Little Beaver (wrestler)

For the American guitarist, singer and songwriter often known as "Little Beaver", see Willie Hale.

Little Beaver
Little Beaver, circa 1973
Birth nameLionel Giroux
Born(1934-01-14)January 14, 1934[1]
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada[2]
DiedDecember 4, 1995(1995-12-04) (aged 61)[3][4][5][6]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Little Beaver
Billed height4 ft 4 in (132 cm)[7]
Billed weight60 lb (27 kg)[7]
Debut1949
RetiredMarch 29, 1987

Lionel Giroux (January 14, 1934 – December 4, 1995) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Little Beaver. He is best known for his appearance in a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania III in 1987.

Professional wrestling career

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Lionel Giroux began his wrestling career in 1949, at the age of fifteen,[7] and then began to wrestle for promoters in Quebec. He, along with Sky Low Low, became two of the most famous midget wrestlers in wrestling who had enough drawing power to command a large portion of the live gate for wrestling events.[5][8] Giroux helped to create the comedy matches that have since become a trademark for midget wrestling in Canada and the United States.[8] In 1973, Giroux won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Midget Wrestler of the Year award.

Little Beaver in 1952

His last in-ring appearance was at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1987, at the age of 52.[5] Giroux, wrestling as Little Beaver, teamed with Hillbilly Jim and fellow midget wrestler the Haiti Kid, defeating King Kong Bundy and his midget tag-team partners Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook, after Bundy was disqualified for attacking Little Beaver.[9][10] During the match, Giroux suffered a back injury at the hands of Bundy after he was bodyslammed and had an elbow dropped on him by the 458 lb (208 kg) Bundy, which forced him to retire from professional wrestling (through the match Beaver had "annoyed" Bundy including elbowing him in the stomach, delivering a drop kick that had literally no effect, and slapping him with his moccasin which Bundy claimed "stung like a son-of-a-bitch").[5] In a 1998 interview Bundy said he hoped that he wasn't responsible for Giroux's early death, saying he wouldn't want that on his conscience.[11] A few months after WrestleMania III, during a match at the Boston Garden that aired later on WWF Prime Time Wrestling, Giroux (again as Little Beaver) was in Hillbilly Jim's corner for a match against the One Man Gang. In a comical match eventually won by Hillbilly via a countout, Beaver got involved on several occasions, including antagonizing Gang's manager, Slick, throughout the match and hitting the back of Gang's head with a broom after the match was finished. The 450 lb (200 kg) Gang finally caught Little Beaver in the ring and after delivering a blow that sent him sprawling, he followed Slick's orders to hit Beaver with his 747 Splash.[12]

Death

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Giroux died on December 4, 1995, of emphysema.[3][4][5] In 2003, Giroux was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.[7][8] Giroux was cremated after his death.

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ Obituary
  2. ^ "Real Names of Famous Folk: B". Famous Folk. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Burke, Tom. "Little Beaver". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on March 31, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Wrestling Midgets". Professional Wrestling Online Museum. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Little Beaver". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Wrestling Obituaries". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d "Wrestler Profiles: Lionel Giroux". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c "Little Beaver". Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  9. ^ "WrestleMania III Results". WWE. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  10. ^ Shields, Brian (2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Simon and Schuster. p. 81. ISBN 1-4165-3257-9.
  11. ^ "Bundy-mania runs wild". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ One Man Gang squashes Little Beaver
  13. ^ Meltzer, Dave (November 17, 2012). "Sat. update: Great TV show, WWE multiple releases, Austin talks WWE Hall of Fame, Best night for Bellator, PPV predictions, NWA Hall of Fame, James Storm headlines benefit show, Devitt takes another title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  14. ^ Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990". Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart. Event occurs at 27:55. Shaw Cable. Calgary 7.
  15. ^ "Official Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  16. ^ "World Midgets' Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  17. ^ "Midgets' World Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
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