Rick Martel

[8.0] "A tremendous babyface champion in the AWA, a real shining light in the mid-80s in the company, having some really good matches, his babyface fire being some of the best and technically he could hang. Not hugely familiar with his WWF time but seems that he was a good midcard/tag guy and played a typical 80s character very well. Glad he got a mini-run in WCW near the end of his career, winning the TV title. Very talented, maybe underused."

[9.0] "Have to give Rick a 9! Not only was he a multi time tag team champion all over with guys ranging from Roddy Piper, Tito Santana and Tony Garea but he was an amazing AWA Heavyweight champion. But why the 9? Not only for his amazing in ring acting as a heel, but because his matches were the anti Ric Flair. His ring work and technique changed depending on the wrestler. There were times I saw a Martel match and wondered if it was really Rick Martel in the ring because his style changed so much His match with Shawn Michaels will go down as the best comedy match of all time! The only point subtraction was due to his poor babyface promos, but as The Model he really did much better on the mic, he should have been a heel sooner"

[6.0] "The Model was an excellent wrestler and obviously a tremendous athlete. He and Tito were great together too. Unfortunately I think he was actually a bit ahead of his time, and I don't think the fans really appreciated what he was able to do as both a singles and tag wrestler. Underrated!"

[9.0] "I've always thought Martel was very solid in the ring and solid on the mic. Martel also did many moves that were not really seen often during his tenure in the WWF/AWA and other places. Hell even held the AWA world heavyweight title for 595 Days! I also enjoyed his work as The Model Rick Martel. Good Stuff"

[10.0] "Awesome heel that reminded me of Georgeous George. Great worker, that had good matches with everyone he was in the ring with. To bad he had to retire because of an injury. Should have been the wwf champion."

[9.0] "Rick Martel was a good worker and had everything to be a successful pro wrestler. He had the looks, played his gimmicks well, was convincing on the mic and in the ring, he excelled regardless of the talent he was wrestling. Truly underrated star."

"I really love Rick Martel, Great Heel as the model which is my memories of him, Solid worker who guaranteed a great match whether in AWA, WWF/E, or WCW he wrestled really well. He is also a very humble human being as when I met him he was so polite. He is a 10/10 for me as a rating purely on the fact he didn't really have a bad match. I recommend his matches with Shawn Michaels or Razor Ramon."

[7.0] "Solid worker. A lot of people like him more for his baby face days but he will always be The Model to me. I thought he played the chicken heel very well."

[8.0] "Rick Martel is highly underrated as an in-ring talent, he was charismatic, had some good matches and was an inspiration for many wrestlers. Loved his WWF days as "The Model" but his AWA days is something to look at as well to truly appreciate Martel's work."

[10.0] "Man did I ever love Rick Martel practically immediately. He looked fantastic & was as fluid as he was peppery/full of energy! Who cares if his English was limited and his accent was dense - he was spectacular and had us wrapped around his finger. I liked his AWA stuff but wish I was able to see more. As a baby face tag partner, I thought he was the best and most definitive "house of fire" hot tag in history (EVER-ever). His heel turn against Tito Santana had me U P S E T, boy oh boy was I angry at Martel! I was so invested in him as a face and Tito was always one of my guys, so the turn was total GOLD and I was sold, marked out full tilt His model gimmick would have been a complete flop and fumble in the hands of another; but because of Martel's talent, there was never a problem with the character. I loved his Survivor Series 90 & Royal Rumble 91 showings. I loved his last WWF run as Razor Ramon's potential Intercontinental gold foil. His return after a long in ring absence ROCKED, his final/WCW tenure had my blood pumping like crazy watching one of my childhood favorites TEAR IT UP with the likes of Booker T (dream matches my friends). His severe injury gutted me though, while he went out on a very high note - it crushed me that there would be no more. One hell of a career and often one of the best physiques in the business. A personal favorite"

[7.0] "I only caught the end of Martel's career in WCW, but I was honestly for the most part pretty impressed with his in-ring work. Just felt like he never got a push, but he had the physique and the ability to be big, and the limited amount of mic time he got seemed just fine. Sad to see he had to retire because of injury."

[10.0] "It's a wonder why Rick Martel wasn't bigger than he was. A damn good worker who had the right gimmick after Strike Force, and who had a boatload of Charisma. I think in the New Generation he could've been one of the top names, since his gimmick did fit in with the period. It almost looked like everything was going up when he went to WCW but then he got injured, such a shame."

[10.0] "Rick was truly amazing in the ring. Its unfortunate that he never reach the success that he should have had. His biggest accomplishment was being the AWA Champion. He had help from his brothers Pierre and Michel. Michel was the one that guided him at the beginning of his career. When Michel passed on Rick would follow his brothers footsteps. He had big success in AWA, IWA in Montreal and feuding with Ric Flair. One of the greatest Quebecois wrestlers of all time. He could produce moves very well in the ring. In WWF he was used more as a tag team wrestler with Tony Grea, Tom Zenk, and Tito Santana as a tag team champion. Unfortunately this was the biggest success he had in WWF. WWF should have used him more as a singles. They wasted talent ton him and used that ridiculous gimmick "The Model". He played the gimmick well but I still don;t like it. He should have been Intercontinental or WWE Champion. In WCW he was the TV Champion feuding with Booker T. Its too bad he retired so young. A shamed that he does not want to do anything with wrestling. Future WWE Hall of Famer."

[10.0] "one of the top 5 firery babyface comebacks of all time... classic seller... decent heel, but should have always been a babyface... and great tagteam guy too"

[10.0] "I love his WWF work but his AWA work truly puts him over the top. Amazing ability to play any role, from fiery underdog babyface to catch all tag specialist to punchable jerk heel, the man had tremendous range and great longevity as well. Even very late in his random WCW run he was putting out great work. An underrated legend."

[8.0] "Extremely underrated. Had a great run as the Model, and was very good at pissing fans off. Like many talented guys, was swept aside and underbooked by Vince. Had a pretty funny feud with HBK when both were heels, and they agreed to not hit each other in the face. Also tag teamed with some jobber named CHico Santana for a while."

[8.0] "Rick Martel is really underrated! Probably best remembered as The Model, but before that Martel is one of the most decorated tag-team specialists in WWF. A good worker and promo guy, can really go well whether as a babyface or heel. If given the opportunity he would have probably been a great IC Champion!"

[8.0] "Slowed down considerably after his heel turn, but the character work was better. As a babyface, his French accent would be hard for most Americans to cheer, even though he had great fire. But as a heel, the accent really helped the audience buy into the character. So there's a bit of a trade off there. Martel was very good in the ring though, even after he changed his style."

[8.0] "After a successful babyface tag team run with Tito Santana as half of Strike Force, Martel became "the Model, " one of the more memorable arrogant heels early '90s. Looked and acted the part, and his ring work was always spot-on as well. His run there included a great feud with Jake Roberts. Martel came to WCW in 1998 and looked to be on the road to an extremely successful comeback run, quickly entering the TV Title picture, but was abruptly derailed by a career-ending leg injury. He left behind a back-catalog of quality work to look back on."