| Philip Lafond | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Dan Kroffat[1] Phil Lafleur[1] Phil Lafon Rocky Venturo[1] Rene Rougeau[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 235 pounds (107 kg) |
| Born | September 16, 1961 [1] Mantouage, Ontario[1] |
| Resides | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Billed from | Montreal, Quebec |
| Trained by | Mr. Hito[1] |
| Debut | 1983 |
Philip Lafond (born September 16, 1961) is a former Canadian professional wrestler also known as Dan Kroffat (taking this name from the original Dan Kroffat) in Japan, Montreal and Extreme Championship Wrestling, Phil Lafleur in Stampede Wrestling, Phil Lafon in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Rocky Venturo in Pacific Northwest Wrestling.
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Lafond was discovered at a local gym in Canada by Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid, and was subsequently trained in the Hart Dungeon.[1] In the Dungeon, he was trained by Mr. Hito.[1] He spent two years in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling before leaving to work as Rene Rougeau in the Maritimes.[1] During this time, he met The Cuban Assassin, who helped him get booked in Japan.[1]
Kroffat was a longtime mainstay of All Japan Pro Wrestling with tag team partner Doug Furnas as the Can-Am Express.[1] The two men were paired together by Giant Baba.[1] It was there, that they had some of the most memorable tag team matches of the 1990s, including one match on May 25, 1992 with Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi which received five stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The match is memorable for having one of the loudest crowds in pro wrestling history. With Furnas, Kroffat would win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship a record 5 times defeating the likes of Footloose, The British Bruisers, The Patriot and The Eagle, Joel Deaton and Billy Black.[2] As a singles wrestler, Kroffat also won the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship on 2 occasions.[3]
The duo joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in late 1996, having a series of matches against Sabu and Rob Van Dam.[1] A few months later, both men made their World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debuts on November 17 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.[1] A few months into his WWF run, he was in a car crash.[1] He returned in the fall of 1997 most notably as a part of Team Canada at Survivor Series 1997 before he and Furnas were sent back to ECW.
They returned to ECW in late 1997, and won the ECW World Tag Team Championship from the Full Blooded Italians on December 5. Their reign would not last long, however, as they went on to lose the belts to Chris Candido and Lance Storm the next day. Prior to the team's tag team title success LaFon had made an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone ECW Champion Shane Douglas in singles competition.
Lafond still is involved in wrestling today as the Head Trainer of Monster Pro Wrestling (MPW) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On March 6, 2010 in Edmonton, he returned to the ring to compete with MPW after five years of being in retirement.
Lafond had effectively retired from professional wrestling, in 2005, due to nagging knee and shoulder injuries.[1]
Lafond was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but left home at age 19 in pursuit of a girl. [1]