Johnny Valentine
| Johnny Valentine | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Theodore Wisniski |
| Born |
September 22, 1928 Maple Valley, Washington, United States |
| Died | April 24, 2001 (aged 72) River Oaks, Texas, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Johnny Valentine The Big O |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Billed weight | 255 lb (116 kg; 18.2 st) |
| Debut | 1947 |
| Retired | 1975 |
John Theodore Wisniski (September 22, 1928 – April 24, 2001), better known by his ring name Johnny Valentine, was an American professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling. Wisniski was the father of professional wrestler Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.
He held numerous regional titles, including the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. He had long running rivalries with Bobo Brazil, Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, Antonio Rocca, Lou Thesz, Harley Race, The Sheik, Wahoo McDaniel, Fritz von Erich, Bruno Sammartino, Johnny Powers, Antonio Inoki and Jack & Jerry Brisco. He alternated between being a villain and a hero (babyface) during the Golden Era in the 1940s through 1960s of wrestling.
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.
Wisniski debuted as a professional wrestler in 1947, wrestling Karl Nowena in Buenos Aires. In order to make the matches as believable as possible Wisniski insisted the men he faced in the ring hit him as hard as possible. From that he earned a strong reputation as being a very tough man. On New Year's Day, 1950, Buddy Rogers defeated Wisniski in the finals of a United States title tournament. He also competed in the NWA's Capitol Wrestling territory. Jerry Graham, who was a co-holder of the Northeast version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship, selected Wisniski in November 1959 to take over the title from Graham's injured partner. They were beaten for the title belts the following April, but Wisniski took on a new partner, Buddy Rogers, to regain the championship by defeating The Fabulous Kangaroos on November 19, 1960. Wisniski's rivalry with the Kangaroos continued, as the Kangaroos regained the belts in a rematch one week later. Wisniski went over one year without holding a championship before teaming with a new partner, this time Bob Ellis, to defeat the Kangaroos and take back the championship. Wisniski & Ellis lost the belts to Buddy Rogers & Handsome Johnny Barend in a match where Arnold Skoaland subbed for Ellis, but the belts were still up, on Washington, DC TV. Rogers & Barend then defeated the real team of Wisniski & Ellis 2 pins to 1 in a main event at Madison Square Garden.
...
Wikipedia