother."
- WWE results from the SmackDown house show at the Reed Arena in College Station, TX, on March 13: Carlito & Primo Colon over Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel to retain the WWE Tag Team Title; Maryse over Maria to retain the WWE Divas Title; the Great Khali over Eric Escobar; Shelton Benjamin over Chavo Guerrero, Jr., and MVP in a three-way match to retain the WWE US Heavyweight Title; Vladimir Kozlov over R-Truth; Edge over Jeff Hardy to retain
the WWE World Heavyweight Title; and Triple H over the Big Show to retain the WWE Heavyweight Title.
- WWE results from the RAW/ECW house show at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa, TX, on March 13: Kofi Kingston, Mickie James & Melina over Santino Marella, Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendez; Mike Knox over Charlie Haas; Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr., over Cryme Tyme; Finlay over Mark Henry in a Belfast brawl; Jack Swagger over Christian; CM Punk over William Regal; and Shawn Michaels & Rey Mysterio, Jr., over Chris Jericho & Kane.
- ROH results from the house show at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL, on March 13: Aaron Scott & Grizzly Redwood over Shawn Schultz & Sigmon; Alex Payne over Travis Sawyer; Roderick Strong over Jay Briscoe; MsChif over Daizee Haze to retain the Shimmer Title; Austin Aries over Kenny Omega, Silas Young, and Claudio Castagnoli in a four-corners match; a verbal confrontation between Ric Flair and Nigel McGuinness; the American Wolves (Eddie
Edwards, Davey Richards & Chris Hero), with Larry Sweeney, over Bobby Dempsey, Kevin Steen & El Generico; Kenny King & Rhett Titus over Irish Airborne; Bryan Danielson over Bison Smith by countout in a grudge match; Jerry Lynn & Tyler Black over the Age of the Fall; and Brent Albright over ROH World Heavyweight Champion Nigel McGuinness by disqualification when Castagnoli interfered and attacked Albright, with Flair clearing the ring.
