Greg “The Hammer” Valentine is a tough wrestling champion and second generation
star.  His father was the legendary Johnny Valentine.  At a young age, he made his
professional debut in the late ’60s and competed as Johnny Valentine Jr.  Greg competed
through many different regions of the National Wrestling Alliance and won many regional
belts.  In Southern California, he took the NWA Americas Belt, but retired the strap in June
’75.  He went to the Mid-Atlantic Territory and worked for the Crocketts.

 Valentine ran to Ric Flair’s aid in November 1976 after Gene and Ole Anderson had
turned on him during a six-man tag team match in Greensboro.  In early 1977, Valentine
and Flair beat the Minnesota Wrecking Crew for the NWA World Tag Title.  They lost the
belts back to the Andersons, but in November, Flair and Valentine regained the World
Title for a second time.  In July of ’78, Valentine found a new partner in Baron Von
Raschke.  The duo captured the NWA World Tag Title from Rick Steamboat and Paul
Jones and held the title until December when Jimmy Snuka and Paul Orndorff teamed to
take them.

 He left the NWA and joined the World Wrestling Federation.  Valentine took the Grand
Wizard as his manager, who was known as the “Manager of Champions.”  Valentine
wrestled the WWF Champion, Bob Backlund to a 60-minute, time-limit draw in one of the
best matches of the year.  The WWF banned the use of the figure-four leglock, but he
discarded the notice.  He continued to use the move in 1979 despite fines.  The Grand
Wizard partitioned that the ban be lifted.  He broke the leg of Chief Jay Strongbow with the
submission hold, adding to the hatred directed towards him.

 Valentine returned to the Mid-Atlantic Region and won the NWA United States
Heavyweight Title on July 26, 1980 in Charlotte from his former partner, Ric Flair.  
Valentine battled Flair numerous times during the winter of 1980 to retain his
championship.  He claimed that he would never give him another shot.  On the 24th of
November in Greenville, Flair beat Valentine to regain the belt.  Once again, he ventured
back to New York and battled Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Title on October 19,
1981 in Madison Square Garden.  The title was held-up afterwards and many thought
Valentine should have won the title.

 A rematch was held on November 23rd in New York and Valentine was beaten.  He was
getting used to the road between New York and Charlotte,  Valentine took the U.S. Title
for a second time on November 4, 1982 in Norfolk from Wahoo McDaniel.  He entered a
horrendous and legendary feud with Roddy Piper in 1983.  He dropped the belt to Piper in
Greensboro on April 16th, but regained it on the 30th.  It was his third championship win.  
The Valentine-Piper match on April 30, 1983 was more than just a normal title change.  It
was a match in which Piper suffered major internal injuries in his left ear, which could have
cost him 75-percent of his hearing.  Valentine had whipped the U.S. Title Belt at Piper’s
head and the metal edge slapped against the backside of his ear, ripping it open.

 Referee Ron West stopped the match due to the excessive bleeding.  The Piper-
Valentine contest has become somewhat of a fable in the history books of wrestling.  A
match that took a turn for the worst.  Nevertheless, Valentine was the new champion.  
Piper was put out of action, but the feud was not over.  It was not over until Starrcade
1983 on Thursday, November 24, 1983 in Greensboro.  Valentine met Piper in a special
non-title, dog-collar chain match.  It was another brutal war in the ring.  Piper won by
pinfall, but Valentine remained the U.S. Champion.

 Dick Slater beat Valentine in Shelby, North Carolina in December 1983 for the belt.  Two
nights later on the 16th of December, Valentine was in St. Petersburg, Florida to beat
Mike Rotundo in the finals of the vacant NWA Florida Heavyweight Title Tournament.  He
remained a hot-commodity in the profession and promoters wanted him at the top of their
ranks.

 Valentine re-signed with the WWF and gained Captain Lou Albano as his manager.  
Valentine took the Intercontinental Title from Tito Santana on September 24, 1984 in
London, Ontario.  He held the title well into the new year.  On July 6, 1985, Santana
regained the I-C Championship in Baltimore.  Valentine took an incoming manager from
the Mid-Southern Territory named the “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart.  Valentine formed
the “Dream Team” with Johnny Valiant’s wrestler, Brutus Beefcake.

 The two captured the WWF World Tag Title in Philadelphia at the Spectrum on August
24th from the U.S. Express, Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham.  They enjoyed a long
reign on top, but didn’t win any fan’s hearts.  In Chicago’s Rosemont Horizon on April 7,
1986 at the WWF’s third PPV, Valentine and Beefcake lost the WWF Tag Title to The
British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid.  He began a feud with Beefcake.  He
injured the latter with his version of the figure-four leglock.  Valentine continued to match
up against his former partner into ‘87.  More often than not, Beefcake got the better of the
two.

 Valentine retired former NWA World Champ, Ron Garvin and suppositively ended their
feud in May 1989 after a victory in a special “retirement” match.  Garvin became a WWF
Referee.  After several Garvin interferences, Valentine asked the WWF to reinstate him.  
Of course, they did and the battle went on.  He began wearing a leg brace to help injure
opponents with his figure-four.  The feud culminated into a special submission match at
the Royal Rumble on January 21, 1990 in Orlando.  It was a hard fought bout for both
wrestlers.  Valentine lost by submission at the 16:55 mark.

 He formed Rhythm and Blues with Honky Tonk Man.  Valentine dyed his hair black and
began to thumb a guitar.  The two had a musical number at WrestleMania VI in Toronto.  
In 1991, he left the organization and went to Puerto Rico where he won the WWC
Caribbean Title.  Valentine lost the Caribbean Title to Miguel Perez Jr. in San Juan,
Puerto Rico on January 6, 1992.

 Valentine signed on with World Championship Wrestling and competed there for a short
period of time in ’92.  He began to team with Terrence Taylor and won the WCW United
States Tag Team Title on February 17, 1992 in Rock Hill, South Carolina from Big Josh
and Ron Simmons.  The Patriots stepped up in Atlanta’s Omni on March 8, 1992 and were
beaten by Taylor and Valentine.  On the 9th, Tom Zenk pinned Valentine in a singles
encounter in Anderson, South Carolina.  He appeared in the main event of an IWCCW
Card in Hamburg against their heavyweight champion, Tony Atlas on March 14th and
defeated him by disqualification.

 On April 1st, Valentine and Taylor beat The Freebirds in two-straight falls to retain their
U.S. Title in Atlanta, Georgia.  Valentine and Terrence Taylor stopped all challengers,
including the Freebirds and Big Josh and Ron Simmons.  They held the title until
SuperBrawl II on May 17th when they dropped the title to the Freebirds in Jacksonville.  
He faced WCW World Light Heavyweight Champion, Brian Pillman on May 10, 1992 in
Atlanta at the Omni Coliseum.  He wrestled Pillman to a time-limit draw in a non-title match.

 Valentine traveled into Texas and competed for the Global Wrestling Federation.  He
also wrestled in the NWA out of Dallas and was awarded the North American Heavyweight
Title in October 1994.  He lost the title to Kevin Von Erich in January 1995 in Dallas, but
regained it from John Hawk in March.  After the Texas Promotion cancelled it’s operations
in May, Valentine’s reign as North American Champion became non-existent.  He returned
to WCW’s lime-light during the July 1, 1996 edition of Nitro Live on TNT.  Valentine
wrestled an old foe in Randy Savage.  He lost by pinfall after being hit by an elbow from
the top rope.

 On the 29th of the month, Valentine received a shot at the WCW World Title and the
Giant.  He lost after being choke-slammed.  Valentine continued to win belts on the
independent circuit.  He won the Great Lakes Television Title, but lost the belt to Brian
Fury in Jackson, Michigan on a Northern States Wrestling Alliance Card on March 28,
1998.

 Valentine participated in the “Heroes of Wrestling” Independent pay-per-view on October
10, 1999 in St. Louis, Missouri.  Valentine beat George “The Animal” Steele by pinfall.  In
August 2001, Valentine reformed a tag team with Brutus Beefcake in Massachusetts.

 One tough grappler…Greg Valentine was surely that.  He had a knowledge of “Old
School” wrestling mixed with instinct and toughness.  He should have been crowned NWA
World Champion several times and he nearly won the WWF Heavyweight Title during the
early ’80s.

TITLE HISTORY:
 -A four-time NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Champion
         -Defeated Tim Woods (1976)
         -Defeated Rufus R. Jones (1977)
         -Defeated Sweet Ebony Diamond (1981)
         -Defeated Sweet Ebony Diamond (1981)
 -Co-holder of the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title (1977) w/ Ric Flair
 -A four-time co-holder of the NWA World Tag Team Title
         w/ Ric Flair (1977) defeated The Minnesota Wrecking Crew
         w/ Ric Flair (1977) defeated The Minnesota Wrecking Crew
         w/ Baron Von Raschke (1978) defeated Paul Jones and Rick Steamboat
         w/ Ray Stevens (1980) defeated The Great Warriors
 -A two-time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion
         -Defeated Wahoo McDaniel (1982)
         -Defeated Roddy Piper (1983)
 -WWF Intercontinental Title (1984) defeated Tito Santana
 -Co-holder of the WWF World Tag Team Title (1985-’86) w/ Brutus Beefcake
 -Co-holder of the WCW United States Tag Team Title (1992) w/ Terry Taylor
 -A two-time NWA North American Heavyweight Champion
         -Was Awarded (1994)
         -Defeated John Hawk (1995)
 -NWA Great Lakes Television Title (1998)

Research by Tim Hornbaker
Greg Valentine Wrestling History
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