| Truth Martini | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Martini in 2012 | |
| Birth name | Martin Krcaj[1] |
| Born | (1975-05-08)May 8, 1975 (age 49)[2] Hamtramck, Michigan, United States[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Truth Martini |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 200 lb (91 kg)[2] |
| Trained by | Al Snow[2] Crusher Kline |
| Debut | 1998 |
| Retired | September 30, 2018 |
Martin Krcaj[1] (born May 8, 1975) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler,manager, and trainer better known by thering nameTruth Martini. He is perhaps best known as the manager ofThe House of Truthstable inRing of Honor.
Martini made his professional wrestling debut for Insane Championship Wrestling in a loss to Andy Muscat.[3] He later joinedJuggalo Championship Wrestling and participated in their first show, where Martini was eliminated from abattle royal for theJCW Heavyweight Championship. As a consequence, both Martini and fellow eliminated participant Tarek the Great were forced to dress asDoink the Clown when facingInsane Clown Posse membersShaggy 2 Dope andViolent J for the vacantJCW Tag Team Championships, a match which Martini and Tarek lost.[4]
Truth teamed up withChris Sabin in their first match for Independent Wrestling Revolution where they were defeated by Frankie The Face & Jaimy Coxxx.[5] On July 24, 2002, Martini and Anthony Rivera, calling themselves The Threat, beat Chris Sabin andJimmy Jacobs for the IWR Tag Team Championships. They lost the titles a month later to Kamikaze andTenacious Z, but regained them the next day.[5] After almost a year the pair would lose the championships to Gavin Starr and Jimmy Jacobs. On October 25, 2003, Truth and Rivera defeated the team of Popular Mathematics (Bobby Bambino and Jimmy Shalwin) for the vacant IWR Tag Team Championships.[5] At the beginning of 2004 they lost the titles to The Bump N Uglies (Bubba MacKenzie and Josh Movado), only to regain them in March.[5] They would subsequently lose the championships to The Bump N Uglies in a three waytables match that also included Jaimy Coxxx and Jimmy Shalwin. The Threat then recruited Breyer Wellington and N8 Mattson; however, Truth would leave the stable to focus on a singles career.[5]
On April 16, 2005, Truth defeated Breyer Wellington, Eddie Venom, Gutter, Jaimy Coxxx, and Stevie Lee for IWR King Of The Indies Championship. The title was declared vacant the following July, but Truth regained it in October.[5] Truth held the championship until May 6, 2006, when he lost it to N8 Mattson in an eleven-man gauntlet match. His last match for the company was in October 2007.[5]
On December 15, 2005, N8 Mattson and Truth Martini defeated Gary Havok and The Golden Ninja in their debut match atAll American Wrestling.[6] The two formed a tag team called The Michigan Invasion and had multiple matches for theAAW Tag Team Championships in 2006, but were beaten every time.[6] They participated in AAW Tag Team Championship tournament in June, and reached the semifinals before being knocked out by Dan Lawrence and Ryan Boz.[6] After months of trying, The Michigan Invasion would win the AAW Tag Team Championship in a four corners match which involved Dan Lawrence and Ryan Boz, Jayson Reign and Marco Cordova, and The Phoenix Twins. They would hold the championships until April 2007 where they lost them to Krotch and Zach Gowen.[6]
A self-professed Life Intervention Expert, Truth Martini and his House of Truth stormed onto the scene ofRing of Honor in 2009. Martini debuted atViolent Tendencies as aheel, managing the team of Josh Raymond and Christian Abel in a loss againstKevin Steen andEl Generico. His first singles client,Roderick Strong, had previously struggled with achieving his ultimate goal of winning theROH World Championship, but finally won the title with Martini's help at 2010'sGlory By Honor IX. That same year, Strong was joined in The House of Truth byMichael Elgin,[7] and in April 2012, Martini enlisted the services ofRhino as the hired muscle of the stable; however, in late 2012 both Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong quit The House of Truth.
In 2013 Martini became the manager ofMatt Taven.[8][9]
AtSupercard of Honor VIII on April 4, 2014, Truth Martini helpedJay Lethal win theROH Television Championship and became Lethal's manager. Lethal would retain his championship against numerous acclaimed opponents for over a year before proclaiming himself "THE Ring of Honor Champion" as well as "the only champion that matters in ROH",[citation needed] even above the ROH World Championship held byJay Briscoe. This resulted in matchmakerNigel McGuinness booking Lethal and Briscoe in a winner-take-all "Battle of the Belts" atBest in the World 2015 with both championships on the line. With Martini's backing, Lethal defeated Briscoe after two Lethal Injections to retain the Television Championship and win the World Championship.
On January 4, 2016, Martini made hisNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut, when he managed Lethal atWrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome.[10] The following month, Martini returned to Japan to take part in the NJPW and ROH co-producedHonor Rising: Japan 2016 event, during which he and Lethal joined theLos Ingobernables de Japón stable.[11]
After months of inactivity after undergoing neck surgery, on September 17, 2016,Dave Meltzer reported viaTwitter that Martini had left ROH.[12]
