Phil Lafon
Phil Lafon | |
---|---|
Birth name | Philippe Lafon[1][2] |
Born | [3] Toronto, Ontario, Canada[4][2] | September 16, 1960
Alma mater | NorQuest College[1] |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Dan Kroffat[4] Phil Lafleur[4] Phil Lafon Phillip Lafon Rocky Venturo[4] Rene Rougeau[4] |
Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[5] |
Billed weight | 231 lb (105 kg)[5] |
Billed from | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Trained by | Mr. Hito[4][5] |
Debut | 1983[5] |
Philippe Lafon (born September 16, 1960) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Phil Lafon and with All Japan Pro Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring name Dan Kroffat.[1][2][3][4][5]
Early life
Lafon was born in Toronto, Ontario Canada to his French-Canadian parents and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[2][4]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1983–1988)
Lafon was discovered at a local gym in Canada by Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid, and was subsequently trained in the Hart Dungeon. In the Dungeon, he was trained by Mr. Hito. He spent two years in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling before leaving to work as "Rene Rougeau" in the Maritimes. During this time, he met The Cuban Assassin, who helped him get booked in Japan.[4][2]
All Japan Pro wrestling (1988–1996)
Kroffat was a longtime mainstay of All Japan Pro Wrestling with tag team partner Doug Furnas as the Can-Am Express. The two men were paired together by Giant Baba.[4] It was there, that they had some of the most memorable tag team matches of the 1990s, including one match on May 25, 1992 with Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi which received five stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The match is memorable for having one of the loudest crowds in pro wrestling history. With Furnas, Kroffat would win the All Asia Tag Team Championship a record five times defeating the likes of Footloose, The British Bruisers, The Patriot and The Eagle, Joel Deaton and Billy Black.[6] As a singles wrestler, Kroffat also won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.[7]
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996, 1997–1998)
The duo joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in late 1996, having a series of matches against Sabu and Rob Van Dam. At Fright Fight '97, Lafon and Furnas were defeated by Shane Douglas and Chris Candido. At Holiday Hell 97, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Al Snow and Taz defeated Lafon, Rob Van Dam, Sabu and Doug Furnas. They won the ECW World Tag Team Championship from The Full Blooded Italians on December 5. Their reign would not last long, however, as they went on to lose the belts to Chris Candido and Lance Storm the next day. Prior to the team's tag team title success LaFon had made an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone ECW Champion Shane Douglas in singles competition. On January 7, 1998 HardcoreTV, LaFon, Doug Furnas, Rob Van Dam and Sabu lost to Al Snow, Taz, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer in a Eight-Man Tag Team Match.
Lafon and Furnas also formed a short-lived stable of "invaders" from the WWF with Lance Wright, Brakkus and Droz.[8][9][10][11]
World Wrestling Federation (1996–1997)
A few months later, both men made their World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debuts on November 17 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.[4] After failing to win the Tag Team Titles the duo began a slow heel turn and developed an anti American wrestle fan gimmick similar to that of The Hart Foundation. at In Your House 13: Final Four, Lafon and Furnas got a shot at the WWF Tag Team Championship where they defeated Owen Hart and the British Bulldog by disqualification but they did not win the titles. A few months into his WWF run, he was in a car crash.[4] At WrestleMania 13, Lafon and Furnas competed in a Four-way elimination match to determine #1 contenders for the WWF Tag Team Championship which was won by The Headbangers. At In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, Lafon and Furnas competed in a dark match where they defeated The Godwinns. He returned in the fall of 1997 as full fledged heels most notably as a part of Team Canada at Survivor Series in his hometown Montreal. After Survivor Series and Montreal Screwjob, WWF announced that Lafon has left the WWF.
Late career (1997–present)
Lafon still is involved in wrestling today as the Head Trainer of Monster Pro Wrestling (MPW) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On March 6, 2010 in Edmonton, he returned to the ring to compete with MPW after five years of being in retirement, due to nagging knee and shoulder injuries.[4]
Personal life
In 2014, Lafon graduated from NorQuest College with a diploma in social work.[1]
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- All Asia Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Doug Furnas[4][3]
- World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League New Wave Award (1989) - with Doug Furnas[12]
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League Power Award (1991) - with Doug Furnas[13]
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Doug Furnas[3]
- Lutte Internationale
- Canadian International Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Tom Zenk (1 time) and Armand Rougeau (1 time)[2][3]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 163 of the 500 top singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003[14]
- Universal Wrestling Association
- UWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Doug Furnas
- World Wrestling Council
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 5 Star Match (1992) with Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Sendai, May 25
- Match of the Year (1992) with Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Sendai, May 25
- Most Underrated Wrestler (1989)
References
- ^ a b c d "Philippe Lafon". NorQuest College. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Pat Laprade; Bertrand Hébert (2013). Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling. ECW Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-77090-296-1.
- ^ a b c d e f Harris M. Lentz III (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. McFarland & Company. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-4766-0505-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Sean Cooper (April 7, 2010). "Phil Lafon returns to the ring". Canoe.com. Quebecor Media. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Phil Lafon". Cagematch.net. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- ^ "puroresucentral.com". Go Daddy. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
- ^ http://www.puroresucentral.com/AJTitle-JrHeavy.html
- ^ Forbes, Chris (January 3, 2003). "5 Yrs Ago: ECW Arena Report - Storm, Lynn, Snow, RVD, Dudleys". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ Powell, Jason (January 6, 2003). "5 Yrs Ago: ECW - Storm & Candido win titles, Dudleys, Tazz, Snow". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ Powell, Jason (January 28, 2003). "5 Yrs Ago: ECW - Snow, Dreamer, Taz, RVD, Nicole Bass". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ Powell, Jason (May 4, 2003). "Lynn, Snow, Heyman, Storm, Tazz, RVD - ECW TV 5 Yrs Ago". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=26&nr=1526
- ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=26&nr=253
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 – PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
See also
External links
- Phil Lafon's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database
- Phil Lafon at IMDb