| Édouard Carpentier | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Édouard Carpentier Flying Frenchmen[1] Eddy Wiechoski[1] |
| Billed weight | 230 pounds (100 kg)[1] |
| Born | July 17, 1926 Roanne, Loire, France |
Édouard Wiecz (born July 17, 1926) is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler who is better known by his ring name Édouard Carpentier. In a career that spanned the 1950s into the 1970s, he garnered several world championships. He is currently the oldest surviving former NWA World Heavyweight Champion
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Early life
Born Édouard Wiecz[1] on July 17, 1926 in Roanne, Loire, France to a Russian father and a Polish mother, he joined the French underground resistance during the period of German occupation during World War II and was subsequently awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Croix des combattants medals by the French government at the close of the war.[1]
He moved to Montreal, Canada in 1956, becoming a Canadian citizen.[1] He also became an all around athlete with gymnastic skills.[1]
Career
An early proponent of "scientific” wrestling, Carpentier was a crowd favorite who delighted fans with acrobatic leaps from the turnbuckles and a variety of other aerial maneuvers such as the rope-aided twisting headscissors. He was one of the first wrestlers to regularly use such maneuvers.[1] He was always a fan favorite in his bouts and was matched against numerous villains, perhaps the most well known of whom was the legendary Killer Kowalski.
The highpoint of his career was his NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign from 1956 to 1957.[1] He won the title in a disputed contest between Lou Thesz on June 14, 1957.[1] Some NWA territories and officials recognized the disputed win as a legitimate title change, while others did not.[1] This led to the split of the NWA and led to the creation of the American Wrestling Association and other organizations, all with their own world titles.[1] He was later recognized as the first holder of the AWA's Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship.[1] He eventually dropped the belt to Verne Gagne.[1]
After his retirement, Carpentier operated a school for teaching professional wrestling skills.[1] His most famous student was André the Giant. He also operated in the early 1980s as a babyface colour commentator, alongside heel play-by-play host Guy Hauray, for the Montreal-based Grand Prix Wrestling, and then, together for the World Wrestling Federation, when the WWF bought the Montreal territory in 1985. They hosted the French edition of the WWF television show Superstars, sold to French-speaking countries.[1] He was replaced by former French-Canadian wrestler Raymond Rougeau in 1992.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
Championships and accomplishments
- Atlantic Athletic Commission
-
- World Heavyweight Championship (Boston version) (1 time)
- International Wrestling Alliance
-
- IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) (1 time)
- Lutte Internationale (Montreal)
- Montreal Athletic Commission / International Wrestling Alliance
-
- International Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (5 times)
- World
- Regional
- World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)
-
WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version) (2 times )- WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bob Ellis
1Carpentier was awarded the title by disqualification when Thesz could not continue the match due to a back injury. For 71 days, the NWA recognized the title as being in dispute between Carpentier and Thesz.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Canadian Hall of Fame: Edouard Carpentier". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/carpentier.html. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/canada/ab/hof.html.
External links
- Carpentier at the SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame
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