Paul LeDuc (born 1939) is a former Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for teaming with his kayfabe (storyline) brother Jos LeDuc.
LeDuc began wrestling professionally in 1957 at age 18. He began his training in Montreal, Quebec and later moved to Mexico for further instruction. He talked a friend, Michel Pigeon, into becoming a wrestler as well. Pigeon agreed and took on the ring name Jos LeDuc, as the pair pretended to be brothers. [1] They first worked together in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary, Alberta. The LeDucs used a lumberjack gimmick to honor deceased professional wrestler "Yukon" Eric Holmback. [2] While wrestling in Stampede Wrestling, the pair held the Stampede International Tag Team Championship. [3]
The LeDucs next moved back to Montreal. They feuded with the Rougeau family as well as the Vachon brothers (Maurice and Paul). [4] During a wrestling show in Montreal, Paul LeDuc was legitimately married in the wrestling ring. They also held the Grand Prix Wrestling Tag Team Championship twice in 1972 and 1973. [5]
The LeDucs also wrestled in Florida, where they were known as the Canadian Lumberjacks. [6] In December 1973, they defeated Dusty Rhodes and Dick Slater to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. [7]
LeDuc retired from wrestling in 1978 and began working for Quebecor, a communications company, the following year. [1] [8] He later accepted a position writing about professional wrestling for Canadian Online Explorer. [8]
LeDuc's long-time friend and tag team partner died in 1999. The pair had played the role of brothers so well that, when it was revealed that they were not related, the news was widely discussed on talk shows in Quebec. [4] [9] Paul LeDuc's son, Carl, is also a professional wrestler. [10]
Scott Keegan Irwin was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tag team with his brother Barney "Bill" Irwin.
Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Mad Dog Vachon. He was the older brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestler Luna Vachon.
Paul Vachon was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a member of the Vachon wrestling family. He is perhaps best known by his ring name Butcher Vachon.
John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager.
Jean Gagné was a French–Canadian professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestler Dino Bravo, he was known for his trademark sign that read "USA is not OK". Gagné, however, began his career in Canada, primarily in Stampede Wrestling, and in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council. In 1990, Gagné left the WWF and retired from professional wrestling.
Léonce Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council (WWC) and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in New Zealand. In Canada, where he spent the majority of his career, he used the ring name Leo Burke. In the United States, he competed as Tommy Martin.
Douglas Albert Baker Sr. was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!". He appeared in several films including Blood Circus and Escape from New York.
Archibald Edward Gouldie was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of "stomping" on his opponents, when they were down, with his black cowboy boots. He was also known by the ring name The Mongolian Stomper.
Don Heaton, also known as Don Leo Jonathan, was an American-Canadian professional wrestler.
Yvon Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler. Competing primarily under the ring name The Beast, he and his three wrestling brothers made up the Cormier wrestling family. He wrestled in many countries but regularly returned to Canada, where he competed for the Eastern Sports Association (ESA) and the ESA-promoted International Wrestling (IW). He also competed in the Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling for many years.
Daniel Kroffat is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, where he invented the ladder match.
Les Thornton was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.
Rolland "Red" Bastien was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was a three-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion with his kayfabe brother, Lou Bastien.
Michel Pigeon was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc.
Timothy Paul Brooks, better known by his ring name "Killer" Tim Brooks, was an American professional wrestler. He competed in North American regional promotions, including the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW), World Wrestling Council (WWC), World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and Southwest Championship Wrestling (SWCW) during the 1970s and 1980s.
Eric Holmback was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yukon Eric.
Betty Jo Niccoli is an American former female professional wrestler. She wrestled in the United States, Canada, and Japan. She was also influential in helping lift the ban of women's wrestling in the state of New York.
Romeo Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by the ring name Bobby Kay. He was a member of the Cormier wrestling family, a group of four brothers who were all successful professional wrestlers. He worked in Canada and the United States from 1967 to the mid-1980s, briefly owning and operating part of the Eastern Sports Association. After retiring from wrestling, he performed country music professionally before taking a job with Loblaws.
The Cormier wrestling family was a group of Canadian brothers who competed in professional wrestling. They were born in New Brunswick and wrestled primarily in Canada. They also competed in the United States and had stints in several other countries. On many occasions, the Cormiers wrestled together as tag team partners. Two of the brothers were also involved in promoting wrestling. The family has been honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club, a social organization composed of people in the wrestling business, for their contributions to the sport. Jean-Louis died in 2008, Yvon in 2009 and Romeo in 2020.
Lutte Internationale was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac. Lutte Internationale succeeded All-Star Wrestling and Grand Prix Wrestling as Quebec's top wrestling promotion for most of the 1980s.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)...the LeDucs were such an institution in Quebec that when it was revealed, following Jos' death in 1999, that they were not brothers, a mini-scandal erupted.