Rise of a Star

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena

March 11, 1968 - Montreal, Quebec

 

 

 

Marianne Duchesne defeated Sabrina Lafleur* by pinfall following a leg lariat.

 

 

Gerard Dugas defeated Terry Yorkston by pinfall.

 

 

Dale Roberts** defeated Matt Gilmore by disqualification when Gilmore threw Roberts over the top rope.

 

 

Penny Banner & Renée Martel defeated Terry Majors & Margot Bouchard when Renée forced Majors to submit to the Alligator Clutch while Banner and Bouchard brawled around ringside.

 

 

Baron Von Raschke & Hans Schmidt defeated Jacques & Johnny Rougeau when Schmidt pinned Johnny Rougeau following a piledriver.

 

 

ASW Canadian Heavyweight Championship***

Marcel Martel © defeated Ivan Koloff by disqualification when Baron Von Raschke and Hans Schmidt ran in and attacked Martel as he had Koloff in a figure-four leglock. Post-match, Von Raschke, Schmidt and Koloff continued their assault on Martel until Jacques and Johnny Rougeau ran in for the save and a brawl ensued in the ring until the Rougeaus and Martel ran the foreign heels out.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Sabrina Lafleur was created for this diary; she is the other girl (along with Rosalie Paiement) who approached Renée Martel about getting training for a wrestling career in an earlier chapter.

 

** AKA Buddy Roberts (of Fabulous Freebirds fame).

 

*** Marcel Martel defeated Baron Von Raschke to win that title in early-November 1967, prior to Von Raschke's defeat of Édouard Carpentier to win the ASW World Heavyweight Championship on November 6 that year in Montreal.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Glad to be able to see another program from ASW! Feels like I’m getting a genuine old school program.

[Old School Fan]

Glad to be able to see another program from ASW! Feels like I’m getting a genuine old school program.

 

Wait'll you see what I have coming in the next little while...

[Old School Fan]

NWA All-Star Wrestling @ Exhibition Gardens

March 18, 1968 - Vancouver, British Columbia

 

 

 

Roy McClarty defeated Karl Von Steiger by pinfall.

 

 

Penny Banner & Renée Martel fought Terry Majors & Margot Bouchard to a time-limit draw.

 

 

Abdullah the Butcher & Gorgeous George Jr. defeated Rocky Johnson & Don McClarty when Abdullah pinned McClarty following a karate thrust to the throat.

 

 

Marcel Martel defeated Assassin II by submission with a figure-four leglock.

 

 

NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver)

Danny Reilly © defeated Assassin I by pinfall following a powerslam.

 

 

[Old School Fan]

American Wrestling Association @ Winnipeg Civic Auditorium

March 22, 1968 - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Attendance - 5,500

 

 

 

Penny Banner & Renée Martel defeated Terry Majors & Margot Bouchard when Bouchard was disqualified for throwing Martel over the top rope.

 

 

René Goulet defeated Eddie Sharkey by submission with a Boston crab.

 

 

Mad Dog Vachon defeated Al Tomko* by pinfall following a piledriver.

 

 

Luke Brown defeated Dutch Savage by disqualification when Savage rammed Brown's head into a corner post.

 

 

Two out of Three Falls

Mighty Igor defeated Dr. X**, one fall to none.

• First fall - Igor used a full Nelson to force Dr. X to submit.
  
• Second fall - the one-hour time limit ran out during the fall.
  

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Al Tomko was also the Winnipeg promoter for the AWA at this point, both IRL and ITTL; he later took over booking for NWA All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver from 1977 until the promotion folded in 1989.

 

** Dr. X was an alternate masked identity used in the AWA by Dick Beyer (AKA the Destroyer).

[Old School Fan]

April 1968

 

 

At the Hart house in Calgary, Marcel Martel and Stu Hart were discussing a match Stu had Marcel booked for as the main event for an upcoming Stampede Wrestling show while they were seated at the dining room table. "Okay, so what's your opinion on Archie after facing him around the circuit in non-title bouts over the last week?" Stu asked regarding Archie "Stomper" Gouldie*, Stampede's North American Heavyweight Champion.

 

"I'll tell you, Stu, he's one tough young kid," Marcel admitted. "I heard he already had some success down in Kansas City and San Francisco, and with how he's doing here now, he's got a real future ahead of him. He works stiff too, but I don't mind because it really works to get the fans drawn in and invested in our matches, and his TV interviews and their intensity really get the fans going too."

 

"Well, he'll be glad to hear that," Stu said.

 

"Now I gotta ask, when he's available, you think I could get him to come over to Montreal to do a program?" Marcel then asked. "We could do an angle and a feud around my Canadian Heavyweight title over there, see what he can do to draw crowds there."

 

"You could talk to Archie about that," Stu said, "but right now, he's really liking it here in Calgary with all the sold-out houses he's drawing around the territory, so I think it'd take some convincing to sell him on Montreal."

 

"I guess, but it sure can't hurt to ask," Marcel said with a chuckle. He then looked over to the living room where his daughter Renée, who had arrived in Calgary the day before to join her father on tour in Stampede, was playing with Stu and Helen Hart's youngest son Owen, helping him build towers with wooden blocks. "Looks like Owen's having fun over there with Renée," he pointed out to Stu as he watched Owen, who would be turning three years old on May 7, put another block on top of a stack of blocks he was building up, with Renée pointing out where to put them.

 

"I've noticed," Stu said. "He gets along great with her, he has ever since they first met."

 

Just then, Helen came into the dining room. "Well, the girls' laundry is all folded up and put away," she reported to Stu. "I'll go get Diana and Owen and put them down for their naps so I can get started on the books."

 

"Sure, go ahead," Stu said.

 

When Helen went to get Diana, who was in another part of the living room playing with one of her dolls, and Owen for their afternoon naps, Owen, realizing he was about to be taken up to his room for his nap, protested. "Come on, Owen, you know it's your naptime," the Hart family matriarch said to her youngest offspring.

 

"No! No wanna nap," little Owen said. "I wanna play with Renée!"

 

Renée then had an idea. "Helen, would you mind if I took Owen and Diana upstairs?" she suggested. "I'll take them off your hands if you need me to."

 

"Ah, thank you, dear," Helen said, glad that she had that extra pair of hands in Renée. "That'd be great."

 

As Renée picked up Owen and took Diana with her to head upstairs to where the kids' bedrooms were, Stu called, "When you're done upstairs, Renée, come back down and join us here in the dining room, there's something we need to talk about."

 

"Okay, Stu, I won't be long," Renée said as she started up the stairs with the two youngest Hart kids.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

A few minutes later, Renée returned downstairs to join Marcel, Stu and Helen in the dining room. "Did the kids give you any trouble upstairs?" Helen asked.

 

"Nope, not at all," Renée said with a grin. "Owen was especially good, thanks to me putting him to sleep with a lullaby."

 

"Well, now that that's settled, I got some news for you, Renée," Stu said to her as she took a seat at the dining table.

 

"Okay, what's that?" Renée said.

 

"Your dad was telling me last week about you winning Mildred Burke's tournament down in Los Angeles two months ago," Stu said. "He said you did really well at the tournament and during the house shows Mildred put on down in Nevada and Arizona."

 

"Yeah, I did alright down there," Renée admitted. "I had to work for it, but that was okay."

 

"And that's where my news comes in," Stu said. "I'd been planning this for a couple of months anyway, but after hearing about your performance down in L.A., I'm gonna let you in on it - I brought you over to Calgary for this coming week because I'm entering you in a tournament this Friday at the Pavilion to decide the first Canadian Women's Champion."

 

Renée gasped at hearing the news. "Really?" she said in amazement.

 

"That's right," Stu said. "I figured that after hearing about L.A., you're ready for a bigger push, and this tournament's the start of that push."

 

"Oh, that's great - thanks, Stu, thank you very much," a pleased Renée said, happy to hear the news and glad to know that Stu had enough confidence in her to take her to the next level on the road to wrestling stardom.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Archie "Stomper" Gouldie, a multiple-time North American Heavyweight Champion in Stampede Wrestling and one of the biggest stars in the promotion's history, was best known to American wrestling fans (particularly in the Southeast) as the Mongolian Stomper and also had a great deal of success with that gimmick in the Southeastern territories (including in Jerry Lawler's CWA, Southeastern/Continental Championship Wrestling and Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling).

[The Blonde Bomber]

Jeez you got your hand in every territory. The Puppetmaster over here lol.

Renee getting the push now, she won the Mildred Burke Tournament and is now on pace to be the first Canadian Women's Champion. All because she's good with his kids lol. I wonder who Stu will get to be in this tournament.

[Old School Fan]

While I'm working on the upcoming Stampede card, here are some YouTube clips involving the wrestler mentioned in the previous chapter:

 

As Archie "Stomper" Gouldie:

 

(from Stampede Wrestling, July 1973 - NWA World Champion Harley Race also gets involved)

 

(from Stampede Wrestling, 1983)

 

(from Stampede Wrestling, 1983 - Stomper and JR Foley interrupt and a two-on-one attack on Stu ensues until Bret Hart comes to the rescue)

 

(from Stampede Wrestling, December 1983 - this is the match that saw Stomper's face turn following a double-cross by Bad News and host Ed Whalen's subsequent departure from the show, followed by interviews and a strap match between Stomper and Bad News; those clips were aired on the 1999 revival of Stampede Wrestling hosted by Mauro Ranallo and Bad News)

 

(from Stampede Wrestling, c. January 1984)

 

As Mongolian Stomper:

 

(from Memphis, May 1979)

 

(from Houston, June 1982)

 

(from Houston, September 1982)

 

(from Smoky Mountain Wrestling, August 1993)

[Old School Fan]

Stampede Wrestling @ Victoria Pavilion

April 12, 1968 - Calgary, Alberta

 

 

 

Ox Baker & John Foti defeated Gil Hayes & Mr. Robust* when Baker pinned Hayes.

 

 

Canadian Women's title tournament - semifinal

Renée Martel defeated Terri LaChance by submission with the Alligator Clutch.

 

 

Canadian Women's title tournament - semifinal

Diane Syverson defeated Jan Case by pinfall following an airplane spin.

 

 

NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary)

Bobby & Jerry Christy © defeated Buck Jones & Clem St. Louis when Bobby Christy pinned St. Louis.

 

 

Canadian Women's title tournament - final

Renée Martel defeated Diane Syverson to become the first Canadian Women's Champion when Renée pinned Syverson with a small package. In a post-match TV interview with Stampede Wrestling host Ed Whalen, Renée talked about facing Syverson before (both elsewhere in Canada and in the United States) and put her over as a tough opponent and one of the top stars in the business, then credited Stu Hart, Mildred Burke and her father Marcel for the training that got Renée to where she is now, then she thanked the fans for their support and announced that she intends to be a fighting champion as she defends her newly-won Canadian title all over Canada.

 

 

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Calgary)

Archie "Stomper" Gouldie © battled Marcel Martel to a no-contest when both wrestlers were disqualified for excessive brawling.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Mr. Robust was a masked identity used by Canadian wrestler Newton Tattrie, who was best known as Geeto Mongol, a member of the Mongols tag team in the then-WWWF and in Eddie Einhorn's International Wrestling Association.

[Old School Fan]

The newest All-Star Wrestling arena program is now out, with the spotlight on Renée Martel and her Canadian Women's title victory:

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

[The Blonde Bomber]

Not only winning just the Canadian Womens title, but winning the BEAUTIFUL Canadian womens title!! :D

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Colisée de Québec

April 25, 1968 - Quebec City, Quebec

 

 

 

Larry Moquin defeated Terry Garvin by pinfall with a cross-bodyblock.

 

 

Belle Starr & Margot Bouchard defeated Renée Martel & Claire Lepage when Starr pinned Martel with a fisherman suplex after Bouchard tripped Martel from behind from outside the ring as Martel rebounded off the ropes, causing Renée to stumble into Starr's suplex. Post-match, Martel quickly recovered from the suplex and confronted Bouchard over her action which led to Renée getting pinned; Bouchard then pushed Renée, which led to a brawl between the two teams that spilled out to ringside before Martel and Lepage battled Starr and Bouchard back to the locker rooms.

 

 

Gino Brito & Jacques Rougeau defeated Matt Gilmore & Brute Martin* when Jacques pinned Gilmore following a knockout punch.

 

 

Baron Von Raschke & Hans Schmidt defeated Bill & Dan Miller when Von Raschke used the Iron Claw to force Dan Miller to submit.

 

 

ASW Canadian Heavyweight Championship

Marcel Martel © defeated The Sheik by disqualification when Sheik was caught attempting to throw fire at Martel (which, by his good fortune, he blocked from hitting him when he grabbed a folding chair and put it between him and Sheik's fireball) while both wrestlers were brawling around ringside. Post-match, Martel continued fighting the Sheik and chased him back to the locker room area. Following that match, Sheik was fined $200 by the Quebec City Athletic Commission for his fire-throwing stunt and threatened with suspension from wrestling in Quebec City for six months if he repeated such a stunt.

 

 

ASW World Heavyweight Championship - Two out of Three Falls

Johnny Rougeau © defeated Ivan Koloff, two falls to one.

• First fall - Rougeau used a backslide pin to put Koloff's shoulders to the mat for the three-count.
  
• Second fall - Koloff used a bearhug to force Rougeau's submission.
  
• Third fall - Rougeau won when Koloff was disqualified due to Baron Von Raschke and Hans Schmidt running in to attack Rougeau as he had Koloff locked in the sleeperhold; post match, the three foreign heels triple-teamed on Johnny until Jacques Rougeau and Gino Brito came in for the save and helped Johnny chase Koloff, Von Raschke and Schmidt out of the ring.
  

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Brute Martin was a ring name used in the Montreal territory by Yvon Cormier (AKA the Beast, of New Brunswick's Cormier wrestling family) to avoid confusion with John Yachetti, who used the Beast ring name in Montreal.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Some authority figure needs to something about these interferences in main events. People are always messing things up in the final fall.

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena

April 29, 1968 - Montreal, Quebec

 

 

 

Buster Lloyd* defeated Larry Moquin by pinfall with a shoulderblock.

 

 

Margot Bouchard defeated Claire Lepage by pinfall with a spinebuster slam.

 

 

Tony Baillargeon defeated Terry Garvin by pinfall with a flying clothesline.

 

 

Canadian Women's Championship

Renée Martel © defeated Belle Starr by pinfall via a sunset flip. Post-match, Margot Bouchard ran in and attacked Renée from behind, leading to a two-on-one gangup by Bouchard and Starr against Renée until Claire Lepage ran in to even the sides and a brief brawl ensued until Renée and Lepage ran the heels out.

 

 

Jacques & Johnny Rougeau defeated Matt Gilmore & Brute Martin when Jacques Rougeau pinned Martin following a powerslam.

 

 

ASW Canadian Heavyweight Championship - Two out of Three Falls

Marcel Martel © battled Ivan Koloff to a curfew draw** after each wrestler had scored one fall.

• First fall - Koloff used a bearhug to force Martel's submission.
  
• Second fall - Martel evened the match by using a figure-four leglock to force Koloff to submit.
  
• Third fall - The match was stopped during the fall by an 11 p.m. curfew.
  

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Buster Lloyd was an early ring name used by wrestling legend Rufus R. Jones, who was best known for his time competing in Central States Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions and the AWA.

 

** WWWF events in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s IRL were known to have some of their events ended while a match was in progress due to an 11 p.m. curfew in that city, which affected fans attending the events who were under legal age and were not accompanied by parents or legal guardians. If this were also the case in other cities back then, it would make sense to show what would happen in such an event at a wrestling card ITTL.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Rufus R Jones, the R stands for guts!!

[Old School Fan]

Rufus R Jones, the R stands for guts!!

 

Speaking of which, here's a few YouTube videos featuring him:

 

Rufus R. Jones vs. Leroy Brown - lights out match (from Tampa, Florida, February 1983)

 

(from World Wide Wrestling, January 1984; Jimmy Valiant also gets involved)

 

(from World Wide Wrestling - not listed, but probably from 1984; Paul Jones, Dusty Rhodes and Kamala also get involved)

 

(from Kansas City, 1987)

 

(from WWC Anniversary show, September 1988)

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Water Street Arena*

May 1, 1968 - Cornwall, Ontario

Attendance - 2,000+

 

 

 

Larry Moquin fought Matt Gilmore to a time-limit draw.

 

 

Buster Lloyd defeated Terry Garvin by pinfall following a headbutt.

 

 

Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated Belle Starr & Margot Bouchard when Bouchard was disqualified for throwing Lepage over the top rope.

 

 

ASW Canadian Heavyweight Championship - Two out of Three Falls

Marcel Martel © battled Brute Martin to a time-limit draw after each wrestler had scored one fall.

• First fall - Martel pinned Martin following a clothesline.
  
• Second fall - Martin evened the match by using a bearhug to force Martel's submission.
  
• Third fall - The one-hour time limit ran out during the fall.
  

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* The Water Street Arena, as it was known at the time of this card, was renamed the Si Miller Arena (shown above) in 1994; it was built in 1936, superseded by the Cornwall Civic Complex in 1976 and demolished in 2011 after the opening of the three-rink Benson Centre.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Speaking of which, here's a few YouTube videos featuring him:

 

Rufus R. Jones vs. Leroy Brown - lights out match (from Tampa, Florida, February 1983)

 

(from World Wide Wrestling, January 1984; Jimmy Valiant also gets involved)

 

(from World Wide Wrestling - not listed, but probably from 1984; Paul Jones, Dusty Rhodes and Kamala also get involved)

 

(from Kansas City, 1987)

 

(from WWC Anniversary show, September 1988)

 

You’re so on top of the video game my man!!

[Herrbear]

Great matches. Thank you.

[Old School Fan]

You’re so on top of the video game my man!!

 

All for public service and keeping the history of wrestling on the fans' minds.

 

Great matches. Thank you.

 

Sure thing - and I've also got something new happening in this saga when it moves into June.

[Old School Fan]

American Wrestling Association @ Winnipeg Civic Auditorium

May 10, 1968 - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Attendance - 4,700

 

 

 

René Goulet defeated Bobby Jones by submission with a Boston crab.

 

 

Canadian Women's Championship

Margot Bouchard defeated Renée Martel © by countout when Martel could not get back into the ring in time to beat the referee's count as Bouchard got into the ring first after the two girls brawled around ringside (Martel retains her title due to the countout). Although she was happy to get a win over Renée, Bouchard was not happy with not getting Renée's title due to the countout outcome and demanded a rematch for the next AWA card in Winnipeg.

 

 

Two out of Three Falls

Larry Hennig & Harley Race defeated Luke Brown & Bill Watts, two falls to one.

• First fall - Race pinned Watts following a piledriver.
  
• Second fall - Brown pinned Race following a powerslam.
  
• Third fall - Hennig pinned Brown following a running forearm smash.
  

 

 

Dr. X defeated Dutch Savage by submission to the figure-four leglock.

 

 

Mighty Igor defeated Mad Dog Vachon by disqualification when Vachon reversed a whip to the ropes by Igor and whipped him into the referee.

 

 

[Old School Fan]

NWA All-Star Wrestling @ Port Alberni Civic Arena

May 27, 1968 - Port Alberni, British Columbia

Attendance - 1,000+

 

 

 

Tex McKenzie defeated Karl Von Steiger by pinfall following a bulldog.

 

 

Canadian Women's Championship

Renée Martel © defeated Margot Bouchard when Bouchard was disqualified for refusing to stop choking Martel against the ropes. On a side note, prior to the start of the matches, Martel pleased quite a few local young fans when she signed autographs for them inside the arena lobby.

 

 

Two out of Three Falls

Don Leo Jonathan and Abdullah the Butcher battled to a time-limit draw after each wrestler won one fall.

• First fall - Jonathan pinned Abdullah following a Mormon Swing.
  
• Second fall - Abdullah pinned Jonathan following a karate thrust to the throat.
  
• Third fall - The 30-minute time limit ran out during the fall.
  

 

 

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Vancouver)* - Two out of Three Falls

Haystacks Calhoun & Pat Barrett defeated The Assassins ©, two falls to one.

• First fall - Barrett pinned Assassin II following an Irish Drop.
  
• Second fall - Assassin I pinned Barrett following a backbreaker.
  
• Third fall - The Assassins were disqualified for excessive rulebreaking (the Assassins retain their belts despite the DQ).
  

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* This is the last known title defence of the Vancouver version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship both IRL and ITTL, as the championship was quietly shelved soon afterward in favor of focusing on the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (which the Assassins also held at that point).

[Old School Fan]

The poster for the May 31 AWA event in Winnipeg is now up:

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

And here's the full match lineup below for your predictions:

 

Orest Antonation* vs. Bobby Jones

 

Luke Brown vs. The Big K

 

René Goulet vs. George Gordienko

 

Dutch Savage vs. Tiny Mills

 

Canadian Women's Championship

Renée Martel © vs. Margot Bouchard

 

AWA World Tag Team Championship

Mitsu Arakawa & Dr. Moto** © vs. Mighty Igor & "Cowboy" Bill Watts

 

AWA World Heavyweight Championship - Two out of Three Falls

Verne Gagne © vs. "Pretty Boy" Larry Hennig

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

* Real name of the wrestler who competed in other territories (including NWA All-Star Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling, where he won three International Tag Team titles) using the ring name "Buffalo" Bill Cody in the 1970s and 1980s.

 

** Dr. Moto was an early ring name used by Tor Kamata (real name McRonald Kamaka), who made a name for himself in the AWA, Stampede, Los Angeles, the WWWF and his native Hawaii (among other territories) from 1959 to 1987.

[Lord Byron]

My picks: Bobby Jones, The Big K, Rene Goulet, Dutch Savage, Renee Martel ©, Mitsu Arakawa & Dr. Moto ©, and Verne Gagne ©...

[Captain Kremmen]

I got my AWA tix for the show in Winnipeg!

 

Called my bookie and bet all my family's life savings on Larry Hennig to win the title that night!