STW - Rick Martel [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Our subject held a major world championship in the 1980s for almost nineteen months, was a roommate to Hulk Hogan, drove up and down the road with Shawn Michaels, and was even - according to rumor and innuendo - involved in a bit of a bidding war in the late 90s between WCW and WWE. Today, it’s all about...Rick Martel. 

Richard Vigneault, better known as Rick Martel, was born on March 18, 1956 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a family of wrestlers and described himself as a big-time professional wrestling fan, growing up. He idolized Jack Brisco. Around age 12, his brother, also a wrestler, began to bring him to matches. He said ever since that age, he wanted to be part of the wrestling world.

He got his chance in June, 1973. Martel broke into the business when his brother, Michel (Pronounced: Me-shell) Martel, called and told him a wrestler had been injured. A replacement was needed. Rick Martel, at that time, had wrestled as an amateur in school...but not professionally. Kayfabe was strict and baby’s and heels never spoke. Rick Martel couldn’t even talk to his brother because he was a baby face and his brother was a heel. Still, he made it work that year. Martel wrestled over the summer. He went back to school that fall and after one day, at age 17, he said he quit. He said the wrestling bug had bitten him. He told the principal he was done, which was a surprise. 

From 1972 to 1980, Rick Martel traveled to various territories that included New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and of course, Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling.

What do you think Stu might have said when he first met Rick Martel? 

In December, 1977, Martel worked with NWA World Champion Harley Race in Australia and did the honors. Harley pinned him following a delayed vertical suplex. Martel didn’t think the loss would hurt him until he learned Harley wanted the tape of the match. The plans were for the video to be shown around the US. As luck would have it, the tape ended up helping Martel, he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JbVkwY0hik

In 1978, Michel (Pronounced: Me-shell) Martel, at age 30, died wrestling a match in Puerto Rico. Rick Martel idolized his brother and really credits him for giving him direction and mentorship in life. 

Martel told the Huffington Post, “In the 1970s, there were so many riots, people fighting. My brother had been shot. When you wrestle in Puerto Rico, you had to fight your way out of there many times. Tough things happened to heels back then, people waiting for the heels, fighting them at the bars. People would want to try you. In Puerto Rico, my brother passed away after a wrestling match, on the way to the hospital. Puerto Rico was one of the toughest places in the world to wrestle.”

With so many horror stories out of Puerto Rico, why would anyone want to go wrestle there?

Martel began to gain traction in his career in Portland, working for Pacific Northwest Wrestling, in 1979. PNW was an NWA affiliated territory. He held multiple titles there before he would leave in the second half of 1980. Martel says he was in Portland when he got a call from Vince McMahon Sr, who had seen him on Atlanta TV. Martel says Vince wanted him to come to the WWF and told Martel to call him back when he was ready to come to New York. A few months later, Martel called him back. 

It’s worth noting that Martel describes Vince Sr. as the man he enjoyed working for the most in his wrestling career.

“True to his word,” Martel said in an interview. “Once he said something, we went through that path and you didn’t have to worry from week to week that he may change his mind.”

Martel debuted on the July 8, 1980 Championship Wrestling taping from Allentown, PA, pinning Johnny Rodz with a sunset flip in his debut match. He would wrestle several more matches throughout July for the company.

Was Johnny Rodz his test, as we’ve often heard?

On August 16, 1980, Martel lost a “loser leaves town” match to Buddy Rose, finishing up his obligations to Pacific Northwest Wrestling.

Martel worked matches against the Wild Samoans in 1980 during his early WWF run. Around that time, he began to tag-team with Tony Garea, among other combinations. But his duo with Garea just seemed to click. He said their styles blended with Tony being solid in his wrestling moves and Martel having a lot of fire. He still loves Tony as a brother. With his brother having died just a few years before, Martel describes Tony as taking his brother's place as sort of a mentor.

On November 8, 1980 at a house show at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Tony Garea and Rick Martel defeated the Wild Samoans in 14:29 to win the WWF Tag Team Championships. Martel scored the pin with a sunset flip as the illegal Samoan covered Garea at the same time, moments after Garea and the legal Samoan collided in the ring.

The tag team of Garea and Martel worked with the Moondogs, who were described positively by Martel (No ego involved). Once they had a match that wasn’t perhaps as good as it could have been in New York. Martel said he remembers Tony got together with them in the back and ripped their asses. He got hot. And Martel says the Moondogs didn’t take it personally. From then forward, they changed the work a little and Martel says they had good matches.

Is that the veterans role, so to speak - or is that just the type of person Tony Garea was? Any Tony Garea stories?

On March 17, 1981’s edition of Championship Wrestling from Allentown, PA, The Moondogs defeated Garea and Martel for the tag team titles. Garea and Martel won the belts back on July 21, 1981 on Championship Wrestling. 

That summer, Garea and Martel worked with Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito, eventually dropping the belts to them by the fall on October 13, 1981’s Championship Wrestling. 

Martel also formed a friendship with Andre the Giant during his time in the WWF - helped by the fact that both spoke French. The two worked as a tag team on several occasions in 1980 against the Wild Samoans. He describes the two as having been very close. He knew Andre as he transformed from a happier, leaner, healthier man to the man he was in his later years (in constant pain). Martel says he once saw Andre move a small car.

Did you ever see Andre move any small cars, livestock, or otherwise large objects that a human being should not be able to move?

Martel said the New York party scene in the 1980s was unlike any place he had been. He only talks about alcohol in interviews. No goodies.

Martel was friends with Bob Backlund during this time. He met him on the night that Backlund had a fight with his wife and showed up to Martel’s apartment asking for a place to stay. They had a strong friendship from then forward. He said he was in a Florida bar called “Deep South.” Gerry Brisco, Backlund, Martel all there. A big guy comes over and challenges the wrestlers to arm wrestle. They say no but the big guy keeps agitating the wrestlers. Backlund agrees and slams the guy's hand, instantly...then proceeds to painfully slam his hand over and over into the table, beating his knuckles while asking him “Are you going to leave us alone now?” He left them alone.

Martel got along with Vince Jr especially well from having mutual interests in the gym, he said. He said he was a guy who didn’t mind going along with the ribs. He mentions one Vince interview with Fred Blassie taking his pants off and sitting on Barry Horowitz during pushups. Then he tells Barry to do sit-ups, and Barry sits right up two inches from Blassie’s ‘pencil-neck geek.’

Was Vince always cool with ribs?

Martel worked with Hulk Hogan during Hulk’s early time in the WWWF as a heel. The two both went to Minneapolis around the same time, coincidentally. Martel stayed with Hogan and became his roommate during that period, taking the spare room that had previously been used by BRUTUS...THE FUCKING BARBER...BEEFCAKE. Martel says Hulk was doing huge stuff in AWA during that. This was before Rocky III came out. Martel says Hulk never changed, even when he became a big star. Martel remembers Hogan’s discipline as part of his formula for success. He said Hogan never acted like a big star in front of him toward others.

Hulk Hogan seems like he remembers his friends. Is that safe to say?

Martel got a call from Nick Bockwinkel from AWA that lured him away from the WWF. He knew Bockwinkel from Hawaii. Bockwinkel put in a word with Verne, who was looking for his next big baby face top guy. Martel was hesitant - but Bockwinkel told him ‘you have to take care of tomorrow’s business today.’ When Martel told Vince Sr. he wanted to leave, it shocked the owner. Martel said he was sure Vince Sr. may have had other plans for him. Even with that, Martel thinks he left on good terms. He said he did well with money and met his wife during that time.

On April 3, 1982, Rick Martel defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna at the Boston Garden in his last match with the WWF for several years.

Martel said he did not enjoy working for Verne - who he describes as going from silk to sandpaper, compared to Vince Sr. He said Verne was bitter and always yelling at others. He was happy with money and days he worked - just not with the boss. Martel gave notice to Verne once to go back to Montreal...but then got the call he was being considered for a run with the belt. But Martel was booked with Andre in Japan BY Vince Sr.

What kind of rub would working with Andre the Giant on tour have given a young Rick Martel?

Ultimately, Martel made the difficult choice to go with AWA, again, which he felt upset Vince more. He even remembers Vince Jr. calling him and asking him to reconsider. Martel said he explained to Vince that he was getting a world title vs a tour in Japan with Andre. Vince Jr. tells him he wishes Martel would have given them a chance to offer him something just as enticing but he understood. And May 13, 1984, Rick Martel became AWA World Champion.

So if Rick Martel had called the WWF and given them a chance to make a counter offer that “might have been as good”...what might it have been? A world title?

https://youtu.be/c3O_jGZd6EI

(Skip to 22:30 to see the finish.) 

Martel won the title with Steve Austin’s old move, the stun gun, followed by a cross body block off the ropes. In interviews, Martel said the match was totally called in the ring with nothing planned out. 

In the aftermath, Martel’s celebration is interrupted by Bobby the Brain Heenan and Nick Bockwinkel! They demand a title shot for Bockwinkel, a former world champion for eight plus years. Martel says he will leave it up to the championship committee. The interview was conducted by Ken Resnick, who also went to the WWF in the following years. Martels matches with Bockwinkel were very stiff, he says.

Was that just the Verne Gagne style that long-time stalwarts of the territory worked?

Martel worked matches as a champion all throughout the end of 1984 with Nick Bockwinkel. He also worked with Mr. Saito, Jimmy Garvin, King Tonga, and Bill Robinson, among others. As 1985 began, most of Martel’s matches were with Jim Garvin. 

How about this: On June 9, 1985, Rick Martel lost a championship match to Michael P.S. Hayes! But...the decision was reversed afterward, so Martel was still the champ. Martel described working with the Freebirds with positive memories in interviews. He would pick up wins over Hayes for the rest of the summer. He also worked with Larry Zybsko, Boris Zhukov, and Jerry Lawler on October 12 in Nashville - winning by DQ, of course. 

On October 21, 1985 in Tokyo, Japan, promoters decided to have an AWA vs. NWA championship bout between Martel and the NWA Champion, Ric Flair. Martel said he had a lot of respect for Flair and they had a great match. After 34:03, both men were counted out.

Was it a big deal for the two champions of separate companies to meet like that?  

By now, Martel had held the belt for a year and a half. He said he was tired of it. He especially didn’t like working for Verne, who “made things hard for nothing,” Martel said. Verne was losing it as Vince expanded and was described as being an awful boss. 

The week after Japan, Martel began to work with Stan Hansen. He describes Hansen as brutal. He said Hansen would eat you up if you didn’t fight back. He remembered coming back from the match with bruises and bumps. On December 29 at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Martel dropped the title to Hansen.

Did Stan Hansen just like to hurt people and be hurt?

Around the time, Martel said Dino Bravo had part-ownership with Gino Brito in the Montreal territory. Martel went to work with Bravo and despite hearing negative warnings, said he enjoyed it enough to want to buy into the territory. Martel had previously had booking experience in Hawaii with Peter Maivia. 

But this didn’t last too long, because by early 1986, Rick Martel would be headed back to the then-WWF.

Martel said a secret meeting was planned and he took a plane to meet Vince Jr, who was the boss by this point. Martel said he suggested the Can-Am Connection with Tom Zenk! Zenk had worked with Martel in Montreal and Martel had taken a liking to him. Dino was hot when he heard about the secret meeting. Of course, he ended up back in the WWF in 1986, too (Bravo had also been with the company before).

Was it pretty common for wrestlers to be taking secret trips to meet with Vince during this time?

Rick Martel returned on the WWF Superstars taping on October 28, 1986 in a tag-team with Tom Zenk to defeat Steve Lombardi and - funny enough - Moondog Spot at 2:26 when Martel hit a slingshot splash into the ring on Lombardi. Martel often won matches during this period with that move. This was the first taping of Superstars where the “Superstars of Wrestling” and the “WWF” banners were hung from the rafters. 

That November, Martel and Zenk would work a match against the WWF Tag Team Champion British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid) at the forum in Montreal, Quebec. Get this: The Bulldogs had to work heels in the match against the popular Martel/Zenk. 

How popular was Rick Martel in Canada?

As 1987 began, Martel and Zenk worked matches against Greg Valentine and Brutus...the...not yet a barber...Beefcake. They worked against the Harts, Demolition and the Iron Sheik and Volkoff that year, too. 

On March 29, 1987 in Pontiac, Michigan, Wrestlemania III opened with Rick Martel and Tom Zenk winning the very first match - defeating Don Muraco and Bob Orton Jr. (With Mr. Fuji) in 5:37 when Martel pinned Muraco with a cross body with a trip from Zenk to assist.

Split with Zenk

Zenk and Martel would continue teaming until July 9, when they had their last match together defeating the Islanders. Beginning July 11, Zenk would be substituted with various partners for Martel after leaving the company following a disagreement over pay. 

Zenk said in a July 200 Sports Radio interview in Orlando that he quit because Martel signed his own deal with the company, behind Zenk’s back. Zenk said he had a deal that only guaranteed $50 a night and thought he was being manipulated. Zenk said he always got pinned, always did all of the selling, and always let Martel have the comebacks. Clearly, Zenk was bitter. 

Martel said it may not have worked out with Zenk because of his own accidental fault. Out of habit, he said he never discussed pay. He said as the old timer he was trying to pump Zenk up. He also said Linda, at Vince’s request, helped Zenk get a mortgage from the bank. Things came to a head when Zenk refused to adhere to the dress code and wore jeans. Martel chewed him out for the first time ever, and Zenk quit the next day by writing Martel a memo. Martel said he flew to Zenks home with Jack Lanza and tried to convince him to return but Zenk refused. Martel called him a fucking asshole and hated him.

Stories about Tom Zenk getting fed up and quitting during this time?

Martel would wrestle several matches solo and other tag matches with substitutes before fate would partner him that year with his next permanent tag-team partner - Tito Santana. 

Tito and Martel worked heavily that fall with the Islanders, managed by Bobby Heenan. During an interview, Santana promised as a team, they would “be striking (The Islanders) with force.” Martel came up with the name Strike Force based on this. The two even began using Girls in Cars as their theme, off the Piledriver album - originally meant for the Can-Am Connection.

Then on the November 7 edition of Superstars, Tito Santana and Rick Martel won the WWF Tag Team Championship off of The Hart Foundation at 9:08 when Neidhart submitted to Martel’s dreaded Boston Crab. Backstage, the new champions celebrated with President Jack Tunney, Bam Bam Bigelow, Hillbilly Jim, and JYD. 

These backstage babyface celebrations seem to have been a staple in the mid-80s, namely Hogan’s first title win. Is this basically the endorsement for fans to cheer them?

On the November 26 airing of Prime Time Wrestling, taped 21 days earlier in the Sam Houston Coliseum, Rick Martel and Tito Santana defeated the Islanders at 12:44. After the match, Bruce Prichard interviewed Jimmy Hart and the Hart Foundation on the stage with Hart demanding a tag team title shot at the next Houston show (on Dec. 11). Martel and Santana accepted. 

That taping featured Bruce, Mike McGuirk, and Pete Doherty on commentary. It’s a VERY interesting trio. 

How did that come together? How did commentary work with the three of you?

As an example of how much times had changed, WWF held a show on November 24 at MSG in New York. Santana and Martel defeated the Hart Foundation by DQ in 18:18. On commentary was Gorilla Monsoon, Lord Alfred Hayes….and Nick Bockwinkel. 

Why didn’t Bockwinkel work out with the company during this time?

Martel and Santana were on the winning team in their match at the Survivor Series 1987 - a 20-man-tag-team-match (five tag-teams on each team). This was the most crowded match you’ll ever see on a WWE show. 

On the January 2, 1988 Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC, Martel and Santana worked a tag match, beating Volkoff and Zhukov (with Slick) at 7:55 in the best 2 out of 3 falls match. Fall #1: Zhukov submitted to Martel's Boston Crab at 4:23; fall #2: Santana pinned Zhukov at 3:32 after Volkoff accidentally hit his partner with Slick's cane behind the referee's back, with Martel then knocking Volkoff out of the ring with a dropkick. Santana and Martel made an appearance that night when Andre the Giant attacked world champion Hulk Hogan, following his win over King Kong Bundy. Martel and Santana tried to pull Andre off of Hogan as the lockerroom emptied to rescue the Hulkster from the angry giant. 

In early 88, Strike Force would continue working with the Hart Foundation, including at the February 5, 1988 NBC show, The Main Event. Strike Force would defeat the Harts when Martel pinned Bret by blocking a sunset flip attempt. The match was actually the last on the show, going on after Andre pinning Hulk Hogan for the championship!

Why was the main event not put on last, here? Why instead have that tag-team match finish the show?

At house shows after, Strike Force would join up with Randy Savage to take on the Harts and the Honky Tonk Man, intertwining the feuds.

Then, at Wrestlemania 4, Strike Force was cheated out of the titles by Demolition in 8:02 when Smash pinned Martel after Ax hit Martel over the back of the head with Fuji's cane behind the referee's back as Smash was caught in the Boston Crab. In the following months, return matches would be booked that saw Demolition hold onto the belts and eventually, saw them kayfabe injure Rick Martel on a Prime Time Wrestling taping on June 1 in Oakland (aired on July 11). 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.

Martel’s wife had ileitis (ill-e-itis), meaning part of her small intestine had to be partially removed. He went to Vince to tell him he needed to go home to be with his wife and Martel said Vince shocked him by being so understanding. Told Martel ‘there’s no doubt in my mind the only place you need to be is with your wife.’

Do you remember Martel asking for time off here? How did Vince know that it was that important of a situation (Just judging from Martel’s words)?

On January 3, 1989, Rick Martel was back, beating Barry Horowitz with the Boston crab at 2:44 at a taping in good old Huntsville, Alabama. He wrestled Mr. Perfect to a time-limit draw on Prime Time Wrestling that aired on February 6. As the build toward Wrestlemania 5 continued, Martel stayed in singles matches. 

Then on April 2 at Wrestlemania 5, Strike Force reunited for the first time in ten months. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the Brainbusters (Arn and Tully) 9:17 when Anderson pinned Santana following the spike piledriver; late in the bout, Martel walked out on his partner after Santana accidentally hit him with the flying forearm; after the contest, Gene Okerlund conducted a backstage interview with Martel regarding his actions, with Martel claiming he was sick of Santana wanting to ride his coattails (Santana & Martel's first match as a team in 10 months).

"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."

According to Martel in an interview, Vince and Pat didn’t see Martel as a heel! They thought no one would buy it. Funny, right? Martel says he threatened to quit if Vince didn’t let him do it. And he gave his notice. A few days later, he gets a call and Vince and Pat are more willing, but he gets to TV and has baby face promos to give - so he quits again! He said Vince called him back and they came to an agreement to turn him heel. But he needed a gimmick. Martel said he didn’t think about that.

Did the boss need convincing to turn Martel heel? How long did it take before Vince knew it worked?

Martel would cement his heel turn on April 22, 1989, when he was introduced as Slick’s latest protege. From there, he feuded with Santana over the next year, losing to him in the finals of the 1989 King of the Ring tournament on October 14 in Rhode Island. As 1989 came to a close, the decision was made to end Martel’s association with Slick. 

Talk about the decision to put Martel with Slick, and why it ended?

On November 23 at the Survivor Series 89, Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, & the Red Rooster defeated the Big Bossman (w/ Slick), the Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart), Bad News Brown (sub. for Akeem), & Rick Martel in an elimination match at 22:04; Martel did get the first pinfall over Santana at 9:44 with a roll over, grabbing the tights for leverage but Martel was pinned at 20:15 by Beefcake. 

Around that same time, Martel began to be known as Fashion Model Rick Martel. He appeared on the interview stage wearing clothing while Lord Alfred Hayes would describe his attire in his very British voice. During one of the appearances, Martel’s coat was cut up by Brutus Beefcake, setting up a program between the two in early 1990. Eventually, they dropped the adjective “Fashion” from his name and just called him The Model. 

Martel said he wasn’t sold at first on the idea of the Model but his wife said “At least it’s not a Rooster.”

At the January 21, 1990 edition of the Royal Rumble, Martel got another dig in on Tito Santana, by helping eliminate him (with aid of the Warrior) as Santana attempted to throw Martel out of the ring. Warrior would later eliminate Martel. 

While he was still working with Brutus Beefcake on house shows, he never interacted with him on a PPV besides Survivor Series 89. Why not? Save it for the paying crowd?

On the February 10, 1990 edition of Superstars, Martel appeared on the Brother Love show. Martel introduced his own fictional brand of cologne, Arrogance. He would often carry it in a large atomizer and spray it in the eyes of his opponents to blind them, regularly getting himself DQed but sometimes picking up a win that way, too. The babyface commentators always indicated that it smelled bad while the heels acted like they loved it. 

MUST KNOW: What was actually in the Arrogance can that Martel was spraying? 

Despite all of this time in the company, Martel made his PPV singles match debut at Wrestlemania 6, defeating Koko B. Ware via submission with the Boston Crab at 5:30. It’s remarkable to think that he turned heel the year before and all of that time, still never worked a singles PPV match (despite obviously working a lot of singles matches). 

On the April 28 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC, several vignettes aired with Martel promoting his Arrogance scent. He rode horseback, picked up a couple of women, and drove off with them in a convertible. 

On August 11, a Summerslam report announced Tito Santana vs. Rick Martel for the upcoming PPV show. For several weeks, the match continues to be hyped up. Then, on August 26...it’s announced that the Warlord would replace Martel in the match due to a previous modeling engagement. The Warlord would pin Santana in 5:28 with the running powerslam on August 27 at Summerslam.

Why not give us the payoff to the Santana/Martel feud at Summerslam? 

Following Summerslam, Martel began regularly appearing on the Brother Love show at the beginning of segments before Brother Love would bring out his main guest for the week. A special report segment on September 30 showed Martel’s appearances on the Brother Love Show, each time spraying his Arrogance Cologne. He explained he only shared Arrogance with people who deserve it - like his friend Brother Love. 

On the October 6, 1990 edition of the Brother Love Show (Superstars), Martel’s appearances would find meaning in the form of a feud with Jake the Snake. During the appearance, Martel would spray the snake bag with his cologne. Jake stopped him several times before becoming frustrated with him, going to grab him - and getting sprayed right in the eyes. The Big Bossman and several officials then came out to help tend to Jake with Bossman throwing water in Jake’s eyes to help wash out the cologne. In the following weeks, Martel would apologize, saying he did not spray it in Jake’s eyes on purpose. Footage was shown of Roberts’ damaged eye being completely white with Roberts in excruciating pain. 

On the October 27 edition of the Brother Love Show, Rick Martel was once again on the Brother Love Show, giving the blinded Jake Roberts a walking stick to help him. Roberts came out - ironically with Tony Garea’s help. Martel teased and slapped Jake before being led away by officials. Jake, thinking he had Martel, grabbed Brother Love and DDT’ed him straight into the floor.

It’s been talked about on a previous episode...the DDT looked BRUTAL...how bad was it actually?

On the November 11 Wrestling Challenge, Rick Martel defeated Tito Santana via disqualification at 3:49 when a blinded Jake Roberts came to the ring and mistakenly attacked Santana, thinking he was Martel; after the bout, Santana gave Roberts the microphone, who then said he would get Martel in time. 

At Survivor Series 90, The Visionaries (Rick Martel, the Warlord (w/ Slick), Paul Roma, & Hercules) defeated The Vipers (Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, & Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) at 17:42 - but Roberts was counted out for chasing Martel out, keeping their feud going. Later in the night, the Ultimate Match of Survival saw all members of Martel’s team (The Visionaries) return to lose to the team of Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior...and Tito Santana! Martel was counted out of the match when he walked out. 

This concept was so cool (Ultimate Match of Survival). Why didn’t it ever return?

Why was Tito put in that match with Hulk and Warrior? 

Late November and early December, Jake and Martel were working house show matches against each other. However, Martel also worked several house show matches against a very young Dustin Rhodes during this time, usually winning with the Boston Crab. 

An important note is that sometime during 1990, Martel said he became interested in managing his commercial real estate investments. He had used the money he made to purchase investment properties. His interest would remain there significantly for several years, drawing away his attention from the wrestling business.

At Royal Rumble 91, Martel would eliminate Jake Roberts from the match with a snapmare over the ropes on Roberts. Martel would go on to set a then-record by remaining in the Rumble match for 53 minutes before he was eliminated by the British Bulldog.

Any memories on why the decision was made to have him set this record, here?

Now, here is a weird moment. On the February 16, 1991 WWF Superstars, Rick Martel defeated Tommy Landell with the Boston Crab at 1:15. After that, an unknown masked man came to the ring, attacked Martel, and then left. It was the debut of the Mariner character, played by Brutus Beefcake. 

Where was this idea going?

Roberts and Martel began working the blindfold gimmick match on house shows during this time, although they often worked regular one-fall matches, too. Martel worked a Blindfold Match with Koko B. Ware on March 17’s Road to Wrestlemania Special, too. Martel won by submission at 4:23. 

On March 24, 1991, at Wrestlemania 7 in the LA Sports Arena, Jake The Snake Roberts would get his comeuppance, pinning Martel after a DDT at 8:33 in a blindfold match. After the match, Roberts stomped the Atomizer before scaring Martel out of the ring with Damien. Now, the internet has shit on this match. As a kid, I loved it. As an adult, there’s a moment at the beginning of the match where Jake puts his hand in his blindfold and his hand is visible through the see-thru mesh. 

Did Bruce or others backstage see this happen live?

Meltzer hated the match, writing, “Jake Roberts pinned Rick Martel in 8:43 with a DDT in a blindfold match. Given the limitations of a gimmick match in which both men have to pretend to be unable to see, it was a good performance from both men. However as a wrestling match, this would have been negative as many stars as are in the Texas sky. I'd give it one star for comedy, except the whole gimmick was ruined when the ring and TV lights were so bright that the viewers could see inside, so therefore it was too obvious they could see outside. Even if that wasn't the case, this had no business going more than five minutes. DUD”

In hindsight, what does Bruce think of this match?

Martel lost to the Big Bossman on the April 9 Prime Time Wrestling, then to Randy Savage - with Miss Elizabeth - in what was deemed Savage’s final bout (that he had signed for before losing the career match at Wrestlemania 7; This match is on World Tour 91, which is on the Network under Home Video). Martel lost matches against Savage, Warrior, and Piper. In April 1991, he left and was substituted for in several advertised matches. 

On July 4, 1991, no one in the WWF was shooting fireworks because Dr. George T. Zahorian III, who at one time served as Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission physician and was positioned ringside at many pro wrestling events in the state, was found guilty on 12 counts following a trial. Four counts were for selling steroids without medical purpose to a former University of Virginia strength coach, four were for selling controlled substances to the same coach, and four were for selling steroids without medical purpose to Roddy Piper, B. Brian Blair, Dan Spivey, and Rick Martel. He was found innocent on two additional steroid distribution charges. This was the first physician to be convicted on steroid charges following the passing of the Nov. 1988 steroid law. During the trial, it was revealed Zahorian also sold steroids over the years to Vince McMahon, Lord Alfred Hayes, Freddie Blassie, Superstar Billy Graham, and Hogan.

Was there heat on Martel during this? Is this why Martel left the company? 

By December, 1991, The Model Rick Martel was back! His return match was a win over Dale Wolf on the December 28 Superstars airing. He was also announced for the 1992 Royal Rumble, where he would enter at 47:59 and be eliminated by Sid Justice about 13 minutes later.

Also in early 1992, Martel began to feud with Tatanka, leading to a match at Wrestlemania 8 where Tatanka got the pin. Martel said he was placed with Tatanka to be a mentor or teacher but his heart wasn’t really in the business at this point, with him focusing on real estate.

Martel first met Shawn Michaels in the AWA but he wound up traveling with Shawn during Shawn’s early heel run. Martel said Shawn really picked his brain during that time.

As luck would have it, Martel and Shawn ended up in an unlikely heel vs. heel program, with the two battling for the affection of Sensational Sherri. The match had a special stipulation too: No Hitting in the Face, which didn’t last long after tempers flared. Martel said Shawn let him lead the whole match and had respect for people who had been around longer. The match ended in a double count out in front of 80,355 screaming fans in London’s Wembley Stadium. He said Shawn later took him aside in the dressing room and thanked him for his “first big payoff,” he said.

The rumor and innuendo was that Shawn Michaels was to win the IC belt from Bret before Bret suggested Bulldog take the belt in London and later drop it to Shawn in the states. 

Was the Shawn/Martel feud one out of necessity, to keep HBK in the picture?

Martel says he later became very powerful and not in an always-positive way. Martel recalled Shawn worked the ladder match at Mania X and went so long, the eight-man tag he and others were scheduled to have had to be cut. Despite that, Martel said with him, HBK was always respectful - maybe because of the early singles program between the two.

Martel resumed his feud with Tatanka that fall at the 1992 Survivor Series, where Tatanka again defeated him and reclaimed his sacred eagle feathers that you could win by throwing three darts in a row at a balloons during the county fair (seriously, I won them at the Randolph County Fair and used to pretend I had stolen them from Tatanka, too - Stan)

At this point, Martel’s career in the WWE really began to wind down. In 1993, he worked mostly on secondary programs like All-American Wrestling (Sunday mornings) and Wrestling Challenge (check your local listings!). At the September 27 Monday Night Raw taping, Martel was the co-winner of a battle royal with Razor Ramon that aired on October 4. The winners were to face off the following week for the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated. Martel lost that match to Ramon, which also helped to cement him as a babyface. 

How did Martel end up as creative’s choice to win this?

Martel feuded briefly with Bastion Booger, whom he sprayed with Arrogance. 

Then at Survivor Series 93, he was on a team with Adam Bomb, Diesel, and Irwin R. Schyster, losing to the 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Janetty, Randy Savage and Razor Ramon. Martel was eliminated by the Kid at 25:49.

Martel entered the 1994 Royal Rumble as the 26th entrant before he was eliminated by Tatanka. Martel was set to appear in a ten-man-tag match at Wrestlemania X but as has already been mentioned, that match was cut due to time reasons.

So would Martel still have been paid for the show that night? Does he also again get pay for doing the match later on Raw, when his team was victorious?

Martel wrestled Randy Savage in Japan that summer and by July, was again gone from the company. 

He would return for his last match in the WWF, the 1995 Royal Rumble, being in the match for a little over two minutes before being eliminated by Sionne (the Barbarian as a Headshrinker). 

Curiously, at a house show in Montreal on February 3, 1995, the show featured a surprise appearance by Rick Martel in which he was interviewed in the ring and said that when he returned to the WWF, he would start in Montreal. He later did a run-in, clotheslining Shawn Michaels on the floor. 

Were there plans for some kind of HBK/Rick Martel feud in 1995? Or plans for Martel to return? Where did this come from?

Martel worked the indies before and again after leaving the WWF in 1995. One of his feuds was with Don Callis, aka The Natural, in Manitoba. Several of his independent bookings would be against Tito Santana, as well. In 1996, Martel teamed with Don Callis as the Supermodels - feuding with two young talents known as Adam Impact and Christian Cage. That’s Edge and Christian.

We don’t have an exact date on this but sometime in the late 90s, Martel said Paul Heyman tried to get him to come into ECW. Martel didn’t want to. He said Heyman offered to let him work with whoever he wanted and do whatever he wanted but Martel said no thanks.

In 1997, Rick Martel was once again in talks to return to the WWE. Martel said he was going to come in to do the Supermodels tag team with Cyrus. He said they would have been baby faces but Cyrus would have turned heel on him, eventually. Martel asked for a yearly deal, he said. But when the contract arrived, he said it wasn’t what he had discussed and mentioned something about it saying ‘he needed to prove himself for three months.’ 

Do you remember Rick Martel being in talks to return in 1997? Any recollection about what his beef with the contract was?

He said Callis went to WWF anyway but Martel went to WCW which he described as the best year he’s had financially in wrestling.

It would also be his last.

On January 5, 1998 at WCW Nitro in the Georgia Dome, Martel made his WCW debut defeating Brad Armstrong. He had several B-show matches in the next few weeks and worked this period as a babyface, receiving a pretty good reaction from the crowds. He also called his finisher the Quebec Crab, by this point. And he was being billed from his actual hometown - Quebec City

On the January 19 Monday Nitro from the Superdome in New Orleans, Martel defeated Eddie Guerrero with the Quebec Crab. Later in the show, Martel saved Booker T from a beatdown, setting up an angle between the two. 

At Souled Out, Booker T hit the Harlem Hangover on Martel’s head, which Martel said gave him a bad concussion. Martel said around that time, Booker also hurt Saturn with the move and was banned from using it. So, you’d think things would have been safer for Martel going forward...but not exactly.

Martel was out of action for several weeks. At the February 16 WCW Nitro at the Fairgrounds in Tampa, Martel won the TV championship again, defeating Booker T with the Quebec Crab. 

Then, Superbrawl 8 came around, on February 22 from San Francisco. Booker T pinned Martel in 10:32 of the opening contest to win the TV title once again but not without a major injury to Martel’s leg. Booker T hurt him by throwing him with a hip-toss from too far into the ring. Martels legs land on the middle rope and then snaps to the mat. Booker was working fast and stiff for the whole match. Martel jumps off the second rope and gets hit with a Harlem Sidekick. It’s less visible what happened here but Martel landed on his feet during the jump which might have worsened whatever injury he had. By the next match, which was Booker T vs. Saturn, it was announced Martel had torn a ligament in his knee. Bobby Heenan even quipped that it might be the end of his career. 

Martel was out of action until July. Then he returned on July 13, 1998 at WCW Monday Nitro at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He faced Stevie Ray and in the finish, he’s injured in again by trying to protect his knee. It knocked two vertebrate out in his neck and right as he hit the mat, he said “Fuck this.” And he was done.

https://youtu.be/vVqMI1bjDUQ

We’ve heard several examples of WWE talent going to WCW and then ending up injured. Any insight as to why the WWE was, seemingly, safer?

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

After retiring from the ring, Martel worked for WCW as a trainer, and as host of the French versions of WCW programming. He continued to manage his commercial properties which he likely 

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.

Were you there or did you hear about this?

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.

Martel was also in WWE 2K18 and 2K19 video games. 

You’d think he would be in the WWE Hall of Fame - but that’s yet to happen as of this broadcast.

Will we see him in the Hall of Fame someday soon?

Overall, where will Rick Martel go down in the history books? What will his legacy be?

QUESTIONS

Jeff asks...Whose idea was the “no hitting in the face” match at SummerSlam 1992 against Shawn Michaels?  And was it weird for Sherri Martel to be ‘infatuated’ with Rick Martel (seemed weird to me as a kid given they both had the same last name)

BillyGunnFact asks...Is it true that Rick Martel was in discussion to come back to WWF in 1999 and form a team with Billy Gunn called “The Ass Models”

Adam asks...The WWF magazine ran a story that says “Martel retires”. Was there genuine concerned that Rick might not come back after his hiatus in 1988?

Jesse asks...#AskBruce Years ago a ran into someone who claimed to know "inside infornation" he told me Rick Martel and Rick Rude hated each other and got into a huge brawl backstage. He said they had to be kept apart backstage after that until Rude left the company. Any truth to this ?

Kevin wants to know...Why was there no effort or creativity put into the never ending tito vs martel feud aside from the betrayal at mania 5? Aside from former partners storyline, it didn't have as much story as feuds with Roberts, Tatanka, or even HBK. #AskBruce

Mr. Perfect Fan Canada asks...#AskBruce Did you ever see the vignette's done in the AWA and other territories for Rick prior to winning their top title? They were Rocky style training montages (Ron Garvin got a similar treatment in 1987 before beating Flair). As a master of these what did you think of them?

NSPhotos asks...#AskBruce what were the reasons for the outfit switches from baby blue to purple to pink to back to baby blue? Did the office decide or was it Ricks decision? And who had to respray the Arrogance dispenser & buy a new bow tie for Rick each time his colour palette changed?

Kris asks...According to “rumor and innuendo” the plan was for the Can-Am Connection to become tag champions in the summer of 1987 but those plans changed when Tom Zenk left. Is this true? If not, were they considered for the tag team championship? #AskBruce

Nina asks...How much of the model persona was Rick, and how much of it was an assigned character? It seemed like he genuinely connected with the role #askbruce

Thinking Man Sports...Had Tom Zenk not left the company, do you think the Can-Am Connection would have had a more successful long-term run than Strike Force or would the runs of both teams been similar?

Eric asks...Why was Rick Martel never given a singles championship push in the WWF?

Ray asks...How do you rank Rick in your all-time greatest physiques in wrestling? #AskBruce

DGarrison asks...#AskBruce Why not a Rick Martel vs Tito Santana match @ WM6?- would have been a 1 year storyline and payoff match. Koko could have jobbed to Barbarian.

Kris asks...My friends and I thought the Arrogance cologne was hilarious. Were there ever plans by the company to release Arrogance as an actual cologne? #AskBruce

ZERO! asks...#ASKBRUCE Anything you can tell us about producing "The Model" vignettes? I always thought they are criminally underrated and made me love to hate Martel as a kid

Stevehateswrestling asks...#askbruce was rick ever considered to end the undefeated streak of tatanka instead of Ludvig fn Borga?

Slizzard asks...If WWE Shop were to sell Arrogance cologne, what might that smell like? #AskBruce