It’s no secret around these parts that one of our favourite talents has always been Rick ‘The Model’ Martel. The eternally underrated former AWA Champion was a mainstay of the World Wrestling Federation throughout the late 1980s into the 1990s, transforming from a tag team specialist alongside Tito Santana in Strike Force, before breaking out on his own as ‘The Model.’ While most remember his 1998 stint in World Championship Wrestling (so much that we already took a stab at Reimagining that run here) most people don’t know that he was actually slated to return to the WWF in early 1997 as part of a new tag team, as revealed by the man now known as the Invisible Hand, Don Callis, in a 2015 interview with Joey Styles on WWE.com.

“In 1996, I was brought in to WWE for a tryout as a wrestler. I wrestled Barry Horowitz the first night and Aldo Montoya, who went on to become Justin Credible, the second night. Those were good matches. Then I had a TV match with Marc Mero that was only three minutes long because he was late getting to the arena. Not to say anything bad about someone, but I’m glad it was only three minutes because he was a crowbar. It was like locking up with a bag of boards. Brutal.

I ended up getting signed to a deal by WWE a year later for a tag team with Rick Martel called The Supermodels. Rick decided he wanted to go to WCW, but I still wanted to come to WWE, so Bret Hart helped me get signed alone.”

Knowing what would happen to Don Callis and his ill-fated run as The Jackyl, we thought it would be interesting to wonder what could have been had Don Callis and Rick Martel became The Supermodels, and how they would slot into the world of the WWF in 1997, arguably one of the most transformative years in the history of the business. After all, our Reimagined articles are meant to look at lost opportunities and how different things could have been not only for the performers involved but how it could affect the trajectory of the business as a whole.

The Formation of The Supermodels

As mentioned, 1997 was a transformative year in the World Wrestling Federation. The Royal Rumble that year, taking place from San Antonio, while especially memorable for many of the participants and the ‘Final Four’ that led to the following months In Your House main event, was actually lackluster in star power for the first half of the talent pool. Many AAA stars were booked into the event, which easily allows us to slot in a returning Rick Martel as a surprise entrant. Given that at one point in the past Martel held the record for the longest duration in the Royal Rumble, we will have Martel enter at number 17, replacing Latin Lover. Given that in this instance we do not want to change anything about the outcome of the match, we will see Martel last until the final 6, but be eliminated before the main outcome of the match. This brings Martel back with a bang but also doesn’t hurt him as he was in no way going to be the winner of the Royal Rumble.

The following night on RAW, Martel participates in an in-ring interview with Vince McMahon, and this is where he will make his intentions clear that he has come back to the WWF to not only make an impact but to chase after the WWF Tag Team Championships. When McMahon asks him how he intends to go after the tag team championships without a partner, at which point he introduces his new tag team partner, Don Callis. Following a lavish entrance where Callis comes to the ring sharply dressed in a suit carrying a bag, Callis takes the microphone from McMahon to properly introduce himself to the audience. Dubbing both himself and Martel as the best looking men in all of professional wrestling, he proclaims that ‘The Supermodels’ will be the men to rule tag team wrestling in 1997, before opening the bag and revealing it to contain the spray bottle of Arrogance Perfume that Martel used during the earlier part of his career.

The next week on RAW sees the in-ring debut of The Supermodels, where they make quick work of The Headbangerz, quickly dismantling the team and pinning Thrasher for the emphatic victory. Over the next few weeks, they take on and defeat several of the lower tag teams as they make their way up the rankings, alternating between pinfall victories for Callis and submission victories by Martel with his patented Quebec Crab. The Supermodels soon find themselves booked into a Number One Contenders match set to take place at In Your House: Final Four against the other up and coming duo at the time of Doug Furnas and Philip LaFon. The winning team is set to go onto WrestleMania 13 to face Owen Hart & The British Bulldog, the WWF Tag Team Champions at the time. Following a great back and forth match that utilizes the skill and tag team mastery of both teams, the match ends with LaFon getting sprayed with Arrogance in the face and locked into the Quebec Crab while Callis and Furnas battle on the floor. Despite the shady finish, The Supermodels are going to WrestleMania.

As the big event approaches, both The Supermodels and the Tag Team Champions participate in a series of singles matches with Bulldog and Martel facing off while Owen and Callis work together. As the two teams cut promos on one another, with Callis and Owen being the better promo men and handling most of the heavy lifting. Owen brings up how he began his trek towards WrestleMania X and defeating his brother Bret by first defeating Martel in a match in January 1994. Martel fires back by showing footage of the match where it is shown that he was tripped up by Bret on the outside leading to the small package that cost him the match. During the individual matches, Martel gets the win over Bulldog, but Callis fails in his bout against Owen.

At WrestleMania 13, the two teams battling, allowing each star to briefly shine, from Bulldog’s raw strength to Callis’ flying, as well as Martel’s technical mastery and Owen’s all-around greatness, able to do nearly anything and everything. The final moments of the match come down to Martel and Owen in the ring while Bulldog brutalizes Callis on the outside. Callis is able to briefly get away from Bulldog long enough to trip up Owen coming off the ropes, allowing Martel to roll him up for the quick three-count, effectively mirroring the finish of their singles matches three years prior. With The Supermodels now set as the Tag Team Champions, this allows Owen & Bulldog to continue their disputes over the WWF European Championship that will lead to Bret Hart reforming the Hart Foundation.

Now with the gold in hand, Callis proclaims The Supermodels to be the tag team of the 90s, and to prove it they will defeat the team that everyone called the ‘team of the 80s’ at the next In Your House when they defend against the Legion of Doom. Martel is visibly irritated by Callis making this match, and the cracks begin to form. Over the next few weeks, it becomes clear that Callis is more occupied with the fame and glory instead of the work needed in the ring, as he drops the fall in a non-title match against Furnas and LaFon. 

At In Your House: Revenge Of The Taker in April, The Supermodels are physically bodied around the ring by Hawk and Animal, mostly Callis. The match ends in a DQ finish when Callis takes the Arrogance Perfume and smashes it into Hawk’s head causing the DQ while Martel has Animal in the Quebec Crab. The following night on RAW, Callis acknowledges Martel’s frustration with him and tells him that they need to be on the same page and he will work alongside Martel to ensure they are the best Tag Team Champions they can be. They begin picking up a few wins on RAW each week and seem to be on the same page leading into In Your House: A Cold Day In Hell, where they once again battle Owen Hart & The British Bulldog, now under a more united front as part of the Hart Foundation. Following a match that sees Callis completely overpowered by the Bulldog’s raw strength. In the end, Owen hits Martel with a missile dropkick knocking him out of the ring, leading to Bulldog hitting the Running Powerslam on Callis to dethrone The Supermodels as Tag Team Champions. This frees up Bulldog & Owen to drop the straps to Stone Cold Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels, continuing the Hart Foundation vs. USA angle.

In the first round of the King Of The Ring tournament, Callis & Martel find themselves opposing one another, replacing Jerry Lawler & Goldust’s spot. The match begins with the two shaking hands and then getting down to business, with Martel dominating most of the match due to his experience and technical wrestling ability. The match ends systematically with the Quebec Crab, giving Callis no option but to tap out. Following the match, the two again shake hands but it is clear from his body language that Callis is not happy. 

At King Of The Ring in the semi-finals, Martel now faces off against Mankind, who is in the midst of his unusual face turn thanks to the sitdown promos with Jim Ross. The two engage in a hard-hitting battle that showcases both men, but the end comes when Callis tries to interfere on Martel’s behalf but it backfires, causing Martel to get caught in the Mandible Claw, allowing Mankind to move to the finals to face off against Hunter Hearst-Helmsley and launch their feud into the stratosphere. 

The Supermodels Explode

The next night on RAW Callis calls Martel out to the ring to try and explain his actions, but it is clear that Martel has no interest in hearing it. As Callis tries to calm the situation, Martel loses it and snaps, beating Callis down with the Arrogance bottle and smashing him into the ring post on the outside. This results in a stretcher job for Callis, as Martel gloats to the crowd.

At this point, Callis is gone from television for a few weeks and Martel enters into a mini-feud with Jerry Lawler, which builds to a match between the two at In Your House: Canadian Stampede. As expected, as the match between Martel and Lawler draws to a close, Callis runs in from the crowd. Smartly, he attacks Lawler, which causes the disqualification victory in his favour, causing the loss for Martel. Before The Model can get his hands on Callis, he takes off through the crowd.

On RAW a week later, Martel officially challenges Callis to a match at SummerSlam to put an end to everything Supermodel-related. He declares that he was always the true talent in the team, with Callis along for the ride. He says he is tired of this whole scenario and at SummerSlam, he will put this all behind him so he can go on to be the best talent in the entire WWF.

A week later, Callis cuts a promo accepting Martel’s challenge, calling him an old AWA has-been. Callis says he was always the brains of the operation and at SummerSlam, he will put Martel out of the business once and for all. 

At SummerSlam the two compete in the second match of the night, unfortunately having to follow up the great cage match between Mankind and Hunter Hearst-Helmsley. Given about 8 minutes Callis takes an early advantage but Martel’s experience and ability leads him to the victory, catching Callis in the Quebec Crab for the submission victory, closing their feud for now.

From here, the two can go their separate ways. Despite Martel playing more of the babyface in the feud, he goes back to establish himself as one of the top upper-midcard heels at the time, while Callis can be transitioned into more of a managerial role, using his excellent vocal skills to help establish any new heels that the WWF may want to pair him with.

In this situation, had The Supermodels had some into the WWF in early 1997, how would you have booked them? Would you have them operate as a tag team, or use Callis as a mouthpiece for Martel, someone who was never known for his promo abilities. There are so many what-ifs in the history of wrestling with this being only a small pebble, but something that could have helped round out the wonderful 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation