A lot of people are sharing their thoughts and memories on the passing of Andrew Martin, the wrestling superstar better known as Test.  I started to write my thoughts earlier, but decided not to because I couldn't quite get out exactly what I wanted to say.  I guess now would be a better time as I have a little bit of time and it's fairly quiet around here, with the exception of the Care Bears on my tTV.

I was very shocked when I heard about Test's passing yesterday morning.  I was saddened at how young he was, and how he was just four days shy of his 34th birthday.  Not long ago, I watched a match between him and Scott Steiner at a WWE ppv, where they both vied for the services of Stacy Keibler.  Test eventually won the match when he feigned and injury and eventually nailed Steiner with the Big Boot.  The one thing I remembered about this match was how good of a match it was, and I asked myself "Why isn't Test still wrestling for the WWE?"

In my opinion, Test was one of those talented athletes that the WWE let slip through the cracks.  He had the size, he had the look, but he didn't have everything to maintain a top spot in the company.  I read somewhere that at one point in time, he was considered by some within the company to be a younger, more agile Kevin Nash; that's an extremely big compliment, no pun intended.

I don't even want to get into how TNA missed the boat on the golden opportunities that awaited them when they hired Mr. Martin.  But then again, this is the same company that allowed Monty Brown to wrestle for years without putting the title on him, the same company that turned Abyss into a babbling pussycat, and the same company that feels like Petey Williams isn't a top-drawing superstar.

At any rate, I join my prayers and condolences with yours, Universers, for Mr. Andrew "Test" Martin, and his family and friends.  May he rest in peace.

In his book Hitman, Bret "The Hitman" Hart often talks about the deaths of the wrestlers he befriended while in the business, and he does so in such a melancholy and bleak tone that the reader can't help but to feel for him and those that passed after, and sometimes during, many years of entertaining all of us.  It is unfortunate that we now have to add Test's name to this list....