Yvon Cormier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yvon Cormier |
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Cormier circa 1963
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| Born | November 3, 1938 Memramcook, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | March 4, 2009 (aged 70) Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Family | Cormier |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Beast Ivan The Lumberjack Joe Gump Pierre LeBelle |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (110 kg) - 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Trained by | Les Ruffen |
| Debut | 1963 |
Yvon Cormier (born November 3, 1938 – died March 4, 2009) was a famous Canadian professional wrestler. He was best known by his wrestling name, The Beast. Yvon and his three brothers were all wrestlers, forming the well-known Cormier wrestling family. He wrestled in many countries. But he often came back to Canada. There, he competed for the Eastern Sports Association (ESA) and International Wrestling (IW). He also wrestled for many years in Calgary, Alberta, for Stampede Wrestling.
Yvon's Early Life
Yvon Cormier grew up in a big family. He was one of thirteen children. Four of his brothers became professional wrestlers. Another brother became a referee. His wrestling brothers were Leo Burke (Leonce Cormier), Bobby Kay (Romeo Cormier), and Rudy Kay (Jean-Louis Cormier). His oldest brother, Malcolm, worked as a referee. He was known as Mel Turnbow.
As a teenager, Yvon worked hard. He worked in the woods. He also shoed horses. He even drove heavy equipment.
Yvon's Wrestling Career
Yvon met Emile Dupré in 1957. Emile told him he should try professional wrestling. Yvon started training. Later, he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. He continued his training there with Les Ruffen. Yvon made his wrestling debut in 1963.
At first, he used the name Pierre Lebelle. Then he changed it to Ivan the Lumberjack. In Texas, people knew him as Joe Gump. When he wrestled in the Mid-Atlantic area, Jim Crockett, Sr. gave him the name The Beast. At that time, Yvon had very thick, wild hair and a big, curly beard. This look helped him become known as The Beast.
The Beast spent some of his early career wrestling for Stampede Wrestling. There, he faced famous wrestlers like Stu Hart. He won his first championship in 1966. He defeated Dave Ruhl to win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Later that year, he lost the title back to Ruhl. The next year, he won a different title. He teamed up with Bob Sweetan. They defeated the Christy Brothers to win the NWA International Tag Team Championship on July 12, 1967.
In 1969, The Beast became the first person to hold the IW North American Heavyweight Championship. On August 5, he won another title. He teamed with his brother Rudy Kay. They defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos to win the ESA International Tag Team Championship. Three weeks later, he lost the North American title to The Stomper. The Stomper became his longtime rival.
The Beast then wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in Texas. He won the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship. He held it for several months. He lost it to Ricky Romero on February 2, 1970.
Two months later, on April 4, The Beast teamed with Bull Ramos. They won the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. They defeated Terry Funk and Ricky Romero. They continued to wrestle Funk and Romero. They lost the title back to them later that year.
On July 27, The Beast won the IW North American Heavyweight Championship again. He took it from The Stomper. He held it for over two months. He lost the championship to Eric Pomeroy in October.
While wrestling in the ESA, The Beast also won the International Tag Team Championship again. This time, he teamed with his brother Leo Burke. They held the title until August 3, 1971. They lost it to The Beast's former partner Freddie Sweetan and Eric Pomeroy.
The Beast had two more reigns with the ESA International Tag Team Championship that year. Four weeks after losing it, he won it back. He teamed with Archie Gouldie, who was once his rival. This title reign lasted over a month. Then Pomeroy and Sweetan won the championship back. They held it for only one week. The Beast teamed with his brother Rudy Kay. They won the championship back on October 12. This time, the brothers held the title for over seven months. Sweetan eventually won the title back with Mike Dubois on May 16 the next year.
Over a year passed before The Beast won another championship. In the summer of 1973, Sweetan was holding the ESA Tag Team Championship. He was with Kurt von Steiger. The Beast teamed with Bobby Kay. Bobby was the only brother he had not won a tag team championship with yet. They won the trophy back. But Sweetan won the title back on July 31 with his partner Mr. X.
During the ESA off-season, The Beast went back to Texas. He teamed up with his brother Leo Burke again. In January 1974, they defeated Don Fargo and Hank James. They won the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. But within two months, they lost the title. They lost to his long-time rival Romero and his partner Dory Funk, Jr..
Back in the ESA, The Beast and Bobby Kay defeated Sweetan and Dubois. They won the vacant Tag Team Championship. This reign lasted less than one week. Sweetan and Dubois won the trophy back in a rematch. The next month, The Beast had another short reign. He won the IWA North American Heavyweight Championship. He won and lost it back to Great Kuma in less than two weeks. He then won the Tag Team Championship with Burke on July 13. They won it from Sweetan and Dubois again. By early August, the brothers had lost the title to Kuma and Geto Mongol.
The Beast and Rudy Kay had one last reign as ESA International Tag Team Champions. They defeated Bob Brown and The Patriot in the autumn of 1975. They held the title until the end of the ESA's 1975 season.
The Beast's final title reign started in Texas on February 20, 1976. He and Leo Burke won a tournament. It was for the vacant NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. They defeated Romero and his son Silver Streak to win the title. They held it for one week. They lost it back to Romero and Silver Streak on February 27.
During his career, Yvon wrestled seven different world champions. He had six matches that ended in a draw because time ran out. At one point, he wrestled Giant Baba in Japan. About 45,000 people watched that match. He also took part in many chain matches. In these matches, he and his opponent were joined together by a steel chain. The chain was attached to their wrists.
Yvon's Personal Life
Yvon Cormier was known for his amazing physical strength. He had a very intense exercise routine. He could easily bench press 450 pounds. Once, he was recorded bench pressing 527 pounds! During a photo shoot, Yvon lifted a telephone pole from the ground. He carried it around while posing for pictures. There's a story that he once got mad at a horse that wouldn't cooperate. He knocked it down with one punch!
Like his brothers, Yvon was a huge ice hockey fan his whole life. He also trained horses for harness racing. He owned six of his own Percheron horses. Yvon had four sons. All of them were trained to wrestle. He also had one daughter. He was married to his wife, Doris, for 44 years. They were together until he passed away.
In May 2008, Yvon was diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer. He started treatment. But he had a heart attack soon after. Doctors later found that the cancer had spread to his bone marrow. Yvon Cormier died on March 4, 2009. He passed away at a hospital in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Championships and Awards
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Men’s Wrestling Award (2009) as part of The Cormier Family
- Eastern Sports Association
- ESA International Tag Team Championship (8 times) - with Rudy Kay (3), Leo Burke (1), Archie Gouldie (1), and Bobby Kay (3)
- IW North American Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- Stampede Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) (1 time)
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (1 time) - with Bob Sweetan
- Western States Sports
- NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Leo Burke (2) and Bull Ramos (1)
