Hubert Gallant
Encyclopedia
Hubert Gallant is a retired Canadian
professional wrestler and trainer who competed in North American regional promotions during the 1970s and early 1980s including Stampede Wrestling
and Emile Dupree
's Grand Prix Wrestling
as well short stints in the National Wrestling Alliance
, specifically the Mid-South and Carolinas regions.
Among the wrestlers he has trained over the years include leading Canadian independent wrestlers "Wildman" Gary Williams
and Mike Hughes.
, Gallant played hockey during his teenage years and, often attending wrestling events at the Jean-Louis Lévesque Arena, was a childhood fan of wrestler Leo Burke
growing up.
Gallant had been working as a machine operator when, at age 19, he contacted Rudy Kay
to be trained as a professional wrestler. Gallant, who at the time weighed 160 lb (72.6 kg), was advised to increase his weight and began training with a local bodybuilder eventually he weighing in at around 200 lb (90.7 kg) after six months.
Beginning his training with Emile Dupree and the Cuban Assassin
in late 1974, he eventually made his professional debut as Larry Roberts wrestling a 15-minute match on May 2, 1975. He would later tour the Maritimes with Dupree's Grand Prix Wrestling and International Wrestling
during the summer and in Montreal before the end of the year.
After spending early 1976 competing in International Wrestling, Leo Burke was able to arrange Gallant to tour the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance
wrestling in the Kansas City
-area and Jim Crockett Promotions
in North Carolina
as Herb Gallant. In early 1977, he would team with Keith Franks in a tag team match against Ric Flair
and Greg Valentine
on January 1 and, following their loss, he would be defeated by Franks five days later. He would also team with Bill Dromo against Kim Duk & The Masked Superstar as well as with Rick McGraw against the Hollywood Blondes
during the next two months.
's Stampede Wrestling during the summer of 1977. While in Calgary, Gallant gained a strong following in the promotion and was credited by promoters Stu Hart and Bob Leonard as one of their key stars during his 8-year career in the promotion feuding with the Cuban Assassin, Duke Myers and often teaming with Leo Burke against Bret Hart
and The Dynamite Kid.
After a brief return to Charlotte during 1978, in which he wrestled his former trainer Rudy Kay in a 30-min. match, he began teaming with Moose Morowski in Calgary and Charlotte. Splitting his time between the Maritimes and Calgary, he declined offers to tour Japan and Germany instead wishing to remain in Calgary. He later teamed with Keith Hart to win the Stampede Wrestling International tag team titles from the Cuban Assassin and Norman Frederick Charles III on April 29 before losing the titles to Raul
and Fidel Castillo September 9, 1978.
With Leo Burke, together they advanced to the finals of a championship tournament to fill the vacant Stampede International tag team titles before losing to The Dynamite Kid & Mr. Sekigawa
on December 21, 1979. The two would successfully win the Grand Prix Wrestling North American tag team titles from on June 26, 1980 before losing the titles to the Cuban Assassin and Bobby Bass that same year.
During 1981, he defeated Bruce Hart for the Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship on March 13 and soon began teaming with Kerry Brown
against Bruce and Keith Hart the following month before losing a 6-man tag team match with Brown and Jude Rosenbloom against Jim Neidhart
, Bruce and Keith Hart in Edmonton, Alberta on April 18.
Losing the title to former tag team partner Keith Hart on May 9, the following year he would team with Jude Rosenbloom losing to Hercules Ayala & Kung Fu
in the opening rounds of the 1982 Stampede International Tag Team Tournament in March 1982.
In 1984, he began teaming with Danny Davis
defeating Bruce Hart
& Davey Boy Smith
on February 27 to regain the tag team titles although the titles were eventually vacated following a match with Philip Lafond & Ben Bassarab
several weeks later. He and Davis would fail to regain the titles at the later tournament for the vacant titles being eliminated by The British Bulldogs in the semi-finals on March 31, 1984.
After undergoing back surgery later that year, Gallant spent six months recuperating before returning to active competition. However, after teaming with Kerry Brown to lose to Wayne Ferris & Ron Starr in the tournament finals for the Stampede International tag team titles in October 1985, limited mobility as well as the birth of his first son forced him into semi-retirement touring with Grand Prix Wrestling during the next two years before retiring in 1986.
An accomplished musician, he has also appeared as a guitarist playing with Francis Cormier and the Bluegrass Diamonds while touring the Maritimes provinces.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional wrestler and trainer who competed in North American regional promotions during the 1970s and early 1980s including Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
and Emile Dupree
Emile Duprée
Emile Duprée is a former professional wrestler and promoter. He is also the father of former WWE professional wrestler, René Duprée and currently lives in Pointe-du-Chene, New Brunswick.-Professional wrestling career:...
's Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...
as well short stints in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
, specifically the Mid-South and Carolinas regions.
Among the wrestlers he has trained over the years include leading Canadian independent wrestlers "Wildman" Gary Williams
Gary Williams (wrestler)
Gary William Gallant better known by his ring name "Wildman" Gary Williams has been competing in Canadian independent wrestling circuits since the 1990s. Williams is also a musician, actor and a bodyguard for VIP artists and personnel. Williams first passion is professional wrestling and what he...
and Mike Hughes.
Early career
Born in the rural countryside on the outskirts of Shediac, New BrunswickShediac, New Brunswick
Shediac is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Situated on Shediac Bay, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait, the town calls itself the "Lobster Capital of the World" and hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties to lobster fishing; the largest lobster...
, Gallant played hockey during his teenage years and, often attending wrestling events at the Jean-Louis Lévesque Arena, was a childhood fan of wrestler Leo Burke
Leo Burke
Leonce Cormier is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance in New Zealand...
growing up.
Gallant had been working as a machine operator when, at age 19, he contacted Rudy Kay
Rudy Kay
Jean-Louis Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name Rudy Kay. Cormier competed primarily in Canada and often formed a tag team with his brothers; together, they are known as the Cormier wrestling family...
to be trained as a professional wrestler. Gallant, who at the time weighed 160 lb (72.6 kg), was advised to increase his weight and began training with a local bodybuilder eventually he weighing in at around 200 lb (90.7 kg) after six months.
Beginning his training with Emile Dupree and the Cuban Assassin
Angel Acevedo
Angel Acevedo is an American filmmaker.-Biography:Acevedo attended Hofstra University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Film Studies and Production and won Best Screenplay for his thesis film Cheesecake...
in late 1974, he eventually made his professional debut as Larry Roberts wrestling a 15-minute match on May 2, 1975. He would later tour the Maritimes with Dupree's Grand Prix Wrestling and International Wrestling
International Wrestling Syndicate
International Wrestling Syndicate was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.It was formerly known as the Internet Wrestling Syndicate and before that as World Wrestling Syndicate. It was also home base to many independent wrestlers, such as Kevin Steen, El...
during the summer and in Montreal before the end of the year.
After spending early 1976 competing in International Wrestling, Leo Burke was able to arrange Gallant to tour the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
wrestling in the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
-area and Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
as Herb Gallant. In early 1977, he would team with Keith Franks in a tag team match against Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
on January 1 and, following their loss, he would be defeated by Franks five days later. He would also team with Bill Dromo against Kim Duk & The Masked Superstar as well as with Rick McGraw against the Hollywood Blondes
Hollywood Blondes
The Hollywood Blonds is a name used by several professional wrestling tag teams over the years. The original “Blonds” were Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown who used the name in the 1970s. Rip Rogers and Ted Oates wrestled as The Hollywood Blonds in the mid 1980s in the National Wrestling Alliance's...
during the next two months.
Stampede Wrestling
After returning to Canada, Gallant began wrestling for Stu HartStu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's Stampede Wrestling during the summer of 1977. While in Calgary, Gallant gained a strong following in the promotion and was credited by promoters Stu Hart and Bob Leonard as one of their key stars during his 8-year career in the promotion feuding with the Cuban Assassin, Duke Myers and often teaming with Leo Burke against Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
and The Dynamite Kid.
After a brief return to Charlotte during 1978, in which he wrestled his former trainer Rudy Kay in a 30-min. match, he began teaming with Moose Morowski in Calgary and Charlotte. Splitting his time between the Maritimes and Calgary, he declined offers to tour Japan and Germany instead wishing to remain in Calgary. He later teamed with Keith Hart to win the Stampede Wrestling International tag team titles from the Cuban Assassin and Norman Frederick Charles III on April 29 before losing the titles to Raul
Raul Castillo
Raul Castillo is an American mixed martial artist from Half Moon Bay, California .Raul has been practicing martial arts since the age of four. Achieving the rank of Black Belt at the age of eleven, under George Marenco in the style of Kami-Do-Ryu, Raul later went on to once again achieve the rank...
and Fidel Castillo September 9, 1978.
With Leo Burke, together they advanced to the finals of a championship tournament to fill the vacant Stampede International tag team titles before losing to The Dynamite Kid & Mr. Sekigawa
Tetsuo Sekigawa
Tetsuo Sekigawa is a Japanese professional wrestler who is very well known for his hardcore matches, competing in his most popular gimmick, Mr. Pogo.-Early years :...
on December 21, 1979. The two would successfully win the Grand Prix Wrestling North American tag team titles from on June 26, 1980 before losing the titles to the Cuban Assassin and Bobby Bass that same year.
During 1981, he defeated Bruce Hart for the Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship on March 13 and soon began teaming with Kerry Brown
Kerry Brown (wrestler)
Kerry Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler. Brown was best known for working in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s under his real name, but also wrestled in Puerto Rico and the Maritimes using the ring name Rick Valentine.-Beginning and Canadian promotions:Brown began wrestling in 1979 in...
against Bruce and Keith Hart the following month before losing a 6-man tag team match with Brown and Jude Rosenbloom against Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
, Bruce and Keith Hart in Edmonton, Alberta on April 18.
Losing the title to former tag team partner Keith Hart on May 9, the following year he would team with Jude Rosenbloom losing to Hercules Ayala & Kung Fu
Kung Fu (wrestler)
Raymundo Cuesta Veloz was a Mexican Luchador or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Kung Fu...
in the opening rounds of the 1982 Stampede International Tag Team Tournament in March 1982.
In 1984, he began teaming with Danny Davis
Dan Marsh
Dan Marsh is a former professional wrestling referee and wrestler most famous as Danny Davis of the World Wrestling Federation. He also competed in the WWF for several years as Mr. X, a masked wrestler....
defeating Bruce Hart
Bruce Hart (wrestler)
Bruce Dennis Luis Hart is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. The second son of Stu Hart, Hart is a member of the large Hart wrestling family.Hart substitute teaches for the Calgary Board of Education.-Career:...
& Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
on February 27 to regain the tag team titles although the titles were eventually vacated following a match with Philip Lafond & Ben Bassarab
Ben Bassarab
Ben Bassarab is a Canadian former professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion throughout the 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:...
several weeks later. He and Davis would fail to regain the titles at the later tournament for the vacant titles being eliminated by The British Bulldogs in the semi-finals on March 31, 1984.
After undergoing back surgery later that year, Gallant spent six months recuperating before returning to active competition. However, after teaming with Kerry Brown to lose to Wayne Ferris & Ron Starr in the tournament finals for the Stampede International tag team titles in October 1985, limited mobility as well as the birth of his first son forced him into semi-retirement touring with Grand Prix Wrestling during the next two years before retiring in 1986.
Retirement
After his retirement, Gallant settled down with his wife Claire and his two sons Jocelin and Jason in Cap-Pele, New Brunswick where he resumed his career as a machine operator hauling wood and buying woodlots although he would continue to train younger wrestlers for Grand Prix Wrestling during the 1990s, most notably Gary Williams and Mike Hughes.An accomplished musician, he has also appeared as a guitarist playing with Francis Cormier and the Bluegrass Diamonds while touring the Maritimes provinces.
Championships and accomplishments
- Grand Prix Wrestling
- GPW North American Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Leo Burke
- Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight ChampionshipStampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers in the Canadian promotion, Stampede Wrestling. It has existed since 1978.-Title history:...
(1 time) - Stampede International Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Keith Hart and Danny Davis