SYLVAN GRENIER

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Name: Sylvan

Height: 6 foot
Weight: 250 pounds
From: Montreal, Quebec (summer residence) and South Beach Miami, FL (winter residence)
Finishing Move: 3 seconds of fame (high angle suplex into DDT)
Career Highlights: World Tag Team Champion

A former model in Europe, Sylvan enjoys the finer things in life from expensive clothes (which he designs himself) to gorgeous women. Strutting to the ring, posing for the camera whenever he gets the chance, Sylvan is all about himself and no one else. After being involved in a blockbuster Draft Lottery trade in June that saw Sylvan traded to SmackDown, the former model decided to invest in the only sure commodity on the market – Sylvan.

Sylvan originally debuted as a member of La Resistance with former tag team partner Rene Dupree on RAW. But when Dupree left for SmackDown, Sylvan continued La Resistance with the talented Rob Conway and went on to be a two-time World Tag Team Champion.

Sylvan, hungry for more competition and success, blasted on the scene in August 2005 seeing the Smackdown as the perfect global force to raise the profile of Sylvan. With fame and fortune as his goal, Sylvan looks to parlay his model good looks, and outstanding athletic ability into a blossoming career with WWE.

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19959 Location: Hertfordshire

i will have to look out for him .. :-D

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 240 lbs

Real Name: Sylvain Grenier

DOB: 1977

Hometown: Montreal, Quebec

Other Names: Sly (NCW), M.Canada

Wrestler Since: 1998

Finishing Maneuver: Flapjack, Au Revoir

The Beginning

Sylvain Grenier began in the business of professional wrestling by training under two very strong icons. First, he spent some time in the Funkin' Conservatory under Dory Funk Jr, even winning the International Championship there. Sylvain then trained under the Rock's father, Rocky Johnson, in Florida, again becoming more skilled inside the squared circle. Grenier's training soon got him recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment, who signed Grenier to a developmental deal with Ohio Valley Wrestling. Grenier joined several other young talents, including Rene Dupree, in Bolin Services, the powerhouse group in OVW. Soon, Grenier & Dupree were working well together as a team, earning recognition as an up-and-coming duo.

WWE - 2003

In February, at WWE's No Way Out '03, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan faced off against the Rock in a rematch of their tremendous Wrestlemania match from the year before. The match was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The referee was Sylvain Grenier. Near the end of the match, Hogan seemed to be on the verge of winning, as he set up his Leg Drop on the Rock. Suddenly, the lights in the arena went out, just before he could connect. When the lights returned, both the Rock and Grenier were laid out on the mat, not moving, while the Hulkster stood between them, absolutely confused. Vince McMahon then came out from the back, pointing at Hogan and gesturing about what happened. As Hogan turned his back to yell at McMahon, Grenier reached over to the outside, got a steel chair, and slid it to the Rock, who promptly nailed Hogan with it. After a Rock Bottom, the Rock made the pin, with Grenier alertly making the quick count to give the Rock the tainted win. This instantly made Grenier a heel, although it would take a few months for him to enter the ring as a wrestler.

On the first Raw of April '03, Grenier appeared alongside Rene Dupree in a vignette, with the two talking about how they would not be liked by the fans simply because they were French (using the current anti-French feeling due to the war in Iraq). For the next few weeks, Grenier & Dupree appeared together on promos, speaking about their position. La Resistance finally debuted in person at the April 28th Raw, when they interrupted a Scott Steiner post-match interview. They mentioned Steiner's 'debate' with Christopher Nowinski a few weeks before, where Steiner said that anyone who was against the war could go to hell or France. La Resistance then attacked Steiner, eventually taking control due to the numbers game and laying him out with a double spinebuster. La Resistance continued to feud with Steiner and his tag-team partner, Test, for the next few weeks, while also routinely bashing America for the hatred of the French.

At Judgment Day '03, La Resistance faced off against Steiner & Test in a tag-team match. Steiner & Test's massive advantage in experience and strength led them to control the majority of the match, while Grenier & Dupree used duplicity and double-teaming to stay involved. During the match, Test powerslammed Grenier, then made the pin. However, the referee was distracted by Test's manager, Stacy Keibler, keeping the count from going down. Test, annoyed, stood up towards Keibler, only to have Grenier dropkick him into his manager. Keibler fell off the ring apron, but was caught by Steiner, causing jealousy to again appear in Test (who had been having problems with Steiner). Later on, Test accidentally got the Big Boot on Steiner, knocking him down. Steiner was then caught with the Flapjack and pinned, getting La Resistance their first WWE pay-per-view victory.

After the victory, La Resistance began gaining momentum in the WWE Raw Tag-Team ranks, working their way towards a title shot against the champions, Rob Van Dam & Kane. On one Raw, La Resistance interrupted Lillian Garcia's singing of America the Beautiful, bashing the US and talking about how France was a peace-loving country. Co-General Manager "Stone Cold" Steve Austin then came out and attacked the two men, taking out both before singing a duet of America the Beautiful with Garcia. La Resistance complained later to the other co-GM, Eric Bischoff, who granted Grenier a "Flag" Match against Rob Van Dam, with a win getting the team a tag-team title shot. During the match, the referee was accidentally knocked down, even as RVD had control. He managed to get the American flag, but without the referee seeing it, the match continued. Dupree then became involved, taking out Van Dam, only to have Kane get involved as well. But Dupree managed to get the American flag put back up, even as Grenier got the French flag, just as the referee revived to give Grenier the win.

La Resistance got their Raw Tag-Team Title shot against Rob Van Dam & Kane at Bad Blood '03. Before the match, La Resistance insulted the Texas fans, while dedicating the match to the French President, Jacques Chirac. Van Dam had control over Dupree early in the match, but tricky tactics by Grenier allowed La Resistance to take the momentum, double-teaming Van Dam. RVD finally was able to make the tag to Kane, who destroyed the heels for a while, even fighting off double-team attempts. The three men fought to the outside, with Van Dam diving out of the ring towards them. Unfortunately for the champs, Van Dam nailed Kane with the dive, taking him out. La Resistance then beat down Van Dam, getting the Flapjack on him to win the WWE Raw World Tag-Team Titles, a major accomplishment for a team that had only been on Raw for less than two months.

La Resistance defended the titles only 24 hours later in a rematch against Rob Van Dam & Kane, with the former champions dominating for a good portion of the match. But miscues again sunk RVD & Kane, as Dupree was able to shove Van Dam off the top rope during an attempted Five-Star Frog Splash, making him hit Kane instead. Kane then went beserk, grabbing a steel chair and nailing both members of La Resistance, ending the match via disqualification. It was a painful victory, but La Resistance kept the tag-team titles. On the next Raw, La Resistance came out and renewed the heel tradition of singing their National Anthem to the boos of the crowd. The Hurricane interrupted them, angering La Resistance. They challenged the Hurricane to find an American partner and face them. The Hurricane brought out Sgt. Slaughter, a long-time patriot. Slaughter & the Hurricane nearly beat La Resistance with Slaughter's Cobra Clutch manuever on Grenier, but Dupree knocked out Slaughter with one of the titles, enabling Grenier to get the pin and get the cheap win.

La Resistance's singing later led to their next feud, as they were interrupted during the French National Anthem on a July '03 Raw by the Dudley Boyz, who beat down the tag-team champions. La Resistance and the Dudleys would feud for the next month, with the French team gaining much ire when Grenier broke a US flag over his knee. On an August Raw, La Resistance came out and bragged about what they had recently done to the Dudleys, then harrassed a uniformed serviceman at ringside. The Dudleyz came out to drive La Resistance away, then saluted the serviceman, only to have him attack both Dudleyz with the US flag he carried! La Resistance then came out and joined in the 3-on-2 assault, as Rob Conway officially joined their ranks.

At Summerslam '03, La Resistance and the Dudleyz fought it out for the tag-team titles. Just as it seemed that the Dudleyz had everything under control, having just hit the 3-D, a cameraman (Rob Conway again in disguise) entered the ring and knocked out D-Von Dudley with the heavy camera. This allowed La Resistance to come back and get the victory, retaining the titles. Conway announced on the next Raw that he had joined La Resistance due to the way the President of the US had forced America into a war, and that he thought the French way was the best. Later that night, in a six-man title match pitting La Resistance against the Dudleyz (and Spike Dudley), Conway got the victory for his team by knocking out Bubba Ray Dudley with one of the tag belts. La Resistance continued to feud with the three Dudleys, with Conway taking out Spike by powerbombing him through a table.

The titles were put on the line in a "Handicap Tables" Match between La Resistance & Conway and the Dudley Boyz (it became a handicap match since Spike couldn't compete) at Unforgiven '03. Early on, the three French representatives used the numbers to their advantages, with quick tags to control a Dudley. The Dudley Boyz came back, with Bubba Ray telling D-Von to "Get The Tables", but La Resistance got the first shot, tossing D-Von into a table set up on the turnbuckle to get the first elimination (although D-Von could still participate in the match). Bubba Ray Dudley fought back, taking out Grenier with a suplex through a table. D-Von then later saved Bubba Ray from a table back-body drop by moving the table out of the way, and the two Dudleys worked together to toss Conway over the ropes and out to another table, eliminating Conway. Dupree tried to survive, landing a nice double clothesline at one point, but the Dudleys reversed an Irish Whip into the 3-D through a table to win the match and the Tag-Team Titles.

Grenier felt a lot of pain after going through the table, and suffered for a few weeks with the injury, even as people told him "Take two Advil and you'll be fine". Soon enough, though, Grenier found out that he had a broken neck, and was quickly put on the shelf for many months, even as Conway joined Dupree as the new formation of La Resistance. For the rest of the year, Grenier worked on recuperating, in the hopes of rejoining his tag-team.

2004

In March '04, Grenier finally returned to Raw, rejoining Dupree & Conway, as well as bringing along another member for the group: Fifi, a French poodle. The group was quickly cited by "Sheriff" Steve Austin for not cleaning up after the dog. Dupree, angry over the treatment, later called out Austin, only to be beaten down for his troubles. The very next week, a Draft Lottery was held between Raw and Smackdown, with Dupree being selected to go to Smackdown, again breaking up the trio. Dupree took Fifi with him, while Grenier & Conway formed the third tag-team version of La Resistance on Raw.

Around this time, La Resistance began to be announced as being from Quebec, rather than from France. The new La Resistance got a match at Backlash '04, facing off against Rosey & the Hurricane. During the match, Eugene, who was a 'special' wrestler, came down to the ring and distracted La Resistance by playing with their flags, among other things. While William Regal came down to get Eugene away from ringside, the Hurricane got the pinfall, getting a big win over La Resistance. Conway would feud with Eugene over the next few weeks, with Grenier giving his support.

At the end of May '04, La Resistance was given a Raw Tag-Team Title shot against the champions, Chris Benoit & Edge. The show was held in Montreal, giving La Resistance almost a 'home-field advantage' from the fans. The odds seemed to be against La Resistance, as Benoit & Edge were both dominating wrestlers. At one point, Benoit got the Crippler Crossface on Conway, nearly winning the match before Grenier could make the save. In the end, though, La Resistance took advantage of some problems between the tag-team champs, especially after Edge accidentally Speared Benoit. This gave La Resistance the chance to double-team Edge, and they took him out with the Au Revoir, winning the match and getting the tag-team titles around their waist.

La Resistance and Benoit & Edge continued to have problems going into the summer of '04. On the Raw before the next pay-per-view, Benoit was placed by GM Eric Bischoff in a "Handicap" Match against La Resistance. As La Resistance was winning with a double-team assault, Edge came to the ring and attacked, ruining the "Handicap" Match. Bischoff, though, came out to the ring. He said that Edge & Benoit would get a tag-team title shot at La Resistance at the pay-per-view, as well as Benoit defending his Raw Heavyweight Title against Kane. Bischoff also said, though, that the Handicap Match would take place, with Kane joining La Resistance. Although Edge & Benoit fought hard, there was no stopping Kane, who chokeslammed Benoit for the victory.

At Bad Blood '04, the two tag-teams again squared off, with the Raw Tag-Team Championship on the line. Edge had the early advantage on Grenier, until Conway interfered, slamming Edge into the steel guardrail at ringside. The two French representatives double-teamed Edge for a while, until Edge finally made the hot tag to Benoit. In the end, Benoit and Edge avoided a near collision between the two, then took the fight to La Resistance. Benoit locked Grenier in the Crippler Crossface, while Edge dumped Conway out of the ring. The titles looked as good as gone, but at the last minute, Kane suddenly charged out to the ring and attacked Benoit, causing the disqualification loss, but also keeping the belts around the waist of La Resistance.

La Resistance stayed the tag-team champions going into July '04, where they fought a patriotic team in Sgt. Slaughter & Rhyno after insulting Independence Day. However, La Resistance got the last laugh, winning the match by beating Slaughter. At Vengeance '04, things again looked bad for La Resistance, as they were booked to defend their titles against Ric Flair & Eugene, who had begun hanging out with Evolution (Flair's stable). It was an interesting match, as Eugene acted just like Flair, doing his moves, causing Flair to come in and show how it's really done. Flair almost won the match with the Figure Four on Grenier, with Conway breaking up the submission hold. La Resistance then came back, getting in some good shots on Flair. When Flair was almost over to make the tag to Eugene, Conway broke it up by pulling Eugene off the apron. This caused Eugene to lose control, though, as he charged in and shoved the ref out of the way, then attacking both members of La Resistance. This caused the disqualification, getting La Resistance out of another match with the belts still around their waists.

Grenier & Conway next feuded with Rhyno and his new tag-team partner, Tajiri. The two former ECW wrestlers proved to be quite a handful for La Resistance over the next few weeks, as they had a series of both singles and tag matches. La Resistance even lost a non-title match to Rhyno & Tajiri, signaling bad times ahead. In the week before the August PPV, Summerslam, a match was set up pitting Rhyno & Tajiri against two unknown wrestlers. Rhyno & Tajiri had to win the match within 3 minutes to get a tag-team title shot. With little time left, Rhyno & Tajiri were in complete control. But La Resistance distracted the referee, keeping him away as the time ran out. The match went to a No-Contest, apparently keeping Rhyno & Tajiri from getting a shot. La Resistance then did not have to defend the belts at Summerslam '04, getting the night off.

On the Raw after the PPV, Grenier fought Rhyno in a singles match, with the stipulation that, if Rhyno won, his team would get a title shot, but if he lost, his team would never be granted a chance. Thanks in part to Tajiri's Green Mist, Rhyno won, forcing La Resistance to give them the #1 Contenders spot. A week later, La Resistance joined with Jonathan Coachman to attack Tajiri & the Rock (who had returned to talk to the Diva contestants). But when Rhyno made the save, La Resistance took off, leaving the Coach in the ring to feel the People's Elbow from the Rock. The trio got revenge the next week, though, as La Resistance & the Coach won a "Handicap" Match over Rhyno & Tajiri. The week before the PPV, La Resistance, Ric Flair, & Batista fought against Rhyno, Tajiri, Chris Benoit, & William Regal in an eight-man tag. After a wild match, Conway was made to submit to Benoit's Sharpshooter.

At Unforgiven '04, La Resistance finally had to give a Raw World Tag-Team Title shot to Rhyno & Tajiri. After Grenier tried to sing Oh, Canada (their normal beginning), the match began in earnest, with Tajiri taking control of Grenier. The faces dominated for a time, but when Rhyno missed a Gore on Conway and injured his shoulder, Conway was quick to capitalize, controlling the match until Rhyno managed to escape and make the tag to Tajiri, who immediately regained the momentum for his team with a series of kicks. Near the end of the match, after Grenier had been badly racked by the Canadian flag pole, Rhyno got the Gore and made the cover. But Conway, from the outside, put Grenier's foot on the ropes, keeping the match going. Conway then brawled with Tajiri on the outside, distracting the referee, while Grenier recovered enough to knock Rhyno out with the flag pole, getting the 3-count to retain the tag-team titles.

After the PPV, La Resistance had a brief feud with Rosey & the Hurricane, after the duo won a Contenders match. La Resistance defended the titles against them on Raw, easily getting the win with their Au Revoir finisher. Around the end of September, a new type of PPV was announced, where the fans would choose the competitors. It was called Taboo Tuesday. In the main event, 3 wrestlers were available to be voted on to face Triple H for the Raw World Title. Shawn Michaels earned the title shot, leaving Chris Benoit & Edge to compete in the secondary match: a World Tag-Team Title shot against La Resistance. Grenier & Conway complained bitterly about having to wrestle without any preparation for the wrestlers they would face, but still had to go through with it. Benoit & Edge had a lot of problems working as a team, as Edge was distracted and angry with the fans for not choosing him. In fact, Edge left the ring before the match was over, storming to the back and leaving the arena. Despite this, however, Benoit was able to come back, blocking the Au Revoir, knocking Grenier off the apron, then putting Conway in the Crippler Crossface. Conway had no choice but to tap, giving the Tag-Team Titles to Benoit and a very disgruntled Edge.

After taking a week off, La Resistance was granted their title rematch in the beginning of November '04. Once again, things were bad between Benoit & Edge, with Edge refusing to tag in. This gave La Resistance the advantage, and they worked not to waste it, double-teamming Benoit at every opportunity. In the end, just as it seemed Benoit was once again making a comeback, Edge distracted the referee, keeping Benoit from making the pin. La Resistance then recovered to take out Benoit and make the cover, once again gaining the Raw World Tag-Team Titles. After the match, Edge 'borrowed' one of the belts to clock Benoit in the head, then returned it to Grenier & Conway. Unfortunately, even as the champs, La Resistance didn't have much to do with one of the biggest PPVs of the year, the '04 Survivor Series. They wrestled on Sunday Night Heat, winning a Non-Title Match over Rosey & the Hurricane.

Due to stipulations regarding the Raw Elimination Match, the fan-favorites team got to take turns being the General Manager for a month. The first one up was Maven, who quickly arranged for La Resistance to defend the Raw Tag Titles in a "Triple Threat Elimination" Match against William Regal & Eugene and Rhyno & Tajiri. Conway & Grenier managed to work together to eliminate Rhyno & Tajiri first, mostly by Conway holding Rhyno's legs from outside the ring, while Grenier made the pin. But Regal & Eugene were too much for them, as Regal dodged a flag shot, causing Grenier to knock out Conway. Eugene was then tagged in and dropped the People's Elbow on Conway for the victory, stripping away the Raw Tag-Team Titles from La Resistance only a few weeks after they had regained them. It didn't get any better the next week, as La Resistance & Christian lost a six-man tag match to Regal, Eugene, & Shelton Benjamin.

On the next Raw, with Randy Orton as the GM, a 20-man #1 Contenders match was held, with the winner getting a shot at Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Grenier and Conway both participated in the match, with Grenier being eliminated by Maven, while Conway was thrown out by Gene Snitsky. Chris Benoit and Edge won the battle royal, as both were eliminated at the same time. Later that night, La Resistance was granted another shot at the Tag-Team Titles, taking on Regal & Eugene. La Resistance seemed to have it in hand near the end, as they set up Eugene for the Au Revoir. But Regal tripped them up from the outside, allowing Eugene to get a Stone Cold Stunner and win the match, keeping the belts away from La Resistance. The team then took some time off, disappearing from Raw for the last few weeks of '04.

2005

On the first Raw of the year, Grenier was given a non-title match against the Intercontinental Champ, Shelton Benjamin, with Conway helping out. But Benjamin used miscues by both men against them in the match. At one point, while Conway was distracting Benjamin, Grenier got a dropkick in from behind. But this sent Benjamin into Conway, knocking him down. When Grenier tried to apologize, Benjamin came back and attacked, taking out Conway, then beating Grenier with the T-Bone Suplex for the victory. The next weekend, neither Grenier nor Conway made an impact on the New Years Revolution pay-per-view, losing a Sunday Night Heat match to Rosey & the Hurricane. But it was still an important night for the team, as, during the tag-team title defense, Eugene badly injured his knee, putting him on the shelf. It was later arranged at a Canadian WWE house show that William Regal, with Jonathan Coachman as his partner, would have to defend the tag-team titles against La Resistance. Coachman didn't help at all, leaving Regal in a double-team situation that he couldn't win. Thus, at a house show, Grenier & Conway gained the Raw Tag Titles for the third time, with Grenier starting his fourth reign with the belts.

The team celebrated on the next Raw, showing off their tag-team titles, and joined with Maven in a match against Shelton Benjamin, the Hurricane, & Rosey. While Benjamin was distracted by Maven and the Hurricane was down, La Resistance got in the double-team and amazingly got the Au Revoir finisher on the huge Rosey, winning the match. A week later, La Resistance went to Eric Bischoff to ask for both of them to be entered into the '05 Royal Rumble match. They were interrupted by Batista, who told Bischoff he accepted the offer of a qualifying match. La Resistance were quick to say that a Handicap Match between them and Batista should be arranged, with the winner getting into the Rumble. While Bischoff was skeptical, Batista was not, accepting the match. Conway then threatened to shove their flag down Batista's throat. Batista threatened to put it somewhere else. In the match, despite the double-team, La Resistance couldn't put Batista away. Eventually, Batista slammed one on top of the other, then made the cover, making it into the Rumble. Batista then fulfilled his promise, grabbing the flag and sticking it between Conway's legs.

Things got worse for La Resistance in the near future. Not only did they not appear at the Rumble, they were forced to defend their Tag Titles against William Regal & Tajiri in Tajiri's home country of Japan (the first ever Raw broadcast from there). The home turf advantage was too much for La Resistance, as Tajiri & Regal took away the belts. La Resistance quickly demanded their rematch, and got it on the next Raw. Once again, though, Tajiri & Regal proved to be the stronger team, keeping La Resistance from reclaiming the gold.

Pay-Per-View Summary: (5 - 8)
- WWE Insurrextion '03 (June 7) = La Resistance (Grenier & Renee Dupree) fell to the WWE Raw Tag Champs, Rob Van Dam & Kane.
- WWE Bad Blood (June 15, '03) = La Resistance won the WWE Raw Tag Titles, beating Rob Van Dam & Kane.
- WWE Summerslam '03 = La Resistance stayed the WWE Raw Tag Champs, winning over the Dudley Boyz.
- WWE Unforgiven '03 (September 21) = La Resistance & Rob Conway lost a "Handicap Tables" Match to the Dudley Boyz, who won the Raw Tag-Team Titles.
- WWE Backlash '04 (April 18) = La Resistance (Grenier & Rob Conway) were beaten by Rosey & the Hurricane.
- WWE Bad Blood '04 (June 13) = La Resistance retained the WWE Raw Tag Titles, but lost, via DQ, to Chris Benoit & Edge.
- WWE Vengeance '04 (July 11) = La Resistance kept the WWE Raw Tag-Team Titles, winning, via DQ, over Ric Flair & Eugene.
- WWE Unforgiven '04 (September 12) = La Resistance stayed the WWE Raw Tag Champs, beating Tajiri & Rhyno.
- WWE Taboo Tuesday (October 19, '04) = La Resistance lost the WWE Raw Tag-Team Titles to Chris Benoit & Edge.
- WWE Survivor Series '04 (November 14, '04) = In a dark match, La Resistance won a "Non-Title" Match over Rosey & the Hurricane.
- WWE New Years Revolution (January 9, '05) = In a dark match, La Resistance were beaten by Rosey & the Hurricane.
- WWE Wrestlemania 21 (April 3, '05) = In a dark match, Grenier competed in a "Smackdown vs. Raw Battle Royal", which was won by Booker T.
- WWE Backlash '05 (May 1) = La Resistance competed in a "Tag-Team Turmoil Raw Tag-Team Title" Match, which was won by Rosey & the Hurricane. The other participants were William Regal & Tajiri, Simon Dean & Maven, and the Heart Throbs.

Title Summary:
- Funkin' Conservatory International Champion (??/??/??)
- WWE Raw World Tag-Team Champion w/ Renee Dupree (6/15/03 - 9/21/03)
- WWE Raw World Tag-Team Champion(2) w/ Rob Conway (5/31/04 - 10/19/04)
- WWE Raw World Tag-Team Champion(3) w/ Rob Conway (11/01/04 - 11/15/04)
- WWE Raw World Tag-Team Champion(4) w/ Rob Conway (1/16/05 - 2/04/05)

PWI Achievement Awards: (0 wins, 2 1st RUs, 0 2nd RUs, 0 3rd RUs)
- 2003 Rookie of the Year, 1st Runner-Up
- 2004 Tag-Team of the Year, 1st Runner-Up (La Resistance w/ Conway)