Johnny Valiant

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Johnny Valiant
Birth nameThomas Sullivan
Born(1946-11-25)November 25, 1946[1]
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
DiedApril 4, 2018(2018-04-04) (aged 71)
Ross Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.[2]
Cause of deathTraffic collision
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Johnny Valiant[1]
Luscious Johnny V[1]
John L. Sullivan[1]
Billed height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[3]
Billed weight245 lb (111 kg)[3]
Billed fromNew York City, New York[1]
Trained byAl Costello[1]
Debut1967[1]
Retired2006

John L. Sullivan (born Thomas Sullivan;

Dean Ho on May 8, 1974; his second title run was with his second storyline brother Jerry Valiant over Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko on March 6, 1979.[4][5]

Professional wrestling career

Sullivan grew up in Pittsburgh's North Hills suburb, not far from wrestling champion

Toru Tanaka, but repeatedly holding the notorious Baron Mikel Scicluna to a draw, and regularly defeating low-carders like Angelo Savoldi and Johnny Rodz. Autographs of Valiant during the "Sullivan" era are believed to be rare. On one of his visits to Ontario working for Dave McKigney, Sullivan met Jimmy Valiant. Jimmy took a shine to the young, enthusiastic Sullivan and shortly thereafter, brought him to the World Wrestling Association, where Dick the Bruiser teamed up Sullivan (now renamed Johnny Valiant) with Jimmy Valiant as the Valiant Brothers.[6] A victory for the WWA tag team titles over Dick the Bruiser and Bruno Sammartino put the name of the Valiant Brothers on the marquee and the Valiants proceeded to have a five-year run.[6][7]

Managerial career

After he retired from active competition, Valiant went on to a successful career as a manager. He briefly managed Hulk Hogan in the AWA in 1981 until shortly after Hogan's turn to face. Valiant moved back to the WWF and went on to manage Brutus Beefcake beginning in 1984. The pair appeared at the inaugural WrestleMania I event with Beefcake battling David Sammartino (seconded by his father Bruno Sammartino) to a double disqualification after Valiant slammed David on the floor before being attacked by Bruno who threw him into the ring where all four continued the fight. Valiant and Beefcake were also regulars on other WWF television shows including the weekly syndicated WWF Championship Wrestling.

Soon after in May 1985, Valiant and fellow heel manager

British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith) in the Chicago segment of WrestleMania 2
. The Dream Team chased the Bulldogs for the next few months but were unsuccessful in regaining the championship belts.

Valiant added

). These matches were unusual for the time as both teams were heels with The Hart Foundation managed by Jimmy Hart.

Also in this stint in the WWF, Valiant was known to do commentary on matches from time to time (filling in on Wrestling Challenge for fellow heel manager/commentator

Mr. Fuji
.

One of Valiant's last appearances as a manager in the WWF was at the

jobber to the stars.[9] Valiant left the WWF in March 1988, just before WrestleMania IV, and then returned to the AWA as a manager and led the Destruction Crew (Wayne Bloom and Mike Enos) to the AWA World Tag Team Championship in 1989 (defeating Greg Gagne and Paul Diamond in a tournament final).[5]

After wrestling

Sullivan went by the moniker of Johnny Valiant as an actor and comedian. He appeared on multiple episodes of

A documentary and sequel featuring Johnny Valiant, Jimmy Valiant, and indy wrestlers Sky Hosoya and Larry Brisco called "The Absolute Truth About Pro Wrestling (Parts 1 and 2)" was released in 2008.

Death

Sullivan was struck and killed by a pickup truck at 5:30 a.m. in Ross Township, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, on April 4, 2018. Police treated it as an accident.[2] He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.[10][11] Police told local news Sullivan was not in a crosswalk, and the driver of the vehicle remained on the scene.[12]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Johnny Valiant Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  2. ^ a b "Former pro wrestler Johnny Valiant hit, killed by truck on McKnight Road". wpxi.com. 4 April 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
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  9. ^ Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 1, 1988
  10. ^ "WWE's 'Luscious' Johnny Valiant Killed While Crossing the Street". Time. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ^ Maas, Jennifer; Maglio, Tony (5 April 2018). "WWE Hall of Famer 'Luscious' Johnny Valiant Dies at 71". The Wrap.
  12. ^ "WWE's 'Luscious' Johnny Valiant killed crossing street". The Washington Post. Associated Press. April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
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  17. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners - Tag Team of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
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