Archie Gouldie, The Legendary Mongolian Stomper, Passes Away at 71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS6mMfTrOWU

A number of wrestling personalities and reporters have confirmed that legendary pro wrestler Archie Gouldie, best known as The Mongolian Stomper in the United States and Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie in Canada, has passed away. He was 71 years old.

Gouldie is a unique figure in that he was among the biggest heel stars ever in a few different territories, but he had two completely different personas in which he achieved that status. In the United States, he was always The Mongolian Stomper, a crazed mute brawler who didn’t understand English.As Jim Cornette noted in the above tweet, he was one of the scariest heels of all-time, giving off a sense of unhinged menace that few others in wrestling could touch. But…he had one vulnerability: An inner-ear condition exacerbated by the fans’ boos.

While he travelled throughout the south, his biggest runs were in east Tennessee, where he eventually settled after he retired. He was always flanked by a manager, going through many depending on the territory. The Stomper started J.J. Dillon’s managerial career after Bearcat Wright abandoned him in Memphis, resulting in him briefly killing the gimmick by doing his own promos.

One of the scariest heels ever, the Mongolian Stomper, has passed. I was still scared of him when he worked for me in SMW! #RIPArchie

— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) January 23, 2016

The other place where The Stomper was a huge star as a heel was in Calgary for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling. He was still scary, just in a completely different way. The mute Mongolian wildman gimmick was something he stuck with in the States because he drew money with it, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t talk. He was actually an incredible promo, arguably the most underrated in the history of pro wrestling, in that he’s not usually spoken of among the best in the business. Calgary was where he broke in, returning for training after Stu stretched him as an overzealous fan, and he soon became the most legendary heel in the territory’s history.

Bret Hart has spoken of a promo that scared him half to death as a kid, where The Stomper, feuding with his father, threatened to drive to Hart House, tear the mansion down brick by brick, and piledrive Bret’s mother, Helen, on the driveway. Yes, he was terrifying. Still, his single most remembered moment is probably his babyface turn, which is at the top of this article. The future Tommy Lane (of the Rock ‘n’ Roll RPMs) was brought in as his son, Jeff Gouldie, only for Bad News Allen, the latest terrifying heel in Stampede, to turn on them and cripple Jeff with a piledriver. Goudlie’s promo was chilling; no longer The Stomper, he was just a father like many viewers at home, horrified over letting his son wrestle and vowing revenge. It should have popped business, but there was a near-riot at the show (note how Gouldie is interviewed in an empty arena after the event ends), announcer Ed Whalen quit on the air (not shown in the version on YouTube), and Stampede was temporarily banned from Calgary.

In the ’90s, Jim Cornette occasionally brought The Mongolian Stomper in as a special attraction local legend babyface. Gouldie had settled in the area, working various law enforcement jobs and staying in shape by biking long distances.

Our condolences go out to Archie’s family and friends.