Tito Santana and Rick Martel

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After a heated departure of his then-tag team partner Tom Zenk from the WWF in 1987, Rick Martel would find great success teaming with Tito Santana in the form of the tag team Strike Force.

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[{"selector":"#anim-a94179ae-bb28-4551-b458-98905f58916d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":450,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c931739d-5f71-44de-b2eb-853a7301c14d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -153.21636%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":450,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-213662f6-bbf5-472b-8247-5dcd620ef955","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-97306ed6-8c82-4674-9814-2856a0e25369","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-103.93701%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Strike Force got their official start as a tag team in the then-WWF in July of 1987, but it was five years earlier, on August 29, 1982, when Tito Santana and Rick Martel teamed up for the first time. Read More

The name Strike Force came from Santana’s promise that, as a team, they would "be striking (the Islanders) with force." Martel immediately came up with the team’s name based on this.

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During their match at Mania that year, Santana accidentally knocked Martel out with a flying forearm.

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Swipe up to read the full story

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STORIES

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[{"selector":"#anim-5d556150-cc5f-448b-ad13-71817f02456f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"direction":"normal","duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.47, 0, 0.745, 0.715)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c0d8dbe4-aeed-4ab8-8b88-21bf0116e1dc","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 200%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"direction":"normal","duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6d70d063-0072-40d0-8a45-ea43cf4fe46d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"direction":"normal","duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.47, 0, 0.745, 0.715)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bf8d7a28-253c-4fe8-a88b-ae94e7b2351a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 200%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"direction":"normal","duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.645, 0.045, 0.355, 1)","fill":"both"}] Michel Martel – The Tragic Passing of Rick Martel’s Brother Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine – 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