Andrew Test Martin - March 17, 1975 - March 13, 2009

[BreakDancingRobot]

PWInsider.com is sad to report that former WWE star Andrew "Test" Martin was found dead in his apartment in Tampa, Florida at the age of 33, just four days shy of his 34th birthday. We don't have much in the way of details at this time. Tampa area authorities have declined to officially confirm it is Martin they found but word within the industry has been widespread the last few hours.

http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=37176&p=1

[Juan]

Damn

RIP

[Vastardikai]

I want more confirmation than this...

*Pulls up PWtorch.*

Damn

RIP

[therocksays]

holy shit

[Vietnamese Crippler]

:|

[Mike the Metal Ed]

Well, I didn't expect this first thing in the morning.

RIP Test. :(

[Theo Dious]

Highlight between the lines only if you desire to be offended.

------------------------------------
I guess you could say Test passed.
------------------------------------

That aside, RIP. He definitely gave a lot to his work.

[Blitz]

Jesus. RIP.

[Skippord]

whoa

rip

[GD]

That's sad. R.I.P Andrew.

[interforce]

Fucking hell and still young.

RIP

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

that sucks.

RIP

[GD]

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[thedamndest]

Jesus. RIP.

[Jeritron]

Damn. RIP.

[Shadow]

RIP Test.

[Fabien Barthez]

Oh man. 33? That's fucked up. Really sad.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Unfortunately, this doesn't really surprise me. Since being released by the WWE, the guy has seemed like a loose cannon. It doesn't soften the shock, though. Here's a guy that is still young, and was actually somewhat relevant to wrestling. May his soul rest in peace, and my condolences to everyone who knew the man.

[Impeccable]

WTF? No way.

Shit.

RIP

[Tazz Dan]

What? No fucking way.

RIP :(

[El Fangel]

:'(

That sucks ass :(

[Funky Fly]

RIP

[SIDRA]

:(Rest in Peace:(
http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A1294/129499/300_129499.jpg
"The Punisher" Andrew "Test" Martin
March 17th, 1975 - March 13th, 2009

[Londoner]

:eek: wtf!!!

[The Mackem]

Shocking

[DaVe]

Wow, I don't get it...

[Londoner]

Not sure i can believe this,considering its the OP's first post.

[Juan]

www.pwinsider.com

[Londoner]

Ahh. Fair enough.

[Tazz Dan]

I was thinking the same. Unless he's smart enough to somehow make a fake web page to screw us all over, I'm giving him benifit of the doubt atm.

[Tazz Dan]

Fuck you Juan and my slow response to TL's post while I drink beer. :foc:

[DaVe]

Wow, PWInsider has the worst website I've ever seen. It's disgusting.

[Londoner]

^ agreed

[Xero]

Oh shit. :(

[Tazz Dan]

Wow, PWInsider has the worst website I've ever seen. It's disgusting.

You think thats bad? You should see Juan's personal website:

Juan's Website (http://germanscatporn.org/)

[Londoner]

You think thats bad? You should see Juan's personal website:

Juan's Website (http://germanscatporn.org/)

:shifty:

[Tazz Dan]

:shifty:

[Londoner]

Strangely, Juan hasn't denied it yet.

[Tazz Dan]

I belive he is off eating another plate of Taco's so he can produce another video.....

[Tazz Dan]

I will stop hijacking this thread now though, cause this seriously IS :(

[Londoner]

Or another site.

[Londoner]

I will stop hijacking this thread now though, cause this seriously IS :(

Aye,same here.

[Juan]

I was pulling a BDC for a while and owning noobs on justin.tv

[Kane Knight]

Oh man. 33? That's fucked up. Really sad.

I didn't think he was that young, which is part of what shocked me. It's not a complete shock, because the abuse of steroids and other drugs makes people who should be perfectly healthy drop dead in their 30s and 40s. But Jesus, it's still kind of disconcerting.


Fucking Hell, nobody deserves that.

[AJHayes]

Thats too bad. RIP Test.

[DrA]

This ruins all hope I had for a T&A reunion.

[ClockShot]

Not something I wanted to hear when I jumped in here this morning.

R.I.P.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Dang. Only 33, and already he's gone. Makes you wonder where all the justice in the universe is sometimes. Not to mention he and I shared the same b'day, even if I am 6 years younger...

[D Mac]

Fuck. I thought he was really cool. RIP

[Loose Cannon]

wow, kind of a shock considering how young he was, but then again, most of you are probably assuming the cause just like I am.

[Ruien]

Lets hope that was not the cause.

[Mr. JL]

Whoa... what the fuck? Way too young!

[CSL]

Not remotely suprised unfortunately.

[Haze]

RIP Test.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Wow, awful. The sad thing is, with all that all about Test and steroids not too long ago, I can't say I'm surprised. RIP</font> :(

[Crazy Nick]

Unbelievable, its really hard to believe he is gone. RIP :(

[Fignuts]

I have become desensitized to this type of thing, at this point.

[Xero]

Pencils down. :(

[Fox]

Fucking hell.

[Lock Jaw]

RIP

[Supreme Olajuwon]

On the plus side, he did get to bang Stacy Kiebler and Kelly Kelly which is more than most of us will ever do. Still, that sucks. RIP

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I have become desensitized to this type of thing, at this point.

Same... it's really fucked up... even when I heard about Benoit I was kinda like ":-\".

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

On the plus side, he did get to bang Stacy Kiebler and Kelly Kelly which is more than most of us will ever do. Still, that sucks. RIP

This is true.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I was a huge Test mark. This makes me very sad. I really didn't think he was that young though. RIP Andrew Martin. In Heaven, hopefully you get to drug Triple H's would-be wife in a Las Vegas drive thru. :(

[Anybody Thrilla]

Same... it's really fucked up... even when I heard about Benoit I was kinda like ":-\".

I dunno, I think the Benoit thing was slightly different.

[Gertner]

that sucks

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I dunno, I think the Benoit thing was slightly different.

lol under statement obviously... but what I'm saying is the whole "wrestler's dying" or straight fucked up shit happening with these guys doesn't shock me anymore unfortunately.

[Rammsteinmad]

Woah, was seriously not expecting this! It's really sad considering how old he is (I always thought he was a lot older). R.I.P Test. He never got that big push I honestly thought he deserved. :(

[Disturbed316]

Whoa, totally wasn't expecting to read about this. Was always a fan of his, such a shame :(

[The Mask]

On the plus side, he did get to bang Stacy Kiebler and Kelly Kelly which is more than most of us will ever do. Still, that sucks. RIP

and testgal

[screech]

He was always one of my favorites, and I had always hoped that his big push would come.

This sucks. :'(

RIP Test

[Good Ol JG]

Another one gone so young. I wish I could say it surprises me, but at this point it's almost routine. Still though, RIP Test.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I await the thoughts of test4champ.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Bloody hell, that fucking sucks.

RIP.

[Chavo Classic]

The way he looked in his ECW days, steroid abuse has got to be the first thing people are going to look at. Vince will be thanking his lucky stars that he wasn't under contract.

[Anybody Thrilla]

You think they'll dedicate Raw to him? Probably not.

[Xero]

I'm honestly surprised there's nothing on WWE.com yet.

[Dorkchop]

This is really sad. The guy has been in and out of wrestling since 2004 when he was gone for a while with neck problems. Sucks that he was released unfairly a few times. Anything like that is going to take a huge toll on anyone's emotions. Without details I can speculate it being suicide (not the TNA wrestler) and/or drug abuse.

I always liked Test. I always knew how young he was. It's crazy to think he debuted in the WWF when he was 24. He was a very solid wrestler. I wonder if he stayed employed if he would have learned to work a crowd.

[Nicky Fives]

R.I.P.

[Loose Cannon]

You think they'll dedicate Raw to him? Probably not.

honestly, my thinking is that the WWE wants to stay as far away from these kinds of suspicious deaths as much as possible right now.

Obviously we don't know the circumstances. I think they'll mention his death, but it will be interesting to see what they say, if anything, given all the media circus they've been under about deaths in professional wrestling.

[Xero]

From WWE.com, in the Industry News section:

World Wrestling Entertainment® has been made aware of the passing of Andrew Martin. The WWE extends its deepest condolences to the Martin family. Mr. Martin was under contract with WWE at various time periods and performed under the name "Test." He last performed for the WWE in February 2007.

[screech]

I wonder if he stayed employed if he would have learned to work a crowd.

He seemed pretty decent at doing that, to me anyway. Moreso as a heel than a face, though.

[PullMyFinger]

Wow this is going to be bad publicity for wrestling again. This is a problem and its making the industry look worse and worse.

[Nark Order]

Wow. Unreal. RIP.

[Savio]

Wow thats crazy, he was one of my favs back in the day.

[Dorkchop]

He seemed pretty decent at doing that, to me anyway. Moreso as a heel than a face, though.
I think that's why a lot of guys reach their professional peak in their early to mid 30s. Edge had a lot of flashy moves, but it wasn't until shortly after his big feud with Matt Hardy where he became even awesomer.

Had Test stayed consistently employed with them without suspensions or anything like that, he could have been a big player in the company. Then again, so could have a lot of people. He was usually kind of boring on the mic, but I always loved his ring work.

[screech]

Had Test stayed consistently employed with them without suspensions or anything like that, he could have been a big player in the company. Then again, so could have a lot of people. He was usually kind of boring on the mic, but I always loved his ring work.

I don't even think suspensions would have played a role, as long as he would have stayed under contract (see: Edge). He should have been a bigger player after the wedding angle, but the focus was shifted to HHH/McMahon and away from Test. That was a mistake in my opinion, because that feud would have been money.

He certainly had the look and the talent to make it big, but things just didn't pan out that way. I do agree that he was a bit boring on the mic, but his ring work was incredible and he played his characters (especially heel) very well.

[Dorkchop]

Not everyone has to be in the main event anyway. WWE seems to think otherwise. He would have been a great guy to have in the IC/US division and maybe someone to main event as a challenger in a PPV every now and then.

WWE only has guys in the main event and guys they'll put into the main event regardless of talent or crowd reaction. I almost forgot to mention they also have guys they hire, give a stupid gimmick to, job after 2 months, then get released.

[screech]

As a Test mark, I'd say he should have been world champion. Seriously though, he could/should have been an upper midcard guy. Like you said, IC/US division and main eventing the occasional PPV. Maybe as a guy who could "never win the big one."

[Hornicane]

Wow. As said, not really a shock, but I really didn't see it coming, either. Sad day for all of us 'Testicles' out there.

RIP Andrew. :'(

[thedamndest]

Did he still use the pump handle/big boot as a finish?

[Xero]

Think he was using the Roll the Dice for a while.

[SammyG]

Wowwwww, RIP. That was unexpected.

[screech]

He used a version of the TKO during his ECW run called the Test Drive.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I loved his last ECW run besides him jobbing to Lashley all the time. I thought he'd be ECW champ for sure for a minute there.

[screech]

He would have been great as ECW Champion. Coulda really played off the "Impact Player" and "God's Gift to ECW" nicknames.

[RGWhat316]

Wow, this is pretty shocking, especially with the age. I wasn't the biggest fan of his in the latter part of his career, but I will remember the match with Shane at Summerslam. RIP to Andrew.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Yeah, the Love Her or Leave Her match is one of my all time favorites for some reason. Loved that whole feud, especially since the MSP was involved.

[screech]

Both that match and feud were fantastic.

[Stealth-Icon]

On a sad note, RIP Test!!

On a happy note, thanks for the points in the dead pool!!!!!!

[Theo Dious]

From WWE.com, in the Industry News section:

World Wrestling Entertainment® has been made aware of the passing of Andrew Martin. The WWE wishes him the best in all his future endeavors.


:shifty:

[The Fonz]

RIP Test :(

Man, I actually was a mark for him in my younger days.

[Destor]

He fucked Stacy Kiebler. Even in death I envy that man. :y:

[abec]

Test has always been one of my favorite wrestlers, heh, at first it was mostly due to his bad ass intro music, I used to listen to that all the time while i was working out. His story line with him and Stephanie falling in love was so believable to me, and how they dropped him soon after from that story line always pissed me off. I was always hopeful that he would get another big run in the company which he almost did for a while, but it never seemed to me to eclipse his first one. Regardless, I never blamed him I believed in his ability as a performer just not the backstage politics but that's not really a discussion for here.

I never thought I would see this day so early for him in his life. Sucks.

[McLegend]

Tis sad.

[BigDaddyCool]

Wow. I'll miss him.

[The Fugitive]

Damn.

I honestly can't say I was a great fan of his, he had some good matches and he was talented, but I wouldn't call myself a 'Testicle'.

I did however, get the chance to meet him in a pre-show autograph session back in 2005. Being a former WWE wrestler, I was somewhat expecting him to give me a glance for a few seconds, sign an autograph and then move us along, but I was surprised by his manner. He was extremely social and friendly with the fans, eager to take his time talking to them. Even after the session had ended, he stayed around, talked to people and continued to sign items almost until showtime. He could have had an ego and done the bare minimum for his paycheck, but he didn't. He really cared about the fans and making sure we got more than our money's worth. I think that's what I'll remember him for.

Rest in peace, Test.

[Mooияakeя™]

RIP. For whatever reasons it was. Just hope it doesn't turn all Benoit. I didn't expect that swerve either. But I doubt we'll see something like that again and I hope we don't.

[loopydate]

Wow. Just wow. I was a pretty big Test fan, and years of using him in c-feds only solidified that. This isn't particularly surprising, but it still breaks my heart a little. RIP, Andrew

[RatedGSuperstar]

I caught the news sometime this afternoon, coincidentally while checking headlines on ESPN.com. Kind of sucks for the industry that now every time a wrestler dies young, it actually gets a story on "real" sports sites.

Test was always one of my favorites growing up. The wedding angle with Stephanie was great, but like everyone else, I wish they would've kept him as a legitimate player after the HHH swerve. I even kind of enjoyed the "T&A" stint, because their feud with the APA was pretty entertaining. He also got a nice push during the Invasion angle and even a bit afterwards.

It's just a shame that he got so heavy into steroids later in his career. From my memory, he was never really that big when he first came up, but by the time he was The Punisher it was pretty disturbing how big he was. I really have no doubt that it played a role in his death, and really wouldn't be surprised if the coroner's report came back saying that it was likely heart failure due to the steroids. Still, RIP. It'll be interesting to see if he gets a graphic or something on Monday night (probably not, considering the relative coldness of the WWE.com statement and the fact that a lot of fans might not remember who he was).

[Dark-Slicer Diago]

R.I.P :'(

[FourFifty]

Nothing can be said that hasn't been said already.

Rest in peace :wavesad:

[Savio]

He was known for his on and off-screen relationship with Stephanie McMahon, the daughter of WWE head Vince McMahon, FOXSports.com reported.Did he ever have something off screen with steph?

[Kalyx triaD]

RIP

Shit. He was a fave of mine and I always thought he had untapped potential.

[Droford]

He had the worst theme music ever. Wasnt a fan of him but it really does suck he didnt even make it to 34.

[Xero]

Got to love that seemingly every news outlet uses his mugshot.

[Kane Knight]

I caught the news sometime this afternoon, coincidentally while checking headlines on ESPN.com. Kind of sucks for the industry that now every time a wrestler dies young, it actually gets a story on "real" sports sites.

Yeah, it sucks they're getting caught and attention for the unhealthy business they run.

[CSL]

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Eerie words

[Ruien]

Any word on the reason on his passing? I can't wait for it to have nothing to do with steroids.

[Innovator]

Damn. RIP.

[Blue Demon]

Damn. RIP.

[Kane Knight]

Any word on the reason on his passing? I can't wait for it to have nothing to do with steroids.

...Just like Benoit.

[Kane86]

So Ummm anyone here anything yet on what killed him?

[Lux]

Did he pull a Benoit?

[Blitz]

From the Observer:

The St. Petersburg Times today posted that Tampa police found both steroids and prescription pain killers at the condo of Andrew "Test" Martin.

Tampa police spokesperson Laura McElroy reported that Martin was in the middle of a meal when he passed away, noting there was a half-eaten pizza and a partially full glass of soda next to him.

No cause of death would be official until toxicology reports come in, which are several weeks away.
So something sudden, obviously. Heart attack?

[CSL]

Points toward Typical Wrestler Death :(

[Savio]

wait was he with other people at the time?

[Kane Knight]

Any word on the reason on his passing? I can't wait for it to have nothing to do with steroids.

The St. Petersburg Times today posted that Tampa police found both steroids and prescription pain killers at the condo of Andrew "Test" Martin.

Someone's gonna be waiting for a while.

-OR-

Damned news media! They should apologise for assuming Test was on steroids!

[RP]

Test?

Steroids?

No way

[The Mackem]

Not really a good advertisement for junk food either.

[V]

R.I.P.

The first thing I thought of was the purple bike with the upside down american flag. test was pro :(

out of curiosity, did they mention him on raw?

[Xero]

No, they didn't.

[Volare]

That's the part I don't get. Does anyone think it could be becuase of the "If he's found with steroids, they're gonna blame us" attitude that WWE seems to have lately?

[RatedGSuperstar]

That could be a part of it. A part of it could also be they're trigger shy after they aired a 3-hour tribute to Benoit before all the full details were known (to the public, anyway. I've heard theories some of the wrestlers knew what happened, and that's why some of their comments about him during the tribute left something to be desired at the time).

I really didn't expect them to do anything for him. He's no longer with the company, was a known steroid user, and never accomplished much more than an IC title win and a few off-and-on pushes in WWE. It would've been a nice gesture to do something on air, but at least they acknowledged it online.

[Loose Cannon]

-From the main page

As seen on Raw last night — or not seen — they didn’t bother to air a graphic in honor of Andrew “Test” Martin, who served nearly seven years of service to the company at various points from 1998 through 2007. Company officials are said to be on edge about Martin as his death brought them some unwanted bad publicity when they’re trying harder than to ever to present a clean image to the public. As result, they didn’t announce the Von Erichs’ induction into the WWE Hall of Fame during the broadcast since of the five wrestling sons of the legendary Fritz Von Erich, four died before their 34th birthday (quite like Martin). Instead, they quietly made the announcement on WWE.com.

Perhaps in another sign that WWE is trying to shy away from the death of Martin, they put up a graphic acknowledging his passing on the front page of the company website on Saturday, but pulled it early Sunday. While the statement regarding his passing is still up, it’s buried amidst a sea of miscellaneous headlines. Furthermore, they didn’t bother to put up a tribute photo gallery in honor of Martin like they usually do when a past or present company performer passes away.

[Savio]

Thats pretty bad

[Xero]

This has just become really political. Now you're not going to get any real mention unless you're worth a shit to someone higher up.

[Volare]

That pretty much said it all.

[screech]

Fucking terrible.

[Kane Knight]

That could be a part of it. A part of it could also be they're trigger shy after they aired a 3-hour tribute to Benoit before all the full details were known (to the public, anyway. I've heard theories some of the wrestlers knew what happened, and that's why some of their comments about him during the tribute left something to be desired at the time).

I really didn't expect them to do anything for him. He's no longer with the company, was a known steroid user, and never accomplished much more than an IC title win and a few off-and-on pushes in WWE. It would've been a nice gesture to do something on air, but at least they acknowledged it online.

I'd be worried about blowback, too. The Benoit ordeal blew up in their faces. It sucks that he's getting buried because of that, but the last thing WWE wants is more dubious circumstances, and when a guy you employed for the better part of a decade dies and was on steroids at (at least) some point, you're going to want to dodge the issue.

[screech]

I was going to make a comparison to Eddie, but since it isn't known how Test died that wouldn't be fair. I want to say it's safe to assume that the two died in similar fashions, but I also want to wait for the official cause of death.

I know that Eddie was still under contract (and still active) when he died, but his death was due to past use and abuse. I feel if he got a tribute show, it should be fitting that Test at least gets a mention on TV. (I'm not saying Eddie didn't deserve the tribute, it just seems wrong to me to bury Test in such a way.)

[Kalyx triaD]

Tribute to Test.

"Starfire (Cover)" - The Chipmunks

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Test, u were my starfire.