Bruce Prichard on What Happened With Jean-Pierre Lafitte Refusing to Job to Diesel in Montreal, How Montreal Shows Were Booked Differently at the Time

– On the latest edition of Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard discussed the story of Jean-Pierre Lafitte (aka Pierre Carl Ouellet) refusing to job to Diesel (aka Kevin Nash) at a WWE event in Montreal, Quebec in September 1995. Lafitte was gone from WWE not long after this happened. Nash was WWE champion at the time. However, he was facing Lafitte in his hometown of Montreal.

Additionally, the story goes on the following night at a WWE event in Quebec City, that Lafitte botched a spot on Kevin Nash, and Nash got up and threw “live rounds” on Lafitte before finishing him with the Jackknife Powerbomb. Lafitte would then be gone from the company two months later. Below are some highlights.

Prichard on what he knows about the incident: “Again, I wasn’t there, so I can’t speak to whatever he said, she said. He did, she did bulls***. I have no idea. I do know that when they got there, and I do not know if the finish was Jackknife, 1-2-3, or what. But I do know that Pierre wanted to change the finish, and that he was unhappy with the finish. There’s been a long-standing situation, I guess is the best word I can think of, in Montreal. Montreal was treated, for whatever reason, different than anywhere else in the f***ing world. They got a different show show. They got their French Canadians were featured on our shows, hence Pierre being featured in the main event against Diesel. So, the French Canadian talent took their place on the card very seriously, and they were very concerned about how they were viewed. The whole nine yards. It was very different from every place else in the world. To this day, I don’t get it because now when we go there, it’s they get the same show in Montreal that you’re gonna get in Kansas City. It’s the same draw. But at the time, it was different, and it was a different thing.”

“Pierre was concerned about it. They came up with whatever finish that they came up with, and that was it. But it was viewed by the talent, and I gotta tell you, not everybody was on Pierre’s side on this one. There were quite a few people on the other side of it saying, ‘Why in the f*** are there different rules in Montreal than every place else?’ So, it wasn’t as clear-cut as people like to pain, ‘Oh! F***ing Disel and Shawn [Michaels] flexing their muscles and poor, poor Pierre!’ It was both sides of that. There were those that wanted to side with Pierre because it was Diesel and Shawn. And then, there were those who were like, ‘Why in the f*** are there different rules in Montreal?'”

Prichard on how the different booking in Montreal goes back for decades: “Yeah, and it was fascinating then because for me it was hard to justify, but to everybody else it was like, ‘No. You don’t understand. It’s Montreal.’ So, I just used to take the stance of, ‘I don’t understand. It’s Montreal.’ And I would tap out. … Pat [Patterson] did subscribe to that theory, as did Vince [McMahon], but that goes back — the whole Montreal different booking even goes back to when Vince’s dad with the Montreal promotion, and Vince’s dad would send guys up there. It goes back to Andre [the Giant]. It’s a different world in Montreal. It’s a different world. They want to be their own country. There’s parts of that city where they only speak French Canadian, Quebecois, qu’est-ce que c’est.”

Prichard on how Pat Patterson saw it: “I think Pat subscribed to the theory that Montreal was different. … Pat would lend an ear no matter what it was, but I think in this situation, Pat would empathize with the Montreal situation and say, ‘Ah! It’s Montreal! Para c’est! You don’t understand!'”

Prichard on Jean-Pierre Lafitte not giving him any problems before this incident and losing to Diesel the next night: “Well, I’ll go back to first of all on Pierre, I never remember ever having a problem with Pierre doing a job anywhere. And that’s why I think that this sticks out so much because here was a guy that was all business, all the time. You know, French Canadians are French Canadians, and they’re proud of their heritage. And they’re proud of where they come from, and it’s different. That’s the best I can tell ya. It’s different. But we never had a problem with Pierre, and I don’t know that Vince even saw this as a problem. I think that it got stirred internally, and I don’t think it was as one-sided as it’s been — as legend has grown as it’s become. To that, I believe that the finish was the next day Diesel going over, and everything being fine. I don’t remember the butt in the face, and if it happened, it happened. But I personally don’t recall that. And as far as The Pirate gimmick, argh matey! God damn, I just chalk that up to, it wasn’t the best gimmick in the world, but the son of a b**** could catch a f***ing ball.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.