In the 40s, not everyone could afford to see Yvon Robert and the NWA at the Montreal Forum. And not everyone was of NWA calibre.
However, those who wanted to practice the sport and entertain poorer crowds created minor promotions in smaller venues. In Montreal, they called it "la petite lutte" (small-time wrestling).
One of the kings of these promotions who performed in gymasiums and small outside venues was Henri Dufresne. He was quite a heel, using a gimmick based on a rich Maisonneuve borough family, which build a mansion which stills stands corner Pie IX boulevard and Sherbrooke street in Montreal.
By using this depreciation of the poor crowd, Dufresne was maybe the best heel of its time, but quite a wrestler, winning many belts and of course being helped with his brothers. Its cheating tactics were sneaky enough that crowds came week after week to see what kind of dirty trick he would do next, so he would be booed more and more...
Dufresne retired from that type of wrestling in the 50s and opened a Tavern in the St-Michel district (now closed, it was corner Pie-IX and Jarry, the actual Rock'N bar...). He stills live today, far away from the noise and the heat of a wrestling venue...
Reference: Revue Lutte, which brought an interesting part of that hidden history of wrestling, similar to the actual Quebec Indy Federations... |
