Ernest “Frenchy” Rheault, one of the biggest characters to ever come out of Manitoba, who was both a wrestler and promoter, has died. He was 94.
In 2005, Rheault was a part of the first class of the Western Canada Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with Tony Condello and Walter Shefchyk.
“Ernie was a maverick and didn’t kow-tow to the established interests. The local industry was very divided into camps and he opened the door to the young guys in the mid-1980’s who weren’t getting opportunities, and he believed in us,” said wrestler/announcer/Slam contributor Marty Goldstein. “He kept his $1,000 bond with the Manitoba Boxing and Wrestling Commission and ignored pressure from the Commissioner to fold his tent and leave only one licenced local promoter in the market. My first booking job was with him and then in 1989 he lent me his ring, at no charge, to run the first ‘opposition’ tour and establish that we could build our own Made-in-Manitoba destiny.”
Rheault was born July 5, 1930, in Somerset, Manitoba, and never became a heavyweight by any means, at 5-foot-8 and around 215 pounds. The “Frenchy” nickname was legitimate as he was Franco-Manitoban through and through.
He first learned about pro wrestling in the 1950s, working with the Inter-Provincial pipeline, and it stuck in his mind — though he didn’t end up pursuing wrestling until the 1970s.
It was Tony Condello that trained Rheault, and Frenchy Rheault made his debut in his hometown of Somerset, which is roughly 93 miles/ 150 km west of Winnipeg. Condello and Rheault were initially partners in promoting the town too, though Rheault would eventually break away and start working with Walter Shefchyk, running rural Manitoba towns, a partnership that lasted until 1983, when they had a falling out.
Goldstein got Rheault on the record — a rarity — in a short 2013 interview. The veteran, who was celebrated at “Ernie Rheault Day” on a Steeltown Pro Wrestling card held in Notre Dame de Lourdes, was asked about his beginning in wrestling. “I started at home. I built the ring. They got some of the boys up. And from there on, I got some boys from the west. They come in, they take the bus, and they drive all the way home. When they got home, I train them in there. I got some up at AWA.”
He mentioned Rick Patterson — who used the Leatherface gimmick in Japan — as one in particular that he was proud of.
Frenchy Rheault isn’t found in a ton of results, and certainly not top of the card, but he would often travel with other wrestlers based near Somerset, like Wolfgang Schmidt (Mel Waldner).
Rheault’s influence is more important as a promoter.
“After New Brand folded in May of 1984, Tony Condello used only his own grizzled guys and none of them were young and hungry like we were,” shared Goldstein. “Ernie would book ‘Walter’s’ guys like Playboy McColl, Ricky Reno, Big John Radocaj, and Caveman Broda. He was like a ‘safe harbour’ and as a result a number of us came together through Frenchy. Dan Denton only wrestled on one card for him, but that’s where we met — in Somerset in 1985 — and for me that started a lifetime of misadventures. He asked Dave Pinsky and I to ref a small show in Winnipeg in January ’86 and that’s how we met Eddie Watts. He united wrestling in Manitoba. The only people who ever said anything bad about Ernie were other promoters.”
Vance Nevada (Vern May), who has researched more about Manitoba wrestling than anyone, gave Rheault credit. “He promoted for a short time in 1985-86 as Central Canadian Pro Wrestling, presenting some of the earliest cards to feature Greg Powers (later Eddie Watts) and Corey Peloquin (Chi Chi Cruz). Incidentally, he promoted the first live wrestling show that I ever attended (in July 1986).”
Nevada/May owes his career to Rheault.
“In 1991, he allowed Hartney, Manitoba, wrestler/promoter Mark Charles to run a tour under his bond. One of the tour stops was in Souris, Manitoba, where I attended as a 15-year-old kid and helped to set up the ring,” wrote Nevada. “Two years later, Mark Charles put me in touch with Ernest Rheault who agreed to train me and opened the door for me to the Winnipeg wrestling scene. He was so well-liked and respected by the people in the industry at that time, that they welcomed me to the fold — even though I was far too green to be there.”
Rheault was 63 years old when he trained a young May, “but still threw a knife edge chop that left you feeling that you had been hit by a shovel.” Those hands were massive and gnarled from years of physical labor.
“He was at the Chalmers Community Club for my first ever match and was so excited when I won, that he vaulted into the ring over the top rope to congratulate me,” wrote Nevada, sharing a photo of Rheault following him to the dressing room after that match in May 1993. “The boots I am wearing were Ernest’s last pair of wrestling boots before he retired that he passed along to me.”
Take a pin on a map of Manitoba, and stick it in, and though it may only be little more than a crossroads, Rheault might have run a show there. Or lent his ring to someone else to run a show there. Or maybe his ring, solidly built by his hand, was used for a boxing card or even amateur wrestling.
“We just about went to every town around here. We went to Portage. We were in Winnipeg once a month at Chalmers. We were there, Elie, Portage, you name it, all around, Brandon, we were all around,” Rheault told Goldstein in 2013, adding that there were indigenous reserves and a few trips across the border into the U.S.
Many other names benefited from Rheault’s schooling, including Killer Buddy Austin, Eddie Watts, Chi Chi Cruz and Mike Phillips. Nevada helped train Andy Anderson (Andy Lewis) in 1996 at Rheault’s home, “in a quonset behind his home.”
“After the initial meeting, I didn’t see him too much,” Anderson said of Rheault, but that he is “always grateful to him for providing the space and opportunity” — even if it was in a barn.
Cruz recalled a special moment when Rob Stardom, who was running smaller towns under his Steeltown Pro Wrestling banner, ran in Ernie’s town in 2010. “I remember that last time when Rob had them put the strap on me by surprise in Somerset. I pulled him in the ring. Thank God, so I at least have a pic,” said “Cheech” Cruz (Corey Peloquin). “[Rheault] brought me to the bar before the show as usual and got me hammered talking his old stories. He was the best. I thought he had to be in his 90s and maybe we missed his passing,” said Cruz, who will be attending the funeral.
Paul Marcoux trained in Rheault’s ring, set up not far from train tracks, meaning the railmen riding the caboose would often be treated to some wrestling action while passing by. “I still remember going there for eight months getting my ass kicked,” said Marcoux. “He always had dead deer hanging upside from the ceiling beside the woodstove in the middle of winter.”
It was not tradition training said Doug McColl. “Ernie’s impact was immeasurable in two very unique ways. He didn’t hold classes or pass on a lot of lessons. What he did was give us a great training facility with unlimited access,” said McColl. “And he and his family would feed you mind-blowing meals. We all got better because of Ernie because he allowed us to work it out ourselves.”
Cheech recalled the meals too: “There is no explaining the food. Next level.”
Goldstein looked back fondly on those days. “Frenchy treated us like family and we were such young men. He loved being around the boys. And the guys he put together when you think of it, formed the nucleus of ‘The Boys’ here [in Manitoba] for about ten years. He gave us a lot of opportunity.”
Some of Rheault’s family got involved too.
His daughter, Genette, wrestled on New Brand and CCPW shows in the early 1980s. A son, Michel, was known as Babyface Mike, and had the height (6-foot-3) and weight (270 pounds) that his father didn’t, and debuted in 1985, but injuries derailed his promising early start.
“We had stayed in touch from time to time as my schedule allowed. I last saw him at a match in Portage la Prairie in 2017 and he was as excited as ever to visit with the wrestlers in the locker room and beamed with pride when I shared his role in getting me started in the business,” wrote Nevada. “He was a humble, hard-working family man whose every word was sincere.”
That pride in the accomplishments of others was evident as Rheault talked to Goldstein.
“I still meet them every once in a while here and there, and they’re still happy,” Rheault said.
Rheault died on Tuesday, November 26, at the Foyer Notre-Dame, a retirement home in Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba, at the age of 94 years.
He leaves to mourn his passing his wife of 67 years, Juliette; his children, Robert (Donna), Norma (Murray) Valen, Julie, Jeannette Fouasse, Rosemarie, Michel, Yvonne (Marc) Devuyst and Kim (Brian) Latimer; his grandchildren, Rebbecca, Mireille, Nicole (Tyler), Jenelle (Brennan), Jaime Lynn (Aaron), Joline, Darcelle, Paul (Sydney), Melanie, Mark (Natalie), Amanda, Raymond and Krista; his great-grandchildren, Annabelle, Logan, Stetten, Lianne, Jayden, Shyel, Tarrin and Westin. He also leaves to mourn, his sister Yvonne Geirnaert, brother-in-law Leon Lecoq and sister-in-law Germaine (Antoine) Desrochers, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.
Ernest was predeceased by his son Donald Rheault; his son-in-law Denis Fouasse; his parents, Télesphore and Maria Rheault; his siblings, Roland (Andrea) Rheault, Clémence (Hugo) Kotschorek, Rita Rheault, Jeanne (Léo) Lesage, Yvette (Lionel) Leblanc, Arthur (Madeleine) Rheault, Marcel Rheault, Roger Rheault; his parents-in-law, Aimé and Léa Rheault; his in-laws, Mervin Geirnaert, Solange Lecoq, Germain (Yolande) Rheault and Noel (Shirley) Rheault.
A Funeral Service will be held at the Notre Dame de la Nativité Catholic Church in Somerset on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Memorial Service will commence at 1:30 p.m., followed by Funeral Mass at 2 p.m. with Father Marcel Carrière officiating. The service will be available to view via Live Streaming at www.afh.ca
Adam’s Funeral Home of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba in care of arrangements. Phone 204-248-2201. To view the service details and leave condolences, please visit www.afh.ca.
