The Cormier wrestling family was a group of Canadian brothers who competed in professional wrestling. They were born in New Brunswick and wrestled primarily in Canada. They also competed in the United States and had stints in several other countries. On many occasions, the Cormiers wrestled together as tag team partners. Two of the brothers were also involved in promoting wrestling. The family has been honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club, a social organization composed of people in the wrestling business, for their contributions to the sport. Jean-Louis died in 2008, Yvon in 2009 and Romeo in 2020.
Family
editThe Cormier brothers were the sons of Edmond Cormier and Bernadette Doucette.[1] They grew up on a farm in what is now Memramcook, New Brunswick.[2] Four of the brothers had long careers as professional wrestlers, while a fifth, Malcolm Cormier, competed briefly before becoming a referee. None of the brothers wrestled under the family surname, however, as they all adopted ring names. One of the brothers explained that the brothers' real names were too hard to pronounce, so they adopted other names that were easier for international fans.[3] Yvon Cormier was given the name The Beast, Jean-Louis was known as Rudy Kay, Leonce took the name Leo Burke, and Romeo competed as Bobby Kay. Malcolm, the oldest of the brothers involved in wrestling, used the name Mel Turnbow while working as a referee.[3]
The brothers often competed together in various promotions; in the Eastern Sports Association (ESA), which Jean-Louis (Rudy) owned, they scripted the feuds so that the four brothers often faced a common opponent. A heel (villain) wrestler would face Rudy and emerge victorious from a series of matches; they would then do the same with Bobby and then Leo before facing The Beast.[1] They also held numerous tag team titles together.
Brothers
editThe Beast
editYvon Cormier, competing mainly as The Beast, made his professional wrestling debut in 1963. He has been described as "probably the most-travelled" of the brothers,[4] but most of his title victories came in the Maritimes. He held the ESA International Tag Team Championship eight times, including at least one reign with each of his three brothers.[5] He also competed internationally, including stints in the United States, Japan, and Australia.[6] He was known for his strength and demonstrations of his power.[7] During his career, he wrestled against seven world champions.[8] Yvon Cormier died of bone marrow cancer on March 4, 2009.[4]
Rudy Kay
editJean-Louis Cormier, who was given the ring name Rudy Kay because he resembled a retired wrestler who had used the same name,[9] spent much of his career balancing his roles as promoter and wrestler. He helped found the ESA in 1969 and operated shows under the title International Wrestling (IW). He won five tag team championships while teaming with The Beast and held two titles as a singles wrestler.[5][10][11][12] He retired from active competition in 1982 and died of sepsis on May 25, 2008.[9]
Leo Burke
editMaking his debut in 1966, Léonce Cormier took the ring name Leo Burke because he wanted to prove that he could succeed on his own rather than because of his brothers' fame.[13] He held forty championships, including six reigns with the IW North American Heavyweight Championship and eight with the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship.[11][14] He also held major titles in New Zealand and Puerto Rico.[15][16] After retiring from wrestling, he began training aspiring wrestlers for both the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He has moved to Calgary, Alberta and had several other jobs since retiring, but he continues to wrestle occasionally while visiting the Maritimes.[13]
Bobby Kay
editRomeo Cormier, the youngest of the brothers to wrestle professionally, made his debut in 1967.[1] Although he used the name Bobby Kay for the majority of his career, he also used different ring names while teaming with his brother Leonce. While Leonce was competing as Tommy Martin, Romeo took the name Terry Martin; in 1977, when Leonce had returned to the ring name Leo Burke, Romeo competed as Bobby Burke to win the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship with his brother.[17] The majority of his championships came as part of a tag team, but he also won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship in 1974.[17][18] Late in his career, he became co-owner of the ESA, but the promotion closed due to conflicts between the owners and the rival Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling's ability to secure an important television contract. He later worked for Loblaw Companies,[1] and died aged 70 on January 17, 2020.
Legacy
editJean-Louis's ESA promotion helped launch the careers of several wrestlers, including Rick Martel, who went on to win the American Wrestling Association World Championship.[19] After retiring from full-time competition, Leonce trained many professional wrestlers, including Ken Shamrock, Mark Henry, Edge, Christian, and Test, all of whom have worked for World Wrestling Entertainment.[13]
All five of the Cormier brothers involved in wrestling were honored during a celebration in their home town of Memramcook in 2006.[20] They also received an award from the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2009.[21] Canadian wrestling promoter Emile Dupré has said that the Cormiers "were to New Brunswick what the Hart family was to Calgary".[2]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Men’s Wrestling Award (2009)[22]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Oliver, Greg (2009-06-20). "Bobby Kay still on Maritime minds". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ a b Lewis, Eric (2009-03-05). "Legend Yvon 'The Beast' Cormier loses battle with cancer". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ a b Oliver, Greg (2008-05-26). "Maritime legend Rudy Kay dead at 65". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ a b Oliver, Greg (2009-03-04). "Cancer claims hero of the Maritimes, The Beast". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ a b "Eastern Sports Association International Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: The Beast". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ Leonard, Bob. "The Beast's real strength". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: The Beast". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ a b Mooneyham, Mike (2008-06-01). "Hulk Hogan family saga not a pretty sight". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "Maritimes Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ a b "North American Heavyweight Title (Maritimes)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "Taped-Fist Title (Maritimes)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ a b c Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Leo Burke". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "International Tag Team Title History". Stampede Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title (New Zealand)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ^ "WWC (Puerto Rico) World Heavyweight/Universal Heavyweight Title". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ a b "Wrestler Profiles: Bobby Kay". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "NWA Heart of America/Central States Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ "2011 Lou Thesz Award: Rick Martel". Cauliflower Alley Club. 2010-10-31. Archived from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- ^ Oliver, Greg (2006-05-13). "Cormiers celebrated with laughter and music". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Oliver, Greg (2009-03-28). "Leo Burke won't be alone at CAC in Vegas". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ "Honorees". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2020.