In 1993, legendary Canadian professional wrestling superstar Jacques Rougeau introduced the world to Pierre Carl Ouellet.
The duo, known as The Quebecers, worked as heels in the ‘90s with a slant on Rougeau’s old Mountie gimmick. They were an instant success and won three WWE tag team titles, winning their first titles by beating the legendary Steiner Brothers.
After the team broke up, Ouellet changed his name to Jean Pierre-Lafitte, wore an eyepatch, and claimed to be the descendant of a real-life pirate. He feuded with Bret Hart, who at one time called him the exact type of wrestler that he liked to work with, someone who used a lot of power but was completely safe.
Sadly, Ouellet ended up crossing paths backstage with Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash, and the two members of the Kliq cost him his job.
After that, he bounced around from WCW to ECW and even a short time back in WWE but never got the push that he deserved based on his early work.
In 2001, Oulette retired for six years, but in 2016, he returned as PCO — a monster who was dug up from his grave, brought back to life Frankenstein-style, and started turning in matches that looked like he was half his age. We spoke to him about his incredible return.
Monsters & Critics: Tell me a little bit about how you ended up coming to Ring of Honor. What led you to the company?
PCO: Well, I was already very, very busy on the indie scene and working with almost every company that there is in the USA and they contacted me a few times during 2018 but was just touching base.
I was not really paying attention to that and then I was talking to Marty [Scurll] and he was basically, “hey man, what’s going on and do you have a contract?”
I was like, I don’t have a contract with anyone. I’m by myself and, eventually, I got in touch with the office. I was touring in November in Germany and then I realized it was going to get serious.
In the meantime, I was getting contacted by a bunch of other companies but the way the exchanges went back and forth with Ring of Honor, they were a real class act and they came up with the Villain Enterprises idea, and I really thought that was perfect.
On top of that, just getting to know all the creative staff with Ring of Honor…they were saying that they wanted to make the French Canadian not human — the Frankenstein PCO — give value to the character and work with the character so I knew right then it was a perfect fit to myself.
M&C: What led you to the new PCO character and where did you come up with the idea?
PCO: Well, I was training with Destro. I mean, he was my real coach, my real trainer in the gym and I’m still training with him — I have been training with him since October 2017. He’s known for being like the strongest man in the world with his hands and fingers.
You sometimes had a promo to shoot for a company on the indie scene, and he would say “well, I think there’s something missing a little bit you know? It’s like your promos are generic.” I was thinking, what else can I do? I just didn’t know.
So, he’s introducing some things for me to do with my promos. One I did for WALTER was cutting a deck of cards and after that he was hitting me with a frying pan in the chest to get ready for WALTER’s chops at WrestleMania weekend last year.
So, I was stuck doing abs and getting hit with the frying pan, so I blocked his arms, got out of the straps where you do abs and then I rolled the frypan and started walking and he said to me, “you walk just like Frankenstein. You are Frankenstein. That’s you.”
We kept on doing videos and were reading some scenes from the movie, so it all makes sense. That’s exactly how it all came up.
M&C: That WALTER match took people by surprise. You’ve been gone for a long time and started flying around like a Cruiserweight and then the blows you guys delivered were devastating. At an age where some other wrestlers have already retired, you are just getting started again. What is your secret?
PCO: I’ve always been real hard on my body and it never took a toll on me. I mean, I’m still fresh — really, really fresh — and I can’t tell because sometimes I do like very, very crazy bumps in Ring of Honor or on the indie scene.
I go eat with the boys after my matches and they see me walking in off the streets or coming out of the hotel, and are wondering “how can you do that?”
I don’t know, it’s just part of me that’s always been like that and always liked doing that. For me, it’s a lot of things that I’m doing, I’m having fun doing them so it’s not like something that hurts me that much. And, of course, the training.
I’m busting my ass big time and to get the moonsault the way I wanted to get it and be able to do it every night — night after night for 200 dates during a year. I did, like, 5,000 moonsaults in one year. I was at the trampoline park like two or three times a week and hit like maybe 50 or a hundred backflips or moonsaults — trying to hit heavy, too.
I had to work really hard with personal trainers — guys that do gymnastics and personal trainers. I want it to be explosive so really worked harder my explosiveness and worked on a lot of details.
It’s just hard work, hard work, hard work. I knew I was off wrestling but when the opportunity was going to present itself, I was going to be ready for that.
I’ll make sure I work so hard every day — Brazilian jujitsu, karate, gymnastics and a personal trainer in the gym — and I worked so hard that I think that that’s what created the opportunity.
M&C: You came into the Ring of Honor and you immediately got put into Villain Enterprises — a fresh group of wrestlers replacing a group that left at the beginning of the year. What does Villain Enterprises bring to Ring of Honor story wise?
PCO: Well, the fact that we’re three guys, it gives so many opportunities for the three of us. Mixing three kinds of different styles, where PCO was not human, Brody King is the big monster full of tattoos, and Marty [Scurll] is the true villain, the guy who can do it all as far as wrestling — snap the fingers, 1,001 holds, and having tremendous charisma. So, I think the mix of the three of us it creates such a synergy.
It’s unbelievable. I knew Marty from 2008 from England. I knew Brody King for being on the road. Met him maybe 10 times altogether, probably worked with him five times. I knew the chemistry was going to be there and was going to work out well as Villain Enterprises.
M&C: The 17th Anniversary show is coming up and you and Brody have a huge match. You guys get to wrestle the Briscoes — probably the greatest tag team in Ring of Honor history — for the titles. Talk a little bit about how big this match is going to be for you coming in there because this is the top of the ladder.
PCO: Yeah, this is a huge opportunity, but in the meantime, it’s the chance to prove that Villain Enterprises is the biggest faction in pro wrestling today.
That’s where great moments are created by great opportunities and this is one of those opportunities that we can’t really miss out on. I mean, we’ve got to come out strong and bring the hard artillery and make sure everything comes out great and everything profits us.
M&C: For fans who haven’t seen Ring of Honor in a while, what can they expect to see when they turn on Ring of Honor — whether it’s a weekly show, a pay per view, or just a show that comes to their town?
PCO: Every live show of Ring of Honor I am on, there’s always a bunch of new people that haven’t watched Ring of Honor, or they’re totally new to the company. Sometimes I see them at the end of the show and they always say it’s better than anything else that they watch because of the amount of talent and the way the talents are allowed to express their creativeness.
That’s one of the greatest things about Ring of Honor. They’re not going to ask you to do something that it’s not accordingly with your personality — with your identity. The guys that are doing what they’re doing in the ring, it’s a part of themselves. It’s an extension of themselves.
This is the greatest thing in pro wrestling. You have to let the guys be themselves with what they’re doing in the ring. You can’t make it like the movies and say you’re going to play this character and this type of guy because wrestling is live — it’s not like a movie, it’s not like theater. It’s when the person can be himself and an extension of himself that the people get sold on that person.
It’s an extension of the guy himself — larger than life on a larger scale. And that’s what makes it so different. Creative at Ring of Honor are asking the talents “what do you think about a certain thing concerning their character.” That’s what makes them so successful.
M&C: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. I’m really enjoying your return. I’m a wrestling fan since the ‘80s and I really enjoy seeing you back and I’m quite impressed with everything you’ve done since your return.
PCO: Thank you very much. I think it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I really got a feeling that it’s going to grow so much bigger and so much larger — the whole thing — and Ring of Honor is going to explode big time.
The Ring of Honor 17th Anniversary show takes place on March 15 from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event airs LIVE from Las Vegas at 8pm Central on pay-per-view and FREE for HonorClub VIP members. Visit ROHHonorClub.com to sign up and enjoy every ROH event LIVE! For more information about the card, visit Ring of Honor Wrestling’s official website.
Also, ROH and New Japan Pro-Wrestling present “G-1 Supercard,” LIVE on Saturday, April 6th from sold-out Madison Square Garden. The event will air LIVE at 6:30 Central on pay-per-view and FREE for ALL HonorClub members! HonorClub content can be streamed through the ROH and FITE TV apps!