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REMEMBERING ANDREW 'TEST' MARTIN

By Dory Funk Jr. on 3/16/2009 12:17 PM

Funk's Corner - Blue Chipper Report - Andrew Martin - "Never Quit"

Report from WWE Funking Dojo 1998, Trainers Dory Funk Jr. and Tom Prichard

The Hardy Boys picked up Andrew Martin high over their heads and slammed him hard into the mat right in the center of the ring. Quickly, they both went in opposite directions. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Andrew Martin was laying prone in the middle of the ring and the Hardy boys were on the top rope on opposite corners of the ring. My God, they were thirty feet apart. They both leaped at the same time, flying through the air and from where I was it appeared they were going to hit each other head on in a mid air collision. They didn't, their timing was perfect and from opposite directions they crashed down on Andrew's prone body. The impact was incredible. Matt went to his corner and Jeff moved in for the kill making the mistake of underestimating Andrew's intestinal fortitude. As Jeff picked Andrew up from the mat, Andrew slipped into an inside cradle and got a two count ------- From ringside I said, "Stop it. That's enough. Stop it!

The scene was not Madison Square Garden and not the Silver Dome. There was no roar of approval from 20,000 avid wrestling fans. This was the WWE Funking Dojo. In attendance were ten wrestlers Tommy Prichard, Myself and members of the Talent Relations Department of World Wrestling Entertainment interested in the progress of these young lions who had hopes of wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment.

Andrew Martin could not move the ring finger in his left hand and it was swelling. We arranged for someone to take him to a doctor to get it checked out and work at the dojo continued.

That evening Andrew called my room to inform me that his ring finger was broken in two places and doctors were going to perform surgery when he got home and put two pins in his finger to hold it together. I called Talent Relations and informed them of Andrew's injury. They arranged for a flight to take Andrew home. The WWE Funking Dojo wrestlers were traveling to New Hampshire and Massachusetts to wrestle on small shows the next day.

The next day, early in the morning, Andrew called and asked to talk to me. Andrew said, "I came here to wrestle." He wanted to work the three shows we were traveling to. I just looked at him for a while then asked him to squeeze my wrist. He did, hard with his thumb and three fingers. the ring finger was just dangling, useless. I told Andrew, "It is your call, I know it is important to you and you could receive permanent injury, however you probably can get along without one finger. Andrew said, "I'll tape my fingers together and it will be okay.

Andrew wrestled the next three days and no one knew he was working with a double fractured ring finger. He won two of his matches. This kid is 6' 6" tall weighs in at 260. He is tough, in shape and Andrew Martin is

a "Blue Chipper" He will, "Never Quit."

Photos of Andrew Martin from his training days are on our website.

Dory Funk Jr. - http://www.dory-funk.com

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REMEMBERING ANDREW 'TEST' MARTIN