Quick Bio on Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon:
Born on September 14, 1929, Maurice Vachon was one of 13 children of Montreal policeman Ferdinand Vachon, and they grew up in the district of Ville-Émard, a working-class borough southwest of Montreal. As a child, he regularly attended wrestling shows at the nearby Montreal Forum, where he grew up idolizing local ring legend Yvon Robert; and at just 12 years old, he had already begun grappling at the area's YMCA. He entered a wrestling course advertised at the back of a comic book, and he began training under Chief Jim Crowley. He trained hard and even worked in the docks and on the canal to build up his muscle. By age 14, Vachon and he eventually established himself among Canada's premier amateur grapplers.
At just 18 years old, he competed in the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where he pinned the Indian champion in 58 seconds and ultimately finished in seventh place at 174 pounds. Moreover, it was at the 1948 Olympics where Vachon first encountered an American Greco-Roman competitor named Verne Gagne. He rebounded to win the gold medal at the 1950 British Empire Games in New Zealand, and he then spent several years working as a bouncer at a Montreal nightclub before he was encouraged to join the pro wrestling circuit in 1954.
Despite his exceptional grappling ability, Maurice Vachon nonetheless struggled to distinguish himself from the myriad of image-less grapplers during his early years. As a result, he soon took radical measures to differentiate his persona, bulking up to a more plausible 225 pounds while also shaving his head bald and growing a long goatee. In addition, Vachon would frequently buy local TV time prior to a weekend event, which he then used to boldly proclaim his supremacy while also deprecating his opponent. Such acts of bravado were considered revolutionary at the time, though it was successful in that it attracted attention to Vachon's new character as well as drawing additional fans to the arena. As a result, Vachon subsequently established himself as a major heel while also portraying a wrestling beast inside the ring who would freely stomp, bite, and pound his opponent into submission. Therefore, Portland promoter Don Owen accordingly bestowed Vachon with the nickname of "Mad Dog," and the fact that he was so much smaller than the majority of his opponents only added to his mystique. Before long, "Mad Dog" Vachon consequently developed a reputation as perhaps the most feared rulebreaker in all of wrestling. Furthermore, Maurice's younger brother Paul soon debuted himself, as he was ultimately given the nickname of "the Butcher;" and on February 17, 1959 in Edmonton, the Vachon brothers teamed to defeat Chico Garcia & Chet Wallick for the NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles.
Maurice Vachon's tendency to hurt his opponents with foreign objects, filed fingernails, and his signature finishing move, "The Piledriver", made him notorious in the business and caused him to be banned in three U.S. states. But it also made his popularity soar among the fans, including his future wife Kathie Joe, whom he met after spitting a shoe string he had used for choking his opponent at her, as she was sitting in the audience.
Quick Bio on Edouard Carpentier:
Born Edouard Wiercowicz on July 17, 1926 in Roanne, Loire, France to a Russian father and a Polish mother, he joined the French underground resistance during the period of German occupation during WW2, and was subsequently awarded medals by the French government at the close of the war.
He moved to Montreal, Canada and became an all around athlete with great gymnastic skills. An early proponent of "scientific" wrestling, Carpentier was a crowd favorite who delighted fans with acrobatic leaps from the turnbuckles and a variety of other aerial manoeuvres such as "flying head scissors." He was always a face, or "good guy," in his bouts, and was paired with numerous villains, perhaps the most well known of whom was the legendary Killer Kowalski.
After his retirement, Carpentier operated a school for teaching professional wrestling skills.He also worked in late 80's-early 90's for French TV channel Canal + where he operated as a babyface colour commentator, alongside heel play-by-play host Guy Hauray, for the French edition of the World Wrestling Federation TV show "Superstars" (he would be replaced by former French-Canadian wrestler Raymond Rougeau). Carpentier was also:
NWA World's Champion,
NWA America's Champion
Canadian International Champ 2 times
IWA World's Champion 2 times
World Heavweight Champion (Omaha)
and believe it or not Canadian International tag team champ along with non other than Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon.
