Did Vince miss with Rick Martel?

[Deleted]

I was just looking at the great heat he drew after turning on Tito and during their subsequent feud.

I wonder why he didnt get the IC title at some point.he had the tools and was defo over enough as a heel.I know henning owned the IC tile picture for a year + but when Bret was champ I think he and Martle could have tore it up.

thoughts?

[jakksking1]

Its an interesting question. Martel was over and a great wrestler, however the IC title scene was jam packed with talent. During his run in the late 80s, early 90s, you had Warrior, Rude, Perfect, Hart, Piper and HBK involved in the title picture. Also, with his Model gimmick, he had a very very similar gimmick to Rick Rude and HBK (aka cocky heels who think they are gorgeous). In my opinion, Rude and HBK were much better talents than Martel, so it made sense to give them the push.

[Deleted]

oh yeah Rude and HBK should still have got their pushes but I often wonder why Martel wasnt matched up with Bret during either of his runs?

[jammer311]

Apr 20, 2012 16:13:10 GMT -5 JokerFC said:

oh yeah Rude and HBK should still have got their pushes but i often wonder why Martle wasnt matched up with Bret during either of his runs?

Martel was matched up with Bret. At the UK PPV in 1992, Bret Hart defended the IC Title against Rick Martel. And Randy Savaged defended the WWE Title against Shawn Michaels.

[Deleted]

yeah no doubt they had matches but I meant in a program/feud.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure but I always found his push in WCW in 1997-98 to be so out of left field, apparently they had big plans for him until he got injured

[Deleted]

Always loved The Model gimmick. He should've gone a lot farther in WWF.

[Nivro™]

I really thought they were gonna do something with Martel when he went like 55mins in the Royal Rumble in 91. That should have really launched him into some kinda big feud or even a main event push. Its a shame he didnt even get anything.

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2012 1:38:46 GMT -5 Nivro™ said:

I really thought they were gonna do something with Martel when he went like 55mins in the Royal Rumble in 91. That should have really launched him into some kinda big feud or even a main event push. Its a shame he didnt even get anything.

man I had totally forgotten that.....

[ToastMaster General]

Rick Martel is probably one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time, he could work both heel and face, was a great AWA World Champion, and could still go during the twilight of his career in WCW. It just always seemed like they kind of forgot about him at the booking meetings.

[Mr. Old School™]

Yeah, Martel was an awesome talent and I think they definitely dropped the ball with him. I think in his feud with Razor Ramon over the I-C title, he should've won and had a small run as champ.

[Calcifer Boheme]

Apr 20, 2012 16:27:12 GMT -5 @jammer311 said:

Apr 20, 2012 16:13:10 GMT -5 JokerFC said:

oh yeah Rude and HBK should still have got their pushes but i often wonder why Martle wasnt matched up with Bret during either of his runs?

Martel was matched up with Bret. At the UK PPV in 1992, Bret Hart defended the IC Title against Rick Martel. And Randy Savaged defended the WWE Title against Shawn Michaels.

That sounds like an awesome show. Do you know the name of the event?



As for the topic at hand. As amazging as Martel was (and he was one of my favorites), there just never was a spot open at the time. I remember when HBK was stripped of the intercontinental title and they had the battle royal/title match to decide the new champ, I was really hoping Martel would win it and turn face (or turn good guy, as I was 10). They teased a face turn a bit towards the end, but he left before it happened.

It's one of the interesting things about that period of time in wrestling. For every spot someone had, there were 5-10 guys who easily could have filled it if the first guy wasn't there. obviously in the main event picture that number drops, but it's still 2-3

It's why the late 80s/early 90s will always be my favorite era. There was so much great talent. And even more importantly, they all felt like stars.

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2012 12:44:58 GMT -5 Calcifer Boheme said:

[

It's why the late 80s/early 90s will always be my favorite era. There was so much great talent. And even more importantly, they all felt like stars.

ya see thats a effin POWERFUL point.there was a much stronger star aura then.no doubt about it.

Martel was a multiple time IC champ in my Hasbro fed ;D he and Bret ahd some great matches......LOL.

[jason1980s]

Martel never seemed to stick around even though he was in WWF for 7-8 years. He was gone from June 1988 to late 1988. Gone sometime between Wrestlemania VII and Royal Rumble 92. Gone between Royal Rumble 93 and Survivor Series 93. Then gone after Wrestlemania X and probably for good until a RR 95 replacement was needed. I've heard his wife being pregnant or ill as reason for the 88 leave and realty company or steroids for the other leaves. I was a Martel fan and even though he wasn't a main eventer it was neat to see him gone and come back as it seemed special each time I saw him after having been gone. If he did have a real estate company and that was a reason for leaving then perhaps he wasn't 100% into WWF and that could be a reason for no major push.

[Nivro™]

Apr 21, 2012 6:27:26 GMT -5 JokerFC said:

Apr 21, 2012 1:38:46 GMT -5 Nivro™ said:

I really thought they were gonna do something with Martel when he went like 55mins in the Royal Rumble in 91. That should have really launched him into some kinda big feud or even a main event push. Its a shame he didnt even get anything.

man I had totally forgotten that.....

It was, at the time one of my favorite Rumble moments...That is until Flair went 60 the next year haha.