Unless you’ve seen wrestling during the WWE‘s Golden Era, chances are you don’t know much about Greg “The Hammer” Valentine’s career. A second-generation star, Greg rarely appeared on the main event scene, but he also didn’t drop far below the middle of the card. His position on the card meant that he crossed paths with several notable names in the business.
Throughout his career, Greg was involved in many high profile feuds with a who’s who of wrestling legends. Some of these rivalries were fueled by gold, while others were pure blood feuds that entertained the public. Here are the 10 most memorable rivalries of Valentine’s career, ranked.
10 junkyard dog
In its first and also the inauguration wrestling, Greg Valentine would work with none other than Junkyard Dog. Not known for his polished skills in the ring, JYD was wildly popular with the audience during this era, providing a golden opportunity for Valentine. Their rivalry was defined by what you would expect it to be; a clash of styles and personalities.
While most wouldn’t consider Dog to be Greg’s most prolific rival, he is certainly an important figure in the trajectory of his career. Thanks to his rivalry with JYD, Greg Valentine found himself in the first wrestlinga distinction that only a few fighters will have.
9 peter morals
Pedro Morales was one of WWE’s biggest stars in the 1970s and early 1980s. Largely regarded as one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time, it was that title that Valentine feuded with Pedro for in one of the latter’s first runs with the company. After an injury angle that would see Valentine suplex Morales on the concrete floor, their rivalry would fizzle out.
It wasn’t the most epic rivalry of Greg’s career, but it was relevant. He proved that Valentine was capable of going toe-to-toe with one of the biggest names in the sport at the time.
8 The British Bulldogs
This was a tag team match that would see Valentine team up with Brutus Beefcake to battle The British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. Not the longest rivalry, this would see Greg under one of the brightest spotlights of his career, as he and Beefcake would defend the tag team titles against The Bulldogs at wrestling 2.
The Bulldogs would have Ozzy Osborne on their side, giving this game some extra spark and publicity. The Dream Team, as Valentine and Beefcake would call themselves, would come up short against Davey and Dynamite, dropping the titles in the process. This is considered one of Valentine’s best rivalries, simply because he was so high profile.
7 bob backlund
This rivalry was essentially told in two parts, due to the break between Valentine’s early runs with WWE. In 1979, Valentine would go into a time limit draw with then-WWE Champion Bob Backlund. Greg would leave the company after the match, only to return in 1981 and immediately resume his feud with Backlund.
In a controversial ending, Backlund would defeat Valentine in 1981, but the referee would accidentally award the title to Valentine after being stunned during the match. A rematch was instituted and Backlund would go on to beat Valentine again. The two would meet once more in 1982, this time inside a steel cage, in a match that Backlund would also win.
6 style
Many of Greg Valentine’s critics accused him of being a clone of Ric Flair. The truth is that Flair and Valentine were a couple in the 70s and captured several titles together. As most teams tend to do, Flair and Valentine parted ways after Valentine turned on Ric.
Ric Flair was the United States Champion at the time, and he and his former partner began feuding for the betrayal and the title. Greg would actually defeat Flair for the title in his hometown of Charlotte. He would hold the title for about four months, until he handed it back to Flair, in what was kind of a mirror image of a rivalry.
5 Don Muraco
Both Greg Valentine and Don Muraco were ruffians for most of their careers, but Valentine instigated a feud with Muraco in 1988. After attacking Muraco’s manager, “Superstar” Billy Graham, Greg’s actions would turn Muraco into a baby. , and the two would engage in a rivalry for most of the year.
Graham was sporting an artificial hip, and Muraco would be outraged by what Valentine did. Their rivalry eventually ground to a halt for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, and as a result, both men pointed fingers at each other. The angle and feud between Valentine and Muraco was simple storytelling and old-school wrestling at its best.
4 Ron Garvin
The feud between Ron Garvin and Greg Valentine seemed natural on paper, but it ended up being much better than most expected. The Garvin and Valentine saga was filled with various twists and turns, and it dragged on for several months. After Valentine defeated him in a “retirement match”, Garvin would be forced to become a referee. Greg and his manager, Jimmy Hart, would get Garvin fired as referee, forcing Ron to become ring announcer.
Garvin would serve as ring announcer for the Valentine’s match at summer festival in 1989, and it would end up costing him the loss against Hércules. Ron Garvin would eventually be reinstated and would face Valentine in a submission match at the royal rumble in 1990. It was an excellent meeting, which Garvin would win, culminating one of the best-told stories of both men’s careers.
3 Titus Santana
Both Greg Valentine and Tito Santana were considered “mechanics” of their time, meaning they could be counted on to put up a good fight with virtually anyone. Valentine and Santana would fight for the Intercontinental Championship in one of the most epic matches of Valentine’s career.
The feud would see an injury angle and eventually a Steel Cage match. Tito would go on to win the feud, when he ended Valentine’s 285-day reign in 1985. Valentine would subsequently destroy the Intercontinental title in fury, giving the company the opportunity to come up with a new design for the belt.
two Wahoo McDaniel
Greg Valentine’s feud with Wahoo McDaniel was one of the most bitter and personal of his career. After Wahoo cost Greg and his partner Ric Flair the tag titles, Valentine was out for revenge. In 1977, Greg would defeat Wahoo for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title and add insult to injury by breaking McDaniel’s leg and then stamping a T-shirt to taunt him.
Valentine wore a shirt that said “I Broken Wahoo’s Leg” on the front and “No More Wahoo” on the back. This was one of the first examples of an antagonist poking fun at a kayfabe injury for extra heat, which we would see from wrestlers like Owen Hart in later years. This was a defining feud in Greg “The Hammer” Valentine’s career.
1 piper roddy
There was only one person who could take the top spot on this list of great Greg Valentine fights, and that is, of course, Roddy Piper. Probably the most memorable and, in some ways, infamous match of both men’s careers came at the opening starrcade in 1983. Piper and Valentine’s rivalry had reached a boiling point, and officials asked Piper to come up with the most violent combination of concepts possible to “blow up” the feud. Roddy, of course, would suggest the “Dog Collar” match and the rest is history.
This match is still remembered to this day, and was recently referenced on AEW television, during the CM Punk and MJF rivalry. This was the best fight of Valentine’s career and the most legendary fight he had ever been a part of.