Vince McMahon, Sr.
Though Lutte Internationale was enjoying unprecedented success in Quebec, WWF promoter Vince McMahon began pushing into Canada as part of its national expansion efforts in the early 1980s. In early 1984, the WWF drove George Cannon's "Superstars of Wrestling" promotion out of business and took over its television series on CFCF 12. By the end of the year, the WWF had purchased Toronto's Maple Leaf Wrestling and Calgary's Stampede Wrestling. McMahon then turned his attention to the outlaw promotion in Montreal. While Promotions Varoussac had a co-promotional agreement with Vince McMahon, Sr. to import WWWF stars, McMahon, Jr. did not continue this arrangement. Lutte Internationale no longer needed the WWF due to its own popularity but Brito decided to negotiate a talent exchange with Verne Gagne and the American Wrestling Association based in Minneapolis. This allowed the promotion to later benefit from the AWA's association with Pro Wrestling USA and bring in top U.S. stars such as Butch Reed, Jimmy Garvin, Tom Zenk, The Tonga Kid, and The Road Warriors. Several young up-and-coming wrestlers including Bruno Sammartino Jr., Mike Rotunda, Mike Shaw and Rick Steiner also spent time in Montreal.