Greg Valentine - How "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin Was To Wrestle in WWF

[@TitleMatchWrestling]

Watch More Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (2021) Streaming Now 📺TitleMatchNetwork.com

[@invaderjaymz]

Whoa! Greg! You weren't real stiff!

[@jayhouston7054]

These Valentine clips are, at least to me so interesting and I can't get enough.

[@arcadeslum5882]

A REFRESHING SHOOT from such a soft spoken man that was well respected and hard af og veteran of the territories to the big leagues as well.

[@jayhouston7054]

@@arcadeslum5882 Agreed, seems to be an upstanding guy. Never a bad thing to say about anyone and got along with everyone mostly it seems.

[@stocktoncombatfan]

I hated him as a kid. But love these interviews.

[@jimscarnivorekitchen4731]

I agree

[@ronniemation]

yeah him and stevie rays are my favorites

[@shanedaviau5976]

No wrestler can ever drop elbows like this guy ever one looked real and painful so authentic.

[@miltonjoyner4201]

Greg...PLEASE..write a book! You’re loaded with fantastic stories!!

[@norbertfranz2702]

How nice that Greg mentioned the European independent tours of the early 1990s there! That is where I met him. The one in Germany and Austria he is referring to was in 1993, with The Warrior vs. Hercules headlining. Greg was wrestling as a heel against Jake the Snake Roberts that night (I think every night). It was called WWS - Wrestling World Superstars at the time. Better than some WWF shows on tour at the time. Though Valentine was booked as a heel, he and Madusa Miceli as his in-character manager were the only talent signing autographs at the event. That's how I got his.

[@dondemmeljr1765]

Greg was living with her a tappin that ass! 👌

[@BrottenGuy]

For such a tough hardened guy, a wrestler’s wrestler, & all of that…Valentine has always seemed like a pretty cool, chill, laid-back dude, who has a lot of respect to give to others.

[@CornyClaudyMedia]

The submission match between the Hammer (with the "Hart Breaker" shin guard) and "Rugged" Ronnie (with his "Hammer Jammer" shin guard!) at Royal Rumble '90 is an absolute CLASSIC match, and NOBODY ever talks about it. I re-watched that beauty a couple of years back, and I was riveted to every hold and every chop (eat your heart our, Flair!). Outstanding job by both guys. Their feud is criminally underrated to this day (wish it had lasted longer). The WWF was simply the BEST at that time. Incomparable roster! (1984-1994 was the definitive golden era, but the peak years, for me, were '88, '89, '90, and '91.)

[@johnny5805]

The Ronnie Garvin match is on KZbin. He's not kidding, that match is f*cking BRUTAL ! The sound of Garvin's punches and chops to Greg's face and chest are horrendous ! That was some proper old skool wrestling !

[@TeeKoon]

The kind of match we don't see today, Painful stiff shots without hurting seriously your opponent! I miss the Hamer so much, he understand so much wrestling and so credible in the ring, make me wonder if he followed the script. Overall a good human being, a wife who understood wrestling, faithful to his wife's pattience. Genuine humility. Thanks for those great matches Greg, live long with love and happiness for your family!

[@aubreywatts1]

When wrestling was wrestling....not "telling a story".

[@Playboynino310]

Wanna know how good a match is, just listen to the crowd

[@Spooky_515]

Old school Territory style wrestling. Classic feud.

[@dan9550]

Love hearing Greg the Hammer stories

[@brianconnelly1238]

Greg Valentine is in Undertaker's league in regards to being a class act human being, you never hear the man say a bad word about anyone... Greg seems like a real genuine dude

[@ernielabarr646]

The Hammer and Hands of Stone would have made one of the greatest Tag Teams ever!!!!

[@TeeKoon]

My god Itt never came to realise that imagine against the Bulldogs with a stiff style! I remember his. match with Flair, those hard open hand slaps to the chest like who gave the stiffest shots and stand the pain!

[@paulflynn2481]

a true legend! Brings back memories of saturdays at 1:00 pm. Mid Atlantic!!

[@unklesalty3732]

Would love to see The Hammer in his prime stretching some of these “artists” of today and show them what real pro wrestling is.

[@hollywood21639]

He probably still could. He's a grown man, not a 150lb child

[@TeeKoon]

Artists but more actors who follow scripts, Vince run WWE like a Hollywood movie studio! Need to go back to basic wrestling, Get rid of your yes men, bring back guys like Cornette etc .. who speak their opinions! Your pride. can't take any opposite constructive ideas!

[@blackasylum9770]

It was a great angle! I loved their matches! The Hammer was the man!

[@jasondelvaux3036]

Even back then, when I was a kid, I loved both Garvin & Valentine. I came from an AWA background, and both of them had a classic, stiff, old school style. At that point in the WWF (where everything seemed cartoonish & gimmicky), their feud was a real departure from typical WWF fare.

[@philliplandry4139]

I felt Garvin arrived at the WWF at the wrong time. Had he arrived in the early to mid 80s in the WWF. He would have been over more with the fans in that area during that time.

[@scottanderson8167]

The Valentine-Garvin matches were the first time I saw Garvin and when I became aware of Valentine. Great work.

[@Playboynino310]

I remember him in NWA. The Frickin Hands of stone. They had a VHS tape and they were interviewing wrestlers about Garvin and going through his highlights. Awesome stuff. Years before the WWF days. I loved when he went to WWF too. Great career. Beat Flair for the title once in NWA also.

[@jaw847]

Royal rumble 90 Garvin/valentine is a great old wwf hidden gem. The Hammer Jammer!

[@michaelmartinez3893]

The Hammer what a legend!

[@stephendettweiler746]

I keep coming back to these Clips

[@AB-ez4rm]

I loved watching Greg and Ronnie. Great matches.

[@mikecozzi1040]

😳Greg Valentine the Master of the Figure four! 😳 The most Dangerous! Leg Lock in Wrestling History! 😳 Better be Greg's Friend!

[@ArmourRules]

I love these Valentine clips!!

[@ronnielester2933]

Man these guys now couldn't hang 2 min.s with the hammer,rowdy, garvin or most of the badasses from the 70s and 80s. It's just not as good as it was then, miss seeing the hammer, my favorite bad guy of the times!

[@TeeKoon]

His match with Piper, a cult match close to a shoot! We miss Greg, you always gave a great performance and credibility like no other today!

[@charlesgreen8703]

Ronnie Garvin laughing at Greg Valentine while in the figure four at the 1990 Royal Rumble is still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a wrestling match...

[@griergentry8777]

He was used to being in Flair’s so…. 😉

[@datacipher]

@@griergentry8777haha ric’s the only guy who had 1 million matches and never submitted anyone with his finisher.

[@danlc95]

Greg and Ronnie always reminded me of one another. They would have been fun to watch as a tag team.

[@Shane661]

This guy is so positive, and also a great story teller.

[@theanimal619]

One of my favorite feuds in the early 90's WWF the story was told awesome and then the submission match just epic 👍🏾

[@chriscappio6280]

I loved the hammer when I was kid… those chops were vicious

[@randyragsdale23]

Greg Valentine's feud with Ron Garvin was a classic. They had great matches everywhere regardless of whether they were wrestling in Maple Leaf Gardens, MSG or the Boston Garden.

[@Rlotpir1972]

They were evenly matched which pissed Valentine off.

[@christianinja7]

The best thing about Valentine was his hair which is still fantastic!

[@tonybinder9392]

That match at the 90 Rumble is one of my favorites!!!

[@dlopezdlo11]

Loved the hammer and Garvin's feud in 89- into early 90 very underrated feud! Man those dudes chopped each other up like crazy

[@jesselovesaprilproctor7688]

I’m not a big fan now but back then N.w.a was the real deal and this man is one of the realest I would like to smoke a few with him hats off

[@cinnamonspider101]

What makes you think he smokes weed?

[@DefSwaeter]

Loved the feud between Hammer and Rugged Ronnie Garvin. It was tough and it was funny. Favourite part was when Ronnie Garvin returned as a ring announcer and roasted the Hammer as he was coming out to fight his opponent.

[@edwardclement102]

Greg the Hammer vs Ronnie the best match of that Royal Rumble.

[@waxoftriple9]

I really liked this feud as a kid. The first time I ever saw the Scorpion Deathlock was by Ronnie Garvin in this feud.

[@Lantern72]

I loved their matches💚💚

[@manemustaine]

That was a great angle too with the referee thing and the duel shinguards. The match at Royal Rumble was brutally stiff.

[@Pillar5770]

I loved the Valentine/Garvin feud. It was a hot angle between 2 rugged veterans who complemented each other perfectly. We need more angles like this today: no titles, just 2 wrestlers trying to prove who's better.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Before watching this clip, I would not be surprised if Greg sees Garvin as his favorte opponent. Garvin and Valentine are two of the stiffest and toughest workers of our industry;

[@johngallagher72]

I think he's said Tito was his favourite opponent for the quality of the matches and the business they did. Ronnie Garvin v Valentine was really good but it would have been even better 5 years earlier.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

@@johngallagher72 that's true. Garvin and Valentine are so similar to each other that I'm surprised Vince didn't put them as the New Dream Team.

[@trueyankee4767]

When stars say "It was a good payday" I would love to hear what they made.

[@HootNightowl]

He does mention amounts, in one the other clips, from this interview. He made pretty decent money. He spoke of how it used to be in cash.

[@timreynolds2643]

@@HootNightowl 20-30K

[@michaelhungate7506]

He has a great memory and a healthy appreciation of the pay day. Good for him on both accounts.

[@aubreywatts1]

Both of these men were awesome entertainers...knew how to work the crowd...❤️❤️

[@LumpyAdams]

That Rumble match was insane. I felt all those chops.

[@thebackyardairgunner8776]

the hammer jammer !

[@Robber30]

I saw them work in person in St. Louis that year.. Nobody left thinking that match was fake. I think that was the same tour where they were doing the 30 second Warrior/Andre matches.

[@anarchy4133]

Garvin and Valentine shouldve been put as a tag team

[@RetroPhoenix1970]

Did not like the hammer back in the day, but I have to say looking back at his body of work he was a legend! Love these interviews!

[@TequilaToothpick]

Greg reminds of Michael Madsen in Kill Bill.

[@billycox2040]

It's mind boggling that Greg is able to recall in detail all these opponents he's worked with throughout his career.👍

[@tamatihohepatekuru8782]

Full respect to the Hammer

[@monsterprowrestling3451]

I enjoyed Garvin as a ref! You just knew it was going to be a matter of time and he would ref one of Valentine’s matches.

[@paddydoublems]

I loved it when the jobbers would argue with him after a match he refed and he would just punch them out LOL.

[@Bisonzilla]

When Hammer put the sunglasses on, with his black suit, black shirt, gold chain, the big ring on his pinky, long blonde hair, THAT to me is what a "professional wrestler" looks like outside the ring! Or at least they DID when I was a kid in the 70's-80's!

[@DeadKoby]

That feud was very memorable. Granted both Valentine and Garvin had more miles in the rear view than the windshield, but they made it work.

[@U2BEMatchmaker]

One of the greatest men to ever live.

[@pondababa4197]

I LOVED this feud, and I loved Garvin. Earthquake, Jimmy, Dino would beat the shit out of Ronnie, but he's still get a few Garvin Stomps in...he was bad ass man. No Gimmick, just tough as hell.

[@davidslavico3395]

Valentine goes back to the days when wrestling was great. Very little gimmicks, and story lines. Just wrestling

[@ericdemby4644]

In wrestling you had iconic foreign objects. The hammers shin guard, bob orton's cast, d-los chest protector, stings bat,

[@anthonybranco]

Like many feuds that Vince put together in the late 80's, that one made no sense. Brutus and Ron Bass was another one. Why? What do these guys have in common? The Dream Team vs the Bulldogs, that was excellent. Valentine and Tito had chemistry also.

[@georgemaranville3305]

I like how he’s talking to one camera and being surveilled by another camera. He must have figured it out midway through the interview and went incognito with his sunglasses.

[@billschmidt4192]

Greg Valentine speaks Wisdom here.

[@BillyBob-ld5nv]

Greg should be in movies. He could play Nick Nolte.

[@richevans609]

And Ronnie Garvin could play a Midget...

[@BillyBob-ld5nv]

@@richevans609 - Lol. Pabst Blue Ribbon up the nose alert.

[@douglaspaterson5269]

@@richevans609 Barney Rubble.😉

[@monomarino5349]

Good men. Good tales.

[@Spiritbro77]

I never met Mr. Valentine but I was on the same flight back in 98 or 99. Leaving Tampa. Standing in line to board. He was the biggest man I ever saw in person and as a wrestler he was not one of the bigger guys... That really woke me up to just how large these men are. The TV does not really show just how large they are. He was as wide at the shoulders as two men.

[@BionicBrain2]

Did Greg Valentine ever wrestle one of my all time favorites, Sputnik Monroe? I also liked Greg's dad, Johnny.

[@thecellardoor54543]

I heard most of these interviews dont really get going until 20 minutes in

[@Jennifear]

This comment is hilarious! Gorilla Monsoon approves!

[@thecellardoor54543]

@@Jennifear haha gaaah leee glad someone got it

[@darrenlambert2099]

Greg looks like Jericho 20 years from now.

[@brucekilgore9704]

Wrestling doesn't get better we're a dying breed

[@matthewreeves8738]

Crazy as this sounds, I always thought Greg and Ronnie would have made a great heel tag team.

[@PassivePortfolios]

Garvin looked stiff and he was stiff, it's not just Valentine saying this. Garvin and Valentine had some great matches, they worked perfectly together. Tall tales of wrestling aside, I bet Garvin was a tough guy in real life.

[@ozzymorrison8628]

I really enjoyed the Ronnie Garvin feud

[@blastproces]

Did ye ever work with Jimmy valiant ?what a character

[@jonathanhensley6141]

It would have been great had JCP AND WCW had made the hammer the world champion because he would have been perfect for it.

[@terryhill4732]

Back in the day I thought Ronnie Garvin was one of the toughest sobs in wrestling. Even in real life he looked like he could walk through an army

[@jprice6419]

The grumpy old Blondes

[@jasoncutshaw8401]

The Hands of Stone was an awesome name

[@geopie3879]

Stone ffs

[@blacksabbath1022]

😄 Roberto Duran had that as his nickname (Hands of stone)

[@geopie3879]

​@@blacksabbath1022 both roberto AND ronnie

[@jasoncutshaw8401]

Sorry your right 🤣

[@jasoncutshaw8401]

Imagine trying to pull the weasel with Hands of Stone 😖👈

[@waywardwayfarer]

The only feud that made me pull for the heel to win! Garvin was supposed to be the good guy, but stomping all over his opponents, especially the hapless jobbers he had no beef with, made him seem like a sadistic bully to me, and I couldn't understand why everyone liked him so much. Valentine (in character) was mean and vicious, but never claimed to be a good guy or cared about the fans' approval, so for this one, I was Team Hammer!

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

The WWF lost a lot of good men in the European war. RIP.

[@2laughandlaugh]

Greg looks great for 85......just kidding....we love ya Greg.

[@HardheadedG32]

Greg 72

[@2laughandlaugh]

@@HardheadedG32 wow....honestly looks great for his age. I'm lucky enough to own a pair of his signed ring trunks. Has his signature and a hammer on the left butt cheek.

[@hairyasstruman2257]

Mama Fratelli from The Goonies hasn't aged a day since 1985

[@scorpiothegreat1]

We finally did it ladies and gentlemen. We found the one guy who liked Sean Michaels!

[@LOTW1]

I've watch pretty much the entire interview. Greg Valentine is a gentleman and a very positive person. I've not heard him say anything negative about anyone. I think the closest thing was about Doink how he had some issues. But he was very gentle and prudent in the way he said it. What a class act.

[@RickyBobby585]

Love the hammer

[@TheLifeisaParade]

Valentine with the gangsta ⛓️ 👍🏾

[@jayvallandingham2406]

Looks like Greg put some money away. Isn't piss poor broke like the rest of the big time wrestlers of their era.

[@douglaspaterson5269]

Probably one of the few who didn't fuck with the drugs and shit.🙈🙉🙊

[@dondemmeljr1765]

I could imagine those matches being awfully stiff I wrestled Hammer a few times definitely a stiff worker... I kept my being stiff for after the shows! 😂💗👅💃

[@johngallagher72]

I bet the answer is "rugged"

[@charlierobles316]

That was towards the end of 88

[@jeremytooley8811]

I like em too. Ronnie Garvin is missed

[@alanstrong3295]

Ronnie was quite good.

[@lucag.lisickza425]

hands of stone Garvin

[@thomasanthony5306]

Beat Flair for the strap in the late 80s.

[@kawaineko7402]

@@thomasanthony5306 Awesome match!

[@thomasanthony5306]

@@kawaineko7402 wish i was alive for the 80s wrestling boom. Honestly, like 77 on.

[@thomasanthony5306]

@@kawaineko7402 am lucky enough to have been at Mania X8 in Toronto to witness the Hogan vs Rock. Austin Hall wasn't bad either. My dad was at Mania 3. Would have been amazing seeing Steamboat, Macho man, Hogan and Andre.

[@jesseandrews2303]

Anyone have further knowledge on what caused the firings following the European tour?

[@MarkSmith-ho5yc]

In an earlier podcast Valentine says Muroco got fired for pissing down the stairs of a double decker bus after getting so buzzed on qualudes that he was unable to move.

[@TitleMatchWrestling]

Greg explains it with more detail here kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWWppGWpqrWpd6s

[@jesseandrews2303]

Thanks to both for your replies. And respectively for the uploads

[@Jim-Tuner]

The bulldogs, as far as I know, were not fired because of anything on the European tour. They were on the european tour in the aftermath of Rougeau hitting Dynamite Kid with the roll of coins and probably on a slow way out anyway. Their last match was at Survivor series 1988 where Dynamite was bragging about getting even with Rougeau backstage before the event. Junkyard dog had a heavy drug problem in 1988 and also had weight problems. He could have been fired for something drug related on that european tour. Nick Bockwinkel being the agent and having a real low tolerance for drugs could have also got him busted. But he was on his way to being fired for drugs in 1988 no matter what happened in europe. But the truth is that most of the people sent on that European tour in 1988 were people they didn't know what to do with or people who were already in trouble.

[@remmy1219]

I hated how Ronnie was booked after he was World Champion in NWA. Vince and his ego, I guess.

[@charlesreichow7178]

HOWDY.

[@ronaldbronsertjr4156]

Ronnie G was one of the best, and he had his trade mark hairciut !

[@kudblast1]

Came here after watching Royal Rumble 1990. I thought the match turned shoot they were hitting each other so hard.

[@bodhi8297]

The matches were more than stiff in my opinion, these dudes chests looked like dog food after they got done chopping each other. Always dug the shin guard as a kid, what can I say I was born Heel

[@Lewis9709]

If Greg got along with Shawn Michaels, he must be a great guy because Shawn was a prick.

[@chancegoode173]

These two guys seem like carbon copies of each other to me in their attitudes and wresting styles.

[@edwardreese976]

No disrespect to the Hammer, but he looks like Owen's mother from Throw Momma From the Train.

[@walterbradthau9525]

Mama Fratelli 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@virgiljohnson9880]

Garvin was DRY DULL only got the NWA belt because Ricky Morton said no.

[@Jim-Tuner]

He got the NWA belt because Magnum TA had his car accident and there wasn't another obvious person to give it to. Garvin was the best choice at the time.

[@virgiljohnson9880]

@@Jim-Tuner No 1st Magnum had a car accident 2nd Ricky Morton would not take the belt because of Robert Gibson. But you believe your version

[@prestoncave834]

You can really tell when he's exaggerating. Bahahaha

[@TAXENGINEER]

Rumor has Greg didn’t get fired because he ratted everyone out in Europe ?

[@WZ912]

nah!

[@jimh4167]

European Tour House Cleaning. ???