'THE UNFORGETTABLE' RICK 'THE MODEL' MARTEL

Fact File:

Real Name: Rick Vigneault

Date of Birth: March 18th 1956

Finishing Manoeuvre: Boston Crab

Rick ‘The Model’ Martel is one of those names synonymous with the wrestling industry. Much like Babe Ruth is with American Baseball and Michael Jordan is with Basketball, Rick Martel is a name which wrestling fans hear and they can immediately conjure up a memory from a moment in his career. That says a lot about a wrestler and the impact he left on the business. Far from those wrestlers who come and go without a whimper and then you hear their name again twenty years later and spend five hours recalling where you heard it before, Martel is undoubtedly a wrestling legend. One who doesn’t get the credit he deserves for the mark he left on the industry.

Outside the ring, Rick Martel was a notoriously private person, preferring to keep his family life away from the squared circle. A family man who put his blood before his career, Martel in 2013 is a credit to the wrestling industry. He did his thing and didn’t try to clasp onto that last little piece of limelight when the bell tolled on his career. Unlike most of those around him back in the day, Rick Martel has no regrets about his time inside the ring and no regrets about stepping away and letting what was, be.

Born Rick Vigneault on March 18th 1956 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the man best known to wrestling audiences as ‘The Model’, who in the latter stages of his career strutted around the ring win a blue or pink velvet jacket carrying an atomiser perfume spray, never had professional wrestling aspirations at all. Much like Roddy Piper’s wrestling career, it came from a twist of fate. A skilled amateur wrestler in high school, Vigneault had other aspirations even though all of his brothers were in ring performers. The irony being that Martel would eclipse his whole wrestling family for fame in the business by the time he walked that aisle one last time.

Some would argue that being a skilled and highly accomplished amateur wrestler was the perfect set-up for a life between the ropes. But when you’re just doing the sport to fill your time at school or please someone else I suppose you never entertain doing that thing for a living. That all changed for Vigneault when he was just sixteen years old and in 1972 through a set of fortuitous circumstances he was called up by his brother Mitch Vigneault to replace an injured wrestler who couldn’t make the advertised show. People expected the younger brother to settle in and find his feet quickly thanks to his brothers – those around him naturally though it ran in the blood – and the fact he was already a skilled amateur wrestler. Though I doubt they ever thought he would take to it as well as he did in the small time allocated.

From day one, the future WWF star was a natural in the ring and soon he would look like he had been wrestling all his life. However, before Vigneault stepped into the ring, there was one hurdle he and his brothers had to jump. And that was his name. Wrestling in the 70’s as much as it is today was an image based industry. If you didn’t have the look and the name then you’d never make it. Territorial promoters wouldn’t book you to wrestle the shows and without a great reputation then you were guaranteed to sink to the bottom of the totem pole and out of the fans and bookers mind. Once again, fortune would intervene in Vigneault career, thanks to his brothers.

Mitch Vigneault and the rest of Rick’s brothers including Jean and Pierre had all wrestled under the same name since they stepped into the ring. They were known not as the Vigneault brothers, but when touring the Canadian and worldwide territories they would simply be known as The Martel brothers. And so history was born. In 1972, Rick Martel made his professional wrestling debut – sadly, there is no easily accessible record of who Martel defeated in that first match, but we at least knew he won.

The gaps in knowledge are a recurring theme of Rick Martel’s early career. Though it began in 1972, the subsequent two years are a blank page. After his 1972 debut the earliest record of a Rick Martel match is in 1974 when Martel was competing for Canada’s leading wrestling promotion, Stampede Wrestling, ran and owned by Stu Hart. That match consisted of Rick Martel and Lenny Hurst capturing the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championships from Stan Kowalski and Duke Savage. At only eighteen years old, Stu Hart wisely saw that Martel needed the experience of singles competition in order to both flourish and catch the eye of the more notorious promotions across the boarder. The decision led to Rick Martel and Lenny Hurst dropping the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championships to Pat and Mike Kelly.

Here, we pick up Martel’s career one year later in 1975. Moving away from Canada and leaving Stampede Wrestling behind, Vigneault had crossed the boarder into America in order to try his luck in the many various American wrestling territories. The sunshine state was the first port of call – on record – for Martel as he sought out Championship Wrestling From Florida. It was a necessary step for Rick Martel to take if he wanted his name to transcend to bigger bookers and promoters. In Canada, there was only so far he could go and only so many places his name could get around. America provided a bigger melting pot in order for Martel to cook himself a career, so to speak. Bettering oneself in the wrestling industry is a must. You have to actively seek out new challenges to maintain your image and keep your ring style fresh.

A renowned playground for fresh and new talent in the 1970’s, Martel fitted the profile of Championship Wrestling From Florida perfectly. A marginally successful time under the company’s banner included a vital image enhancing victory over Bob Griffin on April 15th 1975 in Tampa, Florida and one month later Martel, the man who was becoming – pardon the pun – a model wrestler, scored a huge result on May 14th in Miami Beach, Florida when a match between he and Doug Somers ended in a draw. Though draws are never popular they are sometimes required in order to protect both the established and upcoming talent. For Martel, the result was a huge one as his popularity began to grow and his name was beginning to float from promotion to promotion. His solid ring style was a much sought after commodity and though Martel would compete again for Championship Wrestling From Florida between 1975 and 1977, his last documented match was a victory against Mark Starr in Miami Beach, Florida in 1975. As already stated, this wasn’t Martel’s final match for the promotion; just the last recorded one your Wrestling God could find in the time allocated to research and write this blog.

With 1976 being a completely blank slate – thank you very much records – 1977 is where we find a more educated and better all rounder, Rick Martel. Leaving American shores behind for the time being and only five years into his career, Martel sought out a bigger challenge. He was known in Canada and the American territories were beginning to earmark Vigneault for bigger things. If he could make it in America then he could make it anywhere and that’s the test Martel put himself to when he travelled to Australia and New Zealand to compete for World Championship Wrestling. Grinding the story to a halt for a moment I must explain for those not in the know that the company I speak of isn’t the one which nearly put WWE out of business from 1996 – 1999, but the World Championship Wrestling opened in 1968 by future (American) WCW booker, Jim Barnett. Barnett’s World Championship Wrestling represented a massive part of NWA’s Asian and Oceanic territories serving Australia, New Zealand and Asia. You see, you do learn something from this blog.

A new breed of opponent was just what Martel needed after treading the canvas in America and Canada for so long and that’s just what WCW presented him with. As well as local and home-grown talent which weren’t known around the American territorial promotions, WCW also imported wrestler with massive reputations from Japan and America in order to help sell their box offices. In truth, it was the perfect place for any wrestler to go. At the time, Australia, New Zealand and Asia rarely if at all got the American product on television and it wasn’t exactly and easy trip to go and see it live – which meant talent coming to the promotion, especially low card talent who weren’t getting the breaks they wanted with their parent promotion, were treated like heroes. Most who brought tickets to the company had no idea how successful the small time American talent were so treated them like headliners every night.

Martel’s first stint in the company wasn’t a long one but was graced enough time to make himself a name there. On February 18th 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales, in a match for the NWA Austria-Asian Tag Team Championships, Rick Martel and partner Larry O’Dea defeated Japanese legend Masa Saito and Ed Wiskoski for the doubles gold. With a break in the Championships history we can’t be sure who the newly crowned Tag Team Champions defended against during their time on top of the doubles mountain but we do know that they were dethroned by Butcher Brannigan and Bugsy McGraw. Three months after winning the Tag Team Championships Martel competed for NWA New Zealand in Auckland, New Zealand on May 26th dethroning King Curtis Iaukea for the New Zealand version of the NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Championship. A piece of gold he would drop to Ali Vaziri later in the year. The date is undocumented.

The Rick Martel freight train was gathering momentum as one of the most underrated wrestlers in the industry’s history entering 1978. His name was getting around by word of mouth to people who mattered in the business and promoters were flocking to Martel’s door like seagulls to chips to sign him up for as many dates as he would happily complete for them. With records a little more giving than they were for earlier periods of his life, we know a lot more about Martel from 1978 onwards.

Not wanting to settle down in just one promotion, Martel rightly decided that he would receive more exposure splitting his year between two promotions. The offers came in and the two promotions chosen were Georgia Championship Wrestling and NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions. It would be with the latter Rick Martel began the year with, defeating Tor Kamata in March 1978 for the Hawaiian version of the NWA North American Championship. A success as champion, Martel was disappointed that the company were cutting his reign short in order to push a bigger, more imposing wrestler than him in Big John Studd. But ever the company man, Martel complied with wishes that he drop the Championship to Studd and the Championship change happened in June 1978.

Many looked upon Martel’s time in NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions as merely filler. He was brought in to carry the company and its main Championship whilst the bigwigs found someone more fitting of the size and weight every promoter was infatuated with in the late 70’s – early 90’s. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Rick Martel’s time in NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions was the beginning of something special for Martel. Instead of seeing him as a caretaker champion and someone to push in the main event for a couple of months, those who were looking for a reliable pair of hands in the ring saw someone who would tow the company line and someone who was popular with the fans who they could use in any spot on the card and draw a crowd to see that match. Martel had the perfect drawing experience and it wasn’t lost on those who sought his talents.

If people saw Martel’s time in NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions as filler then entering Georgia Championship Wrestling in September 1978 would change their minds completely. Like Championship Wrestling From Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling was a great talent builder putting the future of the wrestlers first and one of the main territorial promotions in America. It was almost a given that Rick Martel couldn’t fail to attract the attention of an even bigger promotion in Atlanta. Those predictions would eventually come true when Martel scored an impressive victory over company darling Dr. X on September 4th in Augusta, Georgia. There are different ways in which a wrestler can make an impression on entering a company. A well written and executed promo does wonders. Attacking a top star after a match adds weight to your claim that you are there to be the best. Nothing however substitutes a good old fashioned in ring victory over a name people in that territory respect.

Rick Martel was rising through the ranks faster than anyone could have predicted and even those who weren’t in favour of him as a wrestler couldn’t deny his rise to the top was both meteoric and well deserved. Earmarked for Championship gold as one of the company’s up and coming golden boys, Rick Martel added to his already growing list of accolades when he and ‘Wildfire’ Tommy Rich went over Ole Anderson and Ivan Koloff to capture the Georgia Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championships in an unremarkable effort on October 13th in Atlanta, Georgia. Though the reign would be another short lives effort – Martel and Rich would dump the gold back to Anderson and Koloff less than two weeks later – it would be a huge footnote for Martel that he had finally lifted a reputable Championship in a known and respected promotion instead of bit part Championships in small time promotions. It was the validation other promoters had been waiting to see from Martel.

Though the team of Rick Martel and Tommy Rich were part time Tag Team Champions, their dealings in the doubles division weren’t over just yet as 1978 came to a shuddering climax for pair when they participated in the NWA Tag Team Championship Tournament. The one night tournament, held on November 23rd, would mark the last time Rick Martel and Tommy Rich would team together as Martel departed the company to seek out other opportunities between the ropes. The round robin knockout tournament to crown new NWA Tag Team Champions saw Rick Martel and Tommy Rich roll over The Islanders (Afa and Sika) in the first round and go down in a blaze of glory to The Funk Brothers (Terry and Dory Jr) in the quarter finals. The pairing was good for the short time it lasted, but bigger and better things awaited Rick Martel just around the corner.

The beginning of 1979 consisted of repeated trips from American to New Zealand and back again as Martel completed agreed dates for NWA New Zealand and World Wrestling Council which was situated in Puerto Rico and ran by Carlos Colon, the father of former WWE Superstar Carlito and current WWE Superstar Primo. The year which would finally see him grab the attention of Vince McMahon and Nick Bockwinkle (owner and promoter of AWA) began with yet more Tag Team gold on January 22nd. Though the story of his reign and acquisition of the WWC North American Tag Team Championships isn’t as straight forward as you’d originally think.

A huge performer and part of World Wrestling Council, Rick Martel’s brother, Jean Martel / Vigneault decided that after years of dedicating his time to the promotion it was the right moment to step away from the spotlight. Upon leaving his spiritual home, as an act of thanks for everything Jean had done to keep the company afloat he was bestowed with the World Wrestling Council North American Tag Team Championships. Gold he was synonymous with. When Jean left the company with the Championships the promotion was left without champions or gold, leading to the formation of the new WWC North American Tag Team Championships which were awarded to Jean’s brothers Rick and Pierre Martel. Maybe the company believed that one Vigneault helped build their tag team division so it was a given that his brothers would do the same.

Whatever the reasoning behind it, like their crowning as champions, no match ever took place to depose the Martel brothers from the doubles throne. Instead, after losing a Loser Leaves Town tag team match to The Invaders (Invader 1 and Invader 2) the brothers Martel vacated the gold on February 4th.

With his first stint in the company a roaring success, Martel returned to NWA New Zealand to great fanfare. Welcoming him back with open arms thanks to the dwindling popularity and lack of authenticity that American and foreign stars used to bring – they had begun to give the promotion a wide birth in favour of signing bigger contracts with other promotions – Martel gave the promotion that much need injection of authenticity, beginning on March 19th in Auckland, New Zealand with a rousing victory over Mad Dog Martin to capture his second NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Championship in a match which began with the gold vacant. Turning out to see his many Championship defences, the fans in Hobbit country were genuinely happy to see Martel as their Champion.

As the old adage goes, ‘all good things must come to an end’ and like everything in the wrestling business, change is needed in order to keep the product fresh. With other options and offers flooding in it was time for Martel to decide what he really wanted. Did he want to make money in the big time or did he want to stay loyal to somewhere that loved him but paid him poorly and was never going to get him noticed in the big leagues. A long thought process ended on May 28th 1979 when NWA New Zealand, not wanting to risk Martel going anywhere whilst still Champion, booked Martel to drop the NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Championship in Auckland, New Zealand to Ripper Collins. Though he would leave the company for a bigger shot at stardom, the loss to Collins wouldn’t be the end of Martel’s reign in the company. He would capture the NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Championship once more in 1979 and wouldn’t drop it until 1980.

Finding bigger promotions and offers too big an attraction to resist, Rick Martel was still a reigning three time NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Champion when he jumped ship in November 1979. Reasonably analysing that he wouldn’t reach his goal of stardom in the big leagues if no one could see him perform – a regular problem performing in NWA New Zealand – Martel made the difficult decision to step back onto American shores and into the leagues of the every growing Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Though his reign as NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Champion wasn’t recognised by Pacific Northwest Wrestling, the tape traders amongst the audience knew that Martel was already a Heavyweight Champion and treated him as such.

Martel’s first two months in the company weren’t anything special. The hesitation to do anything really huge with Martel whilst he was still NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Champion was coupled with the fact that he’d already signed on to wrestle dates for All Japan Pro Wrestling in the opening months of 1980. Settling him into the company, Rick Martel defeated Frank Dusek on November 24th; overthrew Matt Bourne (Doink the Clown) on December 1st; routed Bull Ramos on December 8th and went down to The Sheepherders (The Bushwhackers) and Buddy Rose whilst teaming with Stan Stasiak and Yaki Joe on December 21st. All matches took place for Pacific Northwest Wrestling and all in Portland, Oregon.

1980 was by far Rick Martel’s busiest year in professional wrestling. He would compete for four promotions almost simultaneously for a while as well as travel back to New Zealand to drop the NWA British Empire / Commonwealth Championship – as mentioned before. 1980 was also the year Rick Martel was granted his first stint with the all conquering, World Wrestling Federation. It was a huge test of Martel’s dedication and passion to the business. A man who had never even meant to lace a pair of boots was about to be tested like never before, in a career which he wandered into by accident. If Rick Martel could get to December 31st 1980 with the thirst to be the best and hunger for the business still in tact, he would have passed the test.

The first port of call for Martel was the Land of the Rising Sun to carry out a month’s worth of bookings for the ever popular, All Japan Pro Wrestling. On February 14th 1980 in Okinawa, Japan, Rick Martel and Great Kojika wrestled to a 6:58 draw and three days later on February 17th Martel crushed Masao Iato in a great 13:33 encounter. After February 17th, the bookings came thick and fast for Martel with four matches in five nights. Beginning on February 20th, Rick Martel travelled to Naze, Kagoshima, Japan to look at the lights for Great Kojika in another top class 14:40 bout. Two nights later on February 22nd in Kunitomi, Miyazaki, Japan, Giant Baba and Tiger Toguchi triumphed over Rick Martel and Killer Tor Kamata. In less than twenty four hours over in Kagoshima, Japan, the team of Rick Martel, Dr. Wagner and Caripus Hurricane fell to Dos Caras (father of Alberto Del Rio), Giant Baba and Tiger Toguchi. February 24th 1980 finally spelled a win for Rick Martel when he and Dr. Wagner defeated Dos Caras and Atsushi Onita in Takazaki, Miyazaki, Japan.

The tag team war against Mexican legend, Dos Caras, continued throughout February and March for Rick Martel. It was a profitable feud at the box office and seeing that, All Japan Pro Wrestling booked Rick Martel in odd singles matches in order to capitalise on the popularity of his tag team feud with Caras. Martel’s only other singles outings in his time with the company were a loss to Great Kojika in a satisfying 7:49 match on February 27th in Omura, Nagasaki, Japan and a final loss to Rocky Hata in 11:55 on an AJPW show on March 2nd in Tokyo, Japan.

With Martel’s time in All-Japan Pro Wrestling at an end and his first tenure in the World Wrestling Federation fast approaching, the man who was still years away from the moniker ‘Model’ revisited his old stomping ground of Pacific Northwest Wrestling and twenty days after departing the Land of the Rising Sun, in Portland, Oregon – Rick Martel went over Buddy Rose to capture the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship. It wouldn’t be Martel’s only piece of gold with the company as on March 29th, one week after lifting the Heavyweight Championship, Rick Martel would team with Roddy Piper to capture the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championships from The Kiwi Sheepherders – who would shoot to fame as The Bushwhackers – the team they would drop the doubles gold back to on May 12th.

Time was nearing for Martel to take the next step up in his career and the eyes of the world were on him, when he garnered the attention of AWA owner, Nick Bockwinkle and WWF owner, Vince McMahon. All his hard work was about to pay off and in two months time, Martel would step on to WWF shores. Before his introduction to the company though, he had a date to fulfil with NWA All-Star Wrestling on May 19th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Rekindling his PNW tag team with Roddy Piper, the pair evened the score with The Kiwi Sheepherders going over Luke and Butch to capture the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championships; though the pair would vacate them shortly after garnering them because of Martel’s association with the World Wrestling Federation.

Everything Martel had worked for finally paid off when the predominantly tag team wrestler in Vince McMahon’s eyes arrived in the WWF with a bang on a WWF Wrestling Challenge Taping on July 8th in Allentown, Pennsylvania defeating Lindsay Lyle and Johnny Rodz in  two separate matches recorded for two separate weeks shows. Whilst under contract to the World Wrestling Federation, Martel was also still working for Pacific Northwest Wrestling and was their Heavyweight Champion. Until that bond was severed Vince McMahon was reluctant to do anything meaningful with Martel putting him over lower card talent only on television and house shows including Frank Savage on an edition of WWF All-Star Wrestling in Hamburg, Pennsylvania on July 9th and Jose Estrada on a house show in Portland, Maine on July 15th and July 27th in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Heading back to begin his final run of matches with Pacific Northwest Wrestling, hoping that Vince McMahon had something better in store for him once he dedicated his time solely to the domineering company, Martel once again took up with Roddy Piper to roll over The Kiwi Sheepherders once again to capture the NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling Tag Team Championships on August 5th. Twenty four hours which would mark a hectic time in Martel’s life inside the ring. The doubles titles win would mark the beginning of the end for Martel in the company as the pair would drop the gold to Ed Wiskoski and Buddy Rose – winning them back in Martel’s final ten days with the company. There is no recorded title history of whom Martel and Piper lost the gold to on their final run.

Twenty four hours after lifting the NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling Tag Team Championships, Martel was back with his new company the World Wrestling Federation competing in three matches in one night, which saw the company record three television tapings as was the norm. On WWF All-Star Wrestling tapings in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, Rick Martel defeated Jose Estrada, Johnny Rodz and Marco Polo. Three matches in one night, regular house show appearances and wrestling for Pacific Northwest Wrestling in his off days wasn’t working for Martel and because of his association with the National Wrestling Alliance – a known and hated rival of the World Wrestling Federation – his progress in the rapidly building McMahon Empire was being hampered. It was time to bow out of the Pacific regions and concentrate solely on seeing what could be garnered from his newest venture.

The night for Martel to bid Pacific Northwest Wrestling a fond farewell came on August 16th 1980 in Portland, Oregon. Ready to drop the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship, Martel walked the aisle to compete in a Loser Leaves Town Match against the man he defeated for the gold – Buddy Rose. As reality necessitated, Martel was gracious in defeat to Rose and handed back the gold he had been entrusted with. With the World Wrestling Federation his number one priority, Martel would reap rewards for leaving PNW far greater than he could have had he stayed.

On television and house shows, Rick Martel’s winning streak was stoic. On September 9th in Springfield, Massachusetts, Martel triumphed over legendary tag team wrestler, Sika in singles action – by far his biggest victory in the company at that time – and on October 4th, Martel would complete the double over the Samoan team when he downed Sika’s tag team partner, Afa, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Believing that Martel’s future lie in tag team competition, Vince McMahon sought out a suitable tag team partner for the talented Martel. It wasn’t an easy task as so many of the WWF stars at that time were wooden in the ring and didn’t compliment Martel’s style well. Though the company would strike gold on their second attempt, their first was a failure. Bugsy McGraw was selected in what was seen as a tryout match, an audition, to see if he and Martel clicked when they defeated Johnny Rodz and Jose Estrada in a 2 out 3 Falls Match by two falls to one, on October 11th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The experiment didn’t work. As a tandem, Martel and McGraw were lifeless and the match was less than thrilling. Going back to the drawing board, Vince McMahon tried out Martel’s second prospective partner on October 21st.

Tony Garea was never much of a singles wrestler. On his own, he floundered in longer matches and never had the moves of a larger star. In a team with someone who could cover his flaws, Tony Garea was a marvel and complimented Rick Martel’s style perfectly. A fact that the world was privy to on the aforementioned date in two matches for two separate tapings of the WWF Championship Wrestling television show in Allentown, Pennsylvania when the new pairing of Rick Martel and Tony Garea defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna and Frank Savage as well as thumping Johnny Rodz and The Black Demon. One night later on a taping for WWF All-Star Wrestling in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, Martel and Garea clicked again going over Rodz and The Black Demon for the second time.

Seeing much potential in Martel and Garea as a tandem, McMahon made the ultimate leap of faith for a brand new team and decreed they would win the WWF Tag Team Championships. It was a huge gamble for McMahon who wasn’t known for pushing unproven stars and teams at that time – not much has changed then – but needs must as the devil urinates in your drink and to freshen up a tag team division, which was hastily becoming stagnant with names people weren’t willing to pay to see anymore, McMahon decided that Martel and Garea were a younger alternative to teams such as The Wild Samoans.

It would be merely two weeks after their formation that Rick Martel and Tony Garea would defeat the team mentioned above to capture their first WWF Tag Team Championship together, on WWF on PRISM Network on November 8th 1980 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a momentous time for Martel who had held gold elsewhere but must have felt like he’d struck lucky in the ever developing World Wrestling Federation. Maybe he was never going to be the company’s top man and carry the WWF Championship but his skills would liven up a division which people had lost interest in and it wouldn’t be the first time Martel was frequented with the doubles titles. The match in which the pair won the gold also wouldn’t be their last match of the day as they also teamed with Tony Atlas to go over The Wild Samoans and Captain Lou Albano on a house show appearance in Boston, Massachusetts.

The six man tag team victory and the WWF Tag Team Championship victory wouldn’t be the final time Martel and Garea would meet The Wild Samoans in 1980. Afa and Sika would seek retribution for their loss on November 8th throughout the month. On November 15th during a house show in Baltimore, Maryland, Rick Martel and Tony Garea one upped The Wild Samoans to retain the WWF Tag Team Championships and the foursome would tangle four more times throughout November and December including a much celebrated retention for the champions on December 8th in a 2 out of 3 falls match in Madison Square Garden.

After Martel and Garea had done away with The Wild Samoans, McMahon decided the champions would be the perfect foils for the ageing Moondogs. A team which was a fiercely popular with the audience but weren’t all that when the bell rang. As champions, Martel and Garea were expected to carry teams inferior to them in the ring. That is the job of any and every champion in wrestling, no matter where you go. If you’re the top man of any division then the company expect you to carry everyone underneath you. Fortunately, most beneath champions are capable of holding their own but those like The Moondogs, relied on better wrestlers to make them look good. It’s not a job I envied of the pair. Moondog Rex and Moondog Spot were wooden and with only a few moves in their arsenal it took a great effort to get them and the match over.

Three days after Christmas 1980 in Torrington, Connecticut, The Moondogs defeated Rick Martel and Tiny Garea in a non-title match in order to set them up as serious contenders to the gold. Twenty four hours later the world learnt of their challenge when Rick Martel and Tony Garea barely retained the WWF Tag Team Championships by disqualification against Moon and Spot on WWF on MSG Network in Madison Square Garden.

As 1981 rolled around and Vince McMahon began the next stage of his national expansion, all eyes were on the World Wrestling Federation. The top of the card was sorted and needed no work, or at least as far as Vince McMahon was concerned, what the boss man really needed was his undercard to be strong. With Martel and Garea as champions and The Moondogs as challengers it was as strong as it could be, but let’s not forget that this was at a time when WWE had a wealth of tag teams on which they could call upon should Rick Martel and Tony Garea fail to get the job done and more importantly, these were teams which people could actually buy into – even if the acts were getting old.

The tag team feud with The Moondogs wasn’t going to die down for the champions and it was booked to go right through several WWF Tag Team Championship changes and eight months of the year. This though occurred at a time when Vince McMahon was a lot more patient with talent and would allow planned storylines to go to their conclusions unless something big went wrong with them. The 1981 Vince McMahon was a lot more patient than the 2013 Vince McMahon is. As where today McMahon loses interest regularly in new talent and stalls their careers, in 1981 he would allow them to prosper even if they weren’t getting over with the crowd. It was like in the 1980’s Vince McMahon and his product had one script which they dare not deviate from, otherwise they may fall off of the edge of the world.

On January 3rd 1981, on a house show in Landover, Maryland in a match for the WWF Tag Team Championships, The Moondogs defeat Rick Martel and Tony Garea by disqualification, necessitating that the champions retained the gold. It would be the same result on January 10th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania though Rick Martel and Tony Garea would go over teams such as Johnny Rodz and Jose Estrada on WWF television to retain their image and reputation with the audience. Had they lost against The Moondogs and other talent on television their Tag Team Championship reign would have been a total disaster.

The outlook was better for the champions on January 16th as they retained their gold via pinfall against The Moondogs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Singles action was few and far between for Martel, the man whose talents couldn’t properly shine in doubles action. Some wrestlers are born to be singles talent and some tag team talent. You could never really imagine Animal or Hawk being singles wrestlers, but Rick Martel was. It was how he made his name and when WWE sidelined him in tag team action, Rick Martel the singles wrestler disappeared into the ether. Martel did get a reprieve from tag team action on January 27th in Portland, Maine when he went down one on one to The Hangman.

Next up was six man tag team action on February 3rd on an edition of WWF Championship Wrestling in Allentown, Pennsylvania when Rick Martel, Tony Garea and S.D. Jones triumphed over Johnny Rodz, The Hangman and Larry Sharpe. On the same show Rick Martel and Tony Garea defeated Ron Shaw and The Hangman. Four days later in Baltimore, Maryland Rick Martel and Garea successfully defended the WWF Tag Team Championships against The Hangman and a little known wrestler in 1981 named Hulk Hogan.

Change was a foot in the WWF tag team division. With Martel and Garea growing old in the role of champions, Vince McMahon decided that it was time to shake up the division and began laying the foundations for the Championship change. Re-initiating the feud with The Moondogs on WWF on PRISM Network on February 14th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rick Martel and Tony Garea went to war with Spot and Rex in a Texas Death Match with the WWF Tag Team Championships on the line. Serving as special guest referee that night was Gorilla Monsoon. Knowing the plan was to barely escape with their gold in tact to emphasise that The Moondogs had their number, Martel and Garea scraped a victory in front of the live audience with the question remaining of how much longer could the champions hold onto the belts with The Moondogs in hot pursuit. It had been the second time Martel and Garea had barely won the match and it was firmly embedded in the audience’s mind that the change was on its way.

The WWF faithful wouldn’t have to wait long for the change. Rick Martel and Tony Garea’s luck finally ran out on March 17th on a taping of WWF Wrestling Challenge in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was time for WWF to give the fans the payoff they had been built to believe would take place. After months of only just scraping under the wire with their Championships in tow, Rick Martel and Tony Garea finally dropped the gold to The Moondogs to much applause. It wouldn’t be the end of their feud and the foursome would war for four more months with Martel and Garea coming out on top on March 19th, March 29th in a 2 out of 3 falls match, March 30th, May 30th and June 4th. In singles action, Moondog Rex put down Rick Martel on April 12th.

It may have looked like WWF was just throwing the four men on to fill time on house shows and television but it was all part of a bigger plan. Unable to keep the WWF Tag Team Championships around the waists of The Moondogs because of the lack of in ring skills of the duo – and they couldn’t carry themselves let alone teams below them – Vince McMahon booked yet another Championship change four months after the first. On July 21st in Allentown, Pennsylvania – the scene of the first championship change – on WWF Championship Wrestling, Rick Martel and Tony Garea dethroned The Moondogs to begin their second reign as Tag Team Champions.

After the second championship change the feud between the teams would die down somewhat. They would contest tag team bouts in August 1981 but the writing was on the wall that the end was night. In singles action on WWF on PRISM Network on August 1st in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rick Martel defeated Moondog Spot and completed the set one week later on August 8th during a house show in Boston, Massachusetts when he went over Moondog Rex.

His performances in singles action had begun to catch the eye of Vince McMahon who started to see Martel more than a tag team competitor. Realising that Martel could add more to the company if booked in singles as well as doubles competition; McMahon put his theory to the test on August 22nd in Rochester, New York when he booked Rick Martel to challenge The Magnificent Muraco for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The match would end with Muraco retaining the gold but it was the manner of Martel’s performance which began his thought process that he was better than tag team action in a company such as this and could reasonably front a promotion which was willing to take him seriously as a singles star.

Yearning to once again spread his wings and ply his trade as a singles wrestler, Rick Martel began looking at his other options whilst under contract to the World Wrestling Federation. If the company weren’t going to give him what he wanted then there were other options and other promotions which desperately needed young stars with Martel’s talent. Martel’s problem was that it was only September 1981 and he was under contract to WWF. Deciding to bite the bullet and grin and bare it, Martel knuckled down and ground out tag team action whilst he waited for his contract to expire so he could seek out what ventures further afield held for him.

Deciding that Rick Martel and Tony Garea would once again drop the WWF Tag Team Championships, Vince McMahon once again set about laying the foundations in which the fans would believe the team could go down to a new set of challengers. The champions elect would be Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito, a formidable Japanese tag team who were very good technically. Because of the foreign connection and thanks to kayfabe still in tact in the wrestling industry, audiences brought into and truly believed that anyone who wasn’t American was an actual danger to their home-grown teams in the ring. This notion was still rife in 1993 when Yokozuna, managed by Mr. Fuji attacked Hacksaw Jim Duggan in the ring and levelled him with several thunderous Banzai Drops.

Back to 1981 and beginning Martel and Garea on the road which would see them classed as former Tag Team Champions, the title holders gained a victory over Baron Mikel Scicluna and Jose Estrada on September 1st in Allentown, Pennsylvania. On their way to losing the gold to the team from The Land of the Rising Sun, Martel and Garea would triumph over teams such as Angelo Mosca and Sgt. Slaughter, George ‘The Animal’ Steele and Killer Khan, Fuji and Saito and Bulldog Brower and Larry Sharpe, whilst Rick Martel would begin rebuilding his singles star with pinfall victories over Baron Mikel Scicluna on October 1st and Mr. Saito on October 7th.

The WWF Tag Team Championship change has a history attached to it, nothing big but ironically it came in Allentown, Pennsylvania the site of both Championships changes during the Tag Team Champions’ feud with The Moondogs. Little did he know, but losing the WWF Tag Team Championships to Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito on October 13th 1981 on WWF Championship Wrestling, would be the final time during his first stint with the company, that Martel would hold the WWF Tag Team Championships. The man who would be known as ‘The Model’ in less than eight years time was correct when he theorized that his skills were wasted in tag team action, and that there must be some other company who could utilise his singles skills. Though he was still almost one year away from leaving the WWF, his talents were beginning to catch the attention of the AWA.

As storylines necessitate, Martel and Garea had to at least attempt to regain the championships they lost to Fuji and Saito, so on October 15th in Highland Park, New Jersey, Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito vs Rick Martel and Tony Garea went to a double disqualification. It would be the former champions who would gain the upper hand when they defeated Fuji and Saito by disqualification on October 19th on an edition on WWF on MSG Network.

On November 26th, Rick Martel was granted a very short leave of absence by WWF so he could compete for Georgia Championship Wrestling in a one night tag team tournament for the NWA National Tag Team Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. Paring with Mr Wrestling II, the duo conquered Ray Stevens and The Super Destroyer in the First Round before being ejected from the tournament in the Quarter Finals by Kevin Sullivan and Wayne Ferris. The Georgia Championship Wrestling tournament would be the last big impact Martel would have on the wrestling industry in 1981 in GCW and WWF. The year ended with Rick Martel and Tony Garea being awarded second place in Pro Wrestling Illustrated ‘Tag Team of the Year 1981’ awards.

Knowing his contract with WWF was coming to an end and seeking out employment as a single star elsewhere, Martel entered 1982 with the purpose to leave no loose ends. He was in the mind set that he wasn’t going to sign a contract extension with Vince McMahon because the company had overlooked him several times for the role of WWF Intercontinental Champion and WWF Champion when he was over qualified if anything, to do the job. One loose end to tie up was the feud over the WWF Tag Team Championships with Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito. With Pat Patterson serving as special guest referee, Rick Martel and Tony Garea went over the WWF Tag Team Champions via disqualification on January 18th in Madison Square Garden.

It must have been a great weight off of Martel’s mind when the feud with Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito ended because so did Rick Martel’s reign as a permanent tag team wrestler during his first stint with World Wrestling Federation, though he would dabble in the doubles division throughout the year, up to his exit from the company in August 1982. Martel had another motive for being pleased his tag team life had all but ended. With his contract coming to an end with Vince McMahon, getting himself out there once again as a singles star would get him noticed by prospective employees. One of those employees, AWA – the company Martel would sign with when his time in WWE was done was keen to see if Rick Martel could hold his own against the company’s top stars before they pitted him against theirs.

Rick Martel’s first significant singles victory of the year came on January 23rd in Landover, Maryland when Martel bested The Executioner and then again on February 12th in Lewiston, Maine, when Martel got into his stride with a win over old tag team rival Mr. Saito. Six days after defeating one half of the men who relieved Martel and Garea of the WWF Tag Team Championships, Rick Martel lost out in a high profile match to Jesse Ventura via count out in Highland Park, New Jersey. On March 6th Rick Martel put that result right when he rolled over Ventura by count out in Boston, Massachusetts.

It must have came as a great disappointment to Martel when WWF reformed his tag team with Tony Garea two days after his celebrated win over Jesse Ventura. On March 8th in Scranton, Pennsylvania Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura defeated Rick Martel and Tony Garea. Martel and Garea would stay as a team until the man known best in 2013 as ‘The Model’ departed the company. The pair would have victories over Charlie Fulton and The Masked Executioner on March 14th, Johnny Rodz and Jose Estrada on March 23rd and March 26th and would stare defeat in the face in matches against Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura on March 19th and Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito on March 23rd.

The message was clear. Rick Martel and Tony Garea, the former two time WWF Tag Team Champions were no longer seen as major contenders to the doubles gold and Rick Martel’s contract, some say, expired just at the right time. Falling down WWF’s ladder at breakneck speed, there’s no telling where he may have ended up had he stayed. Rick Martel was always too good to fall into the enhancement talent role. It would have been such a waste of his many talents. Rick Martel saw the end coming before anyone else did. He couldn’t have been happy in a tag team when singles wrestling was his calling but that wasn’t the point. The company had used him and Garea as champions when they wanted to bring a younger and fresher look to the output but they weren’t good enough to be considered for wins against the stiffer and ageing workers such as Ventura and Fuji.

Counting the months, Rick Martel packed his bags when August came around and snapped up the offer that came his way from the American Wrestling Association owner, Nick Bockwinkle. It would be in what could have become one of the biggest wrestling promotions the industry had ever seen, that Rick Martel would achieve his greatest feat in the wrestling industry. Beginning where he left off in WWF, namely in tag team action, it was under the watchful eye of Nick Bockwinkle that Rick Martel and Tito Santana would form an alliance – one they would continue when Rick Martel rejoined the WWF in 1986. The man born Rick Vigneault was prepared to bide his time in doubles action with his new company because he knew that when the chance came his way, he’d be ready to shine.

On August 21st 1982, in Chicago, Illinois, Rick Martel and Tito Santana stepped out together to best Spike Huber and Steven ‘William’ Regal. The next night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Martel and Santana did a huge favour for the AWA World Tag Team Champions, The High Flyers (Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell), when they put them over via count out in a match for the company’s doubles straps.

From September – November 1982, Rick Martel was lent out to Lutte International Wrestling in Canada in order to boost their box office sales by booking a star name in their main event spot. There are no actual dates for the fledgling promotion but we do know that in September Rick Martel won a tournament to capture the vacant Canadian International Heavyweight Championship. Though dates are sparse and we can’t be sure of whom Martel defended the Championship against, we know that he dropped the gold to local talent Billy Robinson in November in order to make the promotion and wrestler more sellable.

Returning to the AWA after an uneventful three months back in his homeland, Rick Martel was rewarded for being a company man by the notoriously selfish Nick Bockwinkle with a main event run against Bockwinkle for the AWA Heavyweight Championship. The pair went to a very respectable no contest on November 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That Nick Bockwinkle saw Rick Martel as the heir to his throne was very high praise indeed. As constant AWA Heavyweight Champion at times, Bockwinkle would hold viciously onto the company’s top title at the expense of younger talent because he believed that the company would be much better off with him as the main man than someone ten or twenty years his junior, even though he was an old man and half owner of the company. No matter how much fans wanted someone different as champion, Bockwinkle, much like Vince McMahon believed he knew what the fans wanted and the people who kept his company afloat had no idea.

A classic example of Nick Bockwinkle’s egotism and sheer pig headedness as far as wrestling was concerned involved Hulk Hogan. Numerous times during Hogan’s stay in the AWA was it mentioned and even planned that he should be the man to carry the company forward. Even co-owner Verne Gagne suggested it was the way to go. Certainly, listening to the paying crowds it was clear they wanted something more than the aged Bockwinkle as their top guy and the man who helped co-found and co-run the company wasn’t enough to feed the appetite of people who saw what WWF was doing at the time.

Several times Hogan’s name was thrown around the AWA main event picture and every time it was shot down like a bird in flight by the selfish Bockwinkle, until he was forced to relent to the baying crowds. Nick Bockwinkle decided to cheat his crowd into believing he was giving them what they wanted – namely a Hulk Hogan AWA World Heavyweight Championship victory – in several incidents on AWA cards. One such night took place on April 18th 1982 when Bockwinkle begrudgingly placed the Championship on the line against Hogan. As the match drew to a close, Bockwinkle’s manager, the great Bobby Heenan, inserted a foreign object into the match which Hogan seized control of and used to win the match much to the audiences delight. The victory was short lived as Bockwinkle sought to teach the crowd a lesson and had then AWA President Stanley Blackburn march to the ring and reverse the decision.

It’s a reasonable thing to say that those in attendance weren’t happy about the outcome. Where Bockwinkle thought he was being clever, the fans saw right through his rouse and knew he had no intention of relinquishing the championship to a younger and much more popular talent. The last straw for both Hogan and the AWA fans was on the night of Aril 24th 1982 in St. Paul’s, Minnesota on AWA’s Super Sunday card. In retaliation for the reversed decision six days previous Hulk Hogan got one more crack at Nick Bockwinkle and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. This should have been the night wrestling history changed for good. The night Hulk Hogan ascended to the throne and finally proved that AWA were willing to go in a different direction. Fans packed into the arena to see it but what they got was yet another false finish which proved the company didn’t have regard for younger stars.

Not only was the decision to reverse the outcome stupid it was wholly illogical. The match booked as No Disqualification saw an ending of Hulk Hogan sending Bockwinkle sailing over the top rope and onto the arena floor – an illegal move in any other match than this one. After Hogan had pinned Bockwinkle to take the Championship, Stanley Blackburn once again marched to the ring and because he couldn’t overturn the ruling thanks to the perimeters of the match he simply stripped Hulk Hogan of the gold. It was dumb, there was no justification in a No Disqualification Match to do so – Hogan had acted according to the rules and thus deserved his Championship victory.

The AWA fans saw this as a sign that things weren’t about to change and as Hulk Hogan left for the WWF so did a good percentage of the territories fan base. If AWA had made Hogan a star then maybe he wouldn’t have left for WWF as soon as he did and wrestling history would have been different. The point I’m trying to make with all of this is that Rick Martel succeeded where Hulk Hogan failed. Seeing that the fans were right after all, Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkle desperately searched for a replacement for Hogan who would prove the company had changed their tune about younger talent and that the co-owner wasn’t right about the direction of the company after all. The man they chose was Rick Martel, a man who had just been bestowed with the honour of fourth place for Most Improved Wrestler in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated end of year awards.

Sadly it wouldn’t be Nick Bockwinkle that dropped the gold to Rick Martel; that was below him to do so. And it wouldn’t be for another year that Martel got his hands on the top tier gold. Instead Rick Martel began 1983 wrestling for NWA St. Louis before returning to the AWA in July to wrestle to a draw with Bill White on July 14th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Whilst the AWA worked out what they were going to do with Martel next they lent him back out to NWA St. Louis where he went down to Bob Orton Jr on August 5th in St. Louis and Lutte International Wrestling in Canada where he was a huge hit.

Such a hit and box office attraction was Martel that once again the company made him their short term Heavyweight Champion. Once again dates are sparse but we do know he defeated Dino Bravo to claim the Canadian International Heavyweight Champion and dropped the gold back to Bravo on September 23rd in Montreal, Canada. Though he was loved in his home country of Canada, Martel knew that he had to get back on the AWA roster in order to fully justify not renewing his WWF contract. Staying in Canada would have been a huge comedown for him and going from a company like WWF to one such as Lutte on a permanent basis would have been the end of his career.

Return to AWA he did and this time Martel was insistent on not leaving again until he had something to show for his time under the banner. His reinsertion into the main roster began with much promise when he won a $50,000 Battle Royal in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on October 20th. Of course the money was fictional and Martel only received his agreed wages for taking part in the 21:43 match in which he showed a huge amount of singles talent promise. Eight days later in Salt Lake City, Utah, Martel triumphed in a twenty man Battle Royal signalling great things to come for the man Vince McMahon only ever considered to be a tag team calibre star.

With talks that the AWA were finally going to show some faith in him at a higher level and with an AWA World Heavyweight Championship reign was on the horizon, Rick Martel vowed to finish the year in a strong position. It could do him no harm if the rumours were true. There was nothing Martel could do about the results of matches – we all know the results are pre-determined – but he could put forth a solid showing in any and every match he had left for the remainder of 1983. On November 11th in Denver, Colorado Martel fell to Ken Patera but there was no denying who the star of the match really was. Christmas Day 1983 saw Rick Martel roll over Billy Graham by disqualification, by far one of his biggest victories to date seeing as Graham was a former WWF Champion and had dispatched the legend that is Bruno Sammartino for the honour. Five days later on December 30th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Martel scored another vital victory in his quest for gold when he beat Jesse Ventura again by disqualification. The manner of victory mattered not – the bigger stars had to be protected if they agreed to put a younger star over – what stood out was that Rick Martel had been chosen as the man to stand tall. The signs were ever more encouraging.

1984, a new year, began with Rick Martel competing on a combined AWA and International Wrestling show on April 23rd in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On the card Martel, Dino Bravo and Tony Paris put over Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheiks (Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell) in a very respectable match. Granted, the year didn’t begin well for Martel, but the wheels had been put in motion for a major change in the AWA and one which would affect Martel’s career greatly. Less than one month after Martel’s six man team went down in a blaze of glory, he would be a name synonymous with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Nick Bockwinkle finally relented and gave up the company’s top title after a two year reign, due to public demand. Hulk Hogan was already gone. His fans had followed him to the ever growing and ever popular World Wrestling Federation. 1984 were desperate times for the AWA as they were six years away from closure and Nick Bockwinkle was finally forced to let go of the championship as the company’s finances worsened. Ever the egomaniac, Bockwinkle refused to lose the gold to one of his own main roster talent as he thought he’d been seen as inferior to those he employed. Instead, Bockwinkle chose to drop the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on a Japanese event to one of Japan’s favourite sons, Jumbo Tsuruta on February 22nd 1984 in Tokyo.

The move was a dumb one for Bockwinkle and the AWA. Hardly any of the AWA fans had seen the Championship change which should have been a mega event in the company since Bockwinkle bypassed every and any challenger. Had the Championship change been hyped and built on AWA cards in America it would surely have drawn a sell out crowd and by far the company’s largest live gate in many years. Instead, the audience were simply informed of the Championship change via wrestling magazines and when they turned out to the next live show. It was bad for business and even more detrimental for the younger AWA talents who were relying on the aged Bockwinkle to set and example and help build their careers.

Fortunately, all was not yet lost. Thanks to his popularity in the company and with the fans, as well as his disqualification victories over Jesse Venture and Billy Graham at the death of 1983, Rick Martel was in a prime position to restore some order to company. As it would turn out, Tsuruta would be nothing more than a transitional champion. A caretaker to ease out one star and make another. Whilst Bockwinkle would have done great business had he personally lost the Championship to one of his own talents, Jumbo Tsuruta was a much better wrestler than Bockwinkle in 1983 and a better choice of opponent for Martel to topple to take the gold.

The Championship change came on May 13th 1984 in St. Paul’s Minnesota and it was a very heated affair. Jumbo Tsuruta was reviled as the evil Japanese villain in the AWA and Martel the local hero who would dare to stop him. It was a great storyline and one which brought about a change in the AWA. When Martel pinned Tsuruta after a titanic struggle, it would erase ill feelings towards Bockwinkle, who naturally took the adulation for he fans for making a change. The victory was also the beginning of Rick Martel as a headline star – a position he wouldn’t keep when he resigned with WWF – as he defended the Championship for one year and seven months before being dethroned.

Martel and Tsuruta wouldn’t end their feud there, taking the fight back to the land of the rising sun over the NWA International Heavyweight Championship. On an All Japan Pro Wrestling show on July 25th in Fukuoka, Japan, Jumbo retained the coveted Championship against the AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel in another hard fought war, which captured the imagination of the watching Japanese crowd. Before the match, the arena had been informed via video highlights or an announcement that Martel had captured the AWA Championship from Tsuruta two months previous and now the pair was at war over AJPW’s top title which also encompassed the AWA Championship.

Five days after their NWA International Heavyweight Championship war the pair stepped back into the ring on another AJPW show, this time in a rematch for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. In Tokyo, Japan, Martel and Tsuruta went to an excellent 19:27 double count out – meaning Martel retained the championship. More than it being a good match, it was the moment the world realised just what a great wrestler Martel was. No longer was he the fresh faced tag team specialist who companies didn’t trust to carry their brand. Rick Martel in 1984 was a professional all round worker who could be pitted against any opponent of any class and have a great match with them.

Rick Martel’s evolution from leaving the World Wresting Federation to entering American Wrestling Association had been swift. It could have been quicker had Vince McMahon took a chance on Martel and at least explored his potential at the top of the card, but like most other really good smaller wrestlers, Martel was just too small for McMahon to take seriously as WWF Championship material. It was the World Wrestling Federation and Vince McMahon’s loss, because Rick Martel was flying high and his name was known all around the world. If there was any doubt as to Martel’s main event standing then he would put those to rest in his Championship defences back in his home company.

On September 15th in Rosemount, Illinois, Rick Martel successful retained the AWA World Heavyweight Championship against Billy Robinson and then triumphed over The Masked Spoiler three days later in Memphis, Tennessee. Both Championship defences cemented Martel’s dominance in the main event spot and at the top of AWA’s tree. Further proof of his international appeal and draw would come when Martel travelled back to All Japan to defeat Ashura Hara on October 5th in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan and twenty four hours later, Martel teamed with The Fabulous Freebirds to roll over Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta and Takahashi Ishikawa in Koga, Ibaraki, Japan. Like all good champions, Rick Martel ended his 1984 stint in Japan by putting over its top star and his last big contribution to All Japan Pro Wrestling was stepping aside via count out for old nemesis Jumbo Tsuruta on October 11th in Osaka, Japan. 

Rick Martel’s evolution in 1984 was reflected in the end of year awards where he was bestowed with third place for Pro Wrestling Illustrated ‘Most Improved Wrestler’, an improvement on his standing in the rankings the year previous and took forth place for Pro Wrestling Illustrated ‘Wrestler of the Year’. His first entry into the rankings and one at such a high level.

It was a struggle for Rick Martel to retain the AWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1985. His notoriety internationally meant that he was in huge demand in Japan as well as in America and even though his return to the World Wrestling Federation was a year and a half away, Martel was being watched and peppered with offers by Vince McMahon to return to the promotion. It was no secret that Martel had to juggle many offers as 1984 ended, but that was a champion’s role. It was something Ric Flair had managed for years and Harley Race before him. Time at home was rare and life on the road was the only life you knew. Had Rick Martel had a problem with this then I’m sure he would have stepped down to take stock of his life. Thankfully though, he didn’t. By juggling everything thrown at him in 1985, Rick Martel proved that he deserved the gold which sat comfortably around his waist.

Once again, Martel would spend his year running between AWA and All Japan, with infrequent stops at America’s biggest wrestling territories to both boost their box office takings and try and spread the word of the AWA. Beginning the year in style, Martel successfully bested Jimmy Garvin to retain the AWA World Championship on January 16th in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada and Jim Brunzell in the same city on March 4th. It was a whirlwind beginning which then sent Martel packing to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

The first of two fleeting stops for Martel in Mid-Atlantic as AWA Champion came in a victory on March 14th in Baltimore, Maryland over old enemy Saito (who dethroned Martel and Garea of the WWF Tag Team Championship with partner Mr. Fuji). It must have been a glorious feeling for Martel, who entered this match as the one of the best in the country as dictated by the title he held, whilst the man who was favoured by McMahon over Martel was merely a mid-card player in 1985. A victory in the ring as well as a moral result must have made Martel feel invincible. A feeling which surely grew when Martel made the short trip to Georgia Championship Wrestling the very same day and competed on their card also from Baltimore, Maryland once again retaining the AWA World Heavyweight Championship against Saito.

Rick Martel’s AWA tour of duty had two stops left before he headed back to the AWA with the strap. First up was a quick stop back at Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in a combined show with AWA on April 18th from Washington D.C, where Martel and Bob Backlund contested the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in a bout which Rick Martel retained via count out. The final stop on Martel’s territorial tour was for his old stomping ground of Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Returning home as a star in his one night homecoming for Pacific Northwest Wrestling’s 60th Anniversary Wrestling Extravaganza in Portland, Oregon, Rick Martel waved goodbye for the final time to former company retaining the AWA World Heavyweight Championship against Mike Miller. Finally, Martel could return back to the company which made him a main attraction and settle into a regular routine – for a while at least.

Returning back to the motherland, Rick Martel made sure that fans hadn’t forgotten him by running through veteran Larry Zbyszko on May 25th, in Martel’s home country of Canada – Winnipeg, Manitoba to be more precise. The AWA Faithfull’s reaction to Martel’s return to the company, though he hadn’t been gone long was a sure affirmation that Nick Bockwinkle did the correct thing in grooming Martel to be his top man. Had the co-owner selfishly held onto the title then it would surely have been disastrous for the company even sooner than it did go out of business.

Just when he was riding high, Rick Martel was shot down to earth and landed with a heavy bump. Going in a different direction, the company wanted to replace Martel as AWA Champion. His loss of the gold wouldn’t come until December of 1985, but the company had to begin putting the wheels into motion and slowly inserting in the fans minds that Martel’s reign would not be permanent. The idea was to find someone equally as popular as Martel but not as liked – if that makes sense. A heel was called for to end one of AWA’s best loved faces title reigns and the company found their man in Stan Hansen. Before the company could begin to turn the wheels and tease a Championship change, Rick Martel as current champion was needed to be the main focus of AWA’s Wrestling For Cure Television show.

Staged on August 16th in Boston, Massachusetts, it was decided that to truly draw people into the arena and get them donating, the AWA should stage a past vs present bout with the AWA World Championship on the line. When it was announced that Nick Bockwinkle – who else? – would challenge Martel for the gold, fans naturally feared that Bockwinkle, being the egomaniac he was, would initiate a Championship change and once again carry the company. Thankfully that wasn’t to be. On the night the pair fought to a dreary 8:08 time limit draw, leaving many in the bleachers wondering why Bockwinkle even bothered to place himself against Martel instead of giving a new face a try. Of course that wasn’t Bockwinkle’s way and to certify that Rick Martel be in a strong position for his feud against Hansen towards the end of the year, victories for the champ followed the time limit draw, against Man Mountain Mike on August 21st and Boris Zhukov on September 19th.

Alas, the seeds to sow for Martel’s Championship loss couldn’t be put off any further. Due to his commitments to All Japan Pro Wrestling throughout October 1985, Bockwinkle and Gagne decided to begin an idea which wouldn’t sit well with the fans. The question of why Rick Martel had to be replaced as Champion when he was so popular with the fans was one never answered by Bockwinkle and co. Maybe the stories weren’t true and Martel wasn’t the draw everyone remembers him to be. Maybe AWA were going in a different direction and believed they needed a tougher, rougher looking star on top or maybe Nick Bockwinkle didn’t like the fact that whether fans booed or cheered Martel, he was more popular at the time than the co-owner of the company.

Told of the final plans and the date he would drop the gold to Stan Hansen, AWA began the story for the change at their very first pay-per view event; AWA SuperClash on September 28th in Chicago, Illinois. A star in Japan, Stan Hansen was a name which every wrestling fan feared. He looked terrifying as a cowboy hick who held no regard for his opponent or the fans and would do anything in his power to get what he wanted. His character came into its own in WCW in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Many of the 21,000 fans who brought tickets to see Rick Martel defend the AWA World Championship against Stan Hansen in the penultimate match of the show (Ric Flair vs Magnum T.A for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was the main event) were left perplexed and maddened when the match ended in double disqualification just 3:10 into the bout.

Many wondered why AWA would bother booking a fight so feverishly just to have it end in a lousy disqualification so soon after it had begun. They wouldn’t find out the answer until mid 1986, but because Rick Martel doesn’t feature in that story allow me to elaborate. Nick Bockwinkle had stuck in his ore again and decided that he would be AWA Champion before long. That Rick Martel and then Stan Hansen were carrying the company without his help went blind to Bockwinkle and he believed that the company needed him or it would fail. In reality, Bockwinkle held no regard for the Martel vs Hansen feud and it was merely a means to an end so he cold regain the AWA World Title and look a hero in doing so against Hansen. It was an unwise move. Fans didn’t care for Bockwinkle’s self serving tactics and they didn’t greet his championship victory on June 28th 1986 in Denver, Colorado with much enthusiasm at all. His act had grown old and the fans could see right through it.

Back to Rick Martel and with this defining moment in the sun coming ever closer to ending, the AWA Champion entered a combined card hosted by AWA, Jim Crocket Promotions and Continental Wrestling Association on October 12th in Nashville, Tennessee with a cloud hanging over his head. On the night he retained in a very good match against Jerry Lawler via disqualification before being whisked away to spend the rest of the month in All Japan Pro Wrestling where he was valued by the owners and bookers.

On October 19th in Tokyo, Japan, Rick Martel and Riki Choshu thrilled the fans wrestling to a 15:00 time limit draw. The next night, AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel teamed with the man who had pipped him to the post for the main event spot at AWA SuperClash, Ric Flair to go to a double count out with The Funk Brothers (Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr) in Shizuoka, Japan and back in Tokyo, Japan one night later – Martel’s third match in three consecutive days – Rick Martel and Ric Flair clashed in an AWA World Heavyweight Championship vs NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match which went to an epic and thrilling 34:03 double count out.

The man born Rick Vigneault had cracked Japan and his latest tour of the country was a smash hit. But the clock was ticking on Martel’s AWA World Championship reign and as he arrived back in America and the AWA it was about to expire. Rick Martel’s final relevant successful Championship defence was against Boris Zhukov inside a Steel Cage on November 14th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Suddenly it was time. After a jubilant reign at the summit of AWA and a mesmerizing 595 days as its Champion, Rick Martel’s time to step aside had finally come.

The crowd were ready, AWA were ready and Rick Martel entered East Rutherford, New Jersey on December 29th with his sights set on doing a job and ensuring the future of the championship and company were looked after. Much like Jumbo Tsuruta did for him, Rick Martel went down in a blaze of glory to Stan Hansen, tapping out to Hansen’s ‘Brazos Valley Backbreaker’, making it appear that the new champion had earned his victory and the title every bit as much as Martel had. It was a commendable effort by a more than commendable champion. It had been a glorious reign which made Martel a worldwide sensation and when it came to give back what he had taken, Martel didn’t moan or try to cling onto the spotlight, he accepted it with grace and thanks. It was a move which earned Rick Martel third place in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated ‘Wrestler of the Year’ awards.

Beginning a new year where he left off, Rick Martel stormed into 1986 with the intention to fulfil his storyline feud with Stan Hansen over the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. His international reputation as AWA World Heavyweight Champion had once again caught the eye of his former boss Vince McMahon who was on the verge of making him another offer to return to the World Wrestling Federation. After dropping the Championship to Hansen and it being made clear he would never hold the gold again, Martel was maybe correct to take up Vince on his offer. Certainly without the company’s top Championship around his waist Martel wouldn’t earn as much money in the AWA, and the company had made it clear he certainly wasn’t in their plans to carry the company forward.

The beginning of Martel’s end in the AWA came on January 16th 1986 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Used merely as someone who cemented the Champions reign, Martel fell once again to AWA Champion Stan Hansen in a match which was the writing on the wall for the man who had carried the company for nineteen glorious months. It wasn’t a role which Rick Martel liked and rightly believed that he could have done more as champion. As his AWA run came to an end, Martel settled down and resolved to end his run in the company without compliant being lent out to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling where he competed in the one night Jim Crocket Sr. Memorial Tag Team Cup on April 19th in the Sundome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

It was a competition which Martel entered still a draw, but one which he knew he would have to rekindle that spark of tag team action when he entered the World Wrestling Federation for a second time. Martel was smart enough to realise there was no way Vince McMahon was going to push him to the top of the WWF and that he was probably going to be put back in the doubles division upon his return. Making the most of the experience and putting the tag team hat back on, the Jim Crocket Sr. Memorial cup was a marginal success for Martel in that he managed to prove he could still co-exist with a partner. In the tournament, Martel and tag team partner Dino Bravo received a bye in the first round and went down to Steve Williams and Terry Taylor in the second round. It was a disappointment for Martel to exit the tournament so early but back in the AWA, salvation was just around the corner.

Whilst reigning as AWA World Champion, Rick Martel had been introduced to Tom Zenk by Curt Henning. As it turned out, the pair was already linked as it was Zenk who was dating Martel’s sister in law. The pair bonded immediately and when Martel dropped the gold to Hansen and began teaming as The Can-Am Connection in International Wrestling Association in 1986 – thought I could not find recorded of any of their matches in the company. It would be a prosperous team which was originally formed by Martel and became popular in the World Wrestling Federation.

With his partnership with Zenk hitting the mark with the fans, Rick Martel this time around didn’t see it as a step down. Many who had just held the top Championship for a company would see retreating back to tag team action below them, but not Martel. It was a role he had filled before and one he had resigned himself to again should he return to the WWF for a larger amount of money than he was currently receiving in the AWA. With his sights set on a move to the country’s biggest promotion, Martel filled out his contractual agreements to the AWA and his final big splash in the company came on April 20th on the rotten AWA WrestleRock from Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the card Rick Martel did him self proud wrestling to a cracking 16:00 double count with the legend that was Harley Race.

The match with Race was authentication in Martel’s mind that he could still be a headline player and I believe it was that which sent him from the company in a better place to fulfil his tag team role in the WWF. Had Rick Martel left the AWA for WWF with a doubt in his mind that he could still be a top singles star then he may have failed on his second crack at the company. Martel wouldn’t have been able to move on had that doubt still been in his mind.

Before moving back to the company which would now be his home for the next eight years, Rick Martel was booked by Carlos Colon – the father of Primo and Carlito – on a World Wrestling Council card in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 20th. The card was a one night tournament to crown a new WWC World Heavyweight Champion and even though he was now contracted to the WWF and couldn’t be that champion, there was no reason in Martel’s mind he couldn’t add a little legitimacy to the championship and company by competing. It would be far a more successful tournament for Martel than the previous Jim Crocket Sr. Memorial Cup. In the first round Rick Martel dispatched Bruiser Brody and followed it up with a bye in the Quarter Final which took his straight to the Semi-Final held on the same night in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico where Rick Martel lost out to Terry Funk.

Entering the WWF with partner Tom Zenk under the Can-Am Connection (Canadian-American), the pair hit the ground running on October 28th on WWF Superstars from Binghamton, New York when they convincingly went over Martel’s old tag team nemesis Moondog Spot and Steve Lombardi in 2:26. The next night on a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping from Glen Falls, New York, The Can-Am Connection sunk the enhancement team of Barry O and The Gladiator. It was a successful return to the company for Martel and a great debut for Zenk. More than anything, it was clear the popularity of the team was steering them towards the WWF Tag Team Championships.

Back in 1986, the tag team division was richer in quality and depth than it is in 2014 and there were at least seven teams who could convincingly replace the current champions without questions being asked. Indeed, these were glorious days for WWF’s doubles division as The Can-Am Connection were a huge part of that. On November 14th, the pair would face their biggest challenge to date as a team when on a House Show in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Martel and Zenk challenged the uber popular British Bulldogs for the WWF Tag Team Championships. It was a tense situation seeing as both teams were loved, but in 1986 Vince McMahon didn’t care about petty little things such as not booking face teams against each other. Quite rightly, if they were popular and could put on a good match, then they were the sensible choice regardless of their status with the fans. The match in question elevated Martel and Zenk to the next level when they only lost to Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid via disqualification.

Realising he had something special to work with, Vince McMahon began plotting The Can-Am Connection’s rise to the top of the tag team division, beginning with an impressive and high profile victory over former WWF Champion The Iron Sheik and Jimmy Jack Funk on November 19th on a taping of WWF Superstars, from South Bend, Indiana. Thanks to a talent trade deal between World Wrestling Federation and Martel’s old stomping ground, All Japan Pro Wrestling, the victory over The Iron Sheik and Jimmy Jack Funk would be The Can-Am Connection’s final contribution to the WWF in 1986 as they packed their bags and with Vince McMahon’s consent travelled to Japan in order to take part in AJPW’s Real World Tag League between November 22nd and December 12th.

For the All Japan fans, it must have been confusing to see the man they last witnessed as the AWA World Heavyweight Champion come back to them as part of a tag team. To his credit and thanks to his connection with the crowd, they welcomed Rick Martel back with open arms. In results from the tournament, The Can-Am Connection lost to Terry and Dory Funk Jr on November 22nd, Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta on November 26th, Stan Hansen and Ted Dibiase on November 29th and Giant Baba and Tiger Mask on December 11th. They rolled over Goro Tsurumi and Rusher Kimura on November 27th, Killer Khan and Terry Gordy on December 5th and Ashura Hara and Super Strong Machine on December 7th. Finally The Can-Am Connection drew with Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu on December 8th when the match ended in a double count out.

To the audience, The Can-Am Connection were a team who could co-exist and beat the best. Behind the scenes though, everything wasn’t so peachy. Both Rick Martel and Tom Zenk found the other hard to get on with and after their friendship from AWA deteriorated in real life, the pair found teaming together unmanageable. Tom Zenk believed that Rick Martel was a sneak who went behind his back in order to get a better deal then his partner. Indeed, Tom Zenk had claimed that Rick Martel had gone behind his back in order to negotiate an individual contract which was worth more money (tag teams in 1986 were paid on an equal basis). When quizzed about their partnership and his thoughts on Zenk after the team split – which we’ll cover in a moment – Rick Martel stated that:

“Tom was overwhelmed by it all. Wrestling was very hard on your body. Hard on you also mentally! It’s hard physically. Tom wasn’t mentally or physically as hard as I thought he would be.”

With tensions high in the Can-Am camp, Vince McMahon sought to split up the team making sure the star of the tandem, Rick Martel was catered for. Though he couldn’t do it straight away, McMahon searched for Zenk’s replacement as the pair continued to show a united front in the ring but were at loggerheads backstage. McMahon’s planned split wouldn’t come until the middle of the year necessitating that Martel and Zenk find a way around their difficulties in order to provide an untied front to the paying audience.

That untied front began on January 9th in Allentown, Pennsylvania on a WWF house show. Freshly arrived back from their All Japan Pro Wrestling Real World Tag League Tournament, the company decided to cash in on the teams popularity by booking them in a series of victories. Of course the winning streak was also booked in the hope it would also raise spirits backstage and reunite Zenk and Martel as friends. Unfortunately that was already an ask too far. On the aforementioned House Show The Can-Am Connection overcame The Dream Team (Honky Tonk Man and Brutus Beefcake), a team they would have success against seven more times during January on both television and house shows.

The winning streak would continue throughout February with victories on the first of the month against The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and on the eleventh against the ever popular Hart Foundation in Oakland, California. The popularity of The Can-Am Connection was undeniable. They were like a 90’s boy band out of their time. Their boyish good looks and youthful exuberance struck a chord with the fans who flocked to arenas to see them and regularly bombarded the unhappy duo with autograph and picture requests when the shows were over. It’s no secret that Martel and Zenk had to be smuggled out of stadiums and arenas under towels more than once in order to avoid the masses. And with WrestleMania III fast approaching, the fans expected the team who had nothing but great fortune in the ring to finally fulfil their calling and capture the WWF Tag Team Championships.

With a lack of matches and participants for a house show on March 8th in East Rutherford, New Jersey – some wrestlers had failed to turn up for the show thanks to transport problems – the World Wrestling Federation decided to utilise what talent they did have available and booked a WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament to span the whole show, with the winner taking on reigning WWF Tag Team Champions, The Hart Foundations on the same show. The original idea was to begin a feud between The Can-Am Connection and The Hart Foundation which would culminate at WrestleMania III and with Martel and Zenk crowned as new Champions on the grandest stage of them all. With the amity between the two members at an all time low and still disintegrating at a rapid rate, that plan was always going to have to be altered. But it didn’t hurt to try.

In the first round of the tournament, The Can-Am Connection conquered Danny Spivey and Pedro Morales and routed Kink Kong Bundy and Paul Orndorff in the second round to much applause from the watching audience who wanted Martel and Zenk to capture the doubles gold on the night. The audiences wish would come closer to becoming a reality when The Can-Am Connection crushed The Killer Bees in the Semi-Finals and finally bested The Dream Team in the finals. With hope of new Tag Team Champions, the fans waited with baited breath as an already exhausted Can-Am Connection stepped into the ring to collect their prize, a WWF Tag Team Championship Match against The Hart Foundation. On the night it would be Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart who would emerge victorious but the seeds had been sown for a tag team war which should have ended with Martel and Zenk as Champions.

Another Tag Team Tournament would beckon for The Can-Am Connection one week after falling to The Hart Foundation. This time it was the Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tournament and this time a shot at the gold wasn’t up for grabs. Unlike their advancement in the previous tournament, The Can-Am Connection wouldn’t be so lucky this time around. They subjugated Dan Spivey and Jerry Allen in the first round but would fall to Demolition in the Semi-Finals. That Vince McMahon would have the team lose to Demolition wasn’t an encouraging sign for the fans who believed Martel and Zenk were Champions elect by this point. Quite rightly in their minds, the belief was that if they were willing to feed a team with talent to a pair such as Demolition who relied on brute strength rather than any actual wrestling ability – don’t get me wrong Demolition were a great team – then it was obvious the company no longer had Can-Am in their sights as future Championship material. Those fears were to be confirmed as WrestleMania III rolled around.

In the build up to the event The Can-Am Connection weren’t even included in the WWF Tag Team Championship picture and instead, The British Bulldogs took their place in order to build up a six man tag team match at WrestleMania III. Instead of a thrilling storyline which could have re-invigorated Martel and Zenk and maybe gelled them together again, the pair were almost forgotten on WWF television in the run up to the event and though they had a few tag team victories over teams lower than them, the pair had to make do with a filler role which only strengthened their eventual split. In Omaha, Nebraska on March 20th, nine days before WrestleMania III, Rick Martel was plucked from his team and put into singles action, where he defeated Greg Valentine via disqualification. His glory days of being the top dog were well and truly over.

Instead of booking a six man tag team match which had relatively no baring on the WWF Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania III, McMahon could have booked a four corner tag team match for the gold, which pitted The Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs vs Demolition vs The Can-Am Connection in what would have been a cracking match and serviced all involved. Instead, Rick Martel and Tom Zenk had to settle for a curtain jerker role as they opened the event live from the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan on March 29th 1987 with a paltry 5:37 victory over the odd job team of Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco. Truly, it was a come down for a team who had given their all to the company and risked their friendship in doing so and who were strong contenders for the gold merely three weeks before the event went live.

Thankfully, for The Can-Am Connection they were reinserted back into the WWF Tag Team Championship picture after WrestleMania III and that’s where they would stay until their demise. On June 3rd on a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping dark match from Rochester, New York the team had new found hope when they defeated The Hart Foundation by count out in a match for the tag titles. On the same show they easily downed Jimmy Jack Funk and Terry Gibbs. One day later on a house show in Omaha, Nebraska, they went to a 20:00 time limit draw with Demolition and would go over Ax and Smash by disqualification the next night – June 5th – and again on June 6th on WWF on NESN Network. After a lull in WrestleMania season, it appeared that The Can-Am Connection were back on track.

Appearances of course can be deceptive and amidst growing rumours the pair had begun travelling separately and changing in separate dressing rooms, it was apparent to everyone backstage that The Can-Am Connection would not last the month. Those fears would turn out to be true. As Martel and Zenk couldn’t stand to be around each other, their teamwork reflected their real life feud. Inside the ring, Rick Martel would become more selfish as some people would see it, ignoring tag cues and staying longer – as the better wrestler of the team – to prove he was more of an asset to the WWF. The manner of tags and even the looks between the pair were beginning to arouse the suspicions of the watching audience. It was time for Vince McMahon to pull the plug on the duo and look elsewhere for a partner for Martel.

The final days of The Can-Am Connection began on June 24th in Louisville, Kentucky on a WWF Wrestling Challenge Taping. In the dark match of the show Martel and Zenk went over The Hart Foundation by disqualification and defeated The Shadows on the same card. One day later on a house show in Jackson, Mississippi their WWF Tag Team Championship challenge ended for good when they were pinned by The Hart Foundation. With nowhere else to take the feuding duo, Vince McMahon dumped them into the mid-card whilst searching for Zenk’s replacement. On house shows from June 27th to July18th The Can-Am Connection’s split came full circle in matches against The Islanders (Haku and Tama) in both singles and tag team action. Rick Martel completed the double over The Islanders single handedly when he trounced Haku on July 10th and Tama on July 18th.

There was no more putting it off. Zenk and Martel could no longer work together in the ring or be around each other backstage. As The Can-Am Connection split, Tom Zenk would leave the World Wrestling Federation and find employment in World Championship Wrestling where he found more fame than he ever could in the WWF, under the moniker ‘The Z Man’. All that was left was for McMahon to find a replacement, which came easier than anyone thought when former WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana stepped into the breach. After Rick Martel had once again conquered Tama on July 25th on WWF on MSG Network from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York the pair teamed up for what would become one of the most successful tag teams in wrestling history – Strike Force.

It was a natural fit. Santana, like Martel was a well rounded competitor in the ring and could take the mental as well as physical pressure wrestling as many days as WWF performers were required to work in the late 80’s. Santana had been through the wringer before and came out the other end, his reign as WWF Intercontinental Champion had prepared him well for the gruelling schedule he would be required to keep as part of a team. By all accounts the pair hit it off straight away. Unlike Zenk, Martel saw Santana as his equal in the ring and knew he could rely on the man who would become El Matador to hold up his end of the bargain. Their journey to the WWF Tag Team Championship began on August 4th during a taping of WWF Superstars in Madison, Wisconsin with a win against Steve Lombardi and Tiger Chun Lee. On the same show Rick Martel defeated jobber to the stars, Barry Horowitz, in singles action.

Strike Force was a hit, as a big a hit as The Can-Am Connection were. They wore identical white trunks and jackets with the team name emblazoned on the back, portraying a team that people could get behind. The image they gave was that even though they were faces and would inevitably be cheated out of important wins, they would sure as hell fight to the death in order to uphold truth and justice. It was a message the WWF were preaching big time with Hulk Hogan and one which worked for Strike Force in getting the fans on their side. It seemed as if all memories of The Can-Am Connection had been erased. The other plus side to the new team was that Rick Martel got more singles action without a partner crying about how much exposure he was getting. Santana welcomed it.

Picking up where Martel and Zenk left off, Strike Force were thrown into a feud with The Islanders. It was a feud which would see them eventually reign as Tag Team Champions. On August 12th in Suffern, New York Rick Martel drew first blood when he bested Tama in a whipping match. The tally would be levelled out on August 22nd when Haku pinned Rick Martel in a very respectable 9:00 outing on WWF on MSG Network in Madison Square Garden. Entering the WWF King of the Ring Tournament on September 4th in the Civic Centre in Providence, Rhode Island, Rick Martel gave a good account of himself eliminating Dan Spivey in the first round only to wrestle to a 15:00 Quarter Final time limit draw, thus dumping both out of the tournament. It was just another continuation of the tag team feud between Strike Force and The Islanders.

Times were changing in the World Wrestling Federation and fans were becoming disenchanted with The Hart Foundation as WWF Tag Team Champions. Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart had held the gold since February 1987 and a change at the top was afoot. Vince McMahon could think of no better replacements than Strike Force, reinitiating Rick Martel’s journey back to Tag Team glory – a step he hoped to take with Zenk before their relationship went south. To give Strike Force the best possible beginning the Championship change had to happen on WWF television where everyone would see and not on a house show event where a lengthily explanation would be needed for a television audience of how the Championship change came about.

A defeat to The Islanders followed on September 21st on WWF on MSG Network from Madison Square Garden. However, this wasn’t all bad. Because of Strike Force’s upcoming WWF Tag Team Championship victory, the company had already given themselves ready made number one contenders. The Islanders had defeated Strike Force before they were champions so would pose a logical threat when the gold was around Martel and Santana’s waists. The two teams would cross the country throughout September and October, warring with each other. Strike Force came out on top on September 26th, September 30th and October 2nd with The Islanders sharing the spoils on September 27th, October 3rd and October 10th.

The audience had been trained to believe Strike Force were the successors to the throne. And that succession came on a WWF Superstars taping on October 27th in Syracuse, New York. The crowd erupted big time when Strike Force ended The Hart Foundation’s WWF Tag Team Championship reign and began a new era in the WWF. It was the right antidote to what had become a very stale problem. That’s not to say Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart were stale in the ring, because they weren’t. They had just run out of believable challengers. When that happens a change is needed and change is the driving force of evolution in wrestling.

Their first defence of the Championships came on November 6th in Houston, Texas against The Islanders, which Strike Force won. The foursome had become accustomed to each other in the ring and they usually produced gripping matches which were wholly believable. With them, The Islanders brought a menace that had rarely been seen in wrestling. The two teams would continue to feud throughout the year competing in Steel Cage Matches, 2 out of 3 Falls Matches and Lumberjack matches. The final major contribution the two teams made in their feud was on November 15th in South Bend, Indiana when Strike Force retained the WWF Tag Team Championships in brutal Steel Cage war.

With their tag team feud against The Islanders at the back of their minds, Strike Force marched into the first annual Survivor Series on November 26th in what would become the event’s spiritual home of the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. Back in the day when Survivor Series Elimination Matches were priority on the show, Strike Force teamed with The Young Stallions, The Fabulous Rougeaus, The Killer Bees and The British Bulldogs to defeat The Hart Foundation, The Islanders, Demolition, The Bolsheviks and The New Dream Team. Unfortunately for the WWF Tag Team Champions, they were eliminated on the 12:00 mark when Jim Neidhart pinned Tito Santana. The end of Strike Force’s night was designed to build a feud between the current and former Tag Team Champions at the beginning of 1988.

On December 7th’s Saturday Night’s Main Event in Landover, Maryland, Strike Force got themselves back on track, retaining their Championships in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match against The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov) in a short 7:55 exchange. On December 12th on a house show in St. Louis, Missouri, Strike Force retained against The Hart Foundation in a cracking match. An exhausting year for Rick Martel ended on December 30th in Providence, Rhode Island with a victory over Bret Hart.

When I say it had been an exhausting year, it’s no exaggeration. Martel had been working at least three hundred days in 1987 and the effect wasn’t just taking its toll on him. It was also beginning to reflect on his personal life as his wife became ill. Wanting to be there for her, Rick Martel informed Vince McMahon that he would have to take some time off from the ring in 1988 in order to care for his ill stricken spouse. Martel wouldn’t be able to immediately take a leave of absence, he was still one half of the WWF Tag Team Champions and Vince McMahon had planned to have the pair drop the Championships at WrestleMania IV, a plan which McMahon was determined to carry out.

Agreeing to allow Martel time off in the latter part of 1988, the WWF Tag Team Champion returned to action on January 6th on a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping in Nashville, Tennessee, with his tag team partner to successfully retain the Championships in the dark match of the show against The Hart Foundation. On the same show they downed the lowly team of Tiger Chun Lee and Dave Wagner. Strike Force and The Hart Foundation would compete against each other for the WWF Tag Team Championships throughout January and February with Strike Force retaining on January 15th and January 26th to name but a small amount.

Not wanting the feud between the teams to grow stale, WWF booked them to take part in six man tag team action. The Hart Foundation would team with Honky Tonk Man and Strike Force would pair with Randy Savage – the man who would soon be crowned the new WWF Champion. Savage had such presence in the WWF in 1988 that by association Strike Force became main players, a master stroke by WWF since WrestleMania IV was nearly upon them. On February 6th in South Bend, Indiana, the trio of Honky Tonk Man and The Hart Foundation overwhelmed Strike Force and Randy Savage in what had to be an uplifting and stature enhancing result for all three men. After all, they had just beaten the man who would carry the WWF Championship for one whole year. February 6th wouldn’t be the final time these six clashed. They would do battle again on February 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, March 4th, 5th, 12th and 13th all in Steel Cage Matches and all of which Strike Force and Savage won.

As WrestleMania IV rolled around and with the promise of time off to look after his ill wife, Rick Martel must have been so excited about stepping down. His body was hurting and he was tired, but at the same time there must have been an overriding guilt about leaving Tito and the team to be shelved whilst he was away. His departure wouldn’t be for another three months but one has to believe Rick Martel was counting down the days one at a time. Whilst he was still property of World Wrestling Federation, he still had a job to do and on March 19th taping of WWF Superstars from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Strike Force triumphed over Los Conquistadores (Conquistador Dos and Conquistador Uno).

Their victory over Los Conquistadores set them up perfectly for their WWF Tag Team Championship defence against Demolition at WrestleMania IV and as March 27th rolled around and the audience packed into Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey a huge weight was lifted off of Rick Martel’s shoulders. No longer did he have to shoulder the burden of carrying a Championship whilst there were more important things on his mind and Demolition rolled over Strike Force in a convincing and very good battle. It would usher in yet another era in the WWF as Demolition would hold the WWF Tag Team Champions until a July 18th 1989 taping of Saturday Night’s Main Event which aired on July 29th, which meant Demolition were still WWF Tag Team Champions on house shows between July 19th and July 29th until the episode aired because house show and television audiences wouldn’t have been aware of the title change until it was shown. It was also something Strike Force and The Hart Foundation had to weather. When Strike Force defeated The Hart Foundation on WWF Superstars which was taped to show at a later date, The Hart Foundation had to carry the Championships on house shows until the episode had aired. Getting back to the point, Demolition still hold the record for longest WWF Tag Team Championship reign at 478 days.

With Martel packing his bags and with very few dates left to complete for the company before he took his extended leave of absence, Strike Force were signed up to make sure Demolition got over as champions. On an April 25th WWF Superstars taping in New Haven, Connecticut, Demolition retained the WWF Tag Team Championships against Strike Force in the dark match. On the actual show itself Martel and Santana went over Ron Rovishod and Terry Gibbs in a 2:13 squash. The feud between Demolition and Strike Force would run for two more months with Strike Force defeating the WWF Tag Team Champions via disqualification on April 30th, May 1st, May 12th, 13th, 14th, 20th, 22nd, 30th and June 10th whilst Demolition would defeat Strike Force via pinfall on April 24th, 25th on WWF on MSG Network, May 7th on WWF on NESN, May 28th, June 1st on WWF Superstars in a dark match from Oakland, California and June 12th.

The feud with Demolition would also serve to be Rick Martel’s way out of the company in 1988. Coinciding with the WWF Superstars taping on June 1st, the company also staged a Prime Time Wrestling taping on the same day. It was to be this show which would provide Rick Martel with his storyline reason which allowed him to look after his sick wife. The programme which aired on July 11th featured Demolition vs Strike Force for the WWF Tag Team Championships. During the match, Smash of Demolition nailed Rick Martel with a steel chair which then allowed Demolition to drop Martel with their ‘Decapitation’ finishing move at ringside. The story that was fed to the WWF fans was that Rick Martel had suffered a concussion as a direct result of that manoeuvre, which on the night, Rick Martel sold like trooper. On a June 18th WWF Superstars taping it was announced that Rick Martel had suffered a concussion and back injuries from the attack by Demolition and in the storyline he retired from action.

The episodes in which Martel was supposedly injured and retired didn’t go out until July which allowed Martel to fulfil a few last dates for the company including the aforementioned match against Demolition on June 12th as well as matches on June 4th on WWF on NESN in Boston, Massachusetts where Strike Force and The Ultimate Warrior defeated Demolition and Mr. Fuji.

Rick Martel was free for six months. He departed the company to take care of his ill wife and rehab some injuries of his own. He didn’t know it but it was his time off which ended his Strike Force tag team with Santana. In the time that Rick Martel was away from the ring, nursing his ill wife, Tito Santana had again become a very popular singles wrestler in the company. It was clear that Strike Force would be better separated and Vince McMahon finally relented on his belief that Rick Martel wouldn’t make it as a singles wrestler. A feud between the two tag team partners for 1989 wetted McMahon’s appetite and he sanctioned the split to go ahead.

Of course nothing could happen until Martel returned to the company and he did that in January 1989 as a singles wrestler. Strike Force weren’t even mentioned upon Martel’s return to the company sewing the seeds in the audiences mind that he wanted to go solo. On January 3rd in Huntsville, Alabama Rick Martel went over again Barry Horowitz in a 2:44 squash match and the night after Martel bested that time by eight seconds by dropping Dean Vasey in 2:36 in Birmingham, Alabama. The push was done to cement in the fans minds that Rick Martel was a threat as a singles star, ready for when Strike Force parted ways.

Next up for Rick Martel was the Royal Rumble, the first to take place as a pay-per view event. The 1988 Royal Rumble Match had been held as a house show event to test the water to see if it would take off as a pay-per view. The idea caught on big time and WWF held the event as a pay-per view for the first time on January 15th in The Summit in Houston, Texas. Rick Martel entered the event at number 29 and lasted 5:29 eliminating The Barbarian before himself being dispatched by Akeem. It was a step forward believe it or not for Martel who had the honour of eliminating one of WWF’s bigger stars as far as girth and height went. The night after the Royal Rumble, during a house show, Rick Martel and Mr. Perfect wrestled to a superb time limit draw.

On February 10th in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Rick Martel met an old nemesis in King Haku formerly of The Islanders and came out on top with the result also being the same on February 25th, 26th and 27th. On February 20th on WWF on MSG Network Haku and Martel wrestled to a 20:00 time limit draw. It was roughly around this time when Tito Santana began having problems with The Brain Busters on WWF programming and to the rescue came his old Strike Force team mate Rick Martel. The stage was set for both Strike Force vs The Brain Busters at WrestleMania V and the split of one of WWF’s most popular tag teams of the 1980’s. Before Martel entered WrestleMania he went to a time limit draw with Rick Rude on March 19th in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The strike out of Strike Force as it were, had been sign posted for quite some time. Rick Martel was flourishing as a singles star being opposed against some of the industries top guys. King Haku had taken a step up the ladder after Rick Martel took his leave of absence in 1988 and was in a better place to get talent over when Martel returned. Rick Rude was a former WWF Intercontinental Champion and future WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Mr. Perfect was one of the best all round technical wrestlers in the entire world. That none of them were permitted to beat Martel shouted to the fans that he would soon cut tag team ties and go it alone full time. Of course that meant he would have to turn heel. Wrestling lore stated than when a tag team splits on screen one must turn on the other. It was the way it was done and there was never any chance of the WWF faithful ever turning on the beloved Tito Santana, which meant Rick Martel was headed for a heel turn. As it would turn out, it would be the best move of his career, since he rejoined the World Wrestling Federation.

When the future WWE Universe packed into Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 2nd for WrestleMania V they were ready to see the explosion of the Mega Powers as Hulk Hogan went face to face with Randy Savage for the WWF Championship. Some telegraphed the ending of the Strike Force vs The Brain Busters match well in advance using Martel’s status on television from the beginning of the year, some were genuinely shocked when Tito Santana accidentally hit Rick Martel with his ‘Flying Forearm Smash’ and knocked his tag team partner out of the ring. Their shock would turn to horror when a frustrated Rick Martel refused to tag himself into the match and walked away, leaving Tito Santana to receive a heavy beat down by Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard before being pinned for the loss. Waiting for an explanation as to why Martel had turned on his partner on the grandest stage of them all, the fans got what they’d waited for when Martel took to the microphone in an interview with ‘Mene’ Gene Okerlund, stating:

“I’m sick and tired. Sick and tired of him. I was doing great as a singles wrestler but Mr. Tito wants to ride my coattails some more!”

Rick Martel may not have been the best mic man; in fact his promos more often than not were disjointed and confusing. But here, on the night, he got it right. His convictions were so convincing that there was no doubt that two things had happened at WrestleMania V. Strike Force were no more and Rick Martel was a heel. It was a match and interview which killed two birds with one stone and one which was very well executed.

‘The Model’ gimmick didn’t begin straight away. At first WWF tried to push a heel Martel with the same looks as he portrayed in Strike Force. Putting him with heel managed Slick; Rick Martel had a certain edge to him. His arrogance and narcissism were natural and when you saw this side of him there was no doubt whatsoever that the all smiling face character Rick Martel had been portraying was the one Vigneault was acting to get across. The arrogance, the self flattery came naturally to Martel and this was a heel which he was a character he was much more comfortable playing.

Naturally, because of the Strike Force spilt, Vince McMahon had to follow it up with a feud between the former tag team champions. With Martel portraying a self centred, narcissistic heel who held no regard for anyone but himself, he was the perfect foil for Tito Santana who fought for the fans and for justice. There was no reason the feud couldn’t and shouldn’t take off, both were gifted in the ring and Santana could sell rice to the Chinese when it was necessary. To feign his face character was in mortal danger from his now heel former tag team partner was one of his great gifts. The pair stepped into the ring on April 22nd on WWF on NESN in Boston, Massachusetts where Rick Martel defeated Tito Santana. He would follow up that result with more victories over Santana on April 27th, 28th and 29th.

On May 1st, the pair took a break from each other as Rick Martel triumphed over Bret Hart in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada before the former Strike Force partners went to war once again on May 3rd in Utica, New York where Tito Santana went over by disqualification. Santana’s luck would not last as five more times during May, Rick Martel would trounce Santana in what were mostly all short, inconsequential matches which lasted four minutes or less. It made no sense to build a feud of this magnitude and then have it go less than four minutes per night. It was a waste of WWF’s time and of both men’s skills. On the other hand the feud did last nearly two years on and off so maybe WWF thought that if they made the pair wrestle a twenty minute match each night then the feud would only last six months.

The company could have avoided that problem altogether had they abstained from having the pair get into the ring together for at least six months, in a storyline which had Martel continuously dodge Santana until he had no choice but to get into the ring with him. Had Martel won that first outing after so long dodging Tito then it would greatly prolonged the feud without having them in the ring every other night. There were odd nights off for the pair, on May 16th in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Rick Martel defeated a young Jerry Lynn but between May 19th and August 12th, Rick Martel would defeat Tito Santana a whopping twenty four times, both damaging the feud’s longevity and Tito Santana’s image.

The feud between the partners should have died away as 1989 drew to a close, but Vince McMahon had other plans. In hindsight, the company would have been wise to book the feud as they did the break up of The Rockers two years later, by having Tito Santana take a leave of absence after the turn by Martel only to return months later to extract revenge. It was a plan which worked with Michaels and Jannetty; Jannetty’s sparse appearances heightened the feud and box office taking without pushing it to the limits. In fact the feud was still exciting in 1994 – after Jannetty and Michaels had been kept apart and the main body of the feud passed – when the pair met again in the 1994 Royal Rumble match. Instead of booking it to maximum potential by keeping it to a minimum, Martel and Santana were wheeled out to tiring effect night after night.

After Martel had overthrown Santana on almost every house show in August 1989, WWF realised, wisely, they had to do something else to keep the feud turning. With SummerSlam, fast approaching a match was almost literally thrown together on the summer spectacular on August 28th from The Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Another singles outing would have been samey and predictable, instead Rick Martel teamed with The Fabulous Rougeaus to defeat Tito Santana and The Rockers in a very respectable effort. The end of the match saw Rick Martel pin Marty Jannetty even though Shawn Michaels hadn’t tagged out of the match and was still the legal man. It was an ending which had barely any lasting effect of The Rockers, but one which was designed to prolong Martel and Santana’s feud.

The next few weeks and months were almost completely successful for Martel in the ring. With Slick by his side he seemed unstoppable, the way all newly turned heels should be booked. But then this was in a day when enhancement talent were booked every week in order to put the main roster talent over – and of course no one cared about the enhancement talent – instead of the main roster defeating each other which in previous years has had a negative effect on some could be star names. On a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping on August 29th in Springfield, Massachusetts, Rick Martel downed future ECW World Tag Team Champion Tony Durante (Pitbull 2) and one night later Martel went over Terry Daniels on a WWF Superstars taping in Portland, Maine.

At the same time as Rick Martel’s ascent, Brutus Beefcake was on the decent in the wrestling business. The best friend of Hulk Hogan’s career has stagnated and no one was really interested in seeing him anymore. The crazed barber act had outstayed its welcome and with nothing else left for Brutus to do in the WWF it was decided to pit him against the ascending Martel in the hopes the feud would both elevate Martel by going over an already established and popular name plus prolong the Rick Martel vs Tito Santana feud by putting it on the backburner. The decision was a dumb one. Whilst Rick Martel would go over Brutus Beefcake on a show on September 9th in Boston, Massachusetts by disqualification, as well as on the 16th and 17th, the matches between the pair were awful. At his very best Beefcake was a mediocre wrestler who was very limited in the ring and Rick Martel could do nothing with him. Despite this fact, which WWF were obviously blind to, the pair would feud until the end of the year and into 1990 with Beefcake regaining a measure of revenge on September 10th in Washington, DC.

The company decided in September 1989 to test Rick Martel’s mettle against someone of real worth, in a longer match on a televised show. It was all very well having him go over the likes of Brutus Beefcake on house shows where there were a limited number of eyes watching and none could relay the results or match information to anyone else across the world, but Vince needed Martel to be seen as a real challenger, someone who could go toe to toe with the best technical wrestlers around. That chance came on September 20th in Louisville, Kentucky on a taping of WWF Prime Time Wrestling when Rick Martel and Bret Hart fought to an excellent 20:00 time limit draw. It was a match which shed even more light on Martel’s in ring ability and one WWF should have capitalised on more during his WWF career.

In late 1989 came a change in Rick Martel’s persona. With manager Slick about to depart his side, the Strike Force image wasn’t working. To match his arrogance, Martel needed a character. Something which would strike a chord with the fans. Something which would make them so irate that they wanted to jump out of their seats and lynch Martel. In other words, he needed a character which meant he could never be seen as a face again. With television shows recorded a month in advance in some cases, it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact date Martel debuted ‘The Model’ persona but we do know it was in the latter part of 1989.

With a new lease of life in the ring, Martel entered the WWF King of the Ring Tournament with a new found swagger. On October 14th in the Civic Centre in Providence, Rhode Island, Rick Martel would prove to the world that he was more than an a narcissistic heel who attacked people from behind. The tournament was the making of ‘The Model’ character. Martel didn’t win the round robin, one night affray but he did get to the final by dispatching Bill Woods in the First Round, Bushwhacker Luke in the Quarter Finals and Jimmy Snuka in the Semi-Finals. His progress was an eye opener as to what the character could do on his own in a company which previously prioritised him as a doubles wrestler and in front of fans who hadn’t necessarily seen or heard of his previous success in the AWA. The company couldn’t take Martel all the way to the crown as they had to continue his ever tiring feud against Santana who had also made it to the final. As the script would read, Tito Santana would gain a measure of revenge by claiming the throne by uprooting his former partner in a decent finale to the night.

With ‘The Model’ persona in full effect there was something missing. Martel’s portrayal of the character so far had been flawless and it was a success in the sense that it made people really despise the once loved Martel. The fact that Martel portrayed a character who thought he was better than the audience he was performing for struck a chord in 1989 – now we know it’s all a work – but there was still something missing from the character. He had the swagger and the looks, but what was missing was a label. Martel could call himself a model all he liked but he needed to show it. Before the 1989 Survivor Series, the World Wrestling Federation pulled a masterstroke in order to add the final touches as the federation began to enter the carton character phase of their existence. Introducing his own fictional, brand of cologne called ‘Arrogance’, carrying it in his now famous Atomizer; Martel would employ his new aid in the conclusion of matches, spraying the fictional cologne – which was really water – into the eyes of opponents to blind them, allowing him to gain the victory. Together with his turquoise sweater which Martel tied around his neck to accompany him to the ring – the sweater would be replaced by a sports coat in 1990 – and the badge which read ‘Yes, I am a model’, the audience despised the cocky Martel who had now made a success of his heel turn and proved McMahon’s theory that Martel wouldn’t make it as a singles star, wrong.

Returning to the Rosemount Horizon in Rosemount, Illinois on November 23rd for the Survivor Series, Rick Martel was inserted into the feud between Dusty Rhodes and The Honky Tonk Man and became part of The Enforcers to take on The Dream Team in a traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match. The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, The Red Rooster and Tito Santana) went over The Enforcers (Honky Tonk Man, Big Boss Man, Bad News Brown and Rick Martel) in a so-so elimination bout. Rick Martel ended his former tag team partner’s night on the 9:15 mark with a roll up and was sent packing from the bout on 20:13 by Brutus Beefcake, again with a roll up. The elimination was necessary to continue the dire Beefcake vs Martel feud beyond November 1989.

And continue it did. Amidst a whole bundle of double count out finishes the pair shared victories throughout November and December. Except on WWF television, Rick Martel would have no other opponent for the remainder of the year and the pair would go to a remarkable six double count out finishes before New Year’s Eve turned to New Year’s Day. Whilst the feud with Beefcake was transpiring, a thought struck the World Wrestling Federation. Watching Rick Martel’s matches, it was apparent that he wasn’t getting over with the fans as he should. Martel had too much in his corner to assure victory, what with his Atomizer and Slick, the fans were beginning to think Martel needed all the help he could get in order to gain a victory. It was an image the company didn’t want for Martel and decided to cut one of his assets from his arsenal.

With the expense the company went to in order to have the Atomizer hand made, plus the fact that it complemented his character perfectly, the decision to remove Slick was an easy one. ‘The Model’ Rick Martel didn’t need a manager in order to help him get over. His in ring skills were as good as anyone’s and his character was doing all the work that a manager usually would. Just as everything moves on in life, so does it too in wrestling and as 1989 came to an end, so did Rick Martel’s relationship with Slick. It wasn’t a huge bust up on television, that would have turned both men face and the company needed Slick and Martel to remain heel. The relationship ended on the quiet.

Rick Martel’s first major impact in 1990 came at the Royal Rumble on January 21st in the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida. Before the thirty man spectacular came around the year began for Martel in short, unfulfilled matches against Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake which failed to thrill the fans or the wrestlers involved. Sadly, the company failed to recognise the dissatisfaction of Martel in the feud with Brutus and would continue to book it after the Royal Rumble to the audible groans of everyone who paid for a ticket. Getting back to the point in hand, Rick Martel entered the Royal Rumble Match at number 22 and lasted just 8:14. It may sound a paltry amount of time but during that ‘The Model’ managed to eliminated Jim Neidhart with the help of The Ultimate Warrior and Ted Dibiase as well as ejected Tito Santana from the match again with the aid of The Ultimate Warrior. It would be The Ultimate Warrior who sent Martel packing shortly afterwards.

Two nights after his ejection from the Royal Rumble Match, Rick Martel would suffer further defeat at the hands of Dusty Rhodes on a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping from Fort Myers, Florida, this time via disqualification and on January 29th his luck worsened when he fell on a house show in Long Island, New York to ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan. It seemed like Rick Martel hadn’t been spared the usual heel downward spiral of being sacrificed to the faces. After all, Vince McMahon believed it was the face characters who sold shows; therefore the heels must be sacrificed. I often wonder if he ever took the time to realise that without heels like Martel, there would be no one for the faces to stand up against and fight for truth and purity – therefore their role as sacrificial lambs shouldn’t have been something entered into so lightly.

There was some good news for ‘The Model’, if one can call it that. After his looking at the lights for Duggan and Rhodes in January, Martel was headed for a winning streak against his old adversary, Brutus Beefcake. Rick Martel would slay ‘The Barber’ fourteen times on house shows between February 1st and March 25th, including on February 11th from Tacoma, Washington; February 17th from Dayton, Ohio; March 4th from Eugene, Oregon and March 15th from Norfolk, Virginia. It was an impressive rout for a heel, over such a former beloved star. It was also a message to Beefcake that his time in the World Wrestling Federation was well and truly at an end. Apart from a 1:50 victory over Louie Spicolli on a WWF Superstars taping on February 13th in Phoenix, Arizona; Rick Martel’s next set of results which took him all the way up to WrestleMania VI would be against well known opponents.

On February 19th on WWF on MSG Network from Madison Square Garden, Martel knocked off The Red Rooster in a 21:00 bout which was less than satisfying and on March 19th’s presentation of WWF on MSG Network saw ‘The Model’ and Bret Hart war to a thrilling 20:00 time limit draw. I don’t know if had struck the WWF audience or not, but prior to WrestleMania VI, Rick Martel, as a singles wrestler had never had a one on one pay-per view match in the WWF. It was something the company were eager to rectify and on the grandest stage of them all.

In truth, it was a meagre singles pay-per view debut for Rick ‘The Model’ Martel. There were other choices the company could have made for his opponent. Bret Hart was a choice, his match against The Bolsheviks as a member of The Hart Foundation could have been put on ice, no one would have cared. A singles match between Rick Martel and Bret Hart on the show would have given everyone something to think about before its conclusion. However, WWF chose Ko-Ko B Ware as Rick Martel’s first singles pay-per view opponent and with very little build up. No one on the Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 1st 1990 expected the opening match of WrestleMania VI to be a gripping encounter and they were right. Rick ‘The Model’ Martel put down Ko-Ko B Ware in 3:51 by submission, with his patented Boston Crab. It was a poor and meagre match, once which Martel had worked hard to ensure he should have had better.

But better was never in the WWF’s mind where Rick Martel was concerned. Even though he was a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion and had proven himself time after time in the WWF in singles action, in Vince McMahon’s eyes, Rick Martel was no more than a mid-card player. There was never any chance of ‘The Model’ advancing past a mid to upper card position and that seemed to suit him perfectly. At the age of 34, Rick Martel may not have been a prominent player in WWF’s headline scene but he was earning a very good living and more money than he would earn elsewhere. Martel was happy to stay where he was in order to feed his family.

Three days after WrestleMania VI, the WWF rekindled the Rick Martel vs Tito Santana feud on the April 4th WWF Superstars taping from Glenn Fall, New York. In the dark match of the show, ‘The Model’ pinned Santana in 9:38 and downed Paul Roma in 3:08 on the main body of the show. Then he received some news which lifted him greatly. Rick Martel would be returning for one night only to his old stomping ground of All Japan Pro Wrestling. The place where he wrestled to many excellent draws, wins and losses to Jumbo Tsuruta – the man he dethroned for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Even better news came when he was informed that he would be reunited with his old sparring partner. In a deal which would give both promotions exposure in each others countries, the World Wrestling Federation and All Japan Pro Wrestling would hold a combined event.

That event was to take place on April 13th in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan and would be entitled WWF and AJPW Summit Show. It wasn’t the most innovative title for a show but it did what it set out to do. WWF stars would compete against AJPW stars in a night reminiscent of WWF’s 2001 Invasion pay-per view when WWF stars battled WCW/ECW stars. On the show Rick Martel teamed with Mr. Perfect to lose to old rivals King Haku and Jumbo Tsuruta in a very good 10:53 battle. He may have been a heel in WWF and on American shores but the Japanese fans knew Rick Martel well and they loved him as much as they did their own stars. He may have been jeered by some in the arena on the night, as part of the fun and storyline but there was also a lot of love for Martel on April 13th as they repaid him for he had given them over the years.

With The Ultimate Warrior stripped of the WWF Intercontinental Championship after winning the WWF Championship at WrestleMania VI, the Intercontinental Championship was put up for grabs in a one night tournament on an April 23rd WWF Superstars taping from Austin, Texas. The show wouldn’t air until May 30th but this was Rick Martel’s chance to put his name forward for consideration for a run with the Championship at a later date. It was a complicated tournament. Martel received a bye through the first round and into the Quarter Finals where he and Roddy Piper wrestled to a double disqualification. It would be Mr. Perfect who claimed the Intercontinental Championship after defeating Tito Santana in the final. The tournament would have no semi-final as the other Quarter Final matches – Rick Martel vs Roddy Piper and Brutus Beefcake vs Dino Bravo – ended in draws.

Ideas for ‘The Model’ character ran low after the Intercontinental Championship tournament and Rick Martel was plunged head first into a soulless house show feud with ‘Rugged’ Ronnie Garvin. Martel would go over in almost all of these matches throughout May and June including on April 27th in St. Louis, Missouri; April 28th in San Francisco; April 29th in Denver, Colorado and May 13th in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Considering these were the same match, in the same order, with the same moves for nearly two and half months, it must have bored Rick Martel to tears and made him yearn for something better from WWF’s creative department.

Something better would come, at least creatively even if it would mean disaster in the results category but first he had to whether the storm of Tito Santana whom he routed via disqualification on a October 10th WWF Wrestling Challenge taping and Marty Jannetty who ‘The Model’ put down on WWF Survivor Series Showdown Television show on October 29th in Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.

During his odd job victories on WWF television, something bigger had been building for Martel. A feud with one of the company’s biggest and most popular stars. On an edition of ‘The Brother Love Show’ in October 1990, Rick Martel began his most high profile feud to date when he purposely blinded Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts with his perfume from his Atomizer. To sell the injury, Roberts took a little time off of WWF television whilst Martel bragged and lived up the fact he had supposedly put an end to ‘The Snake’. It would lead to a lengthily feud for Martel and Roberts which began on house shows leading up to Survivor Series. In between, Rick Martel yet again went over Tito Santana on WWF The Main Event on October 30th in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Needing to build the Roberts vs Martel feud for Survivor Series, Roberts returned from injury and targeted ‘The Model’ for his misdeeds against him. On house shows leading up to the team elimination spectacular, Rick Martel would defeat Jim Duggan by count out on November 1st in Worcester, Massachusetts and then beat Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts by disqualification on November 17th and November 18th in Peoria, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri respectively, finally rounding up his pre-Survivor Series business with a pinfall victory over Jimmy Snuka after blinding ‘Superfly’ with his cologne and then nailing him with his Atomizer on November 21st in Utica, New York.

People came to Survivor Series on November 22nd in the Hartford Civic Centre in Hartford, Connecticut, expecting to see Jake Roberts get his revenge on ‘The Model’ for the prior blinding incident. They would be disappointed. Survivor Series night would be a mostly successful evening for Martel as he captioned his team ‘The Visionaries’ (Rick Martel, The Warlord and Power and Glory) to victory over ‘The Vipers’ (Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, Jimmy Snuka and The Rockers) and advanced to the Ultimate Elimination Match later in the show. In his first outing of the night, Rick Martel eliminated Jimmy Snuka with an inside cradle at 9:28. With his entire team in tact, ‘The Visionaries’ went on to team with Ted Dibiase to face The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana where Martel would be eliminated at 7:17 by count out when he deserted his team.

On house shows on November 23rd, 24th and 30th, Rick Martel defeated Jake Roberts by disqualification beginning their march to WrestleMania VII, and Jake Roberts’ final revenge on ‘The Model’ for his actions on ‘The Brother Love Show’. Martel’s winning ways continued on December 7th and 8th when he also went over Dusty Rhodes. He was beginning to garner more and more victories over bigger names which in turn raised his stock and image. By the time WrestleMania VII came around in 1991, Rick Martel would be seen as a serious threat to Jake Roberts, for maybe the first time in his WWF career. The feud with ‘The Snake’ would be taken to WWF Superstars on December 11th’s taping in Tampa, Florida when Martel yet again defeated Roberts by disqualification in the dark match. On the same show ‘The Model’ easily went over Jim Evans in 2:12.

It was clear the pair were headed to WrestleMania VII. The only place a feud of this length and magnitude could end, especially when it featured a wrestler with the popularity of Jake Roberts. Unlike his feud with Santana, this one would go to the grand stage. Roberts was too important to the company to simply end this feud on free television. The live house show gate was booming for the feud and WWF gave the audience what they wanted to see, risking a downturn in their WrestleMania VII buy rate. Rick Martel defeated Jake Roberts on December 14th whilst Jake Roberts would finally taste victory six times in December on house shows, including on December 16th in East Rutherford, New Jersey and December 28th in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

It seemed that the audience couldn’t get enough of the Rick Martel and Jake Roberts feud as it continued into the 1991 Royal Rumble Match on January 19th in the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. This night was to be Martel’s crowning glory in the WWF, one of his greatest achievements in the company. Entering the match at number six, ‘The Model’ set the Royal Rumble record for longest time lasted in the thirty man over the top rope elimination match. Surviving 52:17, a record which stood for many years, Martel ended Saba Simba’s night, his current nemesis Jake Roberts was sent packing by Martel, ‘The Model’ ejected Hawk with the aid of Hercules and single handedly sent Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart to the floor before being dispatched himself by The British Bulldog. It was a heroic effort by Martel, who had showed here he was a true match for Roberts and their WrestleMania VII scrap could be one to watch.

That statement was wiped out by World Wrestling Federation in the run up to their WrestleMania VII meeting. Firstly, playing on the storyline which initiated this feud, the company made their WrestleMania VII match a ‘Blindfold Match’ eliminating any chance of heightened drama or tension from near falls or a thrilling technical encounter – which Roberts was capable of in 1991. Secondly, for those flocking to house shows to see the continuation of the feud – the same people who would also order WrestleMania VII – they would get the culmination of the feud in front of their very eyes. Instead of stringing out the feud until WrestleMania VII and having Roberts come within a hair of revenge before Martel escaped, illogically WWF had Jake Roberts defeat Rick Martel forty two times in the run up to Mania VII. It was a ridiculous move for the company to make as it eradicated almost all the heat the pair had going into the big event.

In the final days before stepping into the ring with each other, WWF booked Rick Martel to go over his WrestleMania VI opponent, Ko-Ko B Ware in a Blindfold Match – to heighten the anticipation for the real match – on WWF’s Road to WrestleMania VII television show on March 11th from Pensacola, Florida. That was also a mistake. The match was beyond dire and the fans in the arena saw just how ridiculous a Blindfold Match was. If this match did anything it would have turned people away from the event one week later, instead of making them order it. With black bags placed over each participant’s heads so they supposedly couldn’t see – obviously the wrestlers could see through the thin material – they would stumble around the ring in comedy moments, threatening to hit the referee thinking he was the opponent, until one competitor – usually the heel – would lift up their blindfold and cheat to win the match. It was and still is a match to be reserved for the right occasion only.

The final stage on the Road to WrestleMania VII came on March 15th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when Jake Roberts and The Big Boss Man went over Rick Martel and Mr. Perfect in another victory for Roberts before WrestleMania VII.

There was very little anticipation for the Blindfold Match when WrestleMania VII rolled around on March 24th from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California, thanks to Martel’s previous Blindfold Match with Ko-Ko B Ware. Thankfully though, Jake Roberts and Rick Martel put on a very funny match on the night even if it wasn’t high on wrestling and tension. Yes the match wore as it continued, but it was an amusing effort from the pair which saw Jake Roberts take his official revenge defeating Rick Martel.

His defeat to Jake Roberts signalled the end of their feud and meant that Martel was back in No Man’s Land as far as creativity went. One would have thought that his feud with Roberts had brought a great many bottoms to seats on house shows and at WrestleMania VII, the company would have found something for ‘The Model’ to do afterwards. He could hold his own against the best the company had to offer and make the lower card talents look good whilst going over them. He was a natural made star but the company didn’t want to push him as one. Instead, on March 27th on a taping of WWF Wrestling Challenge, Rick Martel fell to The Ultimate Warrior and on April 15th on a WWF Superstars taping in Omaha, Nebraska, Rick Martel looked at the lights for ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.

It would seem that a lack of creativity for Martel meant he was to be the sacrificial lamb for anyone and everyone who passed through WWF’s doors. Thankfully for Rick Martel, his services were acquired elsewhere. The wrestling promotion, Super World Sports Japan, needed a star name to sell their shows and believed Rick Martel was that name. In a talent trade and with nothing else planned for him, Vince McMahon allowed Martel to leave the company for a short period to compete for the new Japanese promotion. There was no reason not to allow him to go; all he was doing was treading water to the detriment of his character.

Rick Martel’s first documented match for Super World Sports Japan was on August 4th in Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan where he looked at the lights in a tag team match for old adversary King Haku and his partner Yoshiaki Yatsu, teaming with The Brooklyn Brawler who had also been leant to the company by World Wrestling Federation. Five nights later Rick Martel went down to company man Naoki Sano in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. Martel’s role in the company was almost identical to that of former NWA World Heavyweight Champions who would travel territories who would put local talent over before beating them by the skin of their teeth to make the local talent look like someone the fans could buy into after the champion had moved on.

Like Ric Flair in the eighties, Rick Martel was a master at putting local talent over and making them look good in the process. The image of defeating someone as illustrious as Martel – it had been made known to the fans Martel had come from the World Wrestling Federation – made careers even though the promotion would last, and for a short time gave the company itself a standing in the wrestling industry. That names such as Rick Martel wanted to come to Japan to compete for the fledgling promotion made it look more important than it actually was. Though Rick Martel’s time in the company only lasted a few months, the promoters were grateful for Martel’s sacrifices in losing to their local talent they rewarded him with victories over Naoki Sano on November 8th in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan and a 9:57 win on November 10th in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

They were much needed victories as well. Had word gotten out that Rick Martel was constantly losing to Japanese stars in a start up promotion then Martel’s image would have been all but shattered in the United States of America. After his numerous losses to Jake Roberts before and at WrestleMania VII, Martel would have looked like an incapable oaf in the ring who couldn’t even go over new talent, let alone the experienced and well versed in the square circle grapplers Vince McMahon had on his roster. After being left off of SummerSlam and Survivor Series in 1991, Rick Martel couldn’t afford to fall any further in the fans opinions than he already was.

His time in Super World Sports Japan was a success for the most part, but it couldn’t last. It had been a while since ‘The Model’ was seen on WWF television and people were beginning to grow suspicious because of his absence. Though he would travel back to Japan for one last match for SWS in mid-December, Rick Martel returned to the WWF on December 4th to defeat Dale Wolfe in Austin, Texas on a WWF Superstars taping. Concluding his tour of Japan, Rick Martel found himself back in Japan on December 14th to complete his final date for SWS inside the Tokyo Dome at SWS SuperWrestle. On the night he was required to do what he had been doing previously and put over the local talent in a SWS Light Heavyweight Championship Match. This time Rick Martel bowed out at the hands of Naoki Sano who captured the vacant Light Heavyweight Championship.

It had been a successful year for Martel, Japan had welcomed him back and his advancement in WWF had been one of his biggest years in wrestling so far, at a major level. It was his versatility and in ring skills which saw him ranked 41st in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s ‘PWI 500’.

1992 would prove to be Rick Martel’s busiest year in the World Wrestling Federation as the company added one of their biggest European tours to their already jam packed schedule. Rick Martel’s year began at the 1992 Royal Rumble, the Royal Rumble Match which made history as it was the first and only Royal Rumble match in which the WWF Championship was on the line for the winner. It wouldn’t be until the 1993 offering that the company would begin to offer a shot at the WWF Championship at WrestleMania for the victor. Rick Martel entered the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York on January 19th with high expectations from the audience.

The previous year Rick ‘The Model’ Martel had outlasted almost everyone in the 1991 event and set the Royal Rumble record time for the longest lasting participant. He came in a hair’s breadth of winning the previous year and the fans expected his ‘Model’ character to evolve during the match with an even more impressive performance. Unfortunately, they didn’t get what they expected. On the night, Rick Martel entered the Royal Rumble Match at number 25 and lasted just 12:39, eliminating only Skinner. In the end, ‘The Model’ was sent to the showers by Sid Justice. It was a poor showing by Rick Martel who was mostly invisible for the time he was present. Apart from the elimination of Skinner, Martel left no other impression on the match or the watching audience. It wasn’t a good sign. Had WWF wanted to push Martel as one of 1992’s main heels then they would have done so at the Rumble. It was the perfect chance for them to get him over. The signs weren’t good.

Things would temporarily look up for Martel after the Royal Rumble Match. His showing in the thirty man spectacular wasn’t thrilling but he could take hope from a set of results after the event. On WWF on MSG Network on January 31st in Madison Square Garden, Rick Martel pinned former WWF Intercontinental Champion, Texas Tornado – real name – Kerry Von Erich. That was an eye opening victory as Tornado fell out of favour with the company and was swiftly relegated to the jobber ranks before his departure from the company in July 1992 and his tragic death by suicide on February 18th 1993 at the age of 33 years old. As well as The Texas Tornado, Rick Martel also claimed a pinfall victory over fan favourite, Big Boss Man on February 23rd’s edition of WWF on MSG Network.

Martel’s luck changed again five days later when he entered a house show feud with Davey Boy Smith ‘The British Bulldog’. The Bulldog went over Martel on February 28th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and would in every house show match the pair would contest from February to March 1992. It wasn’t a prosperous feud for Martel in the ring though the pair managed to grind out some very good outings. But that didn’t matter to Vince McMahon. The British Bulldog was headed for a triumphant if very short lived WWF Intercontinental Championship reign beginning at SummerSlam 1992, the company believed it would be a detriment to his character to lose to someone as low down the card as Rick Martel.

On March 23rd on WWF on MSG Network from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Rick Martel’s career took a strange turn when he defeated enhancement talent J.W. Storm in a short and inconsequential match. Unusually for an enhancement talent, Storm was booked several times by the World Wrestling Federation to contest a house show feud with ‘The Model’. It was unusual practice by WWF to book an enhancement talent that many times and put him into a feud with a bigger star, but then again it saved the creative department coming up with anything else for Martel. In hindsight, his house show feud with Storm may have been a better choice than what he was plunged into next.

Incredibly, the best the World Wrestling Federation could come up with for a man as talented as Martel was a singles feud with the uber popular ‘Native American’, Tatanka. Even more maddeningly, the feud was booked to go on and off from April to November. Basically what WWF were saying, was that when they had nothing else for the pair to do, they would reignite the feud and hope it would be enough to assuage the audience’s hunger. It wasn’t that the feud was wholly unappealing, the main reason this feud was such a borefest was because Tatanka was such a stiff wrestler. He knew the basic formula to put a match together but he had no fluidity or spontaneity in the ring and when he got stuck for ideas, Tatanka would usually go to his trusted rest holds to pad a match out. With a man like that, Rick Martel had very limited options.

Turning a blind eye to the flaws of the feud, the company booked the pair to face off at WrestleMania VIII on April 5th in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana where Tatanka defeated Rick Martel in an awful 4:31 farce with hardly any build up on television or house shows. In fact the build up had been so little and the match had come so soon after the initiation of their feud, no one inside the Hoosier Dome was bothered about the match or the storyline – of which there was very little.

Next up was WWF’s successful European Rampage Tour which toured Europe several times during 1992. The tour would be a success for Martel as he defeated Texas Tornado on April 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 17th in Rotterdam, Sudholland, Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; London, England; Belfast, Northern Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland. It was an impressive list and one which served Martel well as the WWF went into their final night of the tour on April 19th in the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England. On the final night of the tour, Rick Martel unsuccessfully challenged Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a solid 13:02 bout, proving he still had something to offer the WWF at that level.

After the tour, the World Wrestling Federation re-lit an old feud with new gimmicks as the former Strike Force partners did battle once again on house shows in early May 1992 when ‘The Model’ Rick Martel successfully bested El Matador, Tito Santana. There was no doubt that Martel was the more successful of the teammates, he had indeed racked up a record number of victories over Santana since their 1989 spilt. And since it’s usually the face that gets their final revenge and always defeats the heel when it comes to tag team splits, Martel had indeed gotten the best of the deal.

Jumping at the chance to return to Japan for Super World Sports Japan in May, Rick Martel was booked on two dates for the company who welcomed him back after his first stint in 1991. Returning in much the same capacity as his first visit, Rick Martel defeated The Great Kabuki via disqualification on May 19th in Toyama, Japan and then lost an excellent six man tag team match to Ashura Hara, Takashi Ishikawa and Ultimo Dragon, teaming with Guerrero Del Futuro and The Berzerker on May 22nd in Tokyo, Japan.

Jumping back aboard a plane and heading back to his parent company, Rick Martel challenged Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship on June 1st in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in a match inferior to their European Rampage bout but still one which was a worthy entry into their bout history. Of course, Bret Hart came out on top as he was on a collision course with his brother-in-law The British Bulldog at SummerSlam, but Martel was constantly putting forward a good word for himself which was to be ignored by Vince McMahon. It was a shame in many ways. As the steroid scandal hit the company hard and they needed stars that didn’t look like they’d been guzzling a warehouse full of ‘juice’, Rick Martel could have been the perfect main event heel for the job. He never needed the Championship to make himself a star but he did need commitment from a company who weren’t prepared to give it to him. With Ric Flair soon heading for the exit door, all Bret Hart had for challengers when he took the Championship from Flair in September 1992 were the likes of Papa Shango, The Berzerker and Repo Man. He would defend against Shawn Michaels at the 1992 Survivor Series, but HBK wasn’t in any position to be placed as a permanent threat. Martel could have been that man.

Instead, Rick Martel was thrown back into his lifeless feud with Tatanka from June to July. It was packaged as their post WrestleMania feud, even though no one asked for it, and was contested across WWF television and house shows, much to the chagrin of the attending audience. The problem with the feud was that one you’d seen one of their matches, you’d seen them all. There was nothing to set one apart from the next. Surprisingly, this time around Rick Martel got the better end of the deal. Tatanka defeated ‘The Model’ six times between June 5th and July 19th and Rick Martel went over Tatanka ten times. In the lead up to SummerSlam 1992, Tatanka returned the favour rolling Martel over ten times including on August 1st in Long Island, New York; August 9th in Memphis, Tennessee and August 22nd in Boston, Massachusetts.

Once again, the feud was mercifully put on the backburner so the company could build a feud between two heels, Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel, who began feuding over the affections of Michaels’ valet, Sensational Sherri. Both men would interfere in the others matches, including a famous segment on an episode of Wrestling Challenge, when Shawn Michaels cost Rick Martel his match via count out by luring Sherri from ringside and Martel returned the favour later in the show. In reality, it was dumb move by the company. Both men were heels and in 1992 there was almost virtually no interest in a heel vs heel feud. Playing on both men’s good looks, the match for SummerSlam 1992 was booked with a ‘no punching in the face’ stipulation. Before the pair made it to London, England for their face off, Rick Martel downed Joey Maggs via submission with the Boston Crab on August 23rd, during the WWF SummerSlam Spectacular television show.

The match which took place at SummerSlam 1992 on August 29th at Wembley Stadium in London, England got by on its comedy elements alone. Neither Martel nor Michaels turned up on the night as far as putting on a show went, and the match was mostly a dull repetition of failed attempts to punch the other in the face and rest holds. It did have the odd moment when the pace was turned up, but the focus was more on where would Sherri lay her allegiance down? The match ended in a double count out at 8:06 and featured the famous moment where both men pulled a punch – to hit each other in the face – and Sherri fainted in anticipation on the apron. It is a match which will live long in the memory because of the moments which transpired.

When the company realised the feud between two heels could go nowhere and with the unwillingness to turn either man face, it was back to the drawing board for WWF as far as Martel was concerned, and the only option they had left at such a short notice was to resume the feud with Tatanka. This time adding an actual revenge storyline to the feud, it was seen that Rick Martel stole Tatanka’s sacred eagle feathers to add to his wardrobe. Martel even wore the feathers in his cap during his entrances to add insult to injury. After SummerSlam 1992, Tatanka defeated Rick Martel four more times before Rick Martel trounced Virgil on two house shows on September 19th in Indianapolis, Indiana and Auburn Hills, Michigan.

With his feud with Tatanka still in full swing, Rick Martel lost an embarrassing match to the appalling Max Moon on September 22nd during a taping of WWF Prime Time Wrestling in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. On the same day, from the same city, during a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping, Rick Martel made Victor Reeves submit in 3:00 to the Boston Crab. Six days later, the WWF took their European Rampage Tour back on the road and on September 28th, again from the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England Rick Martel defeated El Matador and one night later in the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England, ‘The Model’ triumphed over Virgil.

Moving up the card for a short period, Rick Martel went down in a blaze of glory to Bret Hart in a challenge for the WWF Championship on October 25th in Peoria, Illinois and the pair would contest the WWF Championship between 8th to 15th November. Martel may never have stood a chance of walking away as WWF Champion, but he and Hart fought to a very good match each night, thus adding weight to the argument that Martel should be higher up the card and could be a very strong main event player if the company stopped booking him in matches against lower card talent and forcing him to lose to wrestlers who were never going to break the glass ceiling.

Thankfully, for the sake of Rick Martel’s career, his dismal feud with Tatanka was to come to and end. Finally, the big wigs saw the diminishing box office returns and decided to axe the story, culminating it at Survivor Series. The 1992 event saw a change in format, one which would stick in later years as there was only one traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match on the card. The rest were single or regular tag team matches with the event being built around the tag team match which pitted Ric Flair and Razor Ramon against ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect. On November 25th in the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio, Tatanka reclaimed his sacred feathers in a lifeless 11:04 match against Rick Martel. I can’t imagine the loss was one Martel lobbied against backstage, a win for ‘The Model’ would have only prolonged a mind numbing feud and continued to halt Martel’s career.

The Tatanka feud was something Rick Martel’s WWF career would never recover from, unfortunately. The war had already lasted too long, taking in too many long and boring matches for the audiences to forget. Almost everything Rick Martel had accomplished in wrestling before had been forgotten by the fans and replaced with the images and memories from his battle with the ‘Native American’. The only people to blame were the company who booked the feud when there were numerous other options had they just removed their heads from the backsides. For the rest of the year, Martel would only be permitted victories over lower card talent on WWF television and house show events. On November 29th in Chicago, Illinois, Rick ‘The Model’ Martel would fall to the former WWF Champion and now wholly inconsequential, Bob Backlund. Martel would be permitted victories over Virgil on house shows on December 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th but came up short again against Bob Backlund on house shows until the end of the year.

His status in WWF may have fallen but Rick Martel’s sacrifices against Tatanka and thrilling matches against WWF Champion Bret Hart, had earned him his highest ranking in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated ‘PWI 500’, where he settled in at 32nd. In his career, Rick Martel would never rank higher and this would also be his last entry into those illustrious ranks. It was no surprise that Martel had become lost in the shuffle in the World Wrestling Federation. Maybe he’d peaked too soon. As 1993 rolled around the thirty seven year old was already a twenty one year stalwart in the ring and the signs that his time in the company were coming to end were appearing everywhere.

In his final full year in the WWF, Rick Martel was demoted to the lower card where the likes of Virgil, Tatanka, Damien Demento and Ko-Ko B Ware were plying their trade. His sacrifices for the company had been all but ignored as the legend was overtaken in WWF’s priorities by the mighty Yokozuna. In Rick Martel’s eyes he had worked longer and harder than Yokozuna and deserved the spotlight more. He had a case, but because of his weight and fearsome look, Yokozuna posed a larger threat to WWF Champion Bret Hart, than Rick Martel ever could. At the Royal Rumble on January 24th from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California – the event Rick Martel excelled at in previous years – the writing was on the wall for where Martel’s career was going.

Entering the match at number 26, ‘The Model’ wasn’t permitted to eliminate anyone before his ejection at the hands of Bob Backlund after 11:23. That he wasn’t allowed to eliminate anyone from the match spoke volumes. The company no longer saw him as an important mid-card player and believed that elimination by his hands would only weaken a wrestler’s image. WWF believed the effect of someone being eliminated by Martel would be the same as Barry Horowitz pinning Yokozuna – which never happened. What did happen however was that Rick Martel stood by and watched as Yokozuna claimed the main event spot at WrestleMania IX.

Following his poor Royal Rumble showing, Martel was buried at the hands of the WWF who were trying to send him a message. Rick Martel did secure a victory on WWF’s Winter Tour in the G-Mex Centre in Manchester, England on February 2nd, going over Max Moon but would suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Virgil on February 11th in Aschaffenburg, Bayern, Germany. That someone of Rick Martel’s talent would be forced to look at the lights for someone as incapable as Virgil was a slap in the face for ‘The Model’.

Further defeats would follow for Martel as he lost to Mr. Perfect on the March 1st taping of Monday Night Raw in the Manhattan Centre in New York City, New York and went down by disqualification to Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts on three separate occasions on June 12th, 13th and 14th on World Wrestling Superstars. Martel couldn’t buy a victory and he was beginning to lose patience with the company who were now using him in the enhancement talent role. That stigma wouldn’t go away whilst Martel was on the WWF roster but some good news was to come after he would lose to the 123 Kid on July 28th in North Tonawanda, New York and on house shows on July 29th, 30th, 31st and August 1st.

Entering a feud with Razor Ramon on the house show circuit which Martel was never going to win, may have looked like another burial from the company but it was in fact a lead in to better things. Not great things, Martel would never prosper fully from the feud with Ramon but he would have semi-better fortunes over the coming weeks. After his defeats to Ramon on September 24th and the two days following, Martel was informed that the WWF Intercontinental Championship was being held up in a storyline which would see Shawn Michaels stripped of the Championship for failing to defend the gold within the allocated thirty days.

The storyline would lead to the thrilling ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X, after Shawn Michaels introduced his own Intercontinental Championship to the company claiming it was the real one. First, the company had to make Ramon the WWF Intercontinental Champion. On September 27th from New Haven, Connecticut, WWF decided it would tape three episodes of Monday Night Raw in one night to save on expenses. On the second and third tapings the company would crown a new Intercontinental Champion. Rick Martel would advance to the finals with Ramon but first the company had to build him back up and make the audience believe he was a serious threat to the gold. After being left off of WrestleMania, SummerSlam and King of the Ring that year, it wouldn’t be an easy task.

On the first Monday Night Raw taping Rick Martel and Tatanka wrestled to a double count out in a match which would have gotten Martel over better had he trounced Tatanka. The double count out did nothing to build Martel as a threat and even on this occasion when it was so important for the company to really hype a new Intercontinental Champion, they couldn’t bring themselves to sacrifice the useless Tatanka. On the second taping it was announced that Shawn Michaels had been stripped of the Intercontinental Championship, and the belt would be decided in a singles match between the two survivors of a battle royal which would take place later in the show.

Later in the night, it would of course be Rick Martel and Razor Ramon who were the last two standing, outlasting Bam Bam Bigelow, Adam Bomb, Bastian Booger, Bob Backlund, Giant Gonzales, Irwin R. Schyster, Jacques – formerly The Mountie, Jimmy Snuka, Marty Jannetty, Mable, Mr. Perfect, Owen Hart, Pierre, Randy Savage, Tatanka, 123 Kid and The MVP (Steve Lombardi). Your Wrestling God remembers watching this as a child and it’s still a match which sticks in the memory. Some matches never leave you for whatever reason and this will always be one of them. On the third taping from the same arena on the same night, Razor Ramon overcame the odds and defeated Rick Martel to claim the vacant WWF Intercontinental Championship. The three tapings would air over the following three weeks, which meant everything was suddenly out of sync and though Ramon was Intercontinental Champion, he couldn’t carry the gold for two weeks after he first won it.

Sadly, that would be Rick Martel’s final major contribution to the company. It was one which he may not have been happy with but one which as whim lauded as a star maker. Razor Ramon may have had all the tools to make it in the company but on the night, Rick Martel really helped make Razor Ramon the face he was. For that he can be very proud. For the upcoming Survivor Series, the company decided to return the event to its former format. The previous year with only one Survivor Series Elimination Match was disastrous as only two of the matches on the card (Razor Ramon and Ric Flair vs Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect and Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship) were any good. Deciding to make the event almost all Elimination Matches, the company built on the small feud between Martel and Ramon to create the first match of the evening.

To make Martel a threat again he needed victories over loved faces. On September 28th in Worchester, Massachusetts on WWF All American Wrestling, Rick Martel went over Owen Hart by count out in a continuation of the storyline which would eventually turn Owen Hart full blown heel at the 1994 Royal Rumble. One night later on a second WWF All American Wrestling Taping in Portland, Maine, Rick Martel went over one of his eventual opponents in the upcoming Survivor Series Elimination match, 123 Kid, in 7:30.

On October 2nd and 3rd in Sacramento and Los Angeles, California Razor Ramon retained the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Martel on house shows and would again via count out on a WWF Superstars taping in Burlington, Vermont on October 20th. It was a lift for Martel to be back in the upper mid-card picture even though it wouldn’t last. In truth he belonged higher, but knowing he was never going to reach that main event brass ring he was content to lend his skills to the Intercontinental Championship – a belt he never won, but would have been an excellent champion.

In the build up to their Survivor Series Elimination Match, Rick Martel defeated Survivor Series opponent Marty Jannetty on October 30th in Rochester, New York and teamed with Diesel to fall to Owen Hart and Razor Ramon in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada on November 1st. Though he would lose to Bastian Booger by disqualification in 3:20 on the November 9th Monday Night Raw taping, Martel went over another Survivor Series opponent in the 123 Kid on November 13th.

World Wrestling Federation had built the stage and story well for the opening match of the 1993 Survivor Series event. But knowing the feud between Martel and Ramon had a very limited shelf life – not wanting to have Ramon lose to Martel – the company began turning the wheel on another feud for the WWF Intercontinental Championship during the match. As the teams stepped into the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on November 24th it would be I.R.S who took Martel’s place in the feud with Ramon. Pitting Marty Jannetty, 123 Kid, Razor Ramon and Randy Savage – who was a substitute for Mr. Perfect who had walked out of the company a short time before – vs Rick Martel, I.R.S, Diesel and Adam Bomb in a match which lasted forty plus minutes, the company did a sterling job of ending one feud and beginning another. Strangely, it would be Rick Martel who had the last laugh in the battle with Ramon. Switching places as main rival to Ramon, I.R.S took centre stage when he nailed Ramon with a well placed briefcase shot, rendering him unconscious, allowing Rick Martel to roll Ramon out of the ring to eliminate the champion via count out at 20:42. Rick Martel himself was eliminated by the 123 Kid and a Sunset Flip at 25:49.

After Survivor Series, the company went on their International Tour where Rick Martel lost five times in succession to the up and coming 123 Kid on December 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th across the world including matches at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England (December 4th) and the International Arena in Cardiff, Wales (December 5th) and the International Centre in Bournemouth, England. Returning from the tour, the year ended for Martel in tag team defeat to The Smoking Guns, with Adam Bomb as his partner on a WWF Superstars taping on December 14th in Lowell, Massachusetts.

1993 had been a mixed bag for Martel. His direction in the company had been lost and it was high time he moved on. Martel had been with Vince McMahon for more than seven years by the time 1994 struck and he was yearning to recapture former glories elsewhere. Any other company across the world would use Martel to his full potential because of who he was and what he had accomplished. There was still call for Rick Martel elsewhere and knowing this, made his decision to leave the World Wrestling Federation all the more easier. His departure from the company in the summer of 1994 would signal the beginning of the end for Rick Martel in the wrestling ring as his career slowed.

There was still his contract with the company to see out and Rick Martel knew it wasn’t going to be eight months of success. When the company needed to get a new or old star over to prove the fans the wrestler in question was still valuable, they wheeled out Rick Martel to look at the lights. I believe the knowledge he was soon to leave, made the ‘jobs’ to those he was better than all that more tolerable. On a January 12th 1994 WWF Superstars taping in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Rick Martel lost to Randy Savage and followed that up with a defeat to Sparky Plugg on a January 21st house show in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The night after the house show loss to Sparky Plugg, who would go on to become Hardcore Holly, Rick Martel would be an entrant into the Royal Rumble in Providence, Rhode Island. On the night, Rick Martel had to watch as I.R.S challenged Razor Ramon for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in what Martel had to consider his spot and then ‘The Model’ entered the Royal Rumble match at number 26 and lasted 11:22. An improvement on the year before, Rick Martel was permitted to eliminate over the hill Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine before being sent packing by whom else but Tatanka.

On two WWF house shows on January 28th and 29th in New Haven, Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts, Rick Martel’s career delved to new lows when the company couldn’t think of anything else to do with him but put him in a short lived and unmemorable house show feud against Adam Bomb. A cartoon character all over, Bomb was never going anywhere in the WWF or any other promotion and the pair went to dull double count outs on both nights. The matches stemmed from their interaction at the 1993 Survivor Series where the then partners came to blows during the match.

Counting down the days until he left the company and reinvigorated his wrestling career, Rick Martel fought to a very slow 20:00 time limit draw with Sparky Plugg on a February 2nd WWF All American Wrestling taping in Springfield, Massachusetts and would then go on to lose four times to Plugg on house shows in February. ‘The Model’ had truly fallen as far as he could in the company and there was clearly nothing left for him amongst the so called elite of Vince McMahon’s roster. The losses continued to reign in for Martel when he looked at the lights for ‘Double J’ Jeff Jarrett on a house show on March 6th in the Blackburn Arena in Blackburn, England. Not only was Martel losing to low card faces he was now also losing to the heels. It was almost as if McMahon was trying to establish in our minds that Martel was the lowest heel as a well as superstar in the company.

In the run up to WrestleMania X, Rick Martel fell foul to Lex Luger – who would challenge Yokozuna in the first WWF Championship Match at WrestleMania X, after co-winning the 1994 Royal Rumble Match with Bret Hart – on a March 21st Monday Night Raw taping in Poughkeepsie, New York but would claim a victory later in that night – on a second Raw taping for the next week – when he teamed with I.R.S, Jeff Jarrett and The Headshrinkers to roll over Tatanka, 123 Kid, Sparky Plugg and The Smoking Guns. It was a rare win for Martel in the WWF in 1994 and one which we would rarely see again whilst he was a part of the WWF machine.

Whilst still under contract to McMahon, Rick Martel broadened his horizons when he wrestled on a World Wide Wrestling Alliance card on April 16th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Billed as ‘WWWA: The Brawl at the Taj Mahal’, Rick Martel defeated the appalling Abdullah the Butcher by disqualification. He was getting a taste for victories elsewhere and with his time in the WWF running out, Martel knew that his decision to leave the league was the right one. He may not earn as much money outside the confines of the WWF but he would gain more notoriety with victories as the constant losses were beginning to have an adverse effect on his standing.

Retuning to Japan with the WWF on their rarely seen WWF Yokohama Mania House Show on May 7th in Yokohama, Japan, Rick Martel was pleasantly surprised to find he was going over 123 Kid in a fine 6:50 outing that night. It would be his final victory in the company. On a second house show on the same day in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Randy Savage teamed with Genichiro Tenryu to defeat Rick Martel and Adam Bomb in a so-so 10:00 encounter.

Hanging up his ‘Model’ sports coat, Rick Martel left the World Wrestling Federation with little regret. He knew that he couldn’t continue to lose to lower card talent who had no future in the business and so sought out fame elsewhere. Rick Martel would never achieve the level of fame he endured during his WWF and AWA days again, but then he never expected to. Times were moving, he was beginning to become what wrestling fans referred to as an ‘old man in a young man’s game’. Before he left the WWF his ring style became outdated amongst wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Bret Hart who had ably adapted their ring styles to the changing times. It was the right move at the right time for Martel and one which almost certainly prolonged his wrestling career by four more years.

His first match post-WWF was for International World Class Championship Wrestling on May 21st in Setauket, New York. It was a promotion which was convenient for any WWF star as it toured mostly New York, a city the former WWF talent were more than acquainted with. Hacksaw Jim Duggan had been lending his ‘skill’ to the promotion after he became redundant in the WWF and Rick Martel followed his comrade into the ring. On two shows held on the aforementioned date, Rick Martel trounced Ray Odyssey and then lost to Jim Duggan by disqualification. The man born Rick Vigneault was getting more respect on the independent circuit than he had in his final years with McMahon and he liked it.

The problem with independent wrestling promotions back in the mid 90’s was that they were almost always full of former WWF stars that had fallen foul of Vince McMahon. The downside to this was that one would regularly have to sit through matches which you’d seen a thousand times on WWF shows. They weren’t huge draws which necessitated talent move around more than they were comfortable with in order to create fresh and new matches which would draw big at the box office. Wrestling for International Wrestling Alliance on June 10th in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, Rick Martel triumphed over The Natural, who would go on to become the leader of the laughable ‘Truth Commission’ in the WWF at a later date and finally Cyrus in ECW. Thirteen days later, Rick Martel met former WWF alumni on a World Wide Wrestling Alliance show in Downingtown, Pennsylvania when he lost to Matt ‘Doink the Clown’ Borne.

Bookings for former WWF talent who had been buried by the promotion before their exit, was few and far between. It was a clever ploy of Vince McMahon. If you bury talent before they leave then they will be ultimately worthless to independent promoters and the WWF wouldn’t lose money by losing the talent. It was a tried and tested formula and one which Rick Martel suffered from as much as anyone else. His next booking wouldn’t come until September 9th in Brooklyn, New York for International World Class Championship Wrestling when Martel met and defeated former ally and Strike Force partner, Tito Santana. The match had diminishing returns.

Called back to International Wrestling Alliance on September 25th in Birtle, Manitoba, Canada, Martel went over The Natural and one month later met Mick Foley – as Cactus Jack – on a Universal Superstars of America card on October 29th in Brooklyn, New York where he lost the match via disqualification. One night later for the same company in Staten Island, New York, Martel lost to another former nemesis, Brutus Beefcake, again via disqualification.

As 1994 came to an end, Rick Martel finished up his final bookings of the year for International Wrestling Association and defeated The Natural in cage matches on December 2nd, December 3rd and December 4th. His final booking of a disappointing year in the ring was on December 12th in Westwood, Massachusetts where wrestling legend Killer Kowalski served as referee for Rick Martel’s defeat by count out to Tito Santana. The independent circuit hadn’t been everything Martel thought it was. The fame was diminishing and his name wasn’t the star draw which he and promoters had hoped it may be. Interest in Martel began to wane and people would look further afield instead of booking the former ‘Model’ to compete on their shows.

Rick Martel received a surprise offer as 1994 turned to 1995, from the World Wrestling Federation. Jim Neidhart, who was supposed to be a participant in the 1995 Royal Rumble match, had been released by Vince McMahon for unknown reasons. Some believe it was to do with his attitude, others said it was because he was found to be using steroids. I can’t tell you the truth because I myself do not know the real reason. Whilst Neidhart would return to the company to reform The Hart Foundation with Bret Hart as well as the rest of his wrestling family and Brian Pillman, Vince McMahon needed a stand in for Neidhart and he turned to Rick Martel. Be it out of guilt at the way he treated Martel during his final years in the company or just because Martel was closest to the arena on the day.

Returning to the WWF for the 1995 Royal Rumble Match, Rick Martel stepped into the USF Sundome on January 22nd in Tampa, Florida for what would be his final wrestling match in a WWF ring. As it would turn out, ‘The Model’ was booked to once again be a mere enhancement talent by Vince McMahon. Entering the match tenth, Martel lasted a paltry 2:29 before being thrown over the top rope by Sione (formerly The Barbarian) of The New Headshrinkers. His Royal Rumble appearance would only further damage Rick Martel’s profile in wrestling. After everything he had done in the ring, suddenly he couldn’t even get booked by independent promoters.

Realising that his wrestling career was almost over, Rick Martel began to pursue a career in Real Estate. It was a sound investment by Martel who could no longer rely on the wrestling industry to pay his bills and put food on his table. Martel wasn’t totally done with wrestling yet but not wishing to risk his families future and safety on the wrestling industry, Martel sought out a living elsewhere. His next independent booking wasn’t until June 6th on an International Wrestling Alliance television taping in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada where he defeated The Natural in another cage match, this time by disqualification. On the same night, under a mask and the gimmick of Mr. X, Martel again defeated The Natural by count out. The two matches were taped for different episodes, show on corresponding weeks.

Slow, is the best word to describe the rest of Rick Martel’s 1995. He competed for Catch Wrestling Association on July 8th at CWA Euro Catch Festival in Graz, Steiermark, Austria. On the show, Rick Martel competed for the CWA Middleweight Championship, losing to reigning Franz Schuchmann. It was a long way to go just to lose but the pay off must have been worth it otherwise Martel wouldn’t have gone. His next booking came on October 27th in Brooklyn, New York for the United States of America promotion where Brutus Beefcake defeated Rick Martel by disqualification in a match for the USA Heavyweight Championship. Rick Martel was the champion going into the match, but there are no records of whom he defeated for the gold or whom he lost it to. Rick Martel’s final booking of 1995 came on November 15th in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada for International Wrestling Alliance where he defeated Bad New Allen – formerly Bad News Brown – by disqualification.

With his career in real estate beginning to pay off big time, Rick Martel’s in ring career was almost nonexistent in 1996 with just two matches over two nights for the NWA on March 5th and March 6th in Kuantan, Malaysia. On the first night Rick Martel defeated The Viking and twenty four hours later under the guise of The Evil Clown, Rick Martel lost to Randy Rhodes. That was the extent of Rick Martel’s wrestling career in 1996, but the allure of the spotlight would prove to be too much for Martel to turn down as 1997 came around and with it emerged a lucrative deal with Vince McMahon’s mortal enemy, Eric Bischoff.

Before WCW offered Rick Martel a short term contract, he was booked on two International Wrestling Association cards on May 20th in Sioux Lookout, Ontario Canada and August 24th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. On the first show, Rick Martel and The Natural went over Adam Impact and Christian Cage – who would find fame as Edge and Christian – and on the former, the duo would rout the future Edge and Christian a second time.

In late 1997, the World Wrestling Federation reached out to Martel once again, wanting to bring him back to the company with Don Callis – who was The Natural in IWA, The Jackyl (manager of The Truth Commission) in WWF and Cyrus in ECW – to form a new tag team called The Supermodels. The plan was for Callis to eventually turn on Rick Martel thus turning ‘The Model’ face. The parties though couldn’t come to an agreement over money and the move never happened. It was a wise decision for Martel not to return to the WWF. Amongst tag teams such as the New Age Outlaws and Legion of Doom, as well as singles stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, he would have been totally out of place. Anyway, what were the chances that Vince McMahon would push Martel right in 1997, when the company were being trashed by WCW in the ratings when he hadn’t done so before?

Instead, Rick Martel took up Eric Bischoff on his offer of a short term contract with WCW. It was a wonderful deal for Martel who had in wrestling, passed his prime at least two years beforehand. He was still a good wrestler in the ring, but for his age he could count himself lucky that WCW found a place for him. Certainly, they didn’t need Rick Martel in 1997; he was never going to be a huge draw for the company. But out of respect for everything he had accomplished, WCW gave Martel his final run in the wrestling industry. A run he’d earned. And for that they deserve a lot of credit. Martel was never a wrestler who deserved to fade away in wrestling. He deserved one last big run and that’s what he received.

Entering the company in late 1997, Rick Martel was put into a feud with Booker T over the WCW World Television Championship. He was back in his comfortable upper mid-card role and was determined that this wasn’t only going to be his last hurrah but he would make the most of it. Making a splash in the company, beginning on January 5th 1998 episode of WCW Monday Nitro in Atlanta, Georgia defeating Brad Armstrong. One night later on WCW Saturday Night in Rome, Georgia, Rick Martel participated in two separate matches intended for two separate tapings. In the first match Rick Martel defeated The Australian and in the second bout shown one week later he went over Hardbody Harrison.

Until he met Booker T, Rick Martel wouldn’t suffer one loss in WCW. His run was intended to set him up as a strong challenger to the WCW World Television Championship and that continued on January 8th on WCW Thunder from Daytona Beach, Florida when Martel whitewashed Louie Spicolli in 3:17. One of Rick Martel’s biggest victories came on the January 19th WCW Monday Nitro from New Orleans, Louisiana, when he pinned Eddie Guerrero, one of the company’s biggest cruiserweight stars. The signs had never been more encouraging for Rick Martel, even during his time with WWF. He was on a roll and the audience began to believe that he could be the next Television Champion. An assertion backed up by two more victories over Johnny Attitude on January 20th on WCW Saturday Night in Thibodaux, Louisiana and on WCW Thunder on January 22nd in Huntsville, Alabama over Perry Saturn.

Booker T and Rick Martel met for the first time over the WCW World Television Championship at the abysmal WCW/NWO Souled Out pay-per view event on January 24th in the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. On the night, the match which was more than respectable was met with indifference. Rick Martel’s in ring skills hadn’t faded since he left WWF but neither had they evolved and that was the problem. Fans in the Hara Arena found Rick Martel’s in ring output to be dated and old. They had become accustomed to seeing fast paced in ring action that matched the era. Rick Martel’s style was still firmly rooted in the eighties. On the night, Booker T retained against Martel but the reaction from the fans wouldn’t sour WCW’s approach to the feud and the pair met again with a different result.

During the February 16th WCW Monday Nitro, Rick Martel captured his first singles Championship in a major promotion since he was crowned AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Uprooting Booker T for the WCW World Television Championship in Tampa, Florida, the night had begun on a downer as Rick Martel lost to the third man in their TV Title war, Perry Saturn. WCW had the guts to do what WWF didn’t and that was making Martel a champion. It would have short but profitable effect on WCW and may have lasted longer had Rick Martel’s career not been all but ended six days later at WCW SuperBrawl VIII.

WCW’s big event on February 22nd from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California was meant to see Rick Martel retain the WCW World Television Championship in a gauntlet match first defeating Booker T and then Perry Saturn. But as it so often is in wrestling, the best laid plans always go wrong. During the match, Rick Martel’s comeback was cut short when he landed horribly on a throw, catching one of his legs against the ropes. The resultant effect was that on landing, Martel tore a ligament on the inside of his right knee, fractured his leg and suffered significant cartilage damage. To his eternal credit, Martel finished the match with Booker T but with a changed ending on the spur of the moment – due to the injury – Rick Martel suffered a further injury when Booker T lost control and botched a Harlem Sidekick. With Martel eliminated from the match he was meant to win, Booker T and Perry Saturn contested a forgettable second gauntlet bout on the fly. The booking team had laid out a match between Martel and Saturn, meaning Saturn and Booker T had to make up the whole of their match.

The injury should have ended Rick Martel’s career. That should have been all she wrote on Rick Martel’s wrestling legacy. But it wasn’t. Rick Martel recovered from the injury and made one last appearance for WCW on the July 13th WCW Monday Nitro from Las Vegas, Nevada where he put over Stevie Ray in an 8:58 WCW World Television Championship Match. The match was another blow for Martel who suffered yet another injury during the bout. It was the final straw. Retiring from the ring, Rick Martel opted to work as a trainer for WCW and would regularly host French versions of WCW programming until his business relationship with the company came to and end.

Rick Martel withdrew from wrestling entirely after his relationship with WCW ended. In 2003 he ranked number forty eight in the ‘500 Best Singles Wrestlers in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Years’ and seventy out of one hundred in the ‘Best Tag Teams in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Years’ for his Strike Force tandem with Tito Santana. They were both truly earned accolades. At the end of a Canadian house show the same year, Brock Lesnar brought out Rick Martel to a standing ovation from the audience where the pair shook hands. It was clear on that night that everything Rick Martel had done in wrestling hadn’t been forgotten by those who appreciated him most.

One of the last times anyone saw Rick Martel in a wrestling ring was on June 24th 2007 in the Toyota Centre in Dallas, Texas at WWE’s Vengeance: Night of Champions event. Seen in the front row with former tag team partner Tony Garea, Rick Martel received a hefty response that night too. Along with Garea, Martel saved WWE legends Jimmy Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter from an attack at the hands of the ridiculous Deuce ‘n Domino. Deuce is the son of Jimmy Snuka. This was also the night Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit and Daniel Benoit passed away.

Whilst Rick Martel will one day be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, his biggest honour to date came in 2011, when he was inducted into the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, Class of 2011. In 2014, Rick Martel still dabbles in Real Estate and makes the odd nostalgia appearance at independent wrestling shows across the country. He is one of the names touted to be included to appear on WWE television in 2014 in order to promote WrestleMania XXX and the nostalgia which goes hand in hand with the event – though that may not happen.

In his private life, Rick Vigneault is still married to his wife Johanne and they have a daughter named Coralie. Rick Martel also has another daughter named Leia who is the grandchild of the late Country Music legend, Ernest Tubb.

Rick Martel has accomplished more than he could ever have imagined when he stumbled into the industry by accident in 1972. He is one of the all time greatest heels the industry has ever had and is a former WWE Tag Team Champion, WCW World Television Champion, AWA World Heavyweight Champion as well as the many other independent Championships he’s held in his many years in wrestling.

A career which spanned twenty six years had its ups and downs, but it’s a testament to his character and connection with the fans that even after he was buried at the hands of wrestlers like Tatanka, the man is fondly remembered around the world. The name Rick Martel now conjures up memories of Atomizers, blue sports coats, smug grins and bright pink wrestling shorts. Even though there was much more to the man than that, it’s not such a bad thing to be remembered for. Rick Martel created one of the most unforgettable characters in wrestling history; now that is something which deserves a little ‘arrogance’.

Onwards and upwards...