Three-Time WWE Tag Team Champion Announces Retirement

Former WWE talent Carl Ouellet, 43, announced his retirement from professional wrestling Tuesday during an interview with the largest radio station in Quebec, CKAC. He had not wrestled since June, in a match against TNA Wrestling star Desmond Wolfe.

Ouellet, who began wrestling professionally in 1987, competed under a variety of alias over the course of his 24-year wrestling career including Pierre-Carl Ouellette (or Ouellet), Pierre of the Quebecers and Jean-Pierre Lafitte. He worked for four of largest promotions in the United States; World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Ouellet is a three-time WWE World Tag Team Champion, having won the strap three times with Jacques Rougeau in 1993 and 1994. He also won the WCW Hardcore Championship during his brief stint with World Championship Wrestling in August 2000.

Ouellet confirmed to SLAM! Wrestling today that his wrestling career is over.

"I wrestled in more than 30 countries, on all five continents. I was three-time WWE tag team champion, I've wrestled against the best of my era and for all the major promotions," Ouellet said. "When you choose wrestling as your career, you don't have space for anything else in your life. Wrestling becomes your life. But after a while, you realize that there is more than wrestling. I have other projects I want to work on, but I couldn't invest myself 100% in those with wrestling still around."

Following an extensive stint overseas during the latter portion of his career, Ouellet declared during an interview with SLAM! Wrestling that he would like another run with WWE. He worked a few tryout matches in 2007, but was not hired. Ouellet claimed during a 2009 interview with Monday Night Mayhem that Vince McMahon shoved him into wall backstage after attempting to thank him for giving him another opportunity.

"After the show, I asked Mike Rotunda, I said, 'Should I wait for their phone call or should I wait and thank Vince for the opportunity?' Mike said, 'No Carl. You should wait for Vince and thank him. So it'll be fresh in his memory, you know? ' So I'm just waiting at the end of the SmackDown show. He's coming out and it's maybe 12:30 or 1 a.m. And I go, "Vince, I just want to?" And he shoved me into the wall like I was a piece of crap. I felt pretty bad."

Ouellet wrestled throughout his career with a glass eye. He lost his right eye at the age of twelve when a friend accidentally shot him in the eye with a pellet gun.