Test

Andrew “Test” Martin was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his time in the WWF and WWE during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was 6 feet 6 inches tall, with an athletic build, and was famous for his aggressive, powerful wrestling style. He became a familiar face during the peak of mainstream wrestling’s popularity and held several titles in WWE, including the Intercontinental Championship, the European Championship, the Hardcore Championship, and the World Tag Team Championship.

He is particularly remembered for his role in one of WWE’s major storylines in 1999, when he was written into the on-screen McMahon family drama, and he spent many years as a reliable title contender and tag team partner across multiple eras.

Before he broke into the business, Martin worked as a bouncer in Toronto. In the mid-1990s, he met Bret Hart through WWF Canada president Carl De Marco at a Planet Hollywood, and Hart offered to train him.

Two weeks later, Martin quit both his jobs and moved to Calgary, where he trained for about 8 months in small sessions run by Bret Hart and Leo Burke. After that stretch, he continued training at Dory Funk Jr.’s Funking Dojo in Florida to tighten up his fundamentals before he started working steady matches.

His first professional match came on October 26, 1997, when he wrestled as Martin Kane for the International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) and defeated Jamal Hughes. He spent the next year gaining experience on smaller shows in Canada and the United States, learning to work like a big man without relying solely on his size.

In 1998, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and debuted on the October 25, 1998 episode of Sunday Night Heat as an unnamed bodyguard during a Mötley Crüe segment. He soon became part of the weekly TV mix, and the company gave him the name “Test” as a simple, memorable gimmick tied to him checking a microphone.

On December 14, 1998, he aligned himself with The Rock by attacking Triple H, then made his in-ring TV debut the next week on Raw in a tag match with The Rock against Triple H and X-Pac. By early 1999, he was regularly shown as a dangerous enforcer who could swing a fight just by walking into it.

That role fed directly into the angle that defined his early peak. In mid-1999, Test was paired with Stephanie McMahon on-screen, and the story leaned into Vince and Shane McMahon treating him like he didn’t belong in the family.

Shane tried to end it in the ring, and the rivalry built into a “Love Her or Leave Her” match at SummerSlam on August 22, 1999. Test beat Shane in the street fight, which forced Shane to give his blessing and pushed the engagement story forward on television.

The wedding took place on the November 29, 1999 episode of Raw, and it became a major turning point in WWE’s biggest family storyline. Test pinned Triple H earlier that night in a fast finish that played into the chaos around the ceremony, then the show ended with the reveal that Triple H had already married Stephanie in Las Vegas.

Stephanie turned on Test and aligned with Triple H, and the angle moved on without him, leaving Test to reset as a singles wrestler. Even with the spotlight shifting away, the months around that story made him a known name to fans, since he was tied to main event characters every week.

In 2000, the WWF used him as a hard-hitting midcard wrestler who could slide between feuds and title matches. On January 17, 2000, he defeated the Big Boss Man on Raw is War to win the Hardcore Championship, then dropped it February 24, 2000 on SmackDown to Crash Holly.

Not long after, he teamed with Albert as T & A, with Trish Stratus managing them, and the act gave him a clear spot in the tag division and on pay-per-view cards. The team worked as loud, physical heels, usually winning by bullying opponents until someone found an opening to escape.

Test’s strongest run of title activity came in 2001, when he stayed closely tied to WWF’s biggest stories while moving between singles and tag team roles. Early in the year, he defeated William Regal on the January 22, 2001 episode of Raw to win the WWF European Championship, then carried the title to WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, where Eddie Guerrero beat him for the championship after outside involvement from Guerrero’s allies while the referee was distracted.

As 2001 shifted into the Alliance era, Test aligned with the WCW and ECW side of the roster split and became a regular presence in the title-heavy weekly chaos that defined that period.

His closest and most productive partnership in that stretch was with Booker T. Together, they won the WCW Tag Team Championship from The Undertaker and Kane on SmackDown on September 27, 2001. They followed that by defeating The Rock and Chris Jericho on SmackDown on November 1, 2001 to win the WWF Tag Team Championship, before dropping the belts to The Hardy Boyz on the November 12, 2001.

In the middle of that same stretch, Test also picked up a major singles title. On Raw on November 5, 2001, he defeated Edge to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship, giving him a second championship during a particularly busy few weeks.

That reign ended at Survivor Series on November 18, 2001, when Test’s Intercontinental title was unified with Edge’s WCW United States Championship. Edge won the match to merge the belts, and later that night, Test won the event’s Immunity Battle Royal, which granted him a year of storyline protection from being fired.

After the company became World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002, Test continued to shift between singles and tag work as the roster expanded and the brand split began to shape weekly lineups.

One of his more defined roles that year came as part of The Un-Americans with Christian and Lance Storm, where Test was positioned as the group’s physical presence. He also reached a notable tournament moment at King of the Ring on June 23, 2002, losing to Brock Lesnar in the semifinals in a match that framed Test as a credible obstacle for an emerging new star.

Through these years, his presentation adjusted to fit the direction of the show, but his spot stayed fairly consistent. He was most often used as a strong, believable contender who could support title scenes, strengthen tag teams, and give established names and rising wrestlers a solid opponent.

In the years after his peak in 2001 and 2002, injuries and roster changes slowed his momentum. By 2004, he was dealing with a neck injury that kept him off the road. In July 2004, he underwent spinal fusion surgery, and WWE released him from his contract on November 1, 2004.

He returned to wrestling in 2005 on the independent circuit and also worked overseas, including a stretch in Italy for Nu-Wrestling Evolution under the name “Big Foot”, which was a nod to his well-known running big boot kick.

One of his most talked about wins in that period came in Australia, where he defeated Samoa Joe for World Series Wrestling (WSW), helping reestablish himself as more than just a former WWE name. The time away also let him rebuild his body and adjust his style after the neck surgery.

On March 22, 2006, WWE announced that he had verbally agreed to return, and vignettes began running for his arrival on the ECW brand. He officially came back on the July 4, 2006 episode of ECW by defeating Al Snow, and he was presented as a colder, more violent heel than in his earlier run.

From there, he aligned with other new faces on the brand and feuded with the ECW Originals, landing in brawls and Extreme Rules matches that leaned into his size and aggression. WWE released him again on February 27, 2007, and he continued working select dates and short runs outside the company afterward.

Martin died on March 13, 2009, when he was found in his Tampa, Florida, apartment unresponsive. His death was ruled an accidental overdose of the prescription pain medication oxycodone.

Later in 2009, forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu examined his brain and said he had severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, adding his name to the growing list of wrestlers whose long-term health became part of the sport’s wider conversation.

In the ring, Test wrestled like a classic heavyweight who wanted to control the pace, punish mistakes, and end things suddenly. His most famous finisher was the running big boot, and he also used a pumphandle slam as a finish at different points.

Later in his career, he added named cutters like the Test Drive and the Test Grade, along with a diving elbow drop and a full nelson slam when he wanted a cleaner, power-based ending.

Test is remembered as a dependable wrestler who earned trust in significant roles during a highly competitive era in wrestling. While he was never positioned as the long-term face of a company, he successfully captured multiple championships, was able to showcase his talents across several prominent promotions, and remained a recognizable figure to fans through many changes in wrestling’s landscape. His career reflects both the opportunities and the pressures faced by big, athletic performers during wrestling’s modern boom period.