| Jos LeDuc | |
|---|---|
.jpg) LeDuc in the mid-1970s. | |
| Birth name | Michel Pigeon |
| Born | August 31, 1944[1] Montreal, Quebec, Canada[2] |
| Died | May 1, 1999 (aged 54)[1] Atlanta, Georgia, United States[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Butcher LeDuc[3] The Headbanger[3] Jos LeDuc |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (127 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Godbout, Quebec, Canada[5] |
| Trained by | Jack Britton[2] Stu Hart[6] |
| Debut | 1968[7] |
| Retired | 1995[4] |
Michel Pigeon (August 31, 1944 – May 1, 1999)[1] was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc.
Wrestling with a lumberjack gimmick, he debuted in Stampede Wrestling with his kayfabe brother, Paul LeDuc. The pair later won several titles in Montreal, where they feuded with the Rougeau wrestling family, and Florida, where they held the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. After an injury ended Paul's career, Jos competed as a singles wrestler. He was involved in a heated feud with Dusty Rhodes. He then moved to Tennessee, where he had a rivalry with Jerry Lawler over the NWA Mid-America Southern Tag Team Championship, notably legitimately breaking Lawler's leg when he threw him over the top rope onto the announcer's desk.
LeDuc spent many years traveling between Florida and Tennessee, and he won belts in both locations as a singles wrestler and as a tag team competitor. He also spent time on wrestling tours of Japan and New Zealand. One of his biggest feuds was with manager Oliver Humperdink, whom he accused of stealing his money. This led to LeDuc winning the NWA Television Championship from one of Humperdink's wrestlers. He continued to split his time between singles and tag team wrestling, and he resumed his feud with Lawler in Tennessee. In his later career, he worked in Puerto Rico and had a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation. Altogether, he held 32 championships (15 singles and 17 tag team) before dying of a lung infection, aged 54.
- ^ a b c d Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Jos Leduc dead at 55". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Jos LeDuc". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b "1988". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
Encyclopediawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Wrestler Profiles: Jos Leduc". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Jos Leduc and Paul Leduc". Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame. Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
paulwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).