# Denis Gauthier, Former Rougeau Tag Champion, Dies at 83

Label: CONFIRMED  
Promotion: Indie  
By WrestlingNews.com Staff  
Published Nov. 11, 2026, 10:15 AM ET  
URL: https://wrestlingnews.com/story/denis-gauthier-former-rougeau-tag-champion-dies-at-83/

> Denis Gauthier, a Canadian wrestler of the 1970s who won a tag title with Raymond Rougeau, died on Sunday, Nov. 8, at age 83, wrestling historian Pat Laprade said on Tuesday, Nov. 10. No cause was given.

## The quick version

- Denis Gauthier died on Sunday night, Nov. 8, 2026, at age 83, per Pat Laprade's post on X on Nov. 10.
- He began wrestling in 1970, won the tag team championship with Raymond Rougeau in the Rougeau promotion, and retired in 1976.
- The cause of death was not given in the reports we read, and we found no family statement.

Denis Gauthier, a former Canadian wrestler with close ties to the Rougeau family, has died. Wrestling historian Pat Laprade announced on X on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, that Gauthier "passed away Sunday night at the age of 83." That makes the date Nov. 8. Fightful and WrestlingHeadlines carried Laprade's post.

## His career

Laprade's post says Gauthier first found success in bodybuilding. It says he began wrestling with All-Star Wrestling in 1970 and joined Grand Prix Wrestling the next year. He returned to the Rougeau promotion in 1972 and "won the tag team championship alongside Raymond Rougeau," per Laprade. Gauthier retired in 1976.

## His family

Laprade writes that Gauthier married Joanne Rougeau in the 1970s. She is the sister of Raymond and Jacques Rougeau. Their son, Denis Jr., played 554 NHL games. Three of Gauthier's grandsons also went on to play pro hockey, Laprade says. He names Julien, who played 181 NHL games, and Ethan, who is in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. We did not check those figures against the NHL.

Laprade closed with: "My sincere condolences to the Gauthier family."

## What is not known

No cause of death was given. We found no obituary, funeral details or statement from the family or the Rougeau family. We did not contact them. Laprade's post is the only source for the details above. Fightful, WrestlingHeadlines and PWMania repeat it and add nothing we could find.

**How we know.** Source: Pat Laprade's post on X, dated Nov. 10, 2026, as embedded in full in Fightful's and WrestlingHeadlines' stories, both read in full. We did not open the post on X itself. PWMania's story was seen as a search excerpt only. Nothing in this story is a rumor.

## Sources

- Pat Laprade (@PatLaprade) on X, "Sad news from the world of pro wrestling. Denis Gauthier passed away Sunday night at the age of 83...", Nov. 10, 2026. No link: we saw the post only as embedded in the two outlets below and did not find its address.
- Fightful (Andrew Thompson), "Denis Gauthier Passes Away", Nov. 10, 2026, 2:25 pm (Laprade's full post). https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/denis-gauthier-passes-away
- WrestlingHeadlines, "Former Wrestling Champion & Member Of The Rougeau Family Denis Gauthier Passes Away", Nov. 10, 2026 (Laprade's full post and the Nov. 8 date). https://wrestlingheadlines.com/former-wrestling-champion-member-of-the-rougeau-family-denis-gauthier-passes-away
- PWMania (Phil Johnson), "Former Wrestler Denis Gauthier Passes Away At Age 83", Nov. 2026 (search excerpt only; it agrees on the date and age). https://www.pwmania.com/former-wrestler-denis-gauthier-passes-away-at-age-83
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read Fightful and WrestlingHeadlines in full and checked the spellings and dates against each other. We did not contact the family.

How we credit sources: [Editorial standards](https://wrestlingnews.com/editorial-standards/).