Rick Martel

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Rick Martel
Quebec City, Quebec
, Canada
Spouse(s)
Johanne Vigneault
​
(m. 1983)​
Children1
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Cocoa Beach, Florida
(as The Model)[2]
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
(WCW)
Trained byPierre Martel
DebutJune 7, 1973[1]
RetiredMarch 23, 1999

Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired

Championships held by Martel over the course of his career include the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, WCW World Television Championship, and WWF World Tag Team Championship
.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1973–1980)

Martel is from a family of wrestlers, and made his professional debut at age seventeen when his brother Michel, a wrestler, asked him to replace an injured wrestler. Martel already was a skilled amateur wrestler, and quickly adapted to professional wrestling.

Martel wrestled throughout the world, winning titles in Canada (in

booker
for a wrestling territory in Hawaii, where he would help the promotion set up matches and construct the storylines that would play out inside and outside of the ring.

World Wrestling Federation (1980–1982)

Martel in 1981

Martel debuted in the

The Moondogs on March 17, 1981.[3] They regained the title from The Moondogs on July 21.[3] Their second reign came to an end on October 13, when they lost to Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito.[3]
Though they would challenge the champions numerous times, Martel and Garea were unable to recapture the belts, and Martel left the WWF in April 1982.

American Wrestling Association (1982–1986)

Martel signed with the AWA in 1982 and quickly ascended through the ranks, defeating

finishing move alternated between the slingshot splash and the combination atomic drop/back suplex. On December 29, 1985, Martel lost the title to Stan Hansen, who forced him to submit to the "Brazos Valley Backbreaker" (Hansen's version of the Boston crab
).

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1995)

Can-Am Connection (1986–1987)

Main article: Can-Am Connection

In 1986, Martel returned to the WWF, with his

Ace Cowboy Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco in the opening match, when Martel pinned Muraco with a flying cross-body helped by what commentator Gorilla Monsoon called "a schoolboy trip from behind" by Zenk. They split shortly afterward; Zenk claimed Martel had secretly negotiated an individual contract worth three times more than his partner's contract (traditionally, tag teams are paid roughly equal salaries).[5]

Martel strongly disagreed. In Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs, he said: “Ever since I had been fired by Jim Barnett, I decided not to discuss money matters with other wrestlers . . . I did the same thing with Tom, and he put it in his head, or some other people put it in his head, that I made more than him. But as far as Vince was concerned, if you were in a tag team, you earned the same amount of money.”[6] He also claimed Zenk "...was overwhelmed by it all... Wrestling is very hard on your body. Hard on you also mentally. It's hard physically. Tom wasn't mentally or physically hard as I thought he would be."[7]

Strike Force (1987–1989)

Main article: Strike Force

At the time of Zenk's departure, The Can-Am Connection was in a feud with

Haku and Tama); Zenk's departure was worked into the feud, with the Islanders claiming that Zenk was a quitter and abandoned Martel because he knew they could never beat them. In July 1987, Martel defeated both Haku and Tama in singles competition. Then on the August 15, 1987, episode of Superstars of Wrestling after Martel defeated Barry Horowitz, he was jumped by The Islanders. Tito Santana, who was doing commentary in the Spanish broadcast booth, ran to the ring to help Martel fight off his attackers. Martel and Santana then formed a tag team called Strike Force. The team were played off as good looking pretty boys (a storyline that came directly from the Can-Am Connection), even using the theme called "Girls In Cars", which was originally made for the Can-Am Connection. The name Strike Force came from Santana's promise that as a team they would, "be striking (The Islanders) with force." Martel immediately came up with the team's name based on this.[8]

After winning their feud with The Islanders, Strike Force immediately challenged

Atlantic City when Smash pinned Martel as a result of Martel being hit on the back of the neck by Ax using Mr. Fuji's cane as a weapon when Martel had Smash in the Boston crab and the referee was distracted by Santana beating up Mr. Fuji on the ring apron.[3]

Shortly afterward, Martel (kayfabe) took time off due to injuries sustained in a title rematch against Demolition at a Prime Time Wrestling taping in Oakland, California, on June 1, 1988 (aired July 11). Smash hit Martel with a steel chair, then Demolition performed their "Demolition Decapitation" finisher on him at ringside, leaving him unconscious on the floor. On the June 18 Superstars, it was announced he suffered back injuries and a concussion. In the storyline, he briefly retired due to these injuries. In reality, he was granted leave from the WWF and took six months off to help care for his severely ill wife.[9][10]

Before returning to the WWF Martel returned briefly to the

flying forearm smash and knocked him out of the ring. A frustrated Martel refused to tag in and walked away, leaving Santana to be beaten down and pinned.[12] Immediately after the match in an interview with "Mean" Gene Okerlund
who asked him how he could leave his partner "high and dry" and said that Strike Force was "supposed to be a team, a team", an irate Martel said, "I'm sick and tired. I'm sick and tired of him. You know, I was doing great as a singles wrestler, but no, Mr. Tito wants to ride my coattails some more. You saw his timing was off". Then angrily addressing Santana he said "You're lucky that being the gentleman that I am that I just walked off. That could have been a lot worse for you Tito Santana."

Following his

The Main Event IV taping on October 30, 1990 (aired November 23).[13][14]
As 1989 came to a close, Martel's association with Slick quietly ended.

The Model (1989–1995)

In late 1989, Martel adopted a

Skydome in Toronto, where he defeated Koko B. Ware via submission with his signature Boston Crab.[16]

Martel's most high-profile feud during his stint as the Model was with

Super World Sports. In December 1991, he lost to Naoki Sano
in a match to determine the inaugural SWS Junior Heavyweight Champion.

In early 1992, Martel began a feud with

Tatanka, leading to WrestleMania VIII, where Tatanka pinned him.[19]
He went on to work against Santana on house shows that spring.

During that time he unsuccessfully challenged Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship at UK Rampage (1992). Also that summer, Martel had a brief feud with Shawn Michaels, as both men sought the affections of Sensational Sherri. The feud ended with a chain of events that resulted in a double countout at SummerSlam 1992 held at the Wembley Stadium in London, England in front of what remains the SummerSlam record attendance of 80,355. The match carried a "no punching in the face" stipulation, mutually agreed upon and eventually disregarded by the two narcissistic heels.[20]

Martel then resumed his rivalry with Tatanka by stealing his sacred eagle feathers, to add to his wardrobe. The feud was resolved at the 1992 Survivor Series, where Tatanka again defeated Martel and reclaimed the feathers.[21]

In 1993, Martel mainly appeared on the

Wrestlemania X
but the match was cancelled during the show due to the show running out of time. The match was later held 2 weeks and 1 day later on Monday Night Raw, with Martel's team victorious. This turned out to be his final WWF in-ring match.

In August 1994, Martel dropped out of the WWF picture and won't be seen again until participating in the 1995 Royal Rumble (he was a substitute for Jim Neidhart, who was fired from WWF due to no-showing events).[24] Martel's final appearance came the following month at a house show in Montreal, as his wrestling career began to slow as Martel pursued a career in real estate.

In a shoot interview with RF video, Martel claimed that he and Don Callis were set to return to the WWF as 'The Supermodels' in 1997, before Callis turned on Martel, turning him face for the first time since 1989. However, after a pay dispute with WWF owner Vince McMahon, Martel signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Callis confirmed that he and Martel were set to debut as a team during an interview with WWE.com in 2015.

Other promotions (1994–1997)

In 1994, Martel worked for a few appearances for International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW) where in one of the matches defeated his former partner Tito Santana on September 9.

After leaving WWF in 1995, Martel wrestled in the independent circuit in United States and Canada. He had a feud with Don Callis aka The Natural in Manitoba. Later that year he went to Germany to work for Catch Wrestling Association. He lost to Santana in a Texas Death match by count out for NWA New Jersey on October 14.

In 1996 he wrestled in

Edge and Christian
known as Adam Impact and Christian Cage.

World Championship Wrestling (1998)

Martel debuted for WCW in 1998 on the January 5 episode of

gauntlet match, by beating Booker and then Perry Saturn
. Martel and Booker worked out a finish in the ring, and then Booker and Saturn worked the second half of the match entirely on the fly. Martel was out of action for several months.

During his recovery, he worked briefly as a French language announcer alongside Marc Blondin and Michel Letourneur for the French-language WCW programming that was airing in Europe.

After suffering another injury in his first match back on the July 13 episode of Nitro, against Booker T's Harlem Heat tag team partner (and real life older brother), Stevie Ray, Martel retired from the ring.[25]

Hawaiian Islands Wrestling Federation (1999)

After WCW, Martel wrestled his last match in Kailua, Hawaii, for Hawaiian Islands Wrestling Federation defeating The Metal Maniac on March 23, 1999.

Retirement (1999–2007)

Martel in 2012

After retiring from the ring, Martel worked for WCW as a trainer, and as host of the French versions of WCW programming. Rick also manages commercial properties he invested in from his earnings when wrestling.[26]

After the main event of a house show in Quebec City on May 3, 2003, then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar introduced Martel to the ring as a surprise, and shook his hand. Martel, who received a standing ovation from his home fans, said he was honoured to be associated with WWE and thanked the fans.[27]

At WWE's Vengeance: Night of Champions pay-per-view in 2007, Martel, along with his former teammate Tony Garea, saved Jimmy Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter from a post-match attack at the hands of Deuce 'n Domino.[25]

Martel is a playable character in WWE 2K18 and WWE 2K19, the first video game appearance since Showdown: Legends of Wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rick Martel Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c "Rick Martel - WWE profile". WWE. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Solie's Title Histories: WWWF/WWF". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. ^ "Solie's Title Histories: AWA - American Wrestling Association". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. ^ "Interview with Tom Zenk". Archived from the original on October 28, 2009.
  6. ISBN 9781770410947
    .
  7. ^ "Interview with Rick Martel".
  8. ^ "Strike Force is born!". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
  9. ISBN 978-1-59670-325-4
  10. ^ Rick 'The Model' Martel - Wrestling Shoot Interview (Complete), archived from the original on December 13, 2021, retrieved August 29, 2021
  11. ^ Rick Martel returns to the WWF, 1989, retrieved May 29, 2022
  12. ^ "WrestleMania V results". WWE. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  13. ^ "King of the Ring 1989 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  14. ^ "The Main Event IV results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  15. ISBN 978-1-55022-584-6
    .
  16. ^ "WrestleMania VI results". WWE. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  17. ^ "Survivor Series 1990 results". WWE. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  18. ^ "Guest Columns".
  19. ^ "WrestleMania VIII results". WWE. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  20. ^ "SummerSlam 1992 results". WWE. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  21. ^ "Survivor Series 1992 results". WWE. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  22. ^ "WWE Intercontinental Title History - Razor Ramon's first reign". WWE. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  23. ^ Rick Martel vs Bastion Booger, WWF 1993, retrieved February 21, 2022
  24. ^ "Royal Rumble 1995 results". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  25. ^
    World Wrestling Entertainment
    . Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  26. ^ D'Ambrosio, Brian (June 27, 2014). "The Balancing Act of Wrestling Legend Rick Martel". HuffPost. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  27. ^ Berube, Christian. "5/3 WWE in Quebec City: Brock vs. Cena, Show vs. Benoit". PWTorch.com.
  28. ^ "NWA North American Heavyweight Title (Hawaii) history". wrestling-titles.com.
  29. ^ "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  30. ^ "AWA World Heavyweight Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  31. ^ Oliver, Greg (April 20, 2011). "Lifetime honoree Foley captivates at CAC Baloney Blowout". Slam Wrestling. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  32. ^ "NWA Georgia Tag Team Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  33. ^ "International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  34. ^ "NWA Canadian Tag Team Title (Vancouver) history". wrestling-titles.com.
  35. ^ "British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title (New Zealand) history". wrestling-titles.com.
  36. ^ "NWA Pacific Northwest heavyweight Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  37. ^ "NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Title History".
  38. ^ Hoops, Brian (March 21, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling history (03/21): Flair vs. Fujinami at WCW/NJPW Supershow". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  39. Canadian Online Explorer
    . Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  40. ^ "Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Title history". wrestling-titles.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008.
  41. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  42. ^ "NWA/WCW World Television Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  43. ^ "NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  44. ^ "WWC North American Tag Team Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  45. ^ "WWWF/WWF/WWE World Tag Team Title history". wrestling-titles.com.
  46. ^ cite web|url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=26&nr=4888&page=2

External links

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