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A true wrestling
legacy, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine [son of Johnny Valentine]
first gained national prominence competing in the NWA. Alongside partner
Ric Flair, Valentine won the NWA Tag Team Championship.
Valentine would later score tag team title wins with partners such
as Baron Von Raschke and Ray Stevens. In singles competition, Valentine
scored three NWA United States Championships, defeating Ric Flair,
Wahoo McDaniel, and "Rowdy"
Roddy Piper for the title on separate occassions. To this day,
Valentine remains the only man to legitimately break the leg of Wahoo
McDaniels.
In 1984, Greg Valentine signed with the WWF and immediately set his
sights on the fed's gold. On September 24, 1984, Valentine defeated
Tito
Santana to win the WWF Intercontinental Title - a belt which he
would defend proudly for nearly one year.
After dropping the title to Santana,
Valentine joined forces with Brutus
Beefcake - forming the appropriately named "Dream Team."
Managed by Johnny V, the "Dream Tream" won the WWF Tag Team
Championship. The "Dream Team" would later drop the titles
to the Dynamite
Kid and Davey
Boy Smith (the British Bulldogs) in a classic encounter at Wrestlemania
2.
After a scathing break-up with Beefcake,
Valentine focused on his singles career - entering the WWF World Title
Tournament at Wrestlemania 4. In the first round of the tournament,
he defeated Ricky
"The Dragon" Steamboat. Valentine was eliminated, however,
in the second round by "Macho
Man" Randy Savage.
Recognizing
Valentine's talent, Jimmy
Hart took over as his manager, pairing him with the the Honky
Tonk Man. Known as "Rhythm and Blues," the duo had memorable
encounters against the Hart Foundation, Bret
"The Hitman" Hart and Jim
"The Anvil" Neidhart.
Title Summary:
NWA Tag Team Champion w/ Ric Flair
NWA
Tag Team Champion w/ Baron Von Raschke
NWA Tag Team Champion w/ Ray Stevens
NWA US Champion (3)
WWF Intercontinental Champion
WWF Tag Team Champion w/ Brutus Beefcake
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