Montreal wrestling legend Jacques Rougeau reportedly caused a backstage scene at AEW Redemption.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at F4WOnline.com, Dave Meltzer detailed an incident involving Rougeau at the July 26 pay-per-view. Rougeau and his brother Raymond were honored during the pre-show in an in-ring segment celebrating the family’s contributions to wrestling, but the tribute reportedly didn’t go as planned behind the scenes.
According to Meltzer, Rougeau became upset after AEW declined to air a tribute video that he had provided for the ceremony. The report states the video could not be used because it was too long, included footage and music AEW did not have the rights to use, and also featured AI-generated content that the company did not want to air.
“This part was confirmed,” Meltzer wrote. “The reason the ceremony didn’t even have a video is because Jacques told AEW he’d take care of that. He gave them a video to play.”
He continued by explaining why the company ultimately rejected it.
“Unfortunately, the video was too long, had footage that AEW didn’t have rights to, music that AEW didn’t have rights to and some AI stuff in it that AEW didn’t want to use. There was no way it could be used and now it’s the day of the show with no time to do anything else, so there was no video.”
Meltzer added that the situation escalated backstage.
“Multiple sources said Jacques was throwing a tantrum backstage over that,” he continued.
According to the report, an AEW official eventually intervened.
“He was told by one AEW official to calm down or they’d have to kick him out.”
Rougeau also received a notably negative reaction from the Montreal crowd during the pre-show ceremony despite the event taking place in his hometown.
“Jacques started talking and was booed heavily,” Meltzer noted.
Meltzer wrote that while Rougeau remains a well-known figure in Montreal due to his family’s legacy and decades in the wrestling business, he has also developed a poor reputation locally.
“While Jacques is very well known in town because of the family and his long tenure as a local wrestling celebrity in a market where wrestling is more mainstream than most North American cities, he’s also developed a bad reputation particularly in the area’s wrestling world.”
He wasn’t done there.
“There was just a recent incident we covered not that many weeks ago. But there are local stories like that going back decades. He’s done so many retirement matches that local media doesn’t trust him. Many area independent wrestlers want nothing to do with shows he’s involved with.”
For those interested, you can check out our complete AEW Redemption Results 7/26/26 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
“This has been an 80-year love story between the Rougeau family and fans all around the world!”
Watch the #AEWRedemption Buy In LIVE on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/aaNgWtHxBD
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 26, 2026
The Rougeau family takes center stage as Montreal celebrates 80 years of the legendary Rougeau Wrestling Dynasty
Watch the #AEWRedemption Buy In LIVE on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/heImxF836Y
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 26, 2026
