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PAUL 'THE BUTCHER' VACHON PASSES AWAY

Pat LaPrade announced the passing of Paul "The Butcher" Vachon:

Over the course of his career, Vachon wrestled for a number of promotions and territories, including the WWF, Jim Crockett Promotions, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Canada's Grand Prix Wrestling, Hawaii, Southwest Sports in Texas, and Verne Gagne's AWA, where he held the World Tag Team Championship with his brother Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon.

While best known under the Vachon name, he also wrestled under different guises, including Nikita Zolotoff, Nicolai Zolotoff and Oki Yama.  He worked in Texas as Zolotoff.  He and Mad Dog teamed in Big Time Wrestling in Canada aka Stampede Wrestling, where they held the Stampede International and the Calgary Canadian Tag Team belts.

Teaming with Stan Vachon, they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship in Georgia.  Before they, he worked as Oki Yama in the territory, facing Lou Thesz.  He popped up in Championship Wrestling Florida, teaming with Dusty Rhodes as the masked Spoiler #2.

In Jim Crockett Promotions, Vachon was masked and worked as Spoiler #2 with the idea he was getting vngrance for The Super Destroyer (Don Jardine) who in storyline had been run out of the promotion.  This led to showdowns with Wahoo McDaniel and Rufus R. Jones, among others.  He also wrestled then United States Champion Paul Jones in a title vs. mask bout that led to his exodus from the territory.

In the AWA, he and Mad Dog defeated The Bruiser and The Crusher for the Tag Team belts.  They lost them to The Von Steigers but regained them.  Their second reign was upended by Hercules Cortez and Red Bastein.  The AWA ended up being the territory in the States where The Vachons likely had their bigges fame as they were there from 1969 through 1972.

Then, it was back to Canada and Grand Prix Wrestling, which Paul and Maurice had ownership in.  Operating out of Montreal, the promotion ran from 1971 through 1975.  During that time, Vachon toured Japan for IWE and on occasion, he and Mad Dog would make dates for the WWWF.  Vachon would challenge Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Championship in 1975 in Philly, Long Island and other markets.

Vachon would later tour New Japan Pro Wrestling and wrestle Roddy Piper for The LeBell family's NWA Hollywood territory.  He bounced around a number of other territories including Don Owens' Pacific Northwest, Florida and California before returning to the WWWF, where he worked as a lower card heel, scoring wins on television but putting over the area's babyfaces, including Ivan Putski, Chief Jay Strongbow, Tony Garea, Larry Zbyszko and Dusty Rhodes, among others.

After some shots for The Sheik in Michigan, Vachon returned for a final WWF run where he put over babyfaces in the mid-80s, including Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff and Ricky Steamboat.  In that run, he's probably best remembered for getting married on WWF's Tuesday Night Titans on the USA Network:

 

Vachon was the adoptive father of the late Luna Vachon.

He published an autobiography When Wrestling Was Real, which was a fun read.

Everyone at PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to the Vachon family as well as Paul's friends and fans.

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