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Former WWE creative team member Seth Mates of Newsday has posted an article detailing his experiences with Andrew "Test" Martin, who was found dead over the weekend at 33 years old. You can read the entire piece at Blogs.Newsday.com.
Mates had met and interviewed Test several times and has a lot to say about WWE's role in his death. "It's a sad reflection on the true nature of wrestling addiction -- that the business itself is the ultimate addiction, and that high of one more run in the spotlight enables whatever is needed to get through the day. Reports indicate that at the time of his death, Test was going through WWE-sponsored rehab, but no matter how much the WWE statements try to push the fact that he hadn't worked there in two years, make no mistake about it -- Test IS another victim of WWE and their bogus wellness policy."
Despite the fact that another young wrestler is gone, Mates doesn't think this tragedy will change anything about the ugly side of pro wrestling. "Nothing will come of it, much like nothing came of the deaths of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Ray Traylor, Curt Hennig, Mike Alfonso or Mike Lockwood -- the other guys I worked with who died way too young."
Mates continues, "I'm sorry, but I still don't buy that wellness policy for even one second. Noble as it might be for WWE to have helped Test through rehab, it would have been more noble had they not fired him after neck surgery, or encouraged what seemed to be -- in my opinion -- an unnatural look, or any of a million other things that no doubt contributed to his state. WWE, once again, has blood on its hands."
Mates had met and interviewed Test several times and has a lot to say about WWE's role in his death. "It's a sad reflection on the true nature of wrestling addiction -- that the business itself is the ultimate addiction, and that high of one more run in the spotlight enables whatever is needed to get through the day. Reports indicate that at the time of his death, Test was going through WWE-sponsored rehab, but no matter how much the WWE statements try to push the fact that he hadn't worked there in two years, make no mistake about it -- Test IS another victim of WWE and their bogus wellness policy."
Despite the fact that another young wrestler is gone, Mates doesn't think this tragedy will change anything about the ugly side of pro wrestling. "Nothing will come of it, much like nothing came of the deaths of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Ray Traylor, Curt Hennig, Mike Alfonso or Mike Lockwood -- the other guys I worked with who died way too young."
Mates continues, "I'm sorry, but I still don't buy that wellness policy for even one second. Noble as it might be for WWE to have helped Test through rehab, it would have been more noble had they not fired him after neck surgery, or encouraged what seemed to be -- in my opinion -- an unnatural look, or any of a million other things that no doubt contributed to his state. WWE, once again, has blood on its hands."
