Mad Dog by Bertrand Hébert

Author:Bertrand Hébert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2017-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

17

GRAND PRIX WRESTLING: MAURICE’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN

What motivated Maurice’s return to Quebec? A few weeks earlier, Yvon Robert Sr. had come calling in Minneapolis. He had wanted to see first-hand how his son was doing. But his real intent was to bring Maurice back to Quebec, to compete head-on with Johnny Rougeau and his wrestling promotion. The relationship between Robert and Rougeau had deteriorated over the years. The filial bond Rougeau had once had with Robert was now nothing but a distant memory. When Rougeau started his company and got a wrestling show on Channel 10, he excluded Robert from the whole plan, turning Robert into a hostile competitor in the process. Moreover, he used recordings Quinn had left to Robert to convince the station’s management that the show had big potential. But Robert knew that competing directly with a well-established promotion like Johnny’s wouldn’t be easy, especially for someone starting out on his own. Robert knew Maurice had a lot of experience in the ring and contacts in the business. He was convinced Maurice could make a big difference in helping him launch a new promotion. So he offered Maurice the chance to become his own boss.

Maurice and his brother enjoyed their star status within the AWA, so this was a monumental decision. They were well established, they were widely respected, and they were making more money than ever. Most wrestlers slaved away for a lifetime to achieve this level of success in a major territory. However, the brothers also knew success was “easy come, easy go.” They might not get another opportunity like this one. Sometimes it’s better to quit while you’re ahead, instead of being shown the exit. The next step in their careers was for them to become owners of their own promotion, working as their own bosses.

Maurice’s favorite song was “Un Canadien errant” — “The Wandering Canadian.” This folk song had been composed by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie in 1848, a decade after the 1837–38 Rebellion in Lower Canada, when many rebels who aspired to more independence — “les Patriotes” — were forced by British colonial authorities into exile in the United States, some even being deported to Australia. The song had resonance for Maurice since he had to work abroad, in a sort of exile, even though his circumstances were not as dramatic as the Patriotes of 1837–38.

The English version of this song, translated by John Murray Gibbon, goes:

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.