Quebec wrestling legend Jacques Rougeau fights homelessness with electric pumps – Montreal | The Canadian News

A Montreal homeless shelter was invaded by a group of fighters on Saturday, including the legendary Jacques Rougeau.

The fighters spent the morning beating both the residents and the people who worked there.

But do not worry. It was all for a good cause.

“That was fun,” said CARE Montreal founder Michel Monette after Rougeau lifted him into the air and slammed him against a mat in the middle of the shelter.

Monette was far from the only victim. A photographer was hit with a devastating power bomb, and Rougeau’s disciples Jeremy Prophet and Sexy Eddie also punished the residents of the shelter.

Most of the people receiving the movements would surely wince, but everyone who got up from the mat wore grins from ear to ear.

It was all part of an event where Rougeau was announced as the spokesperson for a fundraising campaign for CARE Montreal, which has transformed a former YMCA in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve into a homeless shelter.

“I want to help these people recover and find a job and have a good life,” Rougeau told Global News.

In the late 1980s, Jacques Rougeau and his brother Ray formed the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers in the World Wrestling Federation, now known as World Wrestling Entertainment. The pair became popular as a tag team, and Jacques also enjoyed success in singles wrestling. He is famous for beating Hulk Hogan when he was fighting for WCW in 1997.

Now, Jacques faces perhaps his toughest opponent yet. Rougeau seeks to put a stop to homelessness by becoming a spokesperson for CARE Montreal’s latest campaign, called Wrestling Against Homelessness Together.

“It is like a family here. They are a family and everyone is helping each other too. There is a lot of hope, ”he said.

He was introduced to Monette by the Montreal Journal reporter Louis-Phillippe Messier, and the association emerged soon after.

Monette has recruited Rougeau to help the shelter raise $ 500,000 for a program that places homeless people in apartments in an attempt to get them back on their feet permanently. The program is not funded by government grants.

“They pay very little for the room, they have food included and also social workers who come to help them and train them so that they can get off the street,” Monette explained.

During the launch of the campaign, food and clothing were delivered to the homeless. Politicians from all three levels of government were present to provide support.

As temperatures drop, demand for shelters like CARE Montreal is expected to increase.

“We know it will be a long journey. It will be difficult, but I think we can do it, ”Monette said.

After initially not wanting to be beaten up by the wrestlers, he accepted the attack in exchange for a donation.

A bidding war broke out between the local MNA, Alexandre Leduc from Quebec Solidaire, and another aide.

Leduc won the bid for $ 1,000, but the other person also donated $ 1,000.

After receiving a fighting move called a suplex, shelter resident Jacques de Tremblay was ecstatic.

“That was one of the best moments of my life,” he told Global News.

Rougeau plans to sleep in the shelter next week to get a real sense of what the residents are experiencing. Many are big fans since childhood.

“You should see this guy talking to them,” Monette said. “He’s so sincere and cool and people like him.”

Rougeau can’t wait to do his part to stop the homeless for the count.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel, which makes it really amazing,” he said.

He said he was initially skeptical about getting involved with CARE, but when he understood the work they were doing to try to lift people out of homelessness for good, he did not hesitate to jump into the campaign.

Donations it can be done online.