Rene Goulet

This page is on the former pro wrestler, Rene Goulet. For the former Canadian champion tennis player see Robert Bédard (tennis)
Rene Goulet
Goulet (top) vs. Chris Taylor in 1973
Birth name Robert Bédard
Born (1932-07-12) July 12, 1932
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Buddy Rogers Jr.
Sgt. Jacques Goulet
Worzel
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Billed weight 236 lb (107 kg)[1]
Billed from Nice, France[1]
Debut 1957
Retired 1987

Robert Bédard (born July 12, 1932) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. better known by his ring name, the "Number One Frenchman" Rene Goulet.

Professional wrestling career

Goulet began his career in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1957, with his first match being against Gerard Dugas.

He spent the early part of his career traveling the territories, spending a significant amount of time in the AWA. His greatest fame was when he competed in the 1970s and 1980s with the World Wrestling Federation and won the WWWF Tag Team Championship with Karl Gotch in December 1971. Later on, Goulet became a jobber in the WWF.

Robert Bédard was well known as a very dependable wrestler who could always be trusted to have a good match. As a result, he was often selected to have matches with rookie wrestlers so he could carry the match. The list of wrestlers who had either had their first match or one of their first matches against Bédard includes Ric Flair, Chris Taylor, the Iron Sheik, Jim Brunzell, Greg Gagne, and Ken Patera. In Japan, in 1981, he teamed with Andre The Giant. While in the AWA in the early 1980s he was known as "Sgt. Jacques Goulet" and used a claw hold he called "le scorpion".

Career accomplishments

  • The first person to defeat Ric Flair. It was Flair's second match. (Flair's first match, against George Gadaski ended in a draw).
  • The subject of a full-page photo in the third issue of People Magazine (March 11, 1974). The photo was taken of Bédard in a bear hug from Chris Taylor in Taylor's first professional match.
  • He was in the first WWF match ever televised on the USA Network. His opponent was Tito Santana.
  • He had a recurring role in the classic wrestling show, TNT, as the host of "Cafe Rene".

Goulet wrestled regularly until 1986, and he competed in a legends battle royal in the Meadowlands in 1987. He worked as a road agent for the WWF until 1997 and could frequently be seen coming to the ring to maintain control when wrestlers got into fights. He is an avid golfer and regularly competes in celebrity charity tournaments.[2]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  2. ↑ Rene Goulet Interview, retrieved May 23, 2010
  3. ↑ "N.W.A. Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  4. ↑ "N.W.A. Georgia Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  5. ↑ "N.W.A. Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  6. ↑ "W.W.A. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
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