Yvon Cormier (November 3, 1938 – March 4, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Competing primarily under the ring name The Beast, he and his three wrestling brothers made up the Cormier wrestling family. He wrestled in many countries but regularly returned to Canada, where he competed for the Eastern Sports Association (ESA) and the ESA-promoted International Wrestling (IW). He also competed in the Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling for many years. Early life Cormier was born into a family of thirteen children, of which four of the brothers became professional wrestlers, and another became a referee. His wrestling brothers were Leo Burke (Leonce Cormier), Bobby Kay (Romeo Cormier) and Rudy Kay (Jean-Louis Cormier). The oldest brother, Malcolm, worked as a referee under the name Mel Turnbow. As a teenager, he worked in the woods, shoed horses, and drove heavy equipment. Professional wrestling career Cormier met Emile Dupré in 1957, who told him to consider a career in professional wrestling. Cormier began training, and later moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, to continue his preparation under trainer Les Ruffen, and made his debut in 1963. At first, he used the ring name Pierre Lebelle before switching to Ivan the Lumberjack. In Texas, he was known as Joe Gump. When he later ventured to the Mid-Atlantic territory, Jim Crockett, Sr. named him The Beast. At that time, he had thick, untamed hair and a large, curly beard. The Beast spent part of his early career competing for Stampede Wrestling, where he faced such wrestlers as Stu Hart. He won his first championship there in 1966. He defeated Stampede veteran Dave Ruhl to win the Calgary version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Later that year, he dropped the title to Ruhl. He gained a different title the following year, however, when he teamed with Bob Sweetan to defeat the Christy Brothers (Bobby and Jerry) for the Calgary version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship on July 12, 1967. In 1969, The Beast became the first holder of the IW North American Heavyweight Championship. On August 5, he gained a second title when he teamed with his brother Rudy Kay to defeat The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) to win the ESA International Tag Team Championship. Three weeks later, he dropped the North American title to The Stomper (Archie Gouldie), who became his longtime rival. He then began competing for the Amarillo,