Breaking into the business with Johnny Rougeau's All-Star Wrestling promotion in 1971, it became clear that Bravo wouldn't be spending too much time at the bottom of the card. Jumping to the rival Grand Prix Wrestling circuit in 1972, he formed the immensely successful "Italian Connection" tag team along with fellow All-Star defector Gino Brito - the two billed as "cousins." They pretty much ruled the Grand Prix tag division on and off for three years, until the promotion's demise. The team then moved on to the short-lived Ohio-based IWA promotion in 1975 before Dino and Gino split up and went their separate ways.

Strangely enough, both men would go on to hold a share of the WWWF tag team championship, albeit with different partners. Brito (as Louis Cerdan) had a good run up to mid-1976 with fellow local hero Tony Parisi, beating former Grand Prix stars The Blackjacks, and losing to the masked Executioners - who, under the hoods, were ex-Grand Prix stalwarts Killer Kowalski and John Studd (he was billed as Chuck O'Connor here early in his career). In early 1978, Bravo enjoyed a three month reign with familiar face Domenic DeNucci. They wound up dropping the belts to Yukon Lumberjacks Pierre (better known here for years as Maxime Zarinoff Lebouef) and Eric (who would go on to fame as Scott Irwin, one half of The Long Riders). Towards the end of the decade, Bravo wrestled throughout North America in an attempt to establish himself as a singles star and was really starting to make some headway in areas like Toronto, while Brito stayed closer to home and began to lay plans to enter the promotional field.

Winning championships throughout the mid-70's in places like New Zealand (where he first feuded with a big blond cowboy by the name of Stan Hansen) and Hawaii, Martel really started to elevate himself during a stint in the southern U.S., wrestling alongside the likes of Tommy Rich and Mr. Wrestling II. Like Dino Bravo before him, this led to a great stint in the WWF starting in 1980 where he won the tag team titles with partner Tony Garea. Their first big feud was with The Moondogs, with Moondog King being better known here in Quebec as Sailor White. After his run with Garea ended in late 1981, Martel decided that the time was right to finally establish himself back home. Around that time the style of North American wrestling was changing to a more faster pace and both Bravo and Martel were at the cutting edge of this new breed. While Bravo was now established at the lead babyface in International Wrestling, Rick started out his run in the mid-card but quickly impressed Quebec fans with his energy and skill. When wrestling returned to the Montreal Forum for the first time in seven years on July 26th, 1982, Martel stole the show with a thrilling win over veteran Billy Robinson which got him a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. In the main event on the same card, a wild double-disqualification between Bravo and Abdullah The Butcher resulted in Dino being stripped of the International title. A tournament was organized to fill the vacancy and Martel, largely as a result of his impressive Forum bout with Robinson, was crowned champion. Although his reign only lasted a couple of months (he was defeated by Robinson) and is largely a forgotten chapter by wrestling fans nowadays, it was clear that Rick Martel had finally arrived as a main event force.

However, Dino Bravo was still the top dog in Quebec and a showdown seemed both logical and imminent. But promoters were traditionally leery of matching two babyfaces against each other during that era and it was clear at the time that neither man could successfully be turned heel. They were just too popular here. So, despite the big money that a Bravo-Martel series would draw, everyone involved was at an impasse over what to do. Ironically, it was a different game entirely - the game of hockey - that provided the answer. The rivalry between Montreal and Quebec City had always been somewhat of a one-sided affair. The provincial capital was generally regarded as a poor cousin to the larger, cosmopolitan Montreal. Even in hockey terms, Quebec City had to settle for the outlaw WHA while the Canadians had been ruling the NHL since the beginning of the century. Sure, by 1980 the Nordiques had barely managed to squeeze their way into the NHL (despite attempts by the Canadiens to block their entry), but Montrealers felt secure in the knowledge that it would take many years for their lesser brethren to field a competitive squad. But that day came sooner than anyone had imagined when the upstart Nordiques shocked the province by bouncing the Canadiens from the 1982 playoffs, thus turning their simmering rivalry into a full-scale feud.

For anyone who didn't live here in Quebec during that time, it's difficult to explain just how huge and vicious the Canadiens-Nordiques rivalry was, and how broadly it affected this province. Civic pride and sporting competition aside, both clubs were owned by competing breweries whose bitterness towards each other escalated to dramatic heights in the media and the marketplace. Furthermore, Quebec nationalist politicians latched onto the Nordiques, proclaiming them as an example of the valiant underdog fighting against the establishment, supposedly represented by the Canadiens. In an already charged atmosphere within the province, just about every gripe and argument was poured into the realm of hockey, with everybody choosing up sides and living vicariously through the Canadiens-Nordiques battle. What followed next on the pro wrestling front seemed only natural. 

As the summer of 1983 came to a close, Quebec City native Rick Martel dropped the bombshell on the local wrestling scene and challenged International champion Dino Bravo to a title match. It would be the first time that the two friends and frequent tag team partners would face each other in the ring. On the night of September 21st, over 16,000 fans jammed Le Colisee in Quebec City to witness the historic encounter. Legendary superstar Edouard Carpentier served as the special referee and the capacity crowd was clearly behind hometown boy Martel. Yes, for the first time in his career, Dino Bravo was booed as he made his way to the ring that fateful evening and he only made matters worse by wrestling in an aggressive manner and scoring a controversial pinfall victory with his feet draped on the ropes for leverage. In the weeks following the match, Martel cried foul on TV and Bravo accused his new rival of being a whiner and a sore loser. Although they were not really bitter enemies, it was clear they were no longer friends in the world of International Wrestling.

As the 1983-84 NHL season was about to begin, the hockey rivalry returned to the forefront even hotter than before and the Bravo-Martel saga went into a slow-burn mode for almost six months, both men occasionally sniping at each other while battling other opponents. Finally, as the NHL playoffs got underway, two return matches were signed for March 1984, one in each city, to settle the score once and for all.

The first bout took place in Quebec City on March 5th, with Martel failing to wrest the title from Bravo. The second match was fought one week later on March 12th before 11,400 screaming fans at the Montreal Forum. Former champion Pat O'Connor was the special guest referee and this time it was Dino Bravo who enjoyed the cheers of his hometown crowd while Rick Martel heard the chorus of catcalls directed his way for the first time in his career.

Once again, however, the results proved less than conclusive as both men were counted out of the ring following a furious battle. To add injury to insult, Martel had to be helped back to the dressing room after damaging his right leg at the end of the match. After three contests, Martel had failed to snare the International belt, yet Bravo had also failed to score a clean win over his rival. Nothing seemed truly settled and it appeared as though the feud was far from over. Little did anyone realize that all Hell was about to break loose on another front which wound up changing the Montreal-Quebec City rivalry forever.

Good Friday is one of the Holiest days of the Catholic calendar and, in 1984, it fell on April 20th. By coincidence, Game 6 of the hotly contested Adams Division semi-final playoff between the Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques was scheduled that evening at the Forum. While their rivalry had reached a fever pitch over the course of the season, nobody was prepared for what would happen that night. With the Nordiques leading 1-0 near the end of the second period, a wild brawl broke out with all of the players from each side leaping over the boards to fight it out with each other. The ensuing 15-minute war was probably the most savagely violent incident hockey fans had ever witnessed. When the dust settled, Montreal defenseman Jean Hamel was carried off the ice after a sucker-punch by Quebec enforcer Louis Sleigher had severely damaged his eye. Hamel would never play another NHL game. As if that wasn't sadistic enough, the two teams tore at each other again when they came out to play the final period. The Canadiens eventually came back to win the game and eliminate the Nordiques from the playoffs, but that almost didn't seem to matter at that point.

The events of April 20th made headlines all across North America and even those Quebecers who had grown accustomed to some of the more extreme rhetoric emanating from the feud were utterly shocked and appalled at the level of unbridled violence displayed on the ice that night. After that game, the Montreal-Quebec City rivalry never quite seemed the same. Three nights later on April 23rd, almost in an attempt to cool things off, Bravo teamed with Martel and Tony Parisi to defeat Abdullah The Butcher, Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell in a six-man tag team main event at the Forum, thus officially ending their own feud with a whimper as opposed to a bang.

Despite the fact that Martel was unable to unseat Bravo as the main man in Quebec, fate can often be a quirky thing. Less than one month later on May 13th, Rick defeated Jumbo Tsuruta in St.Paul, Minnesota to win the AWA World championship - a feat that Dino would never accomplish. A few years later, Martel would wind up buying out Frank Valois' share and became a co-owner of International Wrestling with Bravo (who had earlier bought out Andre's share) and Gino Brito.

Eventually, both Rick and Dino wound up in the WWF together but the two men would never again re-kindle their feud which captivated wrestling fans in Quebec for all too short a time. 

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