Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine | |
---|---|
Birth name | John Theodore Wisniski |
Born | Maple Valley, Washington, United States[1] | September 22, 1928
Died | April 24, 2001[1] River Oaks, Texas, United States | (aged 72)
Children | Greg Valentine |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | The Big O[2] Johnny Valentine[1] |
Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[1] |
Billed weight | 255 lb (116 kg)[1] |
Trained by | Stanislaus Zbyszko Wladek Zbyszko |
Debut | 1947 |
Retired | 1975[1] |
John Theodore Wisniski
He held numerous regional titles, including the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. He had long running rivalries with
In 1975, he was injured in a plane crash; he suffered a broken back and was forced to retire from wrestling. He worked briefly as a manager before retiring altogether. He suffered from several health problems during his retirement, which worsened considerably after a fall in 2000. He died the following year.
Professional wrestling career
Valentine debuted as a professional wrestler in 1947, wrestling Karl Nowena in
In Toronto, Valentine and three different partners won the International Tag Team title during 1963. Valentine left the territory without
Valentine then moved on to the
In the
In
After his paralysis, he remained active in professional wrestling as a
Personal life
Valentine was originally from
On October 4, 1975, Valentine was in a private airplane[13] (a twin-engined Cessna 310[14]) with
In August 2000, Valentine fell from his front porch, and had a number of injuries and complications. These included a fractured back, pneumonia, staph infection, collapsed lungs and kidney failure.[16] Due to his many injuries he slipped into a coma. At one point he came out of it while his wife was singing to him. He began singing himself but fell back into the coma. His wife had purchased medical insurance through a health maintenance organization (HMO), but the organization was unwilling to pay for Wisniski's extended stay in the hospital.[9] As a result, Lou Thesz's wife convinced the Cauliflower Alley Club to help contribute to Wisniski's medical bills. Those medical bills reached close to a million dollars.
Valentine has been recognized for his wrestling career by several sources. Shortly after his death, he was named the 2001 recipient of
Valentine died peacefully in River Oaks, Texas on April 24, 2001. He was 72.[1] His wife Sharon kept his ashes in her bedroom. She died in 2013.
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Time Wrestling (Boston)
- BTW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[21]
- World Wide Wrestling Federation
- NWA United States Television Championship (5 times, inaugural)[22]
- “Cowboy” Bob Ellis (1), and Dr. Jerry Graham(1)
- Tony Parisi
- L&G Promotions
- IHW Entertainment
- Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)
- International Wrestling Association (Chicago)
- IWA International Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) (1 time)
- International Wrestling Association (Montreal)
- Maple Leaf Wrestling
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Toronto version) (5 times) – with Bulldog Brower (1), The Beast (1), Jim Hady (1), and Whipper Billy Watson (2)
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (7 times)
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (1 time) – with Chet Wallick
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)[26]
- NWA Los Angeles
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1973)[27]
- PWI Stanley Weston Award(awarded posthumously) in 2001
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2006[19]
- Southwest Sports, Inc. / NWA Big Time Wrestling
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (5 times)[28][29]
- NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[30][31]
- NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (9 times)[34][35]
- NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Eddie Graham[36][37]
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Texas version) (1 time)1
- St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2007
- Stampede Wrestling
- 2 times)
- Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)[39][18]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
1This championship would be renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968. It would go on to be renamed the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship after World Class' withdrawal from the NWA in February 1986.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Molinaro, John F. "Johnny Valentine passes away". SLAM! Wrestling.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Wrestler Profiles". Online World of Wrestling Wrestler Profiles. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Johnny Valentine; Plane Crash Cut Short Pro Wrestler's Career". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. 2001-05-09. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ISBN 1-58261-817-8.
- ^ ISBN 1-58261-817-8.
- ^ a b Deem, Roger. "History of the Missouri State Championship". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- ISBN 1-55022-684-3.
- ISBN 1-58261-817-8.
- ^ a b Molinaro, John F. (2000-12-21). "Johnny Valentine's fight for life". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ Molinaro, John M. (2001-06-21). "Sharon Valentine talks about her love for Johnny Valentine". SLAM! Sadly ill health and her eventual death prevented the release. Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ Oliver, Greg (2001-04-24). "Flair, friends remember Johnny Valentine". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ "Interview: Tommy Young - Part 3". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. 2003-06-10. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- ^ a b c d Slagle, Steve. "Johnny Valentine". Professional Wrestling Online Museum. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ a b c John F. Molinaro (2000-12-28). "The plane crash that changed wrestling. It's been 25 years since Valentine, Flair, Woods, Crockett went down" (ymd). Slam! Sports. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ Chris Sokol; Greg Oliver (2006). "Johnny Valentine". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ Denny Burkholder (2001-04-24). "Celebrity Deathwatch: John Valentine Sr., Pro Wrestler Johnny Valentine, 72". Celebrity Deathwatch Mailing List. slick.org. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
He slipped into a coma, coming out of it once when his wife was singing. He sang along until he fell into the coma again.
- ^ "Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ a b "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ a b "Hall of Famers". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ "Hall of Fame". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ "United States Heavyweight Title (Massachusetts)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Archived from the original on 2020-11-17.
- ^ "United States Television Title - Capitol Wrestling". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (July 17, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history, Kangaroos, Gagne vs. Kiniski in Hawaii, Gordy wins Triple Crown, Hogan wins WCW title from Flair at Bash at the Beach, famous Punk vs. Cena Chicago bout". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (July 12, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 12): Gagne, Bruiser & Crusher, Ladd wins Americas title, 1992 Bash with Sting vs. Vader". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Gerweck, Steve (2011-11-14). "NWA Hall of Fame Class for 2011 announced". WrestleView. Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Inspirational Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Texas Brass Knucks Title [East Texas]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-9698161-5-7.
- ^ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990". Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart. Event occurs at 15:38. Shaw Cable. Calgary 7.
External links
- See "Crash finished Seattle man's career on mat"
- Johnny Valentine's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database