Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jonathan Anthony Wisniski |
Born | Seattle, Washington, U.S.[1] | September 20, 1951
Spouse(s) |
Julie Wisniski (m. 1995) |
Children | 2 |
Family | |
Debut | April 24, 1970 |
Retired | 2019 |
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40
Early life
Born in
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1970–1976)
Wisniski was trained to wrestle by
Initially reluctant to take his father's
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1976–1978)
In August 1976, Valentine debuted in
Valentine then formed a
Flair and Valentine regained the tag titles from the Andersons on October 30, this time leaving Ole unable to leave under his own power. The team split after they were stripped of the titles in April 1978 by NWA president
At the same time, Valentine feuded with Chief Wahoo McDaniel over the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. Wahoo had cost Valentine and Flair their first tag team championships (Wahoo, the then-nemesis of Flair, had been the special referee in the steel cage match), so Valentine was eager for revenge. On June 11, 1977, in Raleigh he defeated Wahoo, breaking his leg in the process. Though Wahoo's legs were too thick for Valentine to apply his signature Figure Four leglock, he managed to break Wahoo's ankle using a leg/ankle suplex. The heel Valentine then began wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "I broke Wahoo's leg" on the front and "No more Wahoo" on the back. Wahoo returned on August 9, 1977, and took back the title. Valentine would hold the title once more, defeating Wahoo again on September 10 and losing to Ken Patera on April 9, 1978.
World Wide Wrestling Federation (1978–1979)
Valentine began working on a casual basis for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), then owned by Vincent J. McMahon, in November 1978. Managed by The Grand Wizard, he was given the gimmick of a methodical wrestler who broke the legs of all his opponents, including Chief Jay Strongbow. In February 1979, he wrestled then WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund to a one-hour time-limit draw at Madison Square Garden.[3]
Return to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1979–1981)
Valentine returned to the NWA in late 1979 and asked Flair to reform their tag team. Flair, by then a face, declined. Valentine held the NWA World Tag Team Championship once more with Ray Stevens in 1980. Four days after their victory, the promoter, David Crockett told Valentine and Stevens that he possessed film which proved that the illegal man had been pinned in the tag match, nullifying the win. When Crockett threatened to send the film to NWA president Bob Geigel who said he would overturn their victory, Stevens and Valentine attacked him and cut the film up with a pocketknife, destroying the evidence.
Valentine later claimed to have "seen the light", and re-formed his team with Flair, who believed that Valentine was now a face. In a tag match against Jimmy Snuka and the Iron Sheik, Valentine abandoned Flair, leaving him outnumbered. Flair was beaten, and then Valentine snapped Gene Anderson's hickory cane over Flair's head, legitimately breaking his nose and splitting his lips. The former partners began feuding over Flair's NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, with Valentine finally defeating Flair for the title on July 26 in Flair's adopted hometown of Charlotte. He held the title until November 24, when he was beaten by Flair; Flair became one of Valentine's main opponents in the Mid-Atlantic territory.
World Wrestling Federation (1981–1982)
Valentine returned to the WWF, now known as the World Wrestling Federation, for a year in 1981 and continued to pursue the title. On October 19, he was pinned by Backlund, but then handed the title belt by the dazed referee.
He also feuded with Pedro Morales over the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, who he "injured" by suplexing him on the concrete floor of the arena. Valentine was not successful in winning this title either, and in mid-1982 left the promotion.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1982–1984)
Valentine would hold the United States Championship twice more, renewing his feud with Wahoo in 1982 and defeating him for the title on November 4 with the assistance of his
World Wrestling Federation (1984–1992)
Intercontinental Champion (1984–1985)
Valentine went back to the WWF in 1984, predicting that Vince McMahon's plan for national expansion would succeed. His first manager was Captain Lou Albano, and he was later managed by Jimmy Hart.
On September 24, 1984, in
The Dream Team (1985–1987)
Valentine would then form a tag team with
Replacing Beefcake with Dino Bravo, Valentine formed
Feuds with Don Muraco and Ron Garvin (1988–1990)
Valentine was entered in the WWF World Heavyweight Championship tournament at WrestleMania IV, where he defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in the first round before losing to "Macho Man" Randy Savage, the eventual winner of the tournament, in the quarter-finals.
In May 1988, Jimmy Hart fitted Valentine's left shin with a shin guard, citing a mysterious injury to his wrestler, and proclaiming the shin guard as Valentine's "road to the gold."
Later in 1988, Valentine feuded with
In April 1989 he began feuding with
For some time Valentine had been wearing a shin guard, which he would rotate (so it covered his calf, not his shin) in order to increase the pressure exerted by the Figure Four Leglock. He referred to the shin guard as the "Heartbreaker". Valentine would also (illegally) attach the shin guard to his arm in order to accentuate his
Rhythm and Blues (1990–1991)
Shortly after, Valentine formed a tag team with The Honky Tonk Man. For around eight months Valentine resisted dying his hair black (an idea of
In mid December his partner The Honky Tonk Man departed the World Wrestling Federation. An angle was recorded on December 28, 1990, at Madison Square Garden where he was defeated by
Babyface run (1991–1992)
On January 19, 1991, Valentine participated in the fourth annual Royal Rumble match. He lasted forty four minutes. On the February 17, 1991 edition of
Universal Wrestling Federation (1991)
World Championship Wrestling (1992)
Conscious of his diminishing status, Valentine left the WWF and signed with
Valentine faced Dustin Rhodes on multiple house shows that summer and was winless. While in this series, Valentine also began to regularly team with Dick Slater. The duo wrestled The Freebirds and Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes. On
World Wrestling Federation (1993–1994)
He reappeared in the WWF at the 1993 Survivor Series under a mask as The Blue Knight in an elimination match pitting Shawn Michaels (who was substituting for Jerry Lawler) and his three "knights" (who also included Barry Horowitz as the Red Knight and Jeff Gaylord as the Black Knight) against the Hart Family. He would return again, as Greg Valentine, at the 1994 Royal Rumble, lasting over twenty minutes before being eliminated by Rick Martel. That summer Valentine would wrestle three times on a July house show tour, facing Bob Backlund on each occasion.[15]
Independent circuit (1994–1996)
Valentine went on to tour the independent circuit, wrestling in Japan, with the Hamilton based International Championship Wrestling promotion and with the American Wrestling Federation.
World Championship Wrestling (1996–1998)
Starting in the summer of 1996, Valentine made several appearances with WCW over the course of the next two years. He was used on a pay-per-appearance basis, but was rarely utilized and was allowed to continue wrestling on the independent circuit. On July 1, 1996, Valentine faced Randy Savage on WCW Monday Nitro in Landover, Maryland. Valentine was used primarily on television, facing The Giant, Harlem Heat, and Lex Luger.[16] The following year he was used sparingly as well, again on television but had a 6–2 record, defeating Mike Enos, Bobby Eaton, and Billy Kidman. Valentine wrestled four times for the promotion in 1998 and was 3–1. He finished his WCW run with a victory over Pat Tanaka on February 17, 1998.[17]
Late career (1998–2019)
On October 10, 1999, he appeared on the infamous
On March 13, 2004, Valentine was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004 by his former manager Jimmy Hart. The following night, at WrestleMania XX at Madison Square Garden, Valentine received loud applause when the class of 2004 was introduced. Shortly after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Valentine dedicated the plaque he received to his late father by saying: "This one's for you pop, Johnny Valentine".
On January 29, 2005, at WrestleReunion, Valentine won a seventeen-man battle royal to become the IWA Heavyweight Champion. He lost the title to Tito Santana at WrestleReunion #2 on August 27 of that year. Valentine also wrestled for several independent promotions, including AWA Superstars of Wrestling, which toured New England. In AWA Superstars of Wrestling, Valentine regularly wrestled Tony Atlas.
On October 3, 2005, Valentine made an appearance at
In May 2007, Valentine defeated Quinson Valentino to win the Canadian Grand-Prix Wrestling Championship in Morrisburg, Ontario. On August 24, 2007, Valentine returned to Ontario to defend the CGPW Championship against Koko B. Ware in Cornwall, after Koko defeated Valentine in a non-title match, on the previous night, in Ottawa. Valentine was successful in defeating Koko in Cornwall, though the title was vacated due to inactivity.
In late 2007, Valentine made an appearance in JCW or Juggalo Championship Wrestling reforming the Dream Team with Brutus Beefcake. in an 8 team elimination match for the then vacant JCW Tag-Team Titles. Where they were the first team to be eliminated after a slightly botched sunset flip from Necro Butcher.
Valentine was present at the retirement ceremony of his long-time friend, Ric Flair, on the March 31, 2008 episode of WWE Raw.
On January 29, 2011, Valentine was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling "Hall of Fame" by Jack Blaze in Wheeling, West Virginia, at their annual "LPW Over The Edge" event. Valentine competed in two matches during 2018, both being tag team matches.[18]
Personal life
Greg married Julie on February 14, 1995. He had two daughters, Vanessa and Romaine, with his first wife, who once appeared on WWF TV in 1984 to give Valentine a back rub, which he claimed was the secret of his success. Vanessa began training with the Hart Brothers in the late 1990s. Vanessa died of cancer in 2014.
Media
Valentine has appeared on an episode of Hogan Knows Best as one of Hulk's party guests. He also co-starred in Fuse's Insane Clown Posse Theater along with Insane Clown Posse members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. The cast was rounded out with Michelle "Sugar Slam" Rapp, Kevin Gill, and Vampiro. Valentine played an usher who ejected guests from the theater when their time is up on the show.
He appeared as a playable character on Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II, WWE Day of Reckoning, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling and WWE Legends of WrestleMania. He was also downloadable content in WWE 2K17 and also appears in WWE 2K18 along with Brutus Beefcake as The Dream Team. He also appears in WWE 2K19.
In 2008 Valentine co-starred with George "The Animal" Steele in a short film entitled Somethin Fishy, in which the two former wrestlers purchase a fishing camp. The film served as the pilot for a comedy series that was not developed further.[23]
Legacy
British wrestler Steve Crabtree (the son of promoter
Championships and accomplishments
- Alabama Wrestling Federation
- AWF Heavyweight Championship
- AWF Tag Team Championship - with Brutus Beefcake[26]
- American Wrestling Association
- AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Jerry Miller[27]
- American Wrestling Federation
- Bad Boys of Wrestling
- BBOW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[28]
- Canadian Grand-Prix Wrestling
- CGPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Men's Wrestling Award (2018)[29]
- International World Class Championship Wrestling
- International Wrestling Association
- IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[28]
- Legends Pro Wrestling
- LPW Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
- Maple Leaf Wrestling
- 1 time)[31]
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / World Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[32]
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ric Flair[33]
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (2 times)[34][35]
- NWA Television Championship (2 times)[34]
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[36]
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (4 times) - with Baron von Raschke (1), Ray Stevens (1), and Ric Flair (2)[37]
- 1 time) - with Terry Taylor[38]
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- New England Wrestling Alliance
- NEWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2013)
- North State Wrestling Alliance
- NSWA Great Lakes Television Championship (1 time)
- NSWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Honky Tonk Man
- NWA Texas
- NWA Tri-State
- 2 times) - with Bill Watts (1) and Gorgeous George Jr. (1)[43]
- National Wrestling Federation
- NWF World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Don Fargo[44]
- Prime Wrestling
- Prime Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jim Neidhart[45]
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2016[46]
- Portland Wrestling
- Portland Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[28]
- Professional Wrestling Federation
- PWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[28]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Pro Wrestling Ohio
- PWO Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jim Neidhart
- Pro Wrestling Revolution
- PWR Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[49]
- Western States Sports
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Don Fargo[50]
- Windy City Pro Wrestling
- WCPW League Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[28]
- World Wrestling Council
- World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
See also
- The Dream Team
- Rhythm and Blues
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Greg Valentine profile". Online World of Wrestling. April 27, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Greg Valentine". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5.
- ^ "Greg Valentine Reveals His Favorite WWE Superstar, Would His Stiff Style Work Today, Ronnie Garvin - WrestlingInc.com". WrestlingInc.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- ^ Why Don Muraco BEGGED The WWF Not To Suspend Greg Valentine - Inside Wrestling November 1988)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Herb Abram's Universal Wrestling Federation Cards". www.prowrestlinghistory.com.
- ^ "Kayfabe, Lies and Alibis: Greg Valentine Shoot Interview". CXF | Culture Crossfire | culturecrossfire.com. August 1, 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 14, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Matches « Greg Valentine « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on April 25, 2015.
- ^ "The Fabulous Fargo Brothers Reunite!", by Paul Stratori, Pro Wrestling Digest, June 1, 2014
- ^ "Mid-Atlantic Gateway | Greg Valentine Interview Part 4". May 20, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011.
- ^ "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- ^ "Top 15 Wrestlers You Didn't Realize Were Related". January 5, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "Somethin Fishy Film Pilot". YouTube.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ ITV Wrestling 1986, JN Lister retrieved 2023-12-10
- ^ "The Crabtree Family". Wrestling Heritage. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ littlebub65 (July 21, 2013), WWE LEGENDS GREG VALENTINE & BRUTUS BEEFCAKE JULY 20 2103 PROMO FOR AWF MOBILE ALABAMA, archived from the original on November 17, 2021, retrieved June 9, 2018
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ AWA Midwest Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Greg Valentine To Receive a 2018 Men's Wrestling Award | Cauliflower Alley Club". www.caulifloweralleyclub.org. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- ^ ICW/IWCCW Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title (Toronto) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ a b NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title history Archived 2008-04-12 at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ Hoops, Brian (January 19, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/19): Ric Flair wins WWF title in 1992 Royal Rumble". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA World Tag Team Title (Mid-Atlantic/WCW) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA/WCW United States Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ a b NWA North American Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ Wrestle America Magazine, spring 1995 issue, p.55.
- ^ NWA Americas Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Beat the Champ Television Title (Los Angeles) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA United States Tag Team Title (Tri-State version) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWF World Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ "Title History: Prime Tag Team Championship". Prime Wrestling. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
- ^ "PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME MOVING FROM UPSTATE NEW YORK TO TEXAS". PWInsider. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^ "PWI 500 1992". The Turnbuckle Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on October 14, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "PWR Battle Zone 2008". Pro Wrestling Revolution. May 17, 2008. Archived from the original on May 26, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ NWA Western States Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ Caribbean Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ WWC Universal Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ WWF/WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ WWWF/WWF/WWE World Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ WWF/WWE Hall of Fame Inductees At wrestling-titles.com
External links
- Greg Valentine on WWE.com
- Greg Valentine at IMDb
- Greg Valentine's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database