Former WWE wrestler
found dead in Tampa

TAMPA - Another former professional wrestler with ties to the Bay Area has been found dead.

Andrew James Martin, better known to fans as 'Test,' was found dead in his apartment in Hillsborough County according to a release issued by the Tampa Police Department.

Foul play is not suspected.

Officers were dispatched to Martin's unit at the Post Harbour complex just after 8 p.m. Friday to conduct a welfare check.

A neighbor contacted authorities after observing a motionless Martin, 33, through a window over a span of several hours.

TPD officers entered the apartment and found the former World Wrestling Entertainment performer to be deceased.

Martin, who worked as a bouncer in his native Canada before being discovered, joined the WWE in 1998. He won several of the organization's major championships before suffering a severe back injury.

In July 2004 Martin underwent spinal fusion surgery and was released from his WWE contract a few months later.

He attempted several comebacks, most recently with the TNA organization, but health problems forced Martin to announce his retirement in December 2007.

Martin also ran afoul of the law on two occassions since calling it quits, getting arrested on driving under the influence charges in both Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

The official cause of death is not known at this time. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

Martin is the fourth former professional wrestlers to pass away in the Bay Area in the past two years.

- Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow, 46, was found dead of a drug overdose in his Pasco County home on January 19, 2007.

- Mike Alfonso - who wrestled under the moniker Mike Awesome - committed suicide in his Hillsborough County home on February 17, 2007. He was 42.

- Brian Adams, 44, died of a drug overdose in his Tampa home in August 2007. He performed under several names in his professional wrestling career, working mostly as a tag-team wrestler.

In February 2003, Curt Henning, who wrestled as 'Mr. Perfect,' during his stint with the WWE, was found dead in a Tampa hotel room. He was scheduled to wrestle at the Fairgrounds the day he died; the official cause of death in that case was determined to be cocaine intoxication.