Michel Martel
| Michel Martel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Michel Vigneault |
| Born | October 4, 1944 Quebec City, Quebec,Canada |
| Died | June 30, 1978(aged 33) Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Lumberjack Mad Dog Martel Michel Martel Mitchell Martel |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 242 lb (110 kg) |
| Billed from | Paris,France |
| Trained by | Vic Tanney |
| Debut | 1968 |
Michel Vigneault(October 4, 1944 – June 30, 1978) was a Canadianprofessional wrestler,better known by hisring name,Michel"Mad Dog"Martel.Martel is best known for his appearances withprofessional wrestling promotionsuch asAtlantic Grand Prix Wrestling,Stampede Wrestling,International Wrestling Enterpriseand theWorld Wrestling Councilin the late 1960s and 1970s. He was one-half of thetag teamThe MercenarieswithFrenchy Martinand the older brother of fellow wrestlerRick Martel.
Professional wrestling career
[edit]Early career
[edit]The eldest of six children, Vigneault was born in Quebec City to Fernand Vigneault and Evelyne Harvey in October 1944. During high school, Vigneault became involved inpowerliftingand began working nights as a bouncer and bartender in local clubs. It was during this time that he would meet his future tag team partner Pierre Martin.
During the late 1960s, he began training with his uncles Real Choinard and Aldrick Harvey who wrestled occasionally for promoterJohnny Rougeau.In 1968, he began touring northern Ontario during the summer for Larry Kasaboski. During his time in the area, he was trained by Vic Tanney and later wrestled for Johnny Rougeau in Quebec for a time before traveling toStu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.[1]
Stampede Wrestling
[edit]During his time in Stampede Wrestling, he would gain early success as a singles competitor becoming involved in a high-profile feud"Cowboy" Dan Kroffatbefore teaming with Danny Babich to defeatEarl BlackandTiger Joe Tomassofor the Stampede International Tag team Championship inCalgary, Albertaon October 1, 1971. Their championship reign was brief, however, as they lost the titles to Chin Lee andSugi Sitoless than two weeks later.
He and Babich would later defeatTiger Joe TomassoandGil Hayesto recapture the tag team titles in mid-December only to lose the titles toGeorge Gordienkoand Super Hawk on December 16. Rebounding a week later, they won the titles back from George Gordienko and Super Hawk on December 23 and held on to the titles for almost a month before losing to Dan Kroffat and Lennie Hurst inEdmonton,Alberta on January 20, 1972. Winning back the titles in Calgary on February 9, he and Babich would eventually lose the titles toCarlos Belafonteand Gino Caruso two months later. While in Calgary, Martel would also occasionally return to Quebec from time to time as well as travel toMexicowhere he wrestled as "The Lumberjack".
Soon after his brother's debut in June 1972, he and Rick Martel would team together in Quebec as well as occasionally in Georgia and Calgary during the next several years.[1]
The Mercenaries in Japan and Puerto Rico
[edit]By the mid-1970s, Martel had become an established star in Stampede Wrestling and persuaded Pierre Martin to enter professional wrestling as well. Martin eventually agreed and, after training with several veterans in Quebec, Martel brought him into Stampede Wrestling during his first year as "Don Gagne". They soon began teaming together as "the Mercenaries", theirin-ring personasclosely mirroring theQuébécois nationalist movementsactive in Quebec during that time, and began wrestling in Montreal andthe Maritimesfor Eastern Sports Association as Michel and Frenchy Martin feuding withLeo Burke,The Beast,Rudy Kayand Eric Pomeroy.
It was in Puerto Rico, however, where The Mercenaries gained the greatest success, when his friendsCarlos ColonandVictor Riveraestablished theWorld Wrestling Councilthe previous year. Signing with the promotion in early 1975, he and Martin would defeat Vikingo and Ciclon Sudamericano for the WWC North American Tag Team Championship inCaguas, Puerto Ricoon April 8, 1975. Feuding with Jose Rivera and Carlos Colon during the next several months, he and Martin remained the top"heels"in the promotion headlining the majority of the WWC events with Rivera and Colon for much of the year. In one of the biggest cards of the year, which featured the return of WWC mainstaysEric the Red,“Cowboy” Bob EllisandDick Steinborn,the Martel brothers lost a hair vs. hair match to Jose Rivera and Carlos Colon on May 31, 1975. They would also be allied withKurt Von Hessfor a short time while he toured Puerto Rico during the summer.[2]
After losing the titles to Jose Rivera & Ciclon in August 1975, the Mercenaries also had a brief stay in the Cleveland-basedInternational Wrestling AssociationfacingJohnny PowersandPez WhatleyinWalpole, Massachusettson October 1.[3]Negotiations to sign with the IWA would later fall through due to miscommunication with promotersPedro MartínezandEddie Einhorn,however, including being unable to attain awork visaamong other issues.[4]
In November and December 1975, the Mercenaries (billed as "Combat" ) wrestled in Japan for theInternational Wrestling Enterprisepromotion as part of its Big Winter Series. In their second bout, they defeated Great Kusatsu andMighty Inouein atwo-out-of-three falls matchto win theIWA World Tag Team Championship.Kusatsu and Inoue regained the titles from Combat the following month in acage match.Combat made a second tour with International Wrestling Enterprise in October to December 1976 as part of its Bravery Series.[5]
During the next two years, "The Mercenaries" would become one of the most popular tag teams in the promotion and feuded with many of the biggest stars of the era including Carlos Colon, Jose and Johnny Rivera andThe Moondogs.He and Martin would eventually be joined Danny Babich, Martel's former Stampede Wrestling tag team partner, who became the third member of "The Mercenaries" as "Daniel Martel". Later defeating The Medics (Medico IandMedico II) for the WWC North American Tag Team titles in May 1977, he would feud over the tag team championship with Jose Rivera andHercules Ayalaand eventually won the tag team titles twice more with Babich before the end of the year. Returning to Stampede Wrestling in early 1978, he would also briefly feud withLeo Burkeover the Stampede North American Championship defeating Burke for the title in March before losing it back to him the following month.[1]
Death
[edit]On the night of June 30, 1978, Martel was wrestling at a WWC event inPonce, Puerto Ricoappearing on the undercard in a 6-man tag team match alongside Pierre Martin and Jack Lafarb facing Carlos Colon and "The Invaders" (Invader IandInvader II). Although showing no signs during the match, he complained of suffering hot flashes during the match to his tag team partner while backstage preparing to leave for the night. Martel left the arena along with Pierre. While on his way to San Juan, Michel suffered a heart attack, and was rushed to a hospital in Ponce, where he was pronounced dead.
Rick Martel, then 22 years old, would eventually be flown into Puerto Rico to identify his brother and eventually charged with bringing his body back to Quebec. His death was not only announced byBob Leonardin Stampede Wrestling but also the World Wrestling Council where promoter Carlos Colon and Jose Gonzalez would use Martel's death to promote a long running feud between The Invaders and Pierre Martin and Rick Martel with the promotion claiming that Martel's attack had been caused by Gonzales using the then banned "heart punch"during their last match. This incident was later brought up when Jose Gonzalez stabbed American wrestlerBruiser Brodyto death at a WWC show in 1988. This has since been revealed as "kayfabe"used to promote Gonzalez's feud with Frenchy Martin and Michel Martel's younger brotherRick Martel.[1]
Championships and accomplishments
[edit]- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Posthumous Award (2011)[6]
- Eastern Sports Association
- ESA Maritime Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Frenchy Martin
- International Wrestling Enterprise
- IWA World Tag Team Championship(1 time) - withPierre Martin[7]
- Stampede Wrestling
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC North American Tag Team Championship(4 times) - with Pierre Martel (1) and Daniel Martel (3)[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdOliver, Greg (2004-10-11)."Michel Martel: Forgotten great".SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^Gonzalez, Manuel (June 2002)."Regional Territories: WWC #9, Page #2".KayfabeMemories.com.
- ^"IWA Wrestling Results - 1975".SteelBeltWrestling.com. 2006-05-01.
- ^Will, Gary (July 2000)."Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame: Frenchy Martin".GaryWill.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 31, 2013.
- ^Kreikenbohm, Philip."Mad Dog Martel - matches - International Wrestling Enterprise".Cagematch.net.RetrievedJuly 25,2023.
- ^Oliver, Greg (April 20, 2011)."Lifetime honoree Foley captivates at CAC Baloney Blowout".Slam Wrestling.RetrievedSeptember 27,2020.
- ^"I.W.A. World Tag Team Title (IWE)".Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^"Stampede International Tag Team Title".Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-05.
- ^"North American Heavyweight Title (Calgary Stampede)".Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^"W.W.C. North American Tag Team Title".Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
External links
[edit]- Michel Martel's profile atCagematch.net
