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J.R. Remembers Andrew "Test" Martin Who Was Found Dead Friday Evening

Posted: Mar 14th 2009 By: Jim Ross courtesy of www.jrsbarbq.com

Late last night I received word that Andrew Martin aka Test had been found dead in his apartment/condo in the Tampa, Florida area. Andrew would have been 34 years of age this Tuesday.

I hired Andrew in the same class with his other fellow Canadians Edge and Christian in the late 90's in an outstanding group of young talent whose advanced training was over seen by future WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk and by Tom Prichard.

Andrew left WWE over two years ago and had wrestled off and on, briefly in TNA, and also on the independent circuit primarily on international tours. I spoke at length with Andrew, as did my wife, last year in Orlando at Wrestlemania 24 and he seemed very happy and looked to be healthy and in great physical condition. He spoke of his real estate endeavors and the fact that he was strongly considering going back to school and becoming accredited as a physical therapist. Andrew had done well in WWE, saved his money, made some good investments, and told me he only wanted to wrestle when "he wanted to" which the randomly scheduled international tours would allow him to do. He did not express interest in the American indy scene and was genuinely excited about the prospects of the aforementioned physical therapy career.

Andrew had always told me that he never wanted to wrestle past the age of 35 which was why he "listened to the lectures" as he told me with a smile that sunny day in Orlando in WWE's headquarter hotel. I honestly had never seen him happier.

Late last summer, reacting on the suggestion of others, WWE reached out to Andrew to ask if he needed some help handling some alleged personal issues that he was rumored to have been experiencing. Andrew had been gone from WWE for over two years but had remained friends with many still associated with WWE. The rumors of Andrew's issues were true and he was afforded the opportunity by WWE to attend The Hanley Center Rehabilitation facility in West Palm Beach, Florida for several weeks beginning in August of 2008. Andrew successfully completed the WWE funded program and was highly regarded by the Hanley Center with being such an asset to them after completing the program of which Andrew took seriously, according to the facility. Since being released from the facility after successfully completing the program, Andrew had been doing well in his 12 Step AA program and was in contact with WWE with regular phone calls. Ironically, Friday was the day for his regularly scheduled "touching base" but when called his voice mail box was full.

I was not aware that Andrew was having problems and did not know of is rehab stint until recently. Test, a name provided Martin after he portrayed a security person who tested the band Motley Crue's mic with the obligatory, 'test...test...test," always seemed to be a bright young man who knew what he wanted in life and was seemingly looking forward to his future and getting an education in physical therapy.

It is comforting to know that Andrew was receiving support from WWE and it was also encouraging to know that he was seemingly on the road to recovery in the past several months. The exact cause of Andrew's death won't be determined for a few days after the results of an autopsy have been released.

I will remember this young man as a bright, intelligent individual and am thankful that my last conversation with him was so positive and that he was excited about his future in a new field. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans and may God rest his soul.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, TNA