The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
1979-1990
Canadian International Tag Team Champions
Written by Canadian Bulldog
There are a lot of great (real-life) sibling tag team teams in the history of wrestling - The Brisco Brothers, The Briscoes, The Hardy Boyz, Rick & Scott Steiner, The Young Bucks, The Usos and The Lucha Bros, just to name a few - but Jacques and Raymond Rougeau are often omitted from that list.
Why? It may be because their time in the spotlight was relatively short (at least, compared to those other teams), or it may be because they were never tag team champions in the WWF.
Even though they were. Kind of. (Don't worry - we'll get there)
Jacques and Raymond Rougeau were part of a larger wrestling family that were well known in Quebec, Canada for decades. In fact, their father, Jacques Rougeau Sr. was one of the most well-known wrestlers in the region.
Initially teaming up in the late-1970s, Jacques (Jr.) and Raymond dominated in Montreal, occasionally teaming with other members of their famous family and, as a unit, capturing the Canadian International Tag Team Titles three times.
Shortly after having a match against The Garvin Brothers, Ron and Jimmy (who weren't actually brothers but actually stepfather and stepson - wrestling can be really weird sometimes) in front of nearly 20,000 fans at the Montreal Forum, Jacques and Raymond were recruited by the WWF.
Debuting in 1986, The Rougeau Brothers began as clean-cut babyfaces, feuding with the likes of The Dream Team and Demolition. While they were frequently featured on WWF television, they didn't have a catchy gimmick or distinguishing characteristics (which may also have hurt their popularity).
They also battled The Hart Foundation on several occasions, even winning the WWF Tag Team Titles at a 1987 house show in Montreal (the decision was reversed and the title change was never acknowledged again).
By 1988, Jacques and Raymond Rougeau began doing a very slow (yet effective) heel turn. First, they faced fellow babyface teams such as The Killer Bees, The Young Stallions and The British Bulldogs, increasingly becoming more cocky with each match. In interviews, The Rougeau Brothers explained they were not anti-American the way that fellow Canadian Dino Bravo was being portrayed.
But after The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim The Anvil Neidhart) dropped Jimmy Hart as their manager, The Mouth of the South replaced them with Jacques and Raymond Rougeau. Now hailing from "Memphis, Tennessee" instead of Montreal and waving tiny American flags, this new persona as The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers began to take shape.
As heels, Jacques and Raymond feuded with The Hart Foundation (this time with the heel-babyface sentiment reversed) and The Rockers. The latter rivalry prompted Jimmy Hart to compose a new theme song for his team, "All American Boys."
Unfortunately, backstage politics halted the push of the brothers in late-1988. The British Bulldogs (no relation to yours truly) falsely accused Jacques and Raymond of tearing up their ring gear; Mr. Perfect was later identified as the pranking culprit. As a measure of revenge, The Rougeau Brothers sucker-punched Dynamite Kid backstage, requiring him to need dental surgery.
While attempts were made to reconcile the situation, The Bulldogs exited the WWF shortly thereafter (although they competed against one another in the 10-team Survivor Series match that year).
The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers continued to compete in the promotion for about a year, facing The Bushwhackers and other teams. Raymond retired shortly thereafter, and while Jacques returned as The Mountie, he would eventually team with fellow Quebecer Carl Ouelette (a/k/a PCO), and the two would become tag team champions in the WWF.
But that's another Tag Team Spotlight for another day...