Tom Zenk, AKA Z-Man, Passes Away

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read
The only person who got in Zenk's ear was Zenk.

Regarding the WWF, he said after food, travel and taxes, he was making about $50 a night, and he was never as enamored with being in the WWF as most (remember this was back when they would work upwards of 300 nights a year, so it was a really grueling schedule). He also thought that Martel had a side deal where he had to get paid more than Zenk, which really bugged him because as the junior guy on the team, he was the one taking most of the bumps every night. The way he saw it, he did more work, and Martel made more money. So he quit over it.

Looking at how they both turned out after the split, I think the truth is more that Martel probably was making more money, which makes sense. He was the more established guy. He was also probably a lot better with his money, so he always had more when they were on the road. Look at him today. He's a very successful real estate agent. He was also someone with a great work ethic who was always willing to put the work in to succeed.

And Zenk? He was the type of guy who always felt like he was owed something. Go back and read some of his shoots from back in the late 90's if you doubt that. It probably held him back more than anything, because the guy had talent, and he had the personality. Seriously, go back to those old shoots when he would just be himself. If he could have ever been that guy on TV? He'd have been huge.

RIP. What could have been.

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