Phil Lafon

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Dan Kroffat
Birth namePhilippe Lafon[1][2]
Born (1961-09-16) September 16, 1961 (age 62)[3]
Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada[4][2]
Alma materNorQuest College[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Black Sabbath
Dan Kroffat[4]
Danny Kroffat
Phil Lafleur[4]
Phil Lafon
Philip Lafon
Rocky Venturo[4]
Rene Rougeau[4]
Blue Blazer II
Billed height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[5]
Billed weight231 lb (105 kg)[5]
Billed fromMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Trained byMr. Hito[4][5]
Debut1983[5]
Retired2014

Philippe Lafon (born September 16, 1961) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Phil Lafon and with All Japan Pro Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring name Dan Kroffat.[1][2][6][4][5]

Early life

Lafon was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada, to his French-Canadian parents and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[2][4]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1983–1988)

Lafon was discovered at a local gym in Canada by

The Dynamite Kid, and was subsequently trained in the Hart Dungeon. In the Dungeon, he was trained by Mr. Hito. He spent two years in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling before leaving to work as "Rene Rougeau" in the Maritimes. During this time, he met The Cuban Assassin, who helped him get booked in Japan.[4][2]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1996)

Kroffat was a longtime mainstay of

The British Bruisers, The Patriot and The Eagle, Joel Deaton and Billy Black.[7] As a singles wrestler, Kroffat also won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.[8]

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996, 1997–1998)

The duo joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in late 1996, having a series of matches against Sabu and Rob Van Dam. At Fright Fight 1997, Lafon and Furnas were defeated by

eight-man tag team match
.

Lafon and Furnas also formed a short-lived stable of "invaders" from the WWF with Lance Wright,

World Wrestling Federation (1996–1997)

A few months later, both men made their

The Godwinns. He returned in the fall of 1997 as full fledged heels most notably as a part of Team Canada at Survivor Series in his hometown Montreal
. LaFon would make a few more appearances with Furnas afterwards, mostly on Shotgun Saturday Night (notably with one match being against the then-unknown Hardy Boyz), before they were later sent to ECW.

Late career (1998–2014)

After leaving both WWF and ECW, Doug Furnas retired from wrestling and the pair went their own separate ways. Lafon wrestled in Mexico for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 1998 as the Blue Blazer II. He returned to All Japan between 2000 and 2001, then worked in the independents in Western Canada until his initial retirement in 2006.

Lafon was the Head Trainer of Monster Pro Wrestling (MPW) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On March 6, 2010 in Edmonton, he returned to the ring to compete with MPW after five years of being in retirement, due to nagging knee and shoulder injuries.[4] He would wrestle his last match in 2014.

Personal life

In 2014, Lafon graduated from NorQuest College with a diploma in social work.[1]

Championships and accomplishments

See also

  • The Can-Am Express

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Philippe Lafon". NorQuest College. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ "Canoe.Com". canoe. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Sean Cooper (April 7, 2010). "Phil Lafon returns to the ring". Canoe.com. Quebecor Media. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ a b c d e "Phil Lafon". Cagematch.net. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  6. ^ .
  7. ^ "puroresucentral.com". Go Daddy. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  8. ^ "All Japan Jr. Heavyweight Championship". www.puroresucentral.com.
  9. Pro Wrestling Torch
    . Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  10. Pro Wrestling Torch
    . Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  11. Pro Wrestling Torch
    . Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  12. Pro Wrestling Torch
    . Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  13. ^ "Real World Tag League 1989". Cage Match. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  14. ^ "World's Strongest Tag Determination League Power Award". Cage Match. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 – PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2010.

External links