39 Facts About Johnny Valentine

1.

John Theodore Wisniski, better known by his ring name Johnny Valentine, was an American professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades.

2.

Johnny Valentine has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling.

3.

Johnny Valentine held numerous regional titles, including the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.

4.

Johnny Valentine alternated between being a villain and a hero during the Golden Era in the 1940s through 1960s of wrestling.

5.

Johnny Valentine worked briefly as a manager before retiring altogether.

6.

Johnny Valentine suffered from several health problems during his retirement, which worsened considerably after a fall in 2000.

7.

Johnny Valentine debuted as a professional wrestler in 1947, wrestling Karl Nowena in Buenos Aires.

8.

Johnny Valentine 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.

9.

Johnny Valentine wrestled in Japan in the mid-1960s and had a series of matches against Antonio Inoki.

10.

Those matches are regarded as the bouts that helped build Inoki into an elite wrestler in Japan, as Johnny Valentine was the highest-profile foreign wrestler Inoki had ever faced at the time.

11.

Johnny Valentine put over Inoki in the matches, dropping the Toronto version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship to him catapulting Inoki's career in the process.

12.

Johnny Valentine continued to wrestle in the former Capitol Wrestling territory, which had since been renamed the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

13.

Johnny Valentine then moved on to the Florida territory, where he won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship three times.

14.

In Missouri, Johnny Valentine competed for the Missouri Heavyweight Championship in a tournament to determine the inaugural champion.

15.

Johnny Valentine defeated Baron von Raschke before withdrawing from the tournament due to focus his efforts on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

16.

Johnny Valentine dropped the belt to Terry Funk the following month.

17.

Johnny Valentine was unable to compete due to heart problems so Gene Kiniski took his place and won the belt from Funk.

18.

In October 1972, Johnny Valentine defeated Jacques Rougeau for the International Heavyweight Championship, but was stripped of the title in January 1973, after he no-showed the rematch.

19.

Johnny Valentine was stripped of the title following a match with Johnny Powers.

20.

Back in the National Wrestling Federation, in August 1973, Johnny Valentine beat Jacques Rougeau, Sr.

21.

Johnny Valentine lost it to Johnny Powers in late 1973.

22.

In Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Johnny Valentine was awarded the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Championship in January 1974, after Jerry Brisco left to work in Japan.

23.

Johnny Valentine lost the title to Wahoo McDaniel shortly before winning the United States Heavyweight Championship from Harley Race in Greensboro, North Carolina on July 4,1975.

24.

Johnny Valentine held that title at the time he was paralyzed in a plane crash.

25.

Johnny Valentine managed Dale Hey, who competed as Dale Johnny Valentine in a storyline that saw the two promoted as brothers.

26.

Johnny Valentine is said to have come from a dysfunctional family.

27.

Johnny Valentine was married in the early 1950s and the marriage lasted 20 years until they divorced.

28.

Johnny Valentine was later married to a woman named Sharon, who worked across the street from his apartment in the mid 1970s when they met.

29.

Johnny Valentine later visited John as he was recovering in hospital from his 1975 plane crash.

30.

Johnny Valentine had a son from a long-ago previous relationship, Greg Valentine, who has wrestled professionally since 1970 and is best known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.

31.

Johnny Valentine was known for making his demands clear to employers and not backing down, and many stories continue to circulate about practical jokes, or ribs, that he played on his fellow wrestlers.

32.

On October 4,1975, Johnny Valentine was in a private airplane with Ric Flair, David Crockett, Bob Bruggers, and Tim Woods.

33.

Johnny Valentine began singing himself but fell back into the coma.

34.

Johnny Valentine's wife had purchased medical insurance through a health maintenance organization, but the organization was unwilling to pay for Wisniski's extended stay in the hospital.

35.

Johnny Valentine has been recognized for his wrestling career by several sources.

36.

Johnny Valentine has been inducted into several halls of fame.

37.

Johnny Valentine was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996.

38.

Johnny Valentine is a member of the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame.

39.

Johnny Valentine died peacefully in River Oaks, Texas on April 24,2001.