The Final Test

Today, we mourn the loss of yet ANOTHER pro wrestler. Former Intercontinental, European, and Tag Team Champion Andrew "Test" Martin was found in his Florida apartment dead, from "unknown" causes. I'm not going to sit here, as a wrestling fan, and be ignorant to the facts. Anyone who has ever watched wrestling knows what Andrew died from. From his hulking shoulders, to the acne on his back, and the bloated stomach that still somehow housed a six pack, Andrew knew the risks. he knew them when he was warned by the WWe and suspended. He knew them when he was subsequently fired from the WWE (after receiving a fairly large push) for failing another drug test. He knew them when TNA let him go as they were being investigated by the feds, and they felt his size was "questionable." Andrew was a hell of a performer; I enjoyed a lot of his matches. However, at what cost does enjoyment come? The industry as a whole was finally recovering from the Benoit incident, and you can see the cleaner, leaner bodies of these athletes starting to come to fruition. We finally had reason to believe that wrestling, of all sports, was finally starting to get its act together.

Then at 33, Andrew Martin set a whole industry back.

He has not been involved in the WWE for over 2 years. He has not been active in TNA for over a year. But he will be inexorably and unjustly linked to these two companies for merely being a pro wrestler. That is not fair. The man chose his own actions. He chose not to heed the advice of friends and his employers. As sad as it is, he made his own grave.

So let's celebrate the life of this gifted performer, but also free ourselves of the ignorance that follows such tragedies. Learn from his mistakes; forgive him, but never forget what he did.

R.I.P Andrew

-Captain