Turn Back the Clock: Rick Martel
 

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If you were a fan of tag team wrestling in the 80's, the name Rick Martel should be no mystery to you. Part of some of the most clean cut, wishy washy tag teams ever produced, Martel was right in the middle of the great tag team boom of the 80's. Going from one extreme to the other, Martel shockingly became one of the top heels in the early 90's. He's a former World Champion, which most fans might be quick to forget. But one thing that fans will never forget about Rick Martel is that, Yes, He is a Model.


Rick Martel's beginning years in wrestling saw him floating around in different territories in the NWA, Canada and a couple others. He actually wrestled tag in the WWF before the big tag team boom, winning the Titles with then partner Tony Garea. Soon after, Martel would sign with the AWA and quickly see major success with the company.


Rick Martel wasn't with the company but about a year and a half when he won his first and only World Championship from one of the National Promotions. Now I was about 1 year old at this time and never saw any footage of his run, so my opinions are very limited. But from reading stories and hearing old school wrestlers and fans who lived and watched during that era, Rick Martel didn't really fit as World Champion. Just look at some champions during that era: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, Harley Race, Rick Martel. hmmmm. Well Verne must of saw something special in him as he held th Title just shy of 20 months.


After he lost the belt, Martel would return to the WWF and enter what was the cornerstone of the WWF, the Tag Team Division. He first formed a team with Tom Zenk called the Can-Am Connection. Martel was from Canada, Zenk from America, yes, very cool name. They were pretty much your blueprint babyface team of the 80's. The team's run didn't last long however as Zenk would leave the WWF shortly after they formed. With his partner gone, Martel would find a new partner in a WWF Hall of Famer.


During a double team attack by the Islanders on Martel, Tito Santana ran in from the announch booth and saved him. The two would form a team and would be called Strike Force. Yet another cool name, but I don't know, did the name and the gimmick really fit here? Strike Force sounds like a name you would give some special forces unit of the army. Tito and Rick were two pretty boys, who made the girls go crazy when they took thier shirts off. They even had what will probably go down as the gayest theme song ever, "Girls in Cars." If you have never heard it, well congratulations. However, they were a great team non the less and worked very well together. They eventually captured the Tag Straps from the Harts. But success would be cut short by a road block called Demolition


The team would go on to lose the Titles to Demolition at WM 4, but that wasn't the worst thing to happen, as Rick Martel was badly injured during the match. Tito wretled singles for a while until Martel returned at WM 5 to team with Santana against the Brainbusters. In a shocking twist, a miscue by Santana led to Rick Martel walking out on his partner. Backstage, Rick Martel went on a tirade on his former partner. Who would of thought that pretty boy Rick Martel was a huge dick after all?


After years of being a cookie cutter babyface, Martel did a complete 180 and transformed into a cocky, arrogant, self loathing asshole called The Model. Was he perfect for the gimmick or what? Tell me you didn't believe the guy had a modeling job on the side? The new slick look, the dreamy entrance music, the smug facial expressions, the full tan, the arrogance spray, and yes, the oversized "Yes I am a Model" button all helped Martel play the character to a tilt. Spraying his opponets with the Arrogance was a classic heel tactic.

Martel had a long feud with Tito, which seemed to never end, even after thier feud was over. He had a memorable feud with Jake Roberts, which led to a Blind fold match at Mania, fhe aught HBK in a rare heel/heel match at Summerslam and finally feuded with Tatanka in his last big feud. I remember him having a chance to win the IC Belt against Razor, but came up a bit short. Some other memorable moments included his whole team surviving the Survivor Series of 1990 and lasting around 50+ minutes in the Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, Martel never again achieved this kind of success after the WWF.


Injuries would begin to plague the career of Rick Martel soon after he went to WCW. He feuded with Booker T for a little while and actually beat him for the WCW TV Championship, but suffered a horrible injury soon after. He would come back soon after and I only seem to remember Perry Saturn throwing him though a glass window. LOL. Sadly, this is my last memory of him inside of wrestling.


Looking back at the career of Rick Martel, I'd say he had a pretty good run. He can go ahead and write himself off as a former World Champion and will go down as one of the great tag wrestlers. His heel run was brilliant and had it not been for Perfect, I think The Model would of been an IC Champ. Sadly, the injury bug caught him later on and cut his career short. But I think we can all agree, there was and will always be one model in wrestling and that's Rick Martel.


http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65432: British Bulldog


http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65506: Earthquake


http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65608: Lex Luger

IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME....

RICK MARTEL SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE!!!!

I mean, I don't want to take away from what he did do, but seriously! The guy should've been an important mid carder/IC level guy for a LONG time on top of his successful tag career. :mad: Grrr....!!!!!!

I've always been a big fan. :love:

That huge can of cologne he used to carry around and spray was fanfuckingtastic.

"Arrogance!"

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Rick Martel is one of my favourite wrestlers of all time.

Was I the only one who thought the Model talked like PePe Le Pew?

Rick Martel is the F'N man.

I really enjoyed his work. That match against Jake was fun as hell and really well done.

"They even had what will probably go down as the gayest theme song ever, "Girls in Cars.""

Lol! How true!

You notice how vinettes in the old days were so much better than today? Back then they had gimmicks. Today every promo is like "I'm going to beat you from an inch of your life." whereas back then the creativity was amazing.

Didn't Jimmy Hart sing that?

Fantastic once again, I miss Martel and can't believe how long it's been!

Very true. There's an evil clown, elvis-impersonator, dentist, garbage-guy, farmers, pirates, sailors, bikers, indians and all the village people members from around the globe. Funny as hell if you think of it now, but I'd still watch them over today's product anyday.

Hahaha. He's my mothers faveourite wrestler. She always liked The Model.

I posted that "Arrogance" commercials vid in the youtube thread, cracks me up everytime I see it. lol. I did mark out when I saw him at Vengance. He looked good too which was nice, he didn't look half dead anyway so that's a plus point.

I always remember him being in the Rumble for ages. lol. He just would not go out.

Ah, "Arrogance".. back in the days when "foreign object" was the word on the street.

One of my favorite matches of all time was Martel v. Michaels in the "No Hitting in the Face" match at SummerSlam. So fucking hilarious. I loved when Sherri passed out and they kept battling for her companionship. Ohhh man, I loved that shit. Rock on, Rick Martel, rock on.

funny you mention that as my aunt had a crush on him.

that theme song was one of the best all time.

i loved when he stole one of tatanka's feathers and put it in his beret.

Rick Martel was one of the heels I didn't realize I was a big mark for until years later. He was always winning the title from the big faces (with aid of a foreign object of course) in my action figure/G.I. Joe PPVs.

Loved Rick "The Model" Martel. Always got a good laugh when he took his giant perfume sprayer and got someone with it. I agree with the others he should have been better.

I was either him, Savage, or I.R.S. for Royal Rumble on Sega Genesis.

Watching the "Girls in Cars" video makes me a little uneasy about owning a ford taurus....

Anyways, does anyone have Rick "The Model" Martel's theme song that they can upload?

I cant believe Martel never got a chance to be I-C champ.

Id say Martels 5 career highlights were

AWA World Title

WWF Tag Title with Tito Santana

WWF Tag Title with Tony Garea

WCW TV Title

Setting the record for the longest time at the 91 Rumble (although it only lasted for a yr)

IMO, Rick Martel in his prime as a heel was > Orton, Kennedy, Booker, Nitro, Striker, Masters, Burke combined.

If he were in WWE during this era, I think the feud with him and Cena over the belt would be off the charts. Martel taking the belt from Cena with his "Arrogance" can squirt to the face and constantly getting the better of him by cheating would drive the Cena marks rabid.

Martel: "Cena, you may claim to be a Marine, a rapper, an actor and a wigger...but one thing you will never be, is a Model. And now, you aren't even The Champ."

(Hits Cena in the head with "Arrogance", leaves the ring and squirts a Cena mark in the face on the way up the ramp.)

Martel: "Yes, I am a model...and I AM The Champ."




I get hard just thinking about it, but then again...I have a thing for models.

:shifty:

I'd actually pay to see that.