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by
Les Honig
Sometimes you
wonder if a wrestling name is autobiographical; telling you
something about the person who really stands behind it or whether
it actually bears little or no resemblance to the real life human
being using it.
In the case of Kevin “Johnny Goodtime” Martenson, now 24, the true
identity lies somewhere in between; because, in reality you are
observing a deadly serious and intense individual; focused on his
future success; but still who enjoys many fun activities in his
life; particularly those precious moments he spends in the squared
circle religiously training and now performing to delighted UPW
crowds.
A native of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Martenson describes
himself as your average suburban kid, fairly quiet, enjoying the
world of cartoons, video games and early on the equally fantastic
universe of pro wrestling.
Enrolled at the age of 6 in a kid’s amateur program because he
imagined that this would parallel the sports entertainment that he
would see each week via Dallas’ World Class circuit and then the
major league typified by WWF, he soon realized that rolling around
on a mat bore little resemblance to the sport he really loved.
“I got bored pretty fast so I only did that for a year. Instead I
remember showing my dad Hulk Hogan posing and saying, ‘I want to
do THAT!’”
While he played basketball, hockey and football as a teenager, his
passion for the pro game remained and only intensified with the
late 90s explosion of national interest in Titan and WCW, as Kevin
developed a real passion for the latter’s cruiserweight
high-flying division, with his personal icons super talents like
Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko Rey Mysterio Jr., Eddie Guerrero and
Ultimo Dragon. Also a fan of ECW at that time, Martenson mentions
other favs like Jerry Lynn, Lance Storm and Sabu. His all-time
idol though has always been Brett Hart. “That man could wrestle a
sack of potatoes and make it look good,” he claims.
Attending four rather uninspired years at Penn State University,
not really being sure what regular career he wanted to pursue, the
flame burned ever more brightly inside for a career in the world
he had followed from early youth and soon he decided it was time
to make his big move. “I spent more time watching wrestling tapes
than studying or even going to class,” Kevin recalls.
“By the time I had graduated high school I had decided I
definitely wanted to become a wrestler,” he remembers, “but I was
too small; just 5’10 and around 145 pounds, so I thought, ‘If I
just use my college years to work out and get in better shape so
I’m really ready, then I can enter the sport in much better
condition.’”
Working a variety of part time jobs as he attended PSU to save
money for training tuition, it was his viewing of the famed UPW
documentary, “Wrestling School”, that convinced him that “this was
the place to be.”
So one day in August, 2003, packing up all his belongings “before
I panicked and chickened out”, he and a friend (who wanted to
become an actor), headed cross country for the long trip into an
unknown, but hopefully, star-studded future.
Arriving in Los Angeles, the two buddies headed straight to the
L.A. Public Library to search the internet for apartments, ending
up in Hollywood “which was a disaster.”
“It was three days of staying at hotels and eating hot pockets,”
Martenson not-so-fondly says, “and then moving into a place before
the guy had even left. We just moved around him as he was getting
ready to go himself. We had no furniture, just a futon and couch
that he left behind.”
Settling into their new situation, it took about a week before the
rookie made contact with Ultimate University and what followed was
a sometimes bumpy but mostly successful introduction into his new
vocation.
“I recall going for the first time to El Segundo to watch a class;
and it was being run by Hardcore Kidd who I thought was just the
scariest human being I had ever seen. If I hadn’t just driven
across the entire country I probably would have turned and ran
after seeing how beaten and battered all the guys looked after his
class. Actually I soon realized his training technique was
actually terrific and really helped get you into the shape you
need to be in to prepare yourself for the rigors of pro wrestling.
”
Beginning several days later with the Ballards, he found their
approach a bit more calming for a newcomer as he handled the
“jumping and bumping and running” with considerable ease; but
still found the hardest aspect “just locking up; doing simple
holds like wristlocks. It took a little while for me to feel
comfortable doing them”.
Training mainly under Shane and Shannon and occasionally with Tom
Howard, he soon came into contact with a guy who was to become one
of his closest wrestling classmates, Pete Zwissler, (aka Pete
Goodman). It was Pete’s idea to form the Good Guys, and it was the
Ballards who then came up with Kevin’s ring name, Johnny Goodtime.
With a partner like Zwissler, however, who felt totally natural
performing in front of large crowds, the challenge was a little
greater for Martenson.
“I was confident about doing the moves but didn’t know how I’d do
with live audiences. It was tough for a while. When you play
sports you just go out there and play the game but this was a lot
more involved. While I grew to enjoy it a lot, at times it could
be a little nerve-wracking.”
Still the team found great chemistry as a pair of rather goofy
heels. “Nobody is gonna cheer for two guys who smile all the time
and dance around…or at least they shouldn’t,” remarks Kevin, who
admits he really began to relish the experience of being a team
fans loved to dislike.
Having done a number of UPW light shows and a few supershows as
well, the pairing was ready to really take off, until Martenson
encountered a personal crisis that forced him to suddenly and
unhappily abandon it all and head back home.
“I should have gotten a job first but didn’t and now it was
becoming hard to afford the rent at different places I had stayed
at. A friend let me stay with him for a while because I had made a
deal with him that I would just stay for three months. The three
months was about to end and I still didn’t have a job and another
place to live, so I decided I had to leave this all, at least for
awhile.”
What followed were nine self-described “less than thrilling”
months during which the promising talent lived with his mom and
got a “horrible but good-paying” UPS job. It was the afternoon
into the nighttime shift, “picking boxes up and putting them down
again in a slightly different area. A partially retarded monkey
could have done that job,”
he chuckles now.
Saving more money and getting into better shape as he not only did
considerable physical labor on the UPS loading dock but made a
point to work out and hone his body into better definition, the
burning desire to return grew ever harder to resist and when a
friend who had kept promising to go back out with him to join him
in training continually backed out at the last moment he decided
he must seriously consider making the return himself.
Fortunately for Kevin, the desire to rejoin UPW action was given a
concrete rationale when out-of-the-blue he received a call from
Shannon Ballard.
“He was wondering how I was since I hadn’t spoken to him in so
long. He mentioned there was a job opening where he worked and I
could stay with him till I found my own place. It was a machine
shop that makes parts for airplanes and rockets. I’m still there
and I’m still rooming with Shannon since we got along well.”
Returning just about a year ago, Martenson has steadily been
improving his skills and body definition and now is beginning to
embark on his own solo squared-circle career. He loves the
challenge of individual competition where “if you screw up it’s
your fault,
and has already made important contacts in the major leagues as
he’s been featured last October against Gregory Helms and just
several weeks ago against Umaga where he was featured as one of
the guys “who got demolished in a handicap match.” Still, he adds,
“It was the most fun I’ve ever had being chopped in the face by a
large Samoan man.”
Yet, despite “my grandmother accusing them both of being bullies
for beating on me so bad,” Martenson has been thrilled by his
chance to compete in WWE and hopes the future brings many more
such career high moments.
Looking ever more impressive and beginning to carve a path for
himself here in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and beyond, one can only
expect even more exciting squared circle achievements from our
current featured talent who is sure to fill his resume with
nothing less than a long string of unbroken mat conquests.
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