Michel Martel
| Michel Martel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | Michel Vigneault |
| Born | October 4, 1944 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 30, 1978 (aged 33) Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Lumberjack Mad Dog Martel Michel Martel Mitchell Martel |
| Billed from | Paris, France |
| Trained by | Vic Tanney |
| Debut | 1968 |
Michel Vigneault (October 4, 1944 – June 30, 1978) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Michel "Mad Dog" Martel. Martel is best known for his appearances with promotions such as Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling, International Wrestling Enterprise and the World Wrestling Council in the late 1960s and 1970s. He was one-half of the tag team The Mercenaries with Frenchy Martin and the older brother of fellow wrestler Rick Martel.
The eldest of six children, Vigneault was born in Quebec City to Fernand Vigneault and Evelyne Harvey in October 1944. During high school, Vigneault became involved in powerlifting and began working nights as a bouncer and bartender in local clubs. It was during this time that he would meet his future tag team partner Pierre Martin.
During the late 1960s, he began training with his uncles Real Choinard and Aldrick Harvey who wrestled occasionally for promoter Johnny Rougeau. In 1968, he began touring northern Ontario during the summer for Larry Kasaboski. During his time in the area, he was trained by Vic Tanney and later wrestled for Johnny Rougeau in Quebec for a time before traveling to Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.
During his time in Stampede Wrestling, he would gain early success as a singles competitor becoming involved in a high profile feud "Cowboy" Dan Kroffat before teaming with Danny Babich to defeat Earl Black and Tiger Tomasso for the Stampede International Tag team Championship in Calgary, Alberta on October 1, 1971. Their championship reign was brief, however, as they lost the titles to Chin Lee and Sugi Sito less than two weeks later.
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