Pro Wrestling
Don't have an account?
Register
Register
Pro Wrestling
Pro Wrestling Wiki
160,262
pages
in: Canadian wrestlers, 1925 births, 2012 deaths,
and 16 more

Changes: Hans Schmidt

Back to page
Sign in to edit
Tag: sourceedit
No edit summary
(7 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{Stub}}
  
 
{{Tabs
  
{{Tabs
 
|backcolor=#FFE93E
  
|backcolor=#FFE93E
Line 10: Line 9:
 
|tab2=Event history
  
|tab2=Event history
 
|tab3=Image gallery
  
|tab3=Image gallery
  +
|tab4=Merchandise
 
}}
  
}}
 
{{Infobox wrestler
  
{{Infobox wrestler
Line 17: Line 17:
 
|height= {{height|ft=6|in=4}}
  
|height= {{height|ft=6|in=4}}
 
|weight= 250 lbs
  
|weight= 250 lbs
−
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1925|2|7|mf=y}}
 +
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|2|7|mf=y}}
 
|birth_place = [[Joliette, Quebec]]
  
|birth_place = [[Joliette, Quebec]]
 
|resides=
  
|resides=
Line 24: Line 24:
 
|billed= [[Munich, Germany]]
  
|billed= [[Munich, Germany]]
 
|trainer=
  
|trainer=
−
|debut=[[1949]]
 +
|debut= [[1949]]
−
|retired=[[1975]]
 +
|retired= [[1975]]
 
}}
  
}}
−
'''Guy Larose''' (February 7, [[1925]] - May 26, [[2012]]), better known by his [[ring name]] of '''Hans Schmidt''', is a retired [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]] famous in the 1950s and '60s.
 +
'''Guy Larose''' (February 7, [[1925]] - May 26, [[2012]]), better known by his [[ring name]] of '''Hans Schmidt''', was a [[Canadian]] [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]] famous in the 1950s and '60s.
   
 
==Wrestling career==
  
==Wrestling career==
−
Larose used a background in amateur wrestling to break into the pro business after World War II, with little success early on. Then in 1951 the [[Boston]]-area promoter Paul Bowser, who thought the tall [[Quebec|Québécois]] looked like a [[Germany|German]], rechristened him Hans Schmidt. Playing the character of an 'evil German', Schmidt became one of the first great [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heels]] of televised wrestling in the 1950s, drawing the hatred of fans as he battled their [[United States|American]] [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] heroes of the squared circle. In the 1998 A&E documentary ''The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling'', Hans Schmidt was labeled "the classic foreign villain" - tapping into lingering anti-German sentiment in America following World War II, Schmidt was a forerunner of many other wrestling characters that successfully used the "anti-American foreigner" [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick|gimmick]] to enrage the crowd, such as [[Nikolai Volkoff]] and [[Iron Sheik|The Iron Sheik]].
 +
Larose used a background in amateur wrestling to break into the pro business after World War II, with little success early on. Then in 1951 the [[Boston]]-area promoter Paul Bowser, who thought the tall [[Quebec|Québécois]] looked like a [[Germany|German]], rechristened him Hans Schmidt. Playing the character of an 'evil German', Schmidt became one of the first great [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heels]] of televised wrestling in the 1950s, drawing the hatred of fans as he battled their [[American]] [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] heroes of the squared circle. In the 1998 A&E documentary ''The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling'', Hans Schmidt was labeled "the classic foreign villain" - tapping into lingering anti-German sentiment in America following World War II, Schmidt was a forerunner of many other wrestling characters that successfully used the "anti-American foreigner" [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick|gimmick]] to enrage the crowd, such as [[Nikolai Volkoff]] and [[Iron Sheik|The Iron Sheik]].
   
 
Nicknamed '''The Teuton Terror''', Schmidt wrestled a rough, aggressive rule-breaker's style. He often finished his opponents off with a backbreaker, and he also had the then-dreaded piledriver in his repertoire. Schmidt wrestled in territories all over North America but was a particularly big name in [[Chicago]], [[Milwaukee]] and [[Toronto]]. By 1954 he was so thoroughly hated by wrestling audiences that he turned [["Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers]] into a face simply by wrestling a match against him. He later said that at the peak of his career, between live events and TV tapings he was wrestling as many as eight matches a week.
  
Nicknamed '''The Teuton Terror''', Schmidt wrestled a rough, aggressive rule-breaker's style. He often finished his opponents off with a backbreaker, and he also had the then-dreaded piledriver in his repertoire. Schmidt wrestled in territories all over North America but was a particularly big name in [[Chicago]], [[Milwaukee]] and [[Toronto]]. By 1954 he was so thoroughly hated by wrestling audiences that he turned [["Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers]] into a face simply by wrestling a match against him. He later said that at the peak of his career, between live events and TV tapings he was wrestling as many as eight matches a week.
Line 36: Line 36:
 
Schmidt wrestled [[Lou Thesz]] several times for the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]], and faced many other legends of the era such as [[Verne Gagne]], [[Antonino Rocca]] and [[Whipper Billy Watson]]. He was naturally partnered up in [[tag team]] action with other 'evil German' wrestlers around at the time, such as [[Karl von Hess]] and [[Ludwig von Krupp]]. He also frequently tag teamed with [[Dick Brower|Dick 'The Bulldog' Brower]]. In the wake of Schmidt's success in drawing [[Heat (professional wrestling)|heel heat]], other wrestlers took the 'German heel' gimmick and pushed it to greater extremes with goose-stepping, fascist saluting and use of Nazi iconography. Schmidt never took it to this level himself, though he did shave his head and wear a helmet to the ring later in his career.
  
Schmidt wrestled [[Lou Thesz]] several times for the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]], and faced many other legends of the era such as [[Verne Gagne]], [[Antonino Rocca]] and [[Whipper Billy Watson]]. He was naturally partnered up in [[tag team]] action with other 'evil German' wrestlers around at the time, such as [[Karl von Hess]] and [[Ludwig von Krupp]]. He also frequently tag teamed with [[Dick Brower|Dick 'The Bulldog' Brower]]. In the wake of Schmidt's success in drawing [[Heat (professional wrestling)|heel heat]], other wrestlers took the 'German heel' gimmick and pushed it to greater extremes with goose-stepping, fascist saluting and use of Nazi iconography. Schmidt never took it to this level himself, though he did shave his head and wear a helmet to the ring later in his career.
   
−
Near the end of his career in the 1970s, Schmidt worked around the [[Montreal]] region, still a heel but billed as hailing from Chicago. Guy Larose had two children and lives quietly today in the Laurentians north of Montreal.
 +
Near the end of his career in the 1970s, Schmidt worked around the [[Montreal]] region, still a heel but billed as hailing from Chicago. Guy Larose had two children and lived quietly in the Laurentians North of Montreal until his death. He is survived by two children as well as his wife and stepchildren.
   
 
== In wrestling ==
  
== In wrestling ==
 
*'''Finishing moves'''
  
*'''Finishing moves'''
  +
**[[Suplex#German suplex|Bridging german suplex]]
−
**[[Piledriver (professional wrestling)|Piledriver]]
  
  +
**[[Suplex#High angle belly to back suplex|Bridging high angle belly to back suplex]]
  +
**[[Piledriver]]
 
**[[Neckbreaker#Swinging neckbreaker|Swinging Neckbreaker]]
  
**[[Neckbreaker#Swinging neckbreaker|Swinging Neckbreaker]]
  +
*'''Signature moves'''
  +
**[[Front backbreaker]]
  +
**Knee drop to the midsection of an opponent leaning against the ropes
   
 
== Championships and accomplishments ==
  
== Championships and accomplishments ==
 
*'''[[American Wrestling Association]]'''
  
*'''[[American Wrestling Association]]'''
−
**International Heavyweight Championship ''(Montreal version)'' (2 times)
 +
**[[AWA International Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version)]] (2 times)
   
 
*'''[[Georgia Championship Wrestling]]'''
  
*'''[[Georgia Championship Wrestling]]'''
−
**NWA Georgia Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with [[El Mongol]]
 +
**[[NWA Georgia Southern Tag Team Championship]] (1 time) - with [[El Mongol]]
   
−
*'''[[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Detroit]]'''
 +
*'''[[NWA Detroit]]'''
−
**[[NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version)|NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Chicago version)'']] ([[NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version)#Title history|1 time]])
 +
**[[NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version)]] (1 time)
   
−
*'''[[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Los Angeles]]'''
 +
*'''[[NWA Los Angeles]]'''
−
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Los Angeles version)'']] ([[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version)#Title history|1 time]]) - with Hans Herman
 +
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version)]] (1 time) - with [[Hans Hermann]]
   
 
==External links==
  
==External links==
 
*[[File:Cm logo.jpg|50px]] [http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=6918&gimmick=Hans+Schmidt Profile]
  
*[[File:Cm logo.jpg|50px]] [http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=6918&gimmick=Hans+Schmidt Profile]
−
*[http://www.garywill.com/wrestling/canada/schmidt.htm Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame: Hans Schmidt]
  
−
*[http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/schmidt.html SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Hans Schmidt]
  
 
[[Category:Canadian wrestlers]]
  
[[Category:Canadian wrestlers]]
 
[[Category:1925 births]]
  
[[Category:1925 births]]
Line 77: Line 80:
 
[[Category:St. Louis Wrestling Club alumni]]
  
[[Category:St. Louis Wrestling Club alumni]]
 
[[Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni]]
  
[[Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni]]
  +
[[Category:Male wrestlers]]
  +
[[Category:Former amateur wrestlers]]

Revision as of 07:45, 4 May 2020

Guy Larose (February 7, 1925 - May 26, 2012), better known by his ring name of Hans Schmidt, was a Canadian professional wrestler famous in the 1950s and '60s.

Wrestling career

Larose used a background in amateur wrestling to break into the pro business after World War II, with little success early on. Then in 1951 the Boston-area promoter Paul Bowser, who thought the tall Québécois looked like a German, rechristened him Hans Schmidt. Playing the character of an 'evil German', Schmidt became one of the first great heels of televised wrestling in the 1950s, drawing the hatred of fans as he battled their American babyface heroes of the squared circle. In the 1998 A&E documentary The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling, Hans Schmidt was labeled "the classic foreign villain" - tapping into lingering anti-German sentiment in America following World War II, Schmidt was a forerunner of many other wrestling characters that successfully used the "anti-American foreigner" gimmick to enrage the crowd, such as Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik.

Nicknamed The Teuton Terror, Schmidt wrestled a rough, aggressive rule-breaker's style. He often finished his opponents off with a backbreaker, and he also had the then-dreaded piledriver in his repertoire. Schmidt wrestled in territories all over North America but was a particularly big name in Chicago, Milwaukee and Toronto. By 1954 he was so thoroughly hated by wrestling audiences that he turned "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers into a face simply by wrestling a match against him. He later said that at the peak of his career, between live events and TV tapings he was wrestling as many as eight matches a week.

Schmidt wrestled Lou Thesz several times for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and faced many other legends of the era such as Verne Gagne, Antonino Rocca and Whipper Billy Watson. He was naturally partnered up in tag team action with other 'evil German' wrestlers around at the time, such as Karl von Hess and Ludwig von Krupp. He also frequently tag teamed with Dick 'The Bulldog' Brower. In the wake of Schmidt's success in drawing heel heat, other wrestlers took the 'German heel' gimmick and pushed it to greater extremes with goose-stepping, fascist saluting and use of Nazi iconography. Schmidt never took it to this level himself, though he did shave his head and wear a helmet to the ring later in his career.

Near the end of his career in the 1970s, Schmidt worked around the Montreal region, still a heel but billed as hailing from Chicago. Guy Larose had two children and lived quietly in the Laurentians North of Montreal until his death. He is survived by two children as well as his wife and stepchildren.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • NWA Los Angeles
    • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time) - with Hans Hermann

External links

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.