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Wrestling Superstars To Hit Civic Centre On Sunday

Posted: Mar 24th 2011 By: CMBurnham

As a boy, Troy Martin was scolded for being rowdy. Now he gets paid for it.

Martin, better known as "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, is a professional wrestler whose career has spanned three decades working in national wrestling promotions such as Extreme Championship Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Martin is scheduled to defend his current championship belt against "The Innovator of Violence" ? also known as "Tommy Dreamer" ? at the Big Time Wrestling event at the Augusta Civic Center at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Fellow pro wrestler Mick Foley, who has wrestled under various monikers since the '80s ? including "Cactus Jack" and "Mankind" ? is also scheduled to appear.

The event will be the first time either wrestler has worked in Augusta.

"It (pro wrestling) is based on reaction. You have to connect with fans in a way that baseball players don't have to. It's not just based on results," Foley said by phone while traveling in Florida.

For Martin, being a wrestler has been a dream come true.

"I was raised in the projects as one of six kids," he said from his home in Pennsylvania.

"My mother was divorced and raised us on her own. She could have gone on public assistance, but she was able-bodied and too proud to do that," Martin said, recalling how his mother worked long shifts at a factory.

Martin said he spent weekends with his father and still remembers the first time the two watched wrestling together.

"When I was 13, we got cable, and I was able to see wrestling," Martin said. "I was like a fish on the end of a hook."

By the early '90s, Martin had earned a bachelor's degree and teaching certificate, and was teaching U.S. history and economics to middle and high school students during the week and wrestling on the weekends.

Martin captured the ECW heavyweight championship belt multiple times and was featured in prime-time matches, pay-per-view events and various merchandise, including his own action figure.

The years of grueling matches were hard on his body, though, and Martin became addicted to oxycodone after a physician prescribed the drug.

"I can still hear the doctor's voice calling it a 'miracle drug'," he said. "The very first pill I took, I went to the gym and worked like a dog and came home to paint my house. I felt 20 years younger."

In 2006, Martin quit the painkiller and is now a motivational speaker who shares his experience overcoming addiction with others.

"Whether it's alcohol, cigarettes ? you fill in the blank ? people convince themselves they have to take it," he said.

Martin said he feels the professional wrestling industry should do more to address addiction, but pro wrestlers lose money if they take time to recover from injuries.

"We're all independent contractors," he said. "If I don't work, I don't get paid. In professional sports, athletes are paid and given time to heal. Even the lesser guys get a base salary."

Martin said he left WWE after he said the organization showed a total lack of sympathy for a back injury he sustained.

"After a match with 'Razor Ramon,' I literally couldn't walk back to my dressing room," he said. "No one helped me."

Martin is now well-known enough to work in any promotion he chooses, and he said Big Time Wrestling has earned his respect.

"It's a classy organization that gives the fans a good show," he said.

"I went into wrestling because I wanted to entertain. It's been a load of fun, and I'm very humbled. Whenever I get into the ring, I know the people in the crowd aren't worrying about the economy or the earthquake in Japan. If we can help people cheer, or (yell) and moan, we're helping them forget their problems for a while."