Greg Valentine
| Greg Valentine (2008) | |
|---|---|
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| Data | |
| Ring name | Baby Face Nelson Johnny Fargo Johnny Valentine Jr. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine The Blue Knight |
| height | 178 cm |
| Fighting weight | 113-116 kg |
| birth |
September 20, 1951 Seattle ; Washington |
| Trained by | Johnny Valentine Stu Hart , The Sheik |
| debut | 1968 |
Johnathan Anthony Wisniski Jr. (born September 20, 1951 in Seattle ; Washington ), better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine is an American wrestler. He was best known for his appearances at WWF (now WWE) and held numerous titles. He is also a member of the WWE Hall of Fame .
Wisniski has been married to Julie for the second time since 1995 and has two daughters from his first marriage. He sees himself as a "born again Christian " and gives speeches with Ted DiBiase in high schools and colleges.
Beginnings
Wisniski was born in Seattle as the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine and thus came into contact with wrestling very early. As a teenager he traveled with his father, so he eventually dropped out of college to become a wrestler. His father wasn't really taken with it, but eventually he gradually gave him some training, and in 1970 he sent his son to see the legendary coach Stu Hart in Calgary . A year and a half later, Wisniski went to Detroit to complete his training with Ed Farhat .
Career
Early career
Initially, Wisniski did not want to take advantage of his father's familiar name and began his career as Baby Face Nelson and later became Johnny Fargo . Under the latter name he appeared between 1971 and 1974, as one half of the tag team The Fargo Brothers with Don Fargo in the organization National Wrestling Federation . After the team was disbanded, Wisniski went to Florida and was initially Johnny Valentine Jr. to. In order not to present his father, who was also still active in wrestling, as too old, he changed his name to the well-known Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and was passed off as his father's brother. During this time Wisniski also worked with Antonio Inoki in California and Japan before joining the NWA in 1976 .
National Wrestling Alliance (1976-1978)
In August 1976, Wisniski came to the NWA belonging Mid-Atlantic promotion , which in North Carolina was home. Wisniski was supposed to replace his father here, who was injured in a plane crash in 1975 and thus forced to resign. One wrestling action that should make him known here was his elbow drop , which was portrayed as particularly tough. On December 26, 1976, he and Ric Flair won the NWA World Tag Team title against the Andersons Ole and Gene . They held the title until May 8, 1977, lost them to the Andersons, only to regain them on October 30 of that year. The team with flair was dissolved in April 1978 and the title declared vacant. With Baron von Raschke , Wisniski was able to win the title a third time in 1978. Also in 1977 he feuded with Wahoo McDaniel for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title , which he was able to hold twice in the course of this feud before he finally lost it to Ken Patera in April 1978 .
World Wide Wrestling Federation (1978-1981)
In November 1978 Wisniski appeared for the first time in what was then the World Wide Wrestling Federation and was managed by The Grand Wizard there . He even got a title match against reigning World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund and reached a draw.
National Wrestling Alliance (1979-1984)
1980 Wisniski received the NWA World Tag Team title for the fourth time, this time with Ray Stevens as a partner. Four days later they were stripped of their title because of an infraction. After an apparent change from bad guy to good, the team was revived with Ric Flair. But Wisniski betrayed him according to the storyline and started a feud with Flair for the NWA United States Heavyweight title , which Wisniski was finally able to win on July 26th of that year. He held the title until the end of November when Flair won the rematch.
1981 Wisniski was back for a year in the World Wide Wrestling Federation and feuded with Backlund for the title and with Pedro Morales.
In 1982 he held the NWA United States Heavyweight title twice and denied feuds against Wahoo McDaniel and Roddy Piper .
World Wrestling Federation (1984-1992)
In 1984 Wisniski went to the World Wrestling Federation , as the former WWWF was now called, and acted as the villain. He was initially managed there by Captain Lou Albano , and later by Jimmy Hart . In September of the same year he was able to take the Intercontinental Champion title from Tito Santana . He then started a feud with the Junk Yard Dog , against whom he fought at Wrestlemania 1 in a title fight and lost by counting, but kept the title. Santana, who had taken a break before Wrestlemania, was now included again in the action and on July 6, 1985 Wisniski had to give the title back to him.
Wisniski finally got a tag team partner with Brutus Beefcake and from then on they appeared as The Dream Team with Johnny Valiant as manager. On August 24, 1985, she could against the US - Express the WWF World Tag Team Title win and hold to 7 April 1986 (Wrestlemania 2), as the British Bulldogs new champions were. A year later, at Wrestlemania 3, a change of heart took place with Brutus Beefcake and the team was disbanded in this line-up. But now Dino Bravo took over this position.
In 1988, again as a single wrestler, he had a feud with Don Muraco and took part in Wrestlemania 4 in the title tournament, which Randy Savage ultimately won. Then he had a short-lived team with The Honky Tonk Man , which called itself Rhythm'n Blues and feuded against the Bushwhackers . He toured Japan and also competed for the World Wrestling Council before starting a new program with Rugged Ronnie Garvin at WWF in 1989 . The feud dragged on until the Royal Rumble in 1990, when Garvin eventually won a surrender match. In early 1991 Wisniski then became Face and competed against Earthquake and the IRS .
In 1992 he switched briefly to World Championship Wrestling and won the United States Tag Team title with Terry Taylor .
At the Survivor Series in 1993 he returned to WWF and made an appearance as the masked Blue Knight .
According to the WWF
After 1994 Wisniski went mainly to independent organizations, in Japan and occasionally for the WCW . From 1999 onwards he took a step backwards, there were also appearances at legendary events and he himself now also worked as a real estate agent.
On March 13, 2004, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his former manager Jimmy Hart .
On October 3, 2005, he made a guest appearance at the WWE and was subject to Rob Conway by disqualification.
Major wrestling titles
- WWE Intercontinental Title
- WWE World Tag Team title with Brutus Beefcake
- WCW United States Tag Team Title
- WCW United States Tag Team Champion
- 3-time NWA United States Heavyweight Title
- 3 times NWA World Tag Team title (the fourth was not recognized, see above)
- NWA Canadian title
- Mid Atlantic Tag Team Title
- AWF (American Wrestling Federation) Tag Team title with Tommy Rich
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Valentine, Greg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wisniski, Johnathan Anthony Jr. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American wrestler |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th September 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Seattle , Washington, USA |