Two wrestlers and a team are entering the Quebec Wrestling Hall of Fame this year, namely indigenous wrestlers Don Eagle and Billy Two Rivers, as well as the team composed of Ronnie Garvin and Jimmy Garvin.
It's been a few years since Billy Two Rivers and Don Eagle came within a few votes of being inducted. But each time, the committee decided otherwise. This committee includes former wrestlers, current wrestlers, as well as several personalities who have followed the history of wrestling in Quebec at different times. Each member votes for their favorites and a compilation of these votes is then carried out in order to determine the newly elected members.
Since retirements come very late or simply don't exist for a professional wrestler, the rules to be admitted state that the person must have worked in the wrestling business for at least 15 years, or have reached the age 35 years old, or to have died and to have worked during one of the golden ages of wrestling in Quebec, for an important world promotion or to have had an important international career.
For actors in the independent scene, which has existed in Quebec since 1990, they must have had an international career worthy of mention. Otherwise, it is very difficult to compare eras. Who had a better career between Richard Charland and Franky the Mobster for example? Not so obvious. At the beginning of 2021, I created the very first Independent Wrestling Hall of Fame in Quebec, precisely to counterbalance everything.
Don Eagle, a star in the early days of television
Born August 25, 1925 in Kahnawake, Carl Donald Bell, who would become better known as Don Eagle, began his career in the eastern United States.
Trained by his father Chief War Eagle, the first significant indigenous wrestler to come from Quebec, he enjoyed great success in the United States, mainly in Ohio and Illinois. Eagle is one of the first to stand out with his native costume which differentiates him from the others, in addition to the dances he offers to spectators, while television makes its appearance in the United States. He quickly became one of the first stars of American television and won the AWA title (that of Paul Bowser, not that of Verne Gagne).
He also participated in several finals in Montreal during his career, including his very first, in October 1949 against Lou Thesz. The NWA Championship match draws 11,000 people to the Forum, one of the biggest crowds of the year in Montreal.
Eagle, who was known for driving his Cadillac with a 20-foot canoe on top of it, retired in the mid-1960s, a decade after a back injury slowed him down.
On March 17, 1966, he was found dead, at the age of 40, having allegedly self-inflicted a gunshot, although those near him never believed it to be suicide.
Billy Two Rivers, le dauphin de Don Eagle
It's almost poetic to see Billy Two Rivers and Don Eagle being inducted in the same year.
10 years his junior, Billy Two Rivers meets Eagle and his father when Eagle returns to Kahnawake to treat his back injury. Billy is only 15 years old and like many young people from Kahnawake, he plays lacrosse. Eagle offers to train Billy and when Eagle is ready to return to the arena, he asks him to follow him.
It was therefore on January 12, 1954, in Detroit, that Billy Two Rivers' career began. A 25-year career that took him all over the world, from Ohio to Florida, via Boston, Charlotte, Japan and even Cuba.
In 1959, when he had the choice of going to Calgary or England, Billy decided to put his destiny in the hands of a coin. In fact, he decides his destination on a coin toss. England won and thanks to television, Billy became a star there from 1959 to 1965. Among other things, he wrestled several times at the famous Royal Albert Hall in London.
Then, in 1971, Paul Vachon, then promoter of Lutte Grand Prix, who met Billy in England in the 1960s, suggested that he return to Quebec. Billy never had the opportunity to settle here and make a living.
He is placed in a team with Johnny War Eagle, whose real name is Rolland Frenière. Although Frenière is not Aboriginal, Billy understands the importance of the characters in the struggle and is grateful to Frenière for his respect for Aboriginal culture. Billy goes so far as to consider him an ambassador. The team will experience success in a very tough tag team division.
After the Grand Prix adventure, he returned to England before returning to finish his career in Montreal, where he won the Athletic Commission title while the territory was in a trough. After his career, he became involved at the political level, being an important member of the Aboriginal community during the Oka Crisis in 1990. He was the chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake for 20 years and the right arm of the Grand Chief of Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, Joe Norton.
On February 12, 2023, Billy Two Rivers died at the age of 87, following a long illness.
The Garvins against the Rougeaus: a rivalry that made noise
In 1985, Ronnie Garvin, a Quebecer named Roger Barnes, returned to Quebec as a team with his stepson, Jimmy Williams, better known as Jimmy Garvin. Their rivalry against the Rougeau brothers will be one of the most important of the 1980s and it is all due to a combination of circumstances.
Indeed, in the spring of 1985, Ronnie decided to come and spend the summer in Quebec for the first time in 20 years. At the same time, Rick Martel was asked to wrestle in Quebec during the summer and find an opponent. The latter thinks of Jimmy Garvin.
Seeing an opportunity, the management of Lutte Internationale changed its tune and decided to put Jimmy and Ronnie as a team, nickname them the Garvin brothers and make them compete with the most popular team of brothers in Quebec, the Rougeau , thereby leaving Martel in the lurch.
After giving the Garvins a few matches, they finally faced the Rougeaus on the evening of June 24, during the Saint-Jean-Baptiste super gala. Barely entering the ring, Jacques Rougeau Jr. is blinded by the Garvins' manager and Jimmy's real-life partner, Precious, who throws hairspray in his eyes with the help of a bottle. In order to equalize everything, Jacques Rougeau Sr. comes to the defense of his sons, but the Garvins are waiting for him and the father leaves the Forum on a stretcher. For their part, Jacques and Raymond are covered in blood.
There is hysteria in the amphitheater.
Combined with another tag team match between Dino Bravo and King Tonga against the Road Warriors, the show attracted 16,271 fans.
The rivalry then spread to the four corners of the province, where it attracted crowds and broke attendance records. The first rematch at the Forum took place on July 29, 1985. A crowd of 17,502 spectators was there and they reacted very strongly to the action. The fight, which will be released on VHS some time later, is making the rounds among collectors and many cannot believe the reaction of fans and the noise emanating from the Forum.
If the first match had no winners, the second was won by the Garvins following the disqualification of the Rougeaus. Everything for a final match between the two teams.
This fight at the Forum took place on August 26, 1985 and in front of 21,500 fans, the Rougeaus finally took their revenge on the Garvins and won the fight. A final fight will take place the following week at the Verdun Auditorium with the stipulation that the losers will have to leave the territory. Of course, the Rougeaus emerge victorious again, allowing Ronnie and Jimmy to return to the United States.
Summer was well and truly over.
In 1999 and 2000, this rivalry would be recreated as the two teams faced each other a few times for Lutte Internationale 2000.
In the company of rivalries like those between Killer Kowalski and Yvon Robert, Little Beaver and Sky Low Low, Johnny Rougeau and Ivan Koloff, the Vachon and the Leduc, the Géant Ferré and Don Leo Jonathan, as well as that between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, the Garvins against the Rougeaus is one of the rivalries that will have marked the history of wrestling in Quebec.
What awaits us for 2025?
Photographer Tony Lanza, former WWE Champion Stan Stasiak (I don't understand why he's not there yet) and brothers Paul and Bob Lortie are best positioned to make their debut next year. Mike Bailey also more than doubled his vote count and with a strong 2025 in the spotlight, he could get close to the required number of votes.
As for non-Quebecers, the dominance of the Garvins and the low number of votes for the other candidates in this category make me reconsider everything. Maybe it's time to bring everyone together under one category?
To see for next year, when the Quebec Wrestling Hall of Fame celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Here, in conclusion, is the list of inductees:
Québécois:
Dino Bravo – 2005
Eddy Creatchman – 2005
Rick Martel – 2005
Mad Dog Vachon – 2005
Gino Brito – 2005
If Leduc – 2005
Yvon Robert – 2005
Little Beaver – 2005
Pat Patterson – 2005
Johnny Rougeau – 2005
Ronnie Garvin – 2005
Paul Leduc – 2005
Jacques Rougeau – 2005
Jacques Rougeau Jr. – 2005
Raymond Rougeau – 2005
Tarzan Tyler – 2005
Bob Langevin – 2007
Hans Schmidt – 2007
Michel Dubois – 2008
Paul Vachon – 2008
Frenchy Martin – 2008
Pierre Lefebvre – 2008
Sky Low Low – 2009
Vivian Vachon – 2010
Pat Girard – 2010
Michel Normandin – 2011
Frank Valois – 2011
Larry Moquin – 2012
Pierre-Carl Ouellet – 2013
Jack Britton – 2014
Adrien Desbois – 2015
Baillargeon brothers – 2015
Richard Charland – 2016
Gilles Poisson – 2016
Kevin Owens – 2017
Omer Marchessault – 2018
Eddy Auger – 2019
LuFisto – 2020
Sami Zayn – 2021
Tiger Jackson – 2022
René Goulet – 2023
Don Eagle – 2024
Billy Two Rivers – 2024
Non-Quebecers:
Abdullah the Butcher – 2006
Édouard Carpentier – 2006
Andre the Giant – 2006
Killer Kowalski – 2007
Don Leo Jonathan – 2007
Buddy Rogers – 2008
Lou Thesz – 2008
Hulk Hogan – 2010
Eddie Quinn – 2010
Ivan Koloff – 2011
The Sheik – 2012
King Tonga – 2013
Sailor White – 2014
Road Warriors – 2015
Billy Robinson – 2015
Bobby Managoff – 2016
Bret Hart – 2017
Jimmy Garvin – 2018
Hollywood powders – 2019
Yukon Eric – 2020
Vince McMahon Jr. – 2021
Steve Strong – 2022
Leo Burke – 2023
Garvin Brothers – 2024
Pioneers:
George Kennedy – 2014
Eugène Tremblay – 2017
Henri Deglane – 2020
Émile Maupas – 2021
