Little Beaver (wrestler)

Lionel Giroux (January 14, 1934 – December 4, 1995) was a Canadian midget wrestler who is best known by his ring name Little Beaver. His most notable appearance was in a six-man match at WrestleMania III for the World Wrestling Federation.

Little Beaver
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 height4ft 4in (130 cm)[7]
Billed weight60 lb (27 kg)[7]
Debut1950[7]
Retired1987

Career

Lionel Giroux began his wrestling career in 1950, 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.

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 and legacy

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

References
  1. Obituary
  2. "Real Names of Famous Folk: B". Famous Folk. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  3. Burke, Tom. "Little Beaver". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 2015-03-31. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  4. "Wrestling Midgets". Professional Wrestling Online Museum. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  5. "Little Beaver". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  6. "Wrestling Obituaries". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  7. "Wrestler Profiles: Lionel Giroux". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  8. "Little Beaver". Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  9. "WrestleMania III Results". WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  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. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  12. One Man Gang squashes Little Beaver
  13. Meltzer, Dave (2012-11-17). "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 2012-11-17.
  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 2008-02-14.
  16. "World Midgets' Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  17. "Midgets' World Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
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