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       #Post#: 21064--------------------------------------------------
       AWA Legend and WWE Hall of Famer Maurice Mad Dog Vachon Passes A
       way
       By: SheriffLonestar Date: November 22, 2013, 2:44 am
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       The wrestling world mourns a true legend today with the news
       that Maurice Vachon has passed away at his home in Omaha
       Nebraska. The former Commonwealth Games Champion and 1948
       Olympian was the long time rival of AWA promoter and Champion
       Verne Gagne. The Canadian grappler single handedly changed the
       perception of smaller wrestlers in the modern era and became a
       feared and hated heel inside the ring and a feared bar fighter
       outside the ring.
       His debut for the Ontario territory in 1950 gave him a claim to
       the North American Junior Heavyweight title, but having been
       shut out of the big promotions Montreal (being a French Canadian
       Montreal was the big money place to be for a native french
       speaker) because of his shooting ability and the fear Eddie
       Quinn had of him taking titles away from his non shooting stars
       he began to travel.
       He revolutionized wrestling presentation by buying TV market
       airtime before his appearances, he bulked up his weight on his
       5' 8" frame, shaved his head, grew out his beard and billed
       himself as Mad Dog Vachon, a character born of necessity, but if
       you look around all those news posts on his death today no one
       is using inverted commas, he became synonymous with heel
       tactics, violence and pro wrestling.
       He really began to find his feet in the AWA and his 7 year long
       feud with Verne Gagne that led to five World Title reigns that
       sealed his legend. Short stocky and a shooter with a heavy side
       to his heel tactics he was the perfect opponent for the short
       stocky shooter champion with perfect manners Gagne, and they
       ruled the massive AWA territory for years. His highly successful
       tag team with his brother Paul "Butcher" Vachon was immensely
       influential and was the fore runner of the work of Stan Hansen,
       Bruiser Brody and Abdullah The Butcher as well as many wrestlers
       in Japan.
       He suffered a leg amputation in  1987 after a being hit by a car
       in a hit and run incident in Omaha, up on his release from
       hospital he settled down to life as a restaurant critic for the
       local paper, before being called up to the WWE Hall of Fame and
       in one last famously shocking angle used his prosthetic leg as a
       foreign object against Diesel in his match with Shawn Michaels
       at In Your House 7 in Omaha, Nebraska.
       His talent lay in shocking the fans and defending his tough guy
       reputation. The story has been told of one night when he was
       waiting for his brother Paul and was challenged to a bar fight
       by five guys. As Paul walked in he saw Maurice standing over
       five guys who clearly needed hospital treatment. Mad Dod saw
       Paul and said "Oh, Paul you missed all the fun."
       RIP Mad Dog, there was never anyone like you and never will be
       again.
  HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rijo5HK3WH0
       
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