Mad Dog Vachon live at CANOE!
Legendary Canadian pro wrestling Mad Dog Vachon came by the CANOE offices on Friday, May 14, 1999 for a live chat with his fans. Here is the transcript of the chat.
Moderator: Hello! Welcome to the Chat Room! ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon is now here. Any introductory comments?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Welcome to the Mad Dog Vachon chat. It’s not a scream, it’s not a hollar, it’s a chat!
Mike Marasco: How did you get your nickname Mad Dog? What do you think of the state of wrestling as it is now?
Mad Dog Vachon dictates to CANOE’s Greg Oliver. — Kevin Nielsen, CANOE.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Some of it I like, lots of it I disklike. I think they’re crossing the line. It’s getting sexy and some of it is pornographic and indecent and some of it borders on the criminal.
KStanhibel: I saw the Mad Dog wrestle many times in Chicago in the 60’s. I particularly remeber him wrestling Dick The Bruiser in a Congo Death Match. Do you have any special memories of your matches with Bruiser?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Most of the matches I had with Bruiser, instead of a memory of them, I’d like to forget most of them!
Mark Clyde: what is your most memorable match ever?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: There’s been more than one that stands out in my mind. Certainly when I became, before I became a professional, wrestling in the 1948 Olympics in London. I beat the champion of India in 22 seconds. And I took years later in Aukland, New Zealand, I won a gold medal in the British Empire Games. In pro wrestling, when I wrestled against Jos LeDuc in Quebec City and there was a 17,000 people at Le Colisee de Quebec when it held only 10,000 for hockey. When I wrestled against Killer Kowalski at Jarry Park in Montreal in front of 30,000 people. How can I forget Wild Bill Curry in Texas!
mike: hi mad dog . do you feel that the wrestler from your era would be able to compete today ? would you want to based on todays story lines ?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Absolutely! The majority of the wrestlers that are wrestling today were not even born when I was wrestling and I’m sure that a man like The Mad Dog, and names like Gagne, Kowalski, Jonathon, The Crusher, The Bruiser, etc., could compete — AND WIN — today.
doug: was there any real “heat” between you and v. gagne?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: There always was heat between Verne Gagne and Mad Dog Vachon. There still is to this day. There’s only one thing wrong with Verne Gagne — he breathes!
Scott Summers: What was the worse injury you ever suffered?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: I suffered many. I think the worst was when I wrestled Gerry ‘Crusher’ Blackwell — ‘Fatwell’ — I broke three ribs and two vertabraes. I was out of wrestling for almost three years. But they say you should never talk bad about somebody who’s dead. So he’s dead — good!
Allain: Hello Mad Dog,i have a question? would you take any offer from the WWF or WCW as a manager? Because i think you still have what i takes to be in pro wrestling.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: I certainly still have what it takes to be in pro wrestling. I certainly don’t take a back seat to anyone as far as the gift of gab on TV. But talking about being a manager as steady job would be too demanding in my current condition.
Jon: Is there a wrestler that impresses you today? Who do you dislike?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Certainly. I’m always happy and proud to see Bret Hart wrestle. He’s probably one of the best there ever was. Goldberg for sure. And Steve Austin. And I could go on and on, but I’ll skip that for now.
Mark: I always enjoyed you on Grand Prix Wrestling in Quebec in the early 70s. Didn’t you do an angle with Killer Kowalski where he tried to rip your ear off? I know he actually took Yukon Eric’s ear off.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Yes, that was when I defeated him in Jarry Park in Montreal before 30,000 people — still a record for a wrestling crowd in Quebec. Kowalski tried to repeat the same thing with me that he did with Yukon Eric when he pulled his ear off, but I saw it coming and he never did it.
John Pollock: What is your opinion of Stu Hart?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: (Coughs) Stu Hart, not well known as some of us in pro wrestling, but certainly one of the strongest wrestler and human being that I’ve ever met in my life (Coughs some more, imitating Stu Hart)
Lee: Hi Mad Dog, how old were you when you started wrestling? (Good to see you back!)
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: I started wrestling between 12 and 13 years old.
Don: You and Baron Von Rascke had an interesting team in the AWA, you always seemed to enjoy your matches with him. Do you see him often now? If not are the any former wrestlers that you see often?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Baron von Raschke was one of my best partners in wrestling. We were very successful together. Not to diminish the prestige of my brother Paul ‘The Butcher’ when we were teamed together. As far as I am concerned, the Mad Dog and Baron von Raschke, the oddest, more explosive tag team in wrestling history. I saw Verne Gagne last week in Minneapolis. Stan ‘The Crusher’ Liwowski, Jim Brunzell, and many others.
Rob : Mad Dog – what is your impression of Vince Macman and his role in wrestling
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Vince McMahon is a very intelligent individual. If you calculate success in the terms of money, he is obviously extremely successful. He did more to put wrestling on the world map, but some of the stuff he does now, I disagree with him completely. Like firing my niece Luna .
Jean Charbonneau: My question, I’ve often wondered what happened to your sister Vivianne (she not only was a good lady wrestler and kind of a pioneer during her time but also a good singer) and is it true that Luna Vachon is her daughter?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: My sister Vivian, I think, was one of the best women wrestlers, a great singer, a wonderful sister. Unfortunately, about six years ago, Vivian and her daughter Julie got killed 30 miles from Montreal by a drunk driver. And Luna is my brother Paul ‘The Butcher’s’ daughter.
K-dog: When the WWF honored your retirement your leg was used in a match were you involved in that angle?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Some people will do anything for money. I’m not one of them. And I was never so humiliated in my life. And Vince McMahon was behind the whole thing — and that’s one of the things I don’t like about him. Sometimes he can be a sneak!
Adam Gonshor: Are you a fans of any other spot now besides wrestling?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Absolutely. I love most of the sports. I love hockey for sure. Born and raised with it. I love golf, although I don’t play. I only did a few times. I love soccer, football. I like to watch the Olympics. I like baseball, but I’m not crazy about it. My brother Paul can watch it 24 hours a day!
murray: what tag team did you consider the vachon brothers toughest opponents
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Certainly, Dick ‘The Bruiser’ and Crusher, Hercules Cortez and Red Bastien. We wrestled against The Shiek and Jerry Blackwell, and down south, without a shadow of a doubt, the Torres brothers. It was billed as the battle of the century when Paul The Butcher, Mad Dog and Stan Vachon wrestled the three Torres brothers in Atlanta, Georgia.
-JEFF: What do you think of Extreme style wrestling and WCW’s Hardcore division?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: I think that, like I said a little while ago, I think that it’s too much showbiz, too much Hollywood. It’s become almost like a soap opera. They are always fighting outside the ring. The promoter is becoming the bad guy one day, good guy the next, getting involved in the action. But people still watch it.
Nick Piers: Mad Dog, what would feel would be some of the most sound advice to give to someone who would like to try wrestling?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: With all the millions of people watching wrestling now throughout the world, I’m certain many millions of kids want to be professional wrestlers. I reminds me of myself when I was a kid. When I came back from watching a cowboy movie, I wanted to be a cowboy. It takes 10,000 basketball players to make one pro. And every major town in Canada and the United States have a basketball team. And in wrestling, there’s only two big companies. Very few will make it.
Pete: Did the Beast smell as bad as he looked?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: He smells even worse than what he looks!
Lance Lafleur: Whom did you truly, truly dislike in your years of wrestling, where the dislike was legitimate?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: The promoters!
laxguy: Mad Dog, you were a great hero to many of us growing up in Winnipeg. Do you ever visit Winnipeg anymore, or do you miss it? Thanks for all the great memories!!
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Thank you very much for the compliment. Just about an hour ago, I talked to a newspaper person from Winnipeg. There will be stories in both Winnipeg papers tomorrow or the next day. Made many friends in Winnipeg and St. Boniface. To name a few, Bob Holliday, Gordon and June Bell.
doug: have heard rumors of the AWA resurrecting itself: any thoughts?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: That’s a very good question. And I have a very good answer for you. In Minneapolis, they’ve been back on the air for the last 10 weeks and it’s called The Legends of the AWA, and believe it or not, the ratings are bigger on TV than the WWF or WCW.
Easy^E: Do you think the Shaved Head and Beard is a Good Look for you?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: I realize I have a face only a mother could love. But I’m better looking than Dick Beyer. If I was as ugly as he is, I would call myself The Destroyer and commit suicide.
doug: do you know what Dr. X (dick beyer) is doing these days?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Yes, I saw him April 24 in Newton, Iowa at the Cauliflower Alley Banquet. Also, there, the Wrestling Institute and Hall of Fame and Dick Beyers still teaches the kids sports — I think it is swimming.
Bobby Van: When you were wrestling you were like a raving lunatic who always had something to babble about. Were you born like that? I always wanted to take on both you and your idiot brother together but missed my chance.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: (Laughs) No, I wasn’t born like that. Thanks to my opponents, one kick, one punch, one hurt, one injury at a time, I became like that. But I am not the lunatic in the Vachon family. If there is a lunatic in our’ family, it’s my niece Luna. Luna! Short for Lunatic!
doug: today, wrestling superstars, at least a few of them, make several million dollars/yr: what was big money made when you were active?
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: I made a lot of money in wrestling, but since the questioner doesn’t pay my income tax, it’s none of your business!
JP: Mad Dog, I think you deserve the Order of Canada for your work representing Canada. Don’t you think so too? You are a true Canadian.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: It’s a great compliment, and I am very happy of the accomplishments when I was wrestling and representing my country throughout the world in amateur wrestling, and all together, 44 years in wrestling, 13,000 matches. I’m very proud of my accomplishments. But I did it more than for the money. They money goes in your pocket. The medals, they go in your heart.
Moderator: And we’d like to thank Mad Dog for being with us today, and thanks to everybody who submitted questions. A transcript of this chat will be up later today in SLAM! Wrestling. Thanks again to everybody for coming out.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: In closing, for today at least, it was really nice chatting with you. I cannot chat much longer. I have to look for a fire hydrant. I want to say hello to a few friends and family. My kids in Windsor — my son Mike, my grandson Mike, and Tina, Malia, Carol, Paul LeDuc (if I don’t choke on that name), my two great grandkids in Windsor — Cheryl and Linda-Sue. In Detroit, Kathie, Helga and Regis, my bro’.
Moderator: And we’d like to thank Mad Dog for being with us today, and thanks to everybody who submitted questions. A transcript of this chat will be up later today in SLAM! Wrestling. Thanks again to everybody for coming out.
Maurice ‘Mad Dog’ Vachon: Don’t forget to watch my show, it’s called Wrestling With The Past. It’s hilarious. On the Comedy Network, Wed. May 19, 9 pm EDT. If you don’t like it, I may give you your money back!
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