The Wild Samoans
Martel debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in July 1980. That fall, he formed a tag team with Tony Garea. On November 8, they defeated The Wild Samoans to capture the WWF Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended the title until dropping the belts to The Moondogs on March 17, 1981. They regained the title from The Moondogs on July 21. Their second reign came to an end on October 13, when they lost to Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito. Though they would challenge the champions numerous times, Martel and Garea were unable to recapture the belts, and Martel left the WWF in April 1982.