Update: Andrew “Test” Martin Dead

News, Top Story

Andrew “Test” Martin, 33, was found dead in his apartment in Tampa, Florida. According to Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com, authorities in the area said they found a body in a condo but would not confirm it was Martin at the time. UPDATE: Local TV station WTSP in Tampa has confirmed that it was indeed Martin, and that he died on Friday.

Martin worked for WWE from January 1999 until November 2004. He returned to WWE from March 2006 until February 2007. He made a few appearances in TNA Wrestling in August 2007 but after announcing his retirement from the business that December, did continue making appearances overseas, including some recent work for Vader in Japan, and was scheduled to work in Europe, leaving this coming week, according to Johnson.

Johnson also reported that Martin — who would have turned 34 on Tuesday, March 17 — and RAW’s Kelly Kelly had been dating, but broke up about 6-8 weeks ago. Fans have been pouring support towards her at her official MySpace page (as well as posting on Andrew’s MySpace page).

WTSP.com noted that Martin’s body was found at 8PM ET on Friday night, after police were called by a neighbor who said she could see into his apartment and he appeared motionless for several hours. An autopsy will be conducted, but police do not suspect foul play.

Pulse Wrestling would like to express its condolences to Martin’s friends, family and loved ones.

Matthew Michaels contributed to this post.

Mark was a columnist for Pulse Wrestling for over four years, evolving from his original “Historically Speaking” commentary-style column into the Monday morning powerhouse known as “This Week in ‘E.” He also contributes to other ventures, outside of IP, most notably as the National Pro Wrestling Examiner for Examiner.com and a contributor for The Wrestling Press. Follow me on Twitter here.