Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977)
is a Canadian TV host and semi-retired
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
. He has been signed to
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
as a producer since 2020.
He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 and 2007 where he was part of
La Résistance and became a four-time
World Tag Team Champion (once with
René Duprée
René Emile Goguen (born December 15, 1983), better known by his ring name René Duprée (; ja, レネ・デュプリ, Rene Dyupuri) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he is a former two-time GHC Tag ...
and three times with
Rob Conway). After his release from WWE, Grenier became a
French language commentator for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...
(TNA) ''
Impact!'' for a number of years and continued to wrestle on the
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
independent circuit.
Early life
As a child, Grenier lived with his Parents in
Varennes, Quebec
Varennes is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River in the Marguerite-D'Youville Regional County Municipality. The city is approximately from Downtown Montreal. The population as of the Cana ...
. Grenier played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
and
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
at an amateur level. Grenier worked as a
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
.
Professional wrestling career
Grenier made his
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
debut in 1998.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Early appearances (2001–2003)
Grenier auditioned for series one and two of ''
Tough Enough'', the
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
produced by
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
in 2001 and 2002, but was unable to attend the selection process due to
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
problems. While he was in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
training and taking part in a modeling shoot, Grenier met WWE
producer Pat Patterson, with whom he became good friends. Patterson invited Grenier to attend WWE events for a few tryout matches under the ring name "Sly Grenier". Following a match, Grenier was offered a contract by WWE, and assigned to WWE developmental territory
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg.
...
.
During this period, Grenier made two appearances for WWE, the first at
No Way Out in 2003 as a
referee during the match between
The Rock and
Hulk Hogan in which he helped The Rock to win that match; the other at
WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX was the 19th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took pl ...
during the match between Hogan and
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
.
La Résistance (2003–2005)
On April 28, Grenier returned to WWE, debuting on the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand alongside fellow French Canadian
René Duprée
René Emile Goguen (born December 15, 1983), better known by his ring name René Duprée (; ja, レネ・デュプリ, Rene Dyupuri) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he is a former two-time GHC Tag ...
. The duo were collectively known as ''
La Résistance'', and were billed as
Frenchmen
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common Culture of France, French culture, History of France, history, and French language, language, identified with the cou ...
who were highly critical of American efforts in the
War on Terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
. Grenier and Duprée made their first appearance on the April 28 episode of ''Raw'' as La Résistance by attacking
Scott Steiner
Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...
who had recently made remarks comparing France to
hell, offending Grenier and Duprée. La Résistance went on to
feud with Scott Steiner and
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
(who was being forced to be Steiner's tag team partner by
Stacy Keibler
Stacy Ann-Marie Keibler (born October 14, 1979) is an American retired professional wrestler and actress, former cheerleader, dancer, and model. She is specifically known for her work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling E ...
) until the
Judgment Day pay-per-view where La Résistance defeated Steiner and Test.
Grenier and Duprée went on to win the
World Tag Team Championship
The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions.
Nomenclature
The name of the promo ...
from
Kane and
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
at the
2003 Bad Blood event.
After that the decision was made to add
Rob Conway as a third member who began by posing as an American serviceman being abused by Grenier and Duprée until the
Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family ...
came out to save him. Once the Dudley Boyz had their backs turned to Conway, he attacked them with the American flag they had given him before tearing it off the pole and laying it on top of them. The trio began carrying the
French flag
The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Ireland ...
to ringside and singing the
French national anthem
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
before their matches. During their time together the trio feuded with several tag teams; including the
Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family ...
,
The Hurricane and
Rosey, and
Garrison Cade and
Mark Jindrak
Mark Robert Jindrak (born June 26, 1977) is an American businessman, former professional wrestler, and actor. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Mark Jindrak and ...
.
They held the titles until
Unforgiven 2003 when they dropped them to The Dudley Boyz in a three-on-two
handicap tables match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. During the match, Grenier suffered neck and back injuries, and was diagnosed with a broken neck a month later.
The trio eventually reunited on the edition of March 15, 2004 of ''Raw''. when Grenier returned. This reunion only lasted a week, as Dupree was drafted to ''
SmackDown!'' on March 22, 2004 during the
Draft Lottery.
Without Dupree, Grenier and Conway continued to
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
together as La Résistance on ''Raw''. With
American-Franco hostility subsiding, WWE ceased billing the team as being from France and instead promoted them as being haughty
French Canadians who carried the
flag of Quebec
The flag of Quebec, called the (), represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleurs-de-lis.
It was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada and was originally sh ...
to the ring, with Grenier often singing the
Canadian national anthem
"O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...
. Grenier has later said that he preferred teaming with Conway over Duprée, stating "Rob made me love wrestling again".
The team held the World Tag Team Championship three times.
Their first title reign began when they defeated
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
and
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
on the May 31, 2004 episode of ''Raw'' in Grenier's home town of Montreal.
They dropped the championship to them at
Taboo Tuesday
WWE Cyber Sunday (originally known as WWE Taboo Tuesday) was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Established in 2004, th ...
when Benoit was able to defeat both Grenier and Conway, despite Edge abandoning Benoit during the match. La Résistance re-captured the championship on the November 1 episode of ''Raw'' when Edge walked out on Benoit again.
Two weeks later, however, in a three-way tag team elimination match,
William Regal
Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his t ...
and
Eugene were the last men standing, beating both La Résistance and the team of
Tajiri and
Rhyno
Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Rhyno or Rhino. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is one-half of the Impact World Tag Team Champions in his secon ...
. Their final Tag Team Championship win occurred at a Raw
house show in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on January 16, 2005. La Résistance defeated William Regal and Jonathan Coachman (who substituted for Eugene due to suffering an injury).
La Résistance dropped the championship a few weeks later on the February 7, 2005 episode of ''Raw'' in Tokyo, Japan to William Regal and his new tag team partner Tajiri. on the March 14 episode of ''Raw'', La Résistance were defeated by
The Rockers
The Rockers were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty who teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for NWA Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestli ...
(
Shawn Michaels and
Marty Jannetty
Fredrick Martin Jannetty (born February 3, 1960) is an American professional wrestler who has worked for promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wres ...
) in a Rockers's Reunion. at
WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 was the 21st annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event too ...
, Grenier competed in a 30-man battle royal where he was eliminated by
Heidenreich.
La Résistance repeatedly attempted to regain the title, mainly on ''
Sunday Night Heat'', but fell short during each one. La Résistance were given another chance at Regal and Tajiri during a Tag Team Turmoil match involving five teams during
Backlash
Backlash may refer to:
Literature
* '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi
* ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston
* Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character
* ''Backla ...
. In the match, La Résistance managed to eliminate the current champions but were defeated by the last remaining team, Hurricane and Rosey.
The team split in mid-May 2005 after repeatedly quarreling over which of them was the superior wrestler. Grenier and Conway went into singles competition with announcers claiming that the members of La Résistance were trying to "one up" each other in singles matches without the other man in their corner. This saw Conway defeat a
jobber
Jobber may refer to:
Athletics
* Job (professional wrestling) - A professional wrestler who routinely loses a match.
* Wichita Jobbers, a minor league baseball team in the Western Association from 1905 to 1911
Commerce
* A person or corporation ...
and
Val Venis
Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by the ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) fro ...
, while Grenier was defeated by both Val Venis and
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...
before both men competed in a triple threat match (with
Intercontinental Champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name.
He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...
for the title), Benjamin won the match after the La Résistance members began to argue and fight with each other. The altercation between the two led to a main event match for the edition of June 12, 2005 of ''Sunday Night Heat''. This match saw Conway portray the
heel, and defeat Grenier.
Singles competition (2005–2006)
Grenier was a last minute trade in the
2005 WWE Draft, forcing him to leave Raw and go to
SmackDown! ending his already shakey tag team partnership with Conway. After being traded he was not seen on television for a few months, eventually re-debuting on ''SmackDown!'' on September 1, 2005. He was repackaged with a
gimmick of a
narcissistic
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Narcissism exists on a co ...
male
supermodel
A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...
known simply as "Sylvain", though his name was later tweaked to "Sylvan", the same spelling that was used in the original La Resistance vignettes. His new gimmick saw him speak with a light French accent, wear sunglasses and use techno music for his entrance.
Sylvan soon began a brief feud with
Hardcore Holly
Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/ host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career wit ...
, which saw Sylvan determined to protect his "perfect face" at any cost. Sylvan gained a victory over Holly on the October 7 episode of ''SmackDown!'' with help from
Mr. Kennedy
Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler. Anderson is known for his tenure with WWE from 2005 to 2009 under the ring name Mr. Kennedy, and his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Mr. Anderson from 2010 to 2 ...
. At
No Mercy 2005 after Kennedy defeated Holly, Sylvan came out and continued his feud with him by attacking the injured Holly, which led to Sylvan losing a singles match on an episode of ''Velocity'' and a
hardcore match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
the following week on ''SmackDown!'', ending an almost two-month feud. Sylvan entered the
2006 Royal Rumble
The 2006 Royal Rumble was the 19th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The ev ...
, but was quickly eliminated by Bobby Lashley. After this, Sylvan slowly reverted to using anti-American tactics while still retaining his model gimmick. However, this change was short-lived and he was soon taken off of television, where he began wrestling in dark matches before ''SmackDown!'' tapings and in OVW.
On the June 16, 2006 episode of ''SmackDown!''
vignettes designed to look like vacation promotion videos for
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and starring Sylvan ("the Ambassador at Large for the Beautiful Province of Québec", or "the Ambassador of Québec" for short) began airing. On July 7 he appeared in-ring to cut a
promo
Promo or promos may refer to:
Promotions and advertising
*Promo (media), a form of commercial advertising used to promote television or radio programs
*Promo (professional wrestling), a televised interview in which a wrestler's on-screen personali ...
attempting to "make peace" with the
US fans by welcoming them to visit his home province. The fans responded with a chorus of boos and a loud "USA" chant. In the coming weeks he continued to appear backstage, telling everyone within earshot how much better Québec was than where ever they were from. He made his ring return with this gimmick on the July 28 ''SmackDown!'' with a win over
Tatanka. Sylvan would go on to job against the likes of Tatanka,
Vito
Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life".
It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...
, and
Batista
Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include:
* Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player
* Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista
* Edina Alves Batis ...
under this gimmick. Sylvan's losing streak ended on the first
CW Network
CW may stand for:
Science and technology
* centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt
* Cω, a programming language
* CW complex, a type of topological space
* Carrier wave, in radio communications
* CodeWarrior, an integrated development environm ...
episode of ''SmackDown!'' on September 22, 2006, when he defeated Tatanka again by using the ring ropes for illegal leverage. The following week on ''SmackDown!'', Sylvan defeated
Jimmy Wang Yang, who had insulted Canada the week before. The next week, Sylvan cheated again to take a lead in the feud. The following week, Sylvan finally lost to Yang in a six-man tag team match. After disappearing for a couple of weeks, Sylvan finally returned to cost Yang a match versus Gregory Helms. After that match, Matt Hardy came out to help Yang ward off Helms and Sylvan. The following week, Hardy and Yang defeated Helms and Sylvan, ending Sylvan's feud with Yang.
La Résistance reunion (2006–2007)
Sylvan returned to OVW on November 15, making a surprise appearance as Sylvain Grenier, teaming with Rob Conway to reform their La Résistance. The reformed team defeated
Cody Runnels
Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
and
Shawn Spears
Ronnie William Arneill (born February 19, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Shawn Spears, where he is a current member of The Pinnac ...
to earn a shot at the
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. There have been 177 reigns shared b ...
, but were unsuccessful in the title match. On the December 22 episode of ''SmackDown!'', he disguised himself as Santa Claus and attacked World Heavyweight Champion Batista with a steel pipe. This resulted in a match with Batista that Sylvan quickly lost and would end the "Ambassador of Québec" gimmick as Sylvan disappeared from television after this.
On the February 20, 2007 episode of ''
ECW'', Grenier returned and reformed the original
La Résistance with René Duprée, defeating a pair of local wrestlers. Due to Duprée getting suspended at the start of March, however, and being sent to rehab after violating the Health and Wellness policy, the team was quietly disbanded. At the August 7, 2007 taping of ''SmackDown!'', Sylvan made his televised return under his old model gimmick in a match against
Kane, which he lost. This would turn out to be Grenier's final match for WWE, as he was released from his contract on August 13.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2007–2009)
On November 29, 2007, Grenier debuted as a
French language commentator for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...
's (TNA) ''
Impact!'' television show on
Réseau des sports
Réseau des sports (RDS), is a Canadian French language specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. ( Bell Media 80% and ESPN 20%). Its ful ...
(RDS). During his time with TNA, he embarked on a feud with former commentator
Pierre Carl Ouellet
Carl Joseph Yvon Ouellet (born December 30, 1967) is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, PCO (originally a contraction of his long-term former ring name Pierre Carl Ouellet, but now standing for Perfect Creation One) ...
, with Grenier claiming that he was the better commentator. They settled their feud in a match in
Hawkesbury, Ontario
Hawkesbury is a Franco-Ontarian city in Prescott-Russell county in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The vast majority of its 10,550 inhabitants are francophone.
The Long-Sault Bridge links it to Grenville, Quebec to the north. This bridge, crossing ...
on June 21, 2008, in which Ouellet was victorious. Greiner was released in 2009.
Independent circuit (2008–2018; 2018–2019)
Grenier returned to the independent circuit in January 2008 at International Wrestling Syndicate's Praise The Violence where he lost to
Kevin Steen
Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in lat ...
in an IWS Heavyweight Championship number one contendership match. On August 30, 2008, Grenier reunited with
Rob Conway to reform
La Résistance, and they defeated Karl Briscoe and Jay Phenomenon to win
Northern Championship Wrestling
Northern Championship Wrestling (Les Promotions NCW Inc.) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
History
Founded in 1986 by François Poirier and Phil Bélanger in Joliette, Quebec as the Amateur ...
's Tag Team Championship.
[ before losing them to Kid Rock and Gorgeous Mike on October 25.][ On December 20, at NCW's Noël D'Enfer event, Grenier defeated Samson to win the Quebec Championship.][ He would hold the title for over 50 days before losing it to Nova Cain on February 7, 2009.][ On April 17, 2009, he appeared for Ring of Honor, competing in a six-man tag match, in which he teamed with ]The American Wolves
The American Wolves are a professional wrestling tag team which consisted of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. They are seven-time world tag team champions being five-time TNA World Tag Team Champions and two-time ROH World Tag Team Champions. ...
( Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) in a loss to Bryan Danielson
Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he worked fro ...
, Kevin Steen and El Generico
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were a Canadian professional wrestling tag team. Prior to signing with WWE, El Generico and Kevin Steen teamed in Ring of Honor (ROH) and across the independent circuit, nicknamed "Steenerico" by fans.
History Ring ...
. On November 22, 2009, Grenier defeated Darkko to win the Combat Revolution Wrestling (CRW) Quebec Championship. He lost the championship to Darkko on February 21, 2010.
On March 5, 2010, Grenier debuted as a new gimmick, known as Iceman at his TOW Wrestling show. In a match at a CRW show, he defeated the highflying Van Hawk, a mainstay in the independent circuit of Quebec. Later that night, in his usual persona, Grenier recaptured the CRW Quebec Championship by defeating Darkko and Dru Onyx
Rodney Kellman (born September 24, 1974), better known by his ring names Dru Onyx and Soa Amin, is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntman and trainer of professional wrestlers. He wrestled the majority of his career in Canada for the National W ...
in a casket match at a TOW show, before losing it to Darkko two days later. In November 2011, Greiner toured several European countries as part of American Wrestling Rampage, where he predominantly teamed with former La Résistance partner René Duprée
René Emile Goguen (born December 15, 1983), better known by his ring name René Duprée (; ja, レネ・デュプリ, Rene Dyupuri) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he is a former two-time GHC Tag ...
.
On November 1, 2012 Grenier decided he will be taking a break from wrestling for a while. On November 13, 2012 Grenier came to the rescue of Alex Shelley on a PPV event.
Grenier made an announcement on November 1, 2012 that he will have a few matches. Grenier faced Juice Robinson
Joseph Ryan Robinson (born April 10, 1989), better known by his ring name Juice Robinson, is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Robinson is also a member of the Bullet Club stable and also wrestles ...
, Jay White on November 16, 2012 in a handicap match. On November 18, 2012 Grenier had a match against Kushida
is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling.
He is best known for his tenure in NJP ...
but lost to Kushida by distraction of Kyosuke Mikami
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working under the ring name . He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a four time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion ...
, Katsuyori Shibata
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional wrestling trainer. In professional wrestling, he is known for his hard hitting offense. He is currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a f ...
, Cliff Compton
Clifford Treiber (born November 2, 1979) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring names Domino and Cliff Compton. He is known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE).
Before being promoted to the main WWE roste ...
coming to the ring. Grenier became the World Lutte TOW Wrestling Champion for 389 days, but lost it to Thomas Dubois.
On January 19, 2018, Grenier announced his retirement via Twitter, but ended his retirement on October 27, 2018, returning to the ring for La Lutte C Vrai against Franky the Mobster. Grenier continued to compete on the Quebec independent wrestling circuit before returning to WWE.
Return to WWE (2020–present)
On January 19, 2020, it was announced that Grenier had returned to WWE as a backstage producer.
Personal life
Since his departure from WWE, Grenier has ventured in the media industry as a TV host and executive producer on several TV shows for Sports Network in Canada. He currently resides in between the suburbs of Montreal and Florida with his wife and two kids.
As an entrepreneur, Grenier has succeeded in the sports nutrition business as well as the real estate industry.
Other media
Grenier appears as a playable character in '' WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006''.
Championships and accomplishments
*Canadian Wrestling Federation
**CWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with René Duprée
René Emile Goguen (born December 15, 1983), better known by his ring name René Duprée (; ja, レネ・デュプリ, Rene Dyupuri) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he is a former two-time GHC Tag ...
*Combat Revolution Wrestling
**CRW Quebec Championship (2 times)
*Northern Championship Wrestling
Northern Championship Wrestling (Les Promotions NCW Inc.) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
History
Founded in 1986 by François Poirier and Phil Bélanger in Joliette, Quebec as the Amateur ...
**NCW Quebec Championship (1 time)
**NCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rob Conway
*Top Of The World Wrestling
**TOW Championship (1 time)
**TOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rob Conway
*World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
**World Tag Team Championship
The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions.
Nomenclature
The name of the promo ...
(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 René Duprée (1) and Rob Conway (3)
*''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
''
** Worst Tag Team (2003) with René Duprée
References
External links
2008 audio interview
Interview recap
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Grenier, Sylvain
1977 births
Canadian male models
Canadian male professional wrestlers
French Quebecers
Living people
Sportspeople from Montreal
Professional wrestlers from Quebec
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestling referees
Tough Enough contestants
21st-century professional wrestlers