Maurice Vachon was successfully but was lost in the shuffle of many generic, yet talented, professional wrestlers. To make his mark, Vachon bulked up to 225lbs, shaved his head bald, grew a goatee and took on a heel persona. Ever the promotional genius, Vachon used his own money to purchase TV time prior to wrestling appearances where he would cut heelish promos, forever changing the way professional wrestling heels did business. When in the ring, Vachon cast aside his pure technical wrestling abilities in favour of vicious, hardcore brawling, completing with foreign objects and even biting and would finish his opponents off with the most dangerous move in wrestling, at that time, the pile-driver. It was Don Owen, the NWA Promoter out of Portland Oregon, who gave Maurice Vachon his famous nick-name "Mad Dog". Soon after, "Mad Dog" Vachon brought in his little brother, Paul, who became "The Butcher" Vachon and together they won the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship in February of 1959.

    "Mad Dog" Vachon moved on to the American Wrestling Association which was now being promoted by his old friend Verne Gagne. Vachon quickly became a top draw for the AWA and found himself across the ring from the AWA Champion, who also happened to be Verne Gagne. The two would wrestle several classics and in May of 1964, Vachon pinned Gagne to become the new AWA World Heavyweight Champion. Gagne regained the title and Vachon took it back for a second, third, fourth and fifth time, battling Gagne, Dick the Bruiser and other AWA standouts along the way. Gagne ended Vachon's AWA Title dynasty for good in February of 1967, sending Vachon back to Canada where he enjoyed two reigns as the IWA International Heavyweight Champion and began a classic feud with the great Johnny Rougeau and soon after began promoting his own events there. Vachon returned to the AWA alongside his brother "Butcher" Vachon to feud with the Crusher and the Bruiser over the AWA World Tag Team Championship and in August of 1969, they captured the AWA World Tag Team Titles from them. The Vachons' matches with the Crusher and the Bruiser would break new ground in violent, bloody, and extreme wrestling.

    "Mad Dog" made a semi-permanent home for himself in the AWA and soon brought in his sister, Vivian and neice Luna as well. The Vachon family became a centre-piece in the AWA and by the late 1970s, the fans began to change their minds about the violent "Mad Dog" and began cheering him. Vachon formed an alliance with Verne Gagne, ending a decades long feud, and defeated Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens to become the new AWA World Tag Team Champions in 1979, holding the titles for a year until Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis took them away.

    "Mad Dog" Vachon was one of many AWA superstars who jumped ship to Vince McMahon's emerging World Wrestling Federation in 1984, but his run there failed. Vachon moved back to the AWA in 1985 to help Rick Martel in his battles with Boris Zhukov before retiring in September of 1986. Vachon would suffer a devestating injury, being victimized by a hit-and-run driver in Quebec, Canada. He made a galant comeback to public life, becoming a media darling with several endorsement deals in his native Quebec. Vachon continued to make the occasional wrestling appearance, though not as a wrestler as the hit-and-run caused him to lose one of his legs. Vachon even appeared in the WWF in 1996 where Kevin Nash ripped off his prosthetic leg to use against WWF Champion Shawn Michaels in a main event match.

    Mad Dog Vachon was one of a kind and a Canadian wrestling megastar, helping lay the groundwork for one of the most successful wrestling families of all time with his brother Paul "Butcher" Vachon, Vivian Vachon, and neice Luna Vachon making exceptional careers in their own right. Congratulations, Mad Dog, you are a UWOW Hall of Famer!