Test then freed Steiner from his obligation, and the pair became a tag team once again, as now both treated Keibler like a slave. The two challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on multiple occasions but came up short each time. The pair were then fired by Mick Foley (therefore freeing Stacy Keibler from their control), who was the on-screen Co-General Manager for two nights, thus finally ending the year-long angle. They were then re-hired by Eric Bischoff, upon his return to the position of Raw General Manager. At Armageddon, Test and Scott Steiner competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles. Test then had a short feud with Steven Richards in January 2004, which started after Test kicked Victoria (Richard's on-screen girlfriend) in the jaw. They fought several times on "Sunday Night Heat", with Richards winning every match. On the January 19 episode of "Raw", Test competed in a Triple Threat Royal Rumble Qualifying Match against Goldberg and Scott Steiner. After Goldberg won the match Test and Steiner would officially disband. At Royal Rumble, Test was found knocked out backstage by some officials and the "Raw" Sheriff Stone Cold Steve Austin when it was his turn to enter. Austin ordered someone to quickly replace Test as the 21st rumble entrant. The person who attacked him and replaces him was revealed to be Mick Foley. Test would gain some revenge on February 2, when he and Randy Orton attacked Mick Foley in a backstage area. Test would start competing against the likes of Rico and Stevie Richards regularly on "Heat". On March 1 episode of Raw, Test and Matt Hardy were defeated by Rob Van Dam and Booker T. Test would go on to compete on house shows until he reaggravated the neck injury that had kept him out of action the past few months. Martin had spinal fusion surgery performed by Dr. Lloyd Youngblood in July 2004. On November 1, 2004, it was announced that he was released from his WWE contract along with A-Train and Billy Gunn. Test returned to the ring in May 2005, and began accepting bookings with various independent promotions. One of his most notable victories during this tenure was against former TNA wrestler Samoa Joe. His most prominent role in the independent circuit was in the Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion in Italy, where he took on the ring name "Big Foot", due to his "big boot" finishing move. On March 22, 2006, WWE.com announced that Test had verbally agreed to return to WWE.