By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast with Jacques Rougeau
Host: JP John Poz
Twitter: @TwoManPowerTrip
Website: www.tmptempire.com
Interview available at Tmptow.podomatic.com
On the Mountie gimmick: “To be honest with you, I had the greatest moments as The Mountie in my career. I was working guys like Macho Man, I remember a match with him in England against him with Elizabeth, I had matches with Undertaker, matches with Sid Vicious, of course matches with Big Boss Man, just so many fantastic memories. There is nothing I didn’t do as The Mountie. I remember simple matches with Tito Santana as The Mountie or Koko B. Ware. I had so much fun with that character and I honestly made people believe that I thought I was The Mountie. That I was so convinced that they started believing. It is amazing because when you build a character and I always tell this at my school that how are you going to get people to believe in your character if you don’t believe it. I had a brother-in-law who was a real Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who gave me some tricks and some moves that they used when they arrest a guy so all those moves that I used in the ring were actually legit.”
On not being able to use The Mountie gimmick in Canada due to restrictions from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police: “I was doing such a great job of making The Mounties look bad in Canada that they suspended me on TV and I wasn’t allowed to be used on TV anymore. So the only way I was allowed to wrestle was if I took off the sleeves, the shirt and kept the black pants and they would announce me as Jacques Rougeau. Everyone knew me as Jacques Rougeau anyway, so that was fun. I think they (The Mounties) took it all a little too serious. Like in movies and everywhere else there is always dirty cops or bad cops, but they don’t ban the movie because the cop is crooked. But I think that my character was becoming so strong that eventually they decided and voted on it and sent a letter to Vince [McMahon] saying that I wasn’t allowed to wrestle on TV in Canada anymore. Eventually, and after that, they let that character go because it wasn’t helping me at all, so I took a year off and came back a year and a half later with Carl Ouellet as The Quebecers with the same suit and our music was ‘We’re not the Mounties.’ So I think Vince wanted to get back at them in a way.”
His famous “jailhouse match” with Big Boss Man at SummerSlam ’91: “It is one of the greatest matches that I’ve ever had in my career. Ray Traylor, who was the Big Boss Man, who unfortunately left us, was the kindest person. I had never seen Big Boss Man talk bad to anyone in the dressing room or show lack of respect. He was another Owen Hart. So working with a guy like that for a year to a year and a half around the world was a night off every night and it was such a pleasure, because he would take care of my body, take care of me, and I would take care of him. It was a great time in my career.”
On the impact of The Mountie gimmick: “The Mountie was great. I’ll never forget winning the Intercontinental Title against Bret Hart and losing it to ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. I had three different dolls made and sold in Toys R Us’s around the world as The Mountie. And when I give conferences in schools now against intimidation, the first thing I do is because they don’t know me because they are too young and they have only heard of me, but I do so many personal appearances and am on TV that when I come in and start talking to kids and I take my belt out and my dolls out they start to say, ‘Hey this guy was important.’ All of that was done because of The Mountie character.”
Other topics include breaking into the business, Jimmy Hart, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, fight with Dynamite Kid, WWF, Vince McMahon, The Quebecers, Bret Hart, The Mountie, Roddy Piper, Big Bossman, WCW, beating Hulk Hogan, his new wrestling Academy in Canada, and more. Also, check out his wrestling school, wrestling-acamedy.ca
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