Greg Valentine

Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is an American former professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. In the course of his career, which has spanned over four decades, Valentine has held more than 40 championships, including the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. An alumnus of the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004, and is scheduled for induction into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in May 2016.

Career

Training

Born in Seattle, Washington, Wisniski traveled around Texas in his teens with his father. During a summer vacation, he decided to drop out of college and become a wrestler. His father initially tried to deter him, but eventually ceded to his wishes and sent him to Canada in 1970 to train under Stu Hart in Calgary. Wisniski remained in Canada for a year, wrestling his debut match in July 1970 against Angelo "King Kong" Mosca (he lost in around five minutes). Six months later, Wisniski relocated to Detroit to complete his training under The Sheik.