Rene Goulet
| Rene Goulet | |
|---|---|
Nice, France[1] | |
| Debut | 1957 |
| Retired | 1987 |
Robert Bédard (July 12, 1932 – May 25, 2019)
Early life
Robert Bedard was born on July 12, 1932, in Quebec City and played hockey as a defenseman, on one occasion nearly dying after an opponent's skate cut into his throat. In addition to hockey, Bedard trained as a bodybuilder and a boxer, but decided to try out wrestling after another boxer warned him he would be "
Professional wrestling career
Goulet began his career in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1957, with his first match being against Gerard Dugas. Bedard adopted his ring name Rene Goulet when he began working in
Gotch and Goulet dropped the belts to
Goulet was in the first WWF match ever televised on the
Goulet found himself brought into a variety of territories in North America as well as promotions from around the world. Goulet worked in Europe, Australia, and Japan, working in singles and tag team competition. In Japan, he teamed with
Retirement and death
Following Goulet's release from the company in 1997, he spent his later life enjoying retirement with his wife. Goulet was an avid golfer and regularly competed in celebrity charity tournaments.[6] He eventually became an American citizen and continued residing in North Carolina. Rene and his wife were together for nearly 70 years, and he worked hard to be home as often as possible and credits his marriage’s longevity and happiness to a number of things, quoting "First of all, of course, there has to be love. Then there’s respect between each other. It won't work without respect. At our house nobody's the boss. Whatever she says is OK, whatever I say is OK. We always talk with each other before we make a decision. Thank God she was very good with that, because it's hard to last that long in the wrestling business. It's almost a miracle. But you have to work at it."
Goulet died on May 25, 2019, at the age of 86.[2]
Championships and accomplishments
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- MSG Tag League (1981) – with André the Giant
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Pepper Martin and Shag Thomas[10]
- World Wrestling Association
- Zarinoff Lebeouf[11]
- World Wide Wrestling Federation
- Karl Gotch[1]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ a b Robert Bedard Obituary
- ^ Mooneyham, Mike (December 21, 2019). "Wrestling great Rene Goulet led life of happiness and joy". Post and Courier. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ "An Exclusive Interview with Rene Goulet". www.ddtdigest.com. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ "News of Rene Goulet's death, age 86, slow to circulate". Slam Wrestling. December 11, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ Rene Goulet Interview, retrieved May 23, 2010
- ^ "N.W.A. Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "Mick Foley, Terry Funk headline pro hall of fame class at Gable Museum". The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ "N.W.A. Georgia Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A. Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "W.W.A. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
