Raymond Rougeau
Born�: Feburary 18th, 1955, Montr�al, Qc
Son of Jacques Rougeau Sr and brother of
Jacques Jr, Armand and Johanne
The oldest member of the second generation of Qu�bec's most known family dynasty of pro wrestlers, along with the Vachons (Maurice, Paul, Vivianne, Luna and Mike) and the Leducs (Paul and Carl).
Having a good childhood, young Raymond got interested in wrestling when he attended most of his father`s matches at the "�Wrestling All Stars�" promotion, that also belonged to his uncle Johnny. Trained hard by both of them, Raymond started wrestling at age 16 at venues like the former Paul-Sauv� Arena and the Forum in Montr�al. As Rougeaus always been "�face�" in front of the public, so was Ray, who faced the rulebreaker stable of Eddy Creatchman including Michel "�Justice�" Dubois and other heels as well.
When "�Wrestling Aces�" merged with GRAND PRIX WRESTLING, Raymond continued to develop his abilities. One was a finishing hold taught by his uncle Johnny, the infamous Sleeper Hold. When INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING took over, Raymond was in top shape to face everyone and give competition. One of them was with the late Pierre "�Mad Dog�" Lebf�vre, a young wrestler from Charlemagne (the childhood home of C�line Dion) with whom he had trained in the past. Their rivalry was so intense that in a certain point, Ray accidentally injured the Mad Dog, whom was hospitalised for at least six months. Michel Dubois cried revenge on his buddy, but failed to the point of being trown out of Qu�bec in a stipulation match?. Raymond also had a shot at the WWWF belt at the time when he wrestled the then champion Bob Backlund.
But Raymond's success came from tag team bouts. First with his brother Armand, then with Jacques Jr. It happened that the three fought together with father Jacques in the corner. Their most frequent rivalries as a team were against Pat Patterson, a former friend of Raymond who turned heel and became the Rougeau's main teaser, as well as Pierre Lebf�vre, out on a vengeance, Sailor White, Rick Valentine and so on. The Rougeaus, mainly Raymond and Jacques, won several tag team belts in INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING.
Then happened one of the biggest rivalries ever in the history of Pro Wrestling in Montr�al. On June 24th, 1985 at the Montr�al Forum, the Garvin Brothers, Ronnie and Jimmy along with the latter's wife, Precious, brawled the Rougeaus in a no contest match, up to the point that their father Jacques got injured by the AWA tag team. One month later, revenge was sweet as Jacques and Raymond gave the Garvins their lesson about respect for the elderly.
In 1986, after reflexion, Raymond and Jacques jump on the WWF bandwagon. After a short unsuccessful run as faces, they turned heels and hire Jimmy Hart as their manager. Billed as "�the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers�", the duo had a Qu�bec gimmick that drew boos in the USA as well as in Qu�bec. They even sang a song about it (it starts with "�From Montr�al to Memphis, Parlez-vous fran�ais ?�").
In 1988, Raymond slowed the activities down on wrestling to concentrate on TV hosting for the World Wrestling Federation french show. It started with interviews, then color commentary with �douard Carpentier. He quit the mat in 1992 and became the host of WWF Superstars in french, along with Jean Brassard. The show was seen in Canada (in the RDS network�) and in France (with a different version, since the sport over there is called Catch...)
However, in 1996, he had a special boxing bout with the late Owen Hart at the Molson Centre in Montr�al.
When the french version of WWF RAW ended in 1998, Raymond took care of his family (his children never saw him wrestle) and decided to take life easier. At the meantime, he reconciliated with brother Jacques (they were in a dispute) and decided to go on the mat with him in the newly formed INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING 2000. The tag team has a special belt, bearing the effigy of their late uncle Johnny and defends it at all the galas (against foes like Richard Charland, Abdullah the Butcher, and so on). Ray was on contract with the WWF, which his sister Johanne was the promoter in Montr�al, and to which he was the M.C. lately in a Molson Centre show, then was released from the American Federation last July
Read about Raymond Rougeau in these sites�:
Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame by Greg Oliver
Copyright 1999, Productions Leduc 2000 ltd, Montr�al, Qc