Michel Lamarche (February 9, 1947 – January 5, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ringnames Alexis Smirnoff and Michel "Justice" Dubois (''Mike "The Judge" Dubois''), who competed in North American regional promotions including the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

, including the

Mid-South Mid-South may refer to: Places * Mid-South (region), a region of the United States including portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky * East South Central States, a region of the United States * Memphis metropolitan ar ...

, Central States,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and San Francisco territories, as well as brief stints in

International Wrestling Enterprise was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association in the United States and also had tie-ins with promotions in Canada and Europe. In 1972, it ...

, the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

and the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

during the 1970s and 1980s.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1970–1974)

Born in Saint-Lin, Quebec, Lamarche was involved in amateur wrestling as a teenager before training under Edouard Carpentier for a career in professional wrestling. Making his debut as "Michel 'Justice' Dubois" in 1970, he wrestled for Montreal promoter Bob Langevin during the early part of his career and, after spending six months in the Kansas City-area, he returned to Canada becoming a major villain or "

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

" in Quebec and the Maritimes region. Winning the International Tag Team titles with Fidel Castillo in 1970, the two were billed as the "European Tag Team Champions" while touring

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

in January 1971 defending the titles against

Doug Somers Douglas Duane Somerson (September 22, 1951 – May 16, 2017) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. He worked in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the mid-1980s as part of a tag team with ...

Bobby Shane Robert Lee Schoenberger (August 25, 1945 – February 20, 1975), better known as Bobby Shane, who also wrestled as Bobby Schoen and as The Challenger, was an American professional wrestler known for his time in NWA Florida in the late 1960s and ...

, Jack & Jim Dalton, and The Assassins. During the match against The Assassins Castillo suffered a major cut by Assassin #1 during a match at the

Atlanta Municipal Auditorium Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, originally known as the ''Auditorium and Armory'', was an auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It was constructed with funds raised by a committee of Atlanta citizens and then sold to the city of Atlanta. The str ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, on January 29, 1971. Lamarche also participated in a 14-man championship tournament for the vacant NWA Georgia Heavyweight title being eliminated by Assassin #2 in the opening rounds on February 5, 1971. He also appeared at an event for the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

defeating Frank Holtz at the Civic Arena in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, on March 24, 1972. Between 1970 and 1974, he faced many of the top stars in the region including

Johnny Rougeau Jean Rougeau (June 9, 1929 – May 25, 1983) was a professional wrestler better known as Johnny Rougeau. Rougeau started wrestling in 1951 as Johnny Rougeau after an amateur wrestling career. In 1956, he was joined by his brother, Jacques Rougeau ...

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...

, The Sheik, and

Mad Dog Vachon Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon (September 14, 1929 − November 21, 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Mad Dog Vachon. He was the older brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestl ...

as well as his former trainer Edouard Carpentier eventually winning the Montreal International Championship before leaving for the United States once again.

National Wrestling Alliance (1975–1978)

After a two-year stint in the Mid-Atlantic territory teaming with

Freddie Sweetan Freddie Prosser (July 25, 1937 - July 26, 1974) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Freddie Sweetan. He competed in certain North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance as well as G ...

, Lamarche began wrestling for the Funk brothers in their Texas based promotion as "Mike 'The Judge' Dubois" in 1974 eventually winning the Texas Heavyweight Championship before moving on the Carolinas where he teamed with

Jacques Goulet Jacques Goulet (baptised 17 April 1615 – 26 November 1688) was a pioneer settler to Canada who was part of the Percheron immigration movement recruited to colonize the shores of the Saint Laurence River at Québec in New France (now part of the ...

for two years, later losing to

Dino Bravo Adolfo Bresciano (; August 6, 1948 – March 10, 1993), better known by the ring name Dino Bravo (), was an Italian-Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter, promoter. After training under Gino ...

Tim Woods George Burrell Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Mr. Wrestling and Tim Woods. Collegiate wrestling career Woodin received a degree in agricultural engineering f ...

in the finals of a championship tournament for the vacant

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship was a tag team title defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coa ...

on April 10, 1977. While touring with

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "the Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, where he was billed from Russia and, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ...

, he later began wrestling as "Alexis Smirnoff" in San Francisco during 1977. While in the area, he advanced to the finals of a 10-man championship tournament to fill the vacant NWA U.S. Heavyweight Championship being eliminated by Pat Patterson on March 12 although he later defeated Patterson for the title a month later on April 16, 1977. Although losing the title to Dean Ho on July 16, he later faced masked wrestler

Texas Red Texas Red or sulforhodamine 101 acid chloride is a red fluorescent dye, used in histology for staining cell specimens, for sorting cells with fluorescent-activated cell sorting machines, in fluorescence microscopy applications, and in immunohis ...

as well as wrestling against

Pepper Gomez José Serapio "Joseph" Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder, better known by his ring name, Pepper Gomez. Known for his exceptional abdominal muscles, he would allow rivals to perf ...

in a "taped fist" match on November 13, 1977. He wrestled veterans such as

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...

and The Sheik as well as younger wrestlers including Sgt. Slaughter,

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

and

Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s ...

during his time in San Francisco. The following year, he also wrestled in the St. Louis-area teaming with "Bulldog" Bob Brown,

, Jack Krueger and Joe Palardy in early 1978. On April 28, he wrestled two matches in one night substituting for

Buddy Wolff Leslie Charles Wolff (April 11, 1941 – July 11, 2017) was an American football player and professional wrestler, known by his ring name "Beautiful" Buddy Wolfe, who competed in North American regional promotions including the American Wrestling ...

in a singles match losing to Pat O'Connor and later teaming with Doug Somers and Bennie Ramirez in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Kevin Sullivan,

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

and "Sailor" Art Thomas.

Japan (1977–1979)

In 1977, Lamarche signed with the

and began touring Japan three times a year. During his stay in Japan, he became extremely successful wrestling IWA World Heavyweight Champion

Rusher Kimura was a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He was a five-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him a five-time world champion. Sumo wrestling career He was a sumo wrestler under the ''shikona'' Kinomura, a d ...

in a steel cage match on July 26, 1978. He also teamed with The Atomic wrestling to a double count-out against IWA Tag Team Champions Great Kusatsu & Animal Hamiguchi on January 8 and defeating Kimura in a rematch on January 28 in a best of three falls match (as the third pinfall was via disqualification, Kimura retained the title). He did, however, defeating

Ronnie Garvin Roger Barnes (born March 30, 1945) is a Canadian former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. He is best known for his appearances with Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federati ...

for the NWA Southeastern title knocking him out at the Knoxville Night of Champions on May 18, before losing the title back to Garvin on June 1, 1979. Returning to Japan, he defeated Kimura in their third encounter finally winning the IWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 21, 1979, before losing the title back to Kimura four days later. He spent much of his later career in Japan, making over 30 tours to the country and later wrestled for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

having memorable matches against

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

and

Antonio Inoki (born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...

as well as American wrestlers

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, the Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the year ...

Stan Hansen John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949), best known as Stan "the Lariat" Hansen, is an American retired professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributed to his poor eyesight, and for his gimmick a ...

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

and The Destroyer.

Return to North America (1979–1983)

Returning from Japan, he made a last appearance in the Mid-South region in a handicap match with Tank Patton, substituting for

Blackjack Lanza John Mortl Lanzo (October 14, 1935 – December 8, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Blackjack Lanza. Along with his long-term tag team partner, Blackjack Mulligan, Lanza was one-half of The Blackjacks: ...

, against

Dick the Bruiser William Fritz Afflis Jr. (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and National Football League player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with ...

in St. Louis on November 24, 1978. Teaming with Koloff throughout the U.S. between 1979 and 1981, he and Koloff won the NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles from

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (September 22, 1942 – February 26, 2024), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), was an American professional wrestler, booker, and promoter. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Rogowski made his professional ...

& Jack Briscoe in March 1980 before losing the titles to

Tony Atlas Anthony White (born April 23, 1954) better known by his ring name Tony Atlas, is an American bodybuilder, Powerlifting, powerlifter, and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. ...

& Kevin Sullivan a month later. Although later regaining the titles on April 26, they lost the titles to the Minnesota Wrecking Crew for a final time on June 8, 1980, before leaving Georgia. He also lost to IWA World Heavyweight Champion Rusher Kimura on November 22, 1980, and to United Heavyweight Champion

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavy ...

in a best of three falls match with Lamarche taking the first pinfall in 45 seconds, although Tsuruta took the other two falls to retain his title on October 27, 1981. Settling with his family outside San Francisco the following year, Lamarche made occasional appearances in Hawaii and Australia in between touring Japan and later returned to Montreal to team with Mad Dog Lefebvre for a time winning the International Tag Team Championship from

Gino Brito Louis Gino Acocella (born May 18, 1941), better known by his ring name Gino Brito, is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was most popular in Montreal. As Louis Cerdan, he was a WWWF Tag Team Champion with fellow Italian-C ...

& Tony Parisi before losing the titles to Raymond Rougeau, Sr. & Pat Patterson.

Return to Japan (1982–1984, 1986–1987)

A participant in the 10th annual

Champion Carnival The is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since ...

tournament in early 1982, he also lost to United Heavyweight Champion

on April 11, 1982, and also team with

against then International Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Giant Baba on April 3 before again losing to Tsuruta in a rematch for the United National Heavyweight title on April 12, 1983. Teaming with

, he again failed to win the International Tag Team Championship from Tsuruta & Baba losing to the tag team champions on February 28, 1984. During July 1986, he teamed with

Bad News Allen Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 Summer O ...

defeating

Yoshiaki Fujiwara is a Japanese professional wrestler, trainer and wrestling promoter. He is famous for his long career in wrestling, having worked in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (ZERO-ONE), and the two incarnations of shoot style pro ...

Kazuo Yamazaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, wrestling instructor and commentator who is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and shoot-style promotions Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF ...

on July 20 and fought to a double count-out with

Seiji Sakaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the Nati ...

George Takano , born June 23, 1958, is an American-Japanese retired professional wrestler better known under the ring name . He was also billed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a masked wrestler persona. He worked for various Japanese and American ...

on July 27 although, with Johnny Mantell, lost a 6-man tag team match to Antonio Inoki,

Kengo Kimura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known under the ring name and for his many years working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan. Professional wrestling career Japan Wrestling Association (1972–1973) Kimura made his pr ...

and Tastumi Fujinami on July 29. After losing to Antonio Inoki & Kengo Kimura on August 1, he later appeared in a series of matches for New Japan Pro Wrestling in Tokyo's Sumo Hall teaming with Hacksaw Higgins against

& George Takano on August 5, 1986 and with

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

against Takano and

Umanosuke Ueda was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . During his wrestling career, Ueda primarily stood out for wrestling with bleached blonde hair, a practice which was rare in his day but later became more common. His ring n ...

on June 12, 1987.

World Wrestling Federation (1983–1986)

While on the east coast, he also wrestled matches for the

during the early 1980s wrestling several matches against WWF Intercontinental Champion

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Professional wrestling school, trainer, and retired school teacher. Solis has stayed a Face (profession ...

in late 1984 as well as George Wells, and teamed with The Spoiler against

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

and

David Sammartino David Lugogo Sammartino (born September 29, 1960) is an American personal trainer and retired professional wrestler. He is the son of former WWWF/WWF World Heavyweight Champion, Bruno Sammartino. Professional wrestling career Early career ...

in several tag team matches during early 1985. After a short lived feud with

Ivan Putski Józef Bednarski (born January 21, 1941) is a Polish/American former professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by the ring name Ivan Putski. He was given the nicknames the "Polish Hammer" and "Polish Power". Putski is a former WWF World ...

and

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Tel ...

, he faced

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World", Roussimoff was known for his great size, which ...

Ted Arcidi Theodore Arcidi (born June 16, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler, actor and powerlifting, powerlifter. He is known to be the first man in history to bench press over 700 pounds in competition, establishing an official world recor ...

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federati ...

Tony Garea Anthony Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Garea. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/ World Wr ...

Dan Spivey Daniel Eugene Spivey (born October 14, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler best known under the ring names "Dangerous" Dan Spivey, Dangerous Dan, The Left Hand Man, Danny Spivey, Mr. America, and Waylon Mercy, initially working u ...

Blackjack Mulligan Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father- ...

and substituted for

Nikolai Volkoff Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-Americans, Croatian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler from Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, ...

in several tag team matches with

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (; March 15, 1942 – June 7, 2023), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, was an Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. To date he is the only Iranian-born champion in WWE histor ...

during early 1986 including a match against WWF World Tag Team Champions Greg "The Hammer" Valentine &

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring name Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Champio ...

on January 23 before eventually leaving the WWF after declining a request to cancel his contract with the IWA.

Later career (1986–1988, 1999)

During the last years of his career, he worked for the American Wrestling Association teaming with

Yuri Gordienko Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

feuding with the Midnight Rockers for several months, eventually losing to the Midnight Rockers and

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), better known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by peers, critics, and fans, he per ...

in a 6-man tag team match with

and "Playboy" Buddy Rose at the supercard Battle by the Bay in June 1986. He later pinned Leon "Bull Power" White during a 6-man tag team match with

Boris Zhukov Boris Zhukov (born James Kirk Harrell; January 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name ...

and Yuri Gordyenko against Greg Gagne and Earthquake Ferris at the supercard Blood On The Sand in October 1986, although he soon left the promotion by the end of the year. Following his retirement in 1988, he eventually opened a wrestling school and appeared in commercials for car dealerships in the San Francisco-area and the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He also appeared in several movies during the 1980s including ''Bad Guys'', ''

Body Slam Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

'', ''Alcatraz 2000'' and frequently appeared on the television series ''

The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action-adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonl ...

''. In 1999, Dubois made a one-time appearance for promoter Jacques Rougeau, Jr.'s International Wrestling 2000 coming out of retirement to team with Ronnie and

Jimmy Garvin James Williams (born September 25, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy Garvin. A member of the Fabulous Freebirds, Garvin is best known for his appearances with promotions including the America ...

in a 6-man tag team match against Jacques and Raymond Rougeau and their father Jacques Rougeau, Sr. in Montreal on August 9, 1999.

Personal life

The

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

's Facebook page posted the following about Lamarche on January 4, 2019: "Alexis Smirnoff is in hospice care in Marietta, Georgia, with kidney failure. The prognosis is grim. Please keep Alexis and his family in your thoughts and prayers." Smirnoff died on January 5, 2019.

Championships and accomplishments

* Big Time Wrestling ''(San Francisco)'' ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' ( 1 time) – with

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Grec ...

**Men's Wrestling Award (2018) *

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' ( 1 time) – with

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...

Eastern Sports Association The Eastern Sports Association, often referred to in the business simply as "the Maritimes," was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It ran during the spring and summer months from 1969 to 1976. History The ...

ESA International Tag Team Championship Eastern Sports Association The Eastern Sports Association, often referred to in the business simply as "the Maritimes," was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It ran during the spring and summer months fro ...

(

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) – with Fred Sweetan *

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was r ...

( 1 time) – with

*International Wrestling Association (Montreal) ** Montreal International Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **Montreal International Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Fidel Castillo *

** IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

** IW International Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** IW International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Pierre Lefebvre **

IW North American Heavyweight Championship This is a list of people who held the "North American Heavyweight Title" under the banner of ''International Wrestling'' (IW) from 1969 to 1984. The promotion was owned by the Eastern Sports Association from 1969 until 1976. The IW promotion ends w ...

( 1 time) *

** NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Northern Division)'' ( 1 time) ¹ *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

**Ranked No. 319 in the top 500 best singles wrestlers of the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2003

Notes

¹NWA records aren't clear as to which promotion he was working for at the time he won the championship. While usually defended in

Southeastern Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...

, it was occasionally defended in other NWA affiliated promotions..

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smirnoff, Alexis 1947 births 2019 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Faux Russian professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Quebec Deaths from kidney failure in the United States 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (San Francisco version) 20th-century Canadian sportsmen