I have heard so many different stories over the years on why Tom Zenk abruptly left the WWF in the middle of the gigantic push of the Can Am Connection in the summer of 1987.
Did Rick Martel really cut a secret deal with Vince for a bigger percentage of the teams earnings as Zenk has told in the past?
Also, if Zenk had stayed would the team have truly gotten a longer reign then Strike Force did? Or was the plan all along to simply transition to Demolition at Wrestlemania IV?
I will say that I can't see Demolition NOT getting those belts at Wrestlemania IV. It was the right time and right place to pull the trigger on them. So even if the Can-Ams had ended up with the belts, it doesn't seem likely they would have been long-term champions. One way or another Demolition was getting those suckers.
Zenk told a lot of paranoid stories about the Can-Am's demise over the years and he typically seems pretty honest about it because he no longer gives a shit about burning bridges. And it does kind of sound like something Martel would do. He's a pretty smart guy.
Speed
ReplyDeleteWhile I could see why Zenk would think there was a secret deal between Martel and the WWF I do think it was just a matter of Martel being a more well known name than anything else.
ReplyDeleteCan-Am probably would have had a longer tag title reign only because they would have won the belts earlier than Strike Force did. Demolition would have won the belts at WM IV regardless.
Wouldn't Martel rate a higher contract than Zenk, anyway? The guy was a former AWA champ and a bigger name than Zenk.
ReplyDeleteHey, what are you doing with logic on the internet?
ReplyDeleteAnd a former WWF tag champion to boot!
ReplyDeleteJust Extant being Extant.
ReplyDeleteWithout Tom Zenk quitting, we would have never been blessed with the amazing promo detailing the formation of Strike Force, which includes Martel, in his thick French accent, awkwardly saying, "We were Striking...with Force!" and Tito Santana bellowing, "That's a pretty good name brother!"
ReplyDeleteplease be my friend there is no one else
ReplyDeleteHo (stankin ass ho), you're the type of bitch that don't appreciate shit, never had shit and you won't be shit.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jesse Ventura. Strike Force should have been the Mexi-Can connection.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't think Strikeforce should have had a longer reign, I wish they would have been a team longer. Their matches were fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteI realize both guys were very good singles competitors in their own right, but I would rather watch Strikeforce against the other 80's tag teams more than most Martel or Santana singles matches.
Bo needs to steal that and manage a team named that
ReplyDeleteThere was a very long shoot interview Martel did that I saw on youtube a while ago.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember exactly but I think Martel's reasoning for being secretive about what he made had something to do with an earlier experience where it was well known what he was making, so he couldn't use that as a bargaining chip with other promoters.
If he's making x amount per match, why should another promoter pay him much more than that. But if its not known, then Martel could exaggerate his worth causing other promoters to raise the amount they'll give him.
They also had one of the best entrance songs ever.
ReplyDeleteThat and he's French.
ReplyDeleteSomeday you'll find it...the Can Am Connection...the canuck...Tom Brandi...and me...
ReplyDeleteTom Zenk's blog in 2002 was the most honest and funny shit ever. Look up his columns through the way back time machine if you have too. Wwe put the kabosh on it threatening libel
ReplyDelete#KERMITTHEHOSS
ReplyDeleteLinkage?
ReplyDeleteheh.
ReplyDeleteImagine if they came out to the version of Girls in Cars with lyrics. I don't think anyone else ever touched in the sappy-wuss meter.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tomzenk.net/
ReplyDeleteIf you look through their history on Zenk's website, Martell almost always got the Pin when they won as well.
ReplyDeleteStrike Force is the only example I can think of where two guys became worse at promos when they got paired up. Neither one of them was spectacular on the mic, but they were decent. Put them together for a promo and it's like Ken Patera is talking to himself.
ReplyDeleteRick Martel was a former AWA World Champion televised on ESPN and former WWF tag champion... Tom Zenk had been wrestling about two years
ReplyDeleteZenk was a legit pretty boy, Mr.Minnesota etc., and would have made tons of money in the long run... Demolition beating the crap out of the pretty boy team would have been a better draw instead of Strike Force's neckbands
Dynamic Dudes is pretty close
ReplyDeletejust after forming they had some great matches with the Islanders buried on Boston Garden, MSG, and Philly Spectrum shows
ReplyDeleteTito > Zenk. Arriba!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd they were HOT with the crowds. Check the footage of them winning the belts, the place is going nuts for no one besides Hogan.
ReplyDeleteZenk has somehow managed to remain in the consciousness even after having basically a nothing career that ended over 20 years ago/
ReplyDeleteTry this for a direct link and most of his previous ones are listed at the bottom: http://web.archive.org/web/20030414202927/http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/9893/column57.htm I just wish he'd gotten round to writing that book he was always threatening.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a joke. It’s a scam. It’s not real. I’m out. Okay. Thank you.-Mark Cuban
ReplyDeleteThe electrons are in the band lol.
ReplyDelete