Greg Valentine - When I Made My WWF Debut in 1975 & Teaming with Ric Flair in NWA

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine talks about his WWF debut back in 1975 and what it was like teaming with Ric Flair in NWA. Enjoy this exclusive new shoot interview from Title Match Network, live in Las Vegas.
Streaming now 📺 TitleMatchNetwo...
Produced by us in Feb 2021, this is our first ever solo shoot interview with Hall of Fame legend, Greg Valentine.
On April 14, 1975 Greg Valentine made his WWF debut in Madison Square Garden vs El Olympico. This event was broadcast live on HBO who was just a few years old at the time.
Greg was a champion for Olympic Wrestling in Los Angeles so this match was the official start of his long WWF career. Short time after, Valentine would form a team with Ric Flair in NWA and they became 2x tag team champions.
Also, we discuss Greg's early years in WWF as he would go on to wrestle in many sell-out feuds against Bob Backlund, Pedro Morales, Chief Jay Strongbow and others.
It would be during this time when Valentine first met Vince McMahon & his father, the original promoter for WWWF (aka WWF, now WWE).
We hope you enjoy this exclusive new shoot from Greg the Hammer!

[@TitleMatchWrestling]

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

[@MrAce-lm8es]

The guys we didn't like Growing up are now the guys who are most revered. Like Greg Valentine. Very revered.

[@kevinbrooks1104]

I always liked him cause he was announced that he came out of Seattle

[@R2B2YT]

weird how that worked out...the villains were really the nice guys a lot of the time and the "good" guys were just some facade

[@walterkoziol3822]

I've always been a huge fan of Valentine even when he wrestled Backlund.

[@trump-totalwar6509]

hated valentine and the honky tonk man. happiest days as a kid wrestling fan was when the bulldogs won the titles from the dream team and when warrior buried honky. then they ended up as a team and i hated them even more.

[@johntaylor6837]

Great wrestler. Got both tag team belts in NWA and WWF as well as I-C and US belts. Should’ve been World champion.

[@Toracube]

Greg Valentine looked the meanest wrestler of all. He didn't have to do to much. That face did most of his work. You brought into it. One of the greatest heels.

[@erowell91]

I love his interviews. He gives a lot of insight on how things were back then. He really is a classy guy 👍

[@mkeysou812]

For such a dour and gloomy guy, he seems to have nothing but good things to say about the times and people he worked with and such a great outlook on his life.

[@Tarmac76]

That hair, man. I don't think he lost one hair.

[@amjadmustafa78]

Love this guy, doesn't have one bad word to say about anyone

[@seanabbins5481]

If you were a wrestler in the 70's or early 80's, especially a heel, you were a journeyman, and this clip really drives that home. Valentine had successful runs in Los Angeles, Florida, the Carolinas and the Northeast, was happy in each place, but had to leave anyway after a certain period of time because that's the way it was. But he could come back to a territory after a hiatus if he made a good impression before.

[@1dilligaf]

He was also very popular in Canada in Toronto

[@AB-ez4rm]

I loved listening to Gorilla Monsoon's commentary about The Hammer. Great comments like (paraphrased) "It takes the Hammer 20 to 30 minutes to just warm up during the match."

[@chrishagler2938]

Could listen to Greg Valentine interviews all day. Man knows so much and never bashes anyone. Legend.

[@StarOasis26]

I love hearing Valentine's talking about his stories. I click on them every time

[@mrgreenbaypacker929]

Me too

[@brunopaolucci6594]

I love his stories. Looks damn good for his age

[@dave-rf2vn]

Can you imagine if Greg was a horseman?????

[@namelessentity5851]

One of the all-time great robe Men. Always had a sweet looking entrance robe.

[@kimthompson5871]

Again, great stories he tells !

[@PosiVibes_Hub]

Greg you are such a lovely soul. Love how you give credit to everyone

[@randybarnett2308]

He's a true gentleman, and role model!👍😀😀

[@bdiff]

I love that he calls Vince “the kid” when he is younger 😂

[@charlescarter4608]

To differentiate between Jr. and Sr.

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

Yeah, that is funny, actually.

[@fathead-zd6zs]

@@bdiff he is not older than Vince. Vince is 75 and Greg is 69.

[@bdiff]

@@fathead-zd6zs yeah you’re right which proves my point so thank you. He’s younger calling Vince “kid” so once again thanks for the clarification & making my point clearer 😂

[@fathead-zd6zs]

@@bdiff proves your point? Bro in one comment you said Greg was younger and then the next you said he was older so I don't think you even know what point you were trying to make. Lmao

[@illusionxmuta]

Hard to imagine that 1975 was 47 years ago

[@danparker1976]

i know what you are saying there.i remember evil knievel jumping with the sky cycle

[@raswillyshow]

Greg should have been a world champion in the NWA & WWF one time in his life. Great Wrestler

[@goosemcgee6247]

I could listen to Gregs stories all night.

[@Drpluv187]

I think Greg has some of the best shoots today.=)

[@stubbytaylor630]

I was born in 83, my first word was not Mom or Dad. It was Hulk Hogan because of my Grandpa. I respect all these interviews. I love it

[@jasondelvaux3036]

In a lot of these interviews, I read comments about people who hated Greg as a wrestler, but now love the guy. Greg was the antagonist against most of the WWF wrestlers I liked the most -- Tito, Ronnie, Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, etc. The thing that made me love those guys so much was they had entertaining matches. And they had entertaining matches because they had great opponents. Nothing is more important to a great match than a great heel. Greg was one of the best ever.

[@jbc1042]

Greg Valentine was the consummate professional. He did his job so well that people hated him, when he really is a wonderful human being. Thankfully we have the internet and archived videos to watch these great legends wrestle when they were in their prime!

[@larryfloyd4993]

and this why pro wrestling sucks in the WWE. WWF..WHAT EVER .. VINCE JR. KILLED THE TERRITORIES... wrestling promoters traded talent all over the country... which excited the fans.. made the wrestling magazines hot... people wonder and talked about if a WWF champion could win over a AWA OR NWA CHAMPION.. and other feuds.. wrestling was fun at one time... now... not so much.. but others don't know their history of wrestling... the winner vince jr.. re-wrote history and entertainment.. but its not pro wrestling

[@billschmidt4192]

Greg is interesting. Keep the videos coming!

[@jimmymack1507]

I remember meeting Valentine way back and talking to him about the Strongbow match!!! #Legend

[@jbc1042]

Florida Championship Wrestling was definitely one of the hotbeds of pro wrestling during the 70s, with Gordon solie as the host. Modern wrestling cannot even compare to the quality of talent and the excitement of having these wrestlers traveling from different territories to build up the grudge matches and the storylines. Remember when Gordon Solie would show film clips on Saturdays of the matches that took place during the week. Watching those film clips made you want to go to the "live" matches in your area. Thankfully, we have the internet to view a lot of these archived matches on video. Thanks for the great video!

[@jamesblair5971]

Much respect one of the best workers to ever lace a pair of boots!

[@dannypowers4995]

Breaking Wahoo's leg in middle 70s put Valentine in the top list of heels. That put his career on the path to one bad dude.

[@philaman1972]

Great stuff! The first time I saw Greg was on early 80s WWE TV wearing his beautiful robes and managed by the late, great Grand Wizard of Wrestling!

[@dave6279]

Mid Atlantic back in the 70's.."I broke Wahoo's leg!!"

[@troyg748]

I miss it too. I was just a kid and it was awesome. Best feud was Hammer and Piper. Dog collar match was just insane. And Hammer, best hair ever lol.🤘

[@outlawi132]

Yea that whole feud was great. I remember when Greg busted Pipers eardrum before the dog collar match. It was all so believe able.

[@grg-mpgmusic7247]

This is some great insight into GV. I have a new respect for him. Seems like a great guy.

[@walterbrown9079]

BACK IN THE NWA wrestling day can we say that both nature boy Ric flair and Greg The Hammer Valentine WERE THE ORIGINAL HOLLYWOOD BLONDES ?

[@AndrewRadziewicz]

Greg is a very humble man. Great to watch him as a kid growing up .

[@charleslowe2095]

WWF wrestling wouldn't have survived without the wrestlers they brought in from the southern nwa territories.

[@adrianjohnson650]

And that's the truth.

[@neilgoldring6494]

Ya wanna know how awesome Greg Valentine is?.......he made Brutus Beefcake look good 😅

[@jonnun7713]

I love how alcohol and the truth run side-by-side

[@kingflame81]

TRUTH!

[@PaulSpecter]

What a Super interesting man. Back in 71-72 he was in the Best tag team ever, The Fargo Brothers , he was Johnny and his brother was Don, BEST interviews Ever !!! Buffalo, NY

[@DW-nb2zc]

So he wrestled in WWF in the 70's,left and then came back in the 80's?

[@jerichobeach2967]

Title Match Wrestling you have a new subscriber. I love Greg the hammer great heel when I was a kid and straight shooter in these interviews I could listen to them all day! Who knows, now that I’m subbed maybe I can now and will.

[@TitleMatchWrestling]

Thank you sir! It’s a pleasure to have you with us. Mr. Valentine is the man

[@kevinkelly1529]

Not many rasslers liked Chief Jay Stromboli, but Hammer Valentine says he liked him. And, of course, Valentine also liked breaking his leg. 😂👍

[@tomjones5650]

He should have broke his other leg. And both his arms n big fat nose. Chief J. BrokeBones.

[@kevinkelly1529]

@@tomjones5650 😂

[@jasonphair8478]

Awesome heel in the business, amazing baby face in real life. That takes real talent to keep kayfabe that long.

[@charliewise1971]

Flair was in the same plane crash

[@michaelhungate7506]

I remember Gordon Solie for sure. Does anyone else notice that room he's in is color coordinated with his hair? Definitely not a criticism, just an observation. Valentine is one of my all time favorites. I hadn't seen him in a long time and he's aged well. He looks like he could still wrestle.

[@raswillyshow]

Greg Valentine should talk about his feud with Victor Rivera in L.A. & the feud with John Tolos Also teaming up with John winning the tag titles there & him wrestling the hollywood blondes After all he did wrestle his Brother Dale as one of the Blondes. How was it to wrestle Victor Rivera was he as good as Morales.

[@moffjerjerrod1579]

You can tell just how much Greg not only loved being in wrestling but how much he misses it too. There will never be anything like the territories days. Florida, Georgia, Mid-South, Mid-Atlantic. It was so good to watch. So many great wrestlers in so many good angles and events. Growing up in SC and VA I was able to see all sorts of different wrestlers and territories and nothing WWE or AEW does bow will ever come close to going to the football field in Florence SC or the George Washington HS gym in Danville VA or the Richmond Coliseum for matches. Kids now, they will never experience that, or get to see guys like Greg Valentine, or Dusty, Flair et al, and I truly feel sorry for the fans today for what they are missing.

[@bowtieguy377]

I remember in the late 70's watching on TV when Greg V. broke Jay Strongbow's leg and all the hysteria with the ambulance coming in, etc. That really, really put Greg over as a heel big time in the Northeast. He seemed to have made his mark just about everywhere in the U.S. and Canada too. If you watch his interviews, he recalls details on hotels, restaurants , matches from all over the place.

[@t-bro9529]

He was a good wrestler. I enjoyed his Intercontinental Championship and his United States Championship run in the 80s

[@robertsalmi3594]

The Ozzy Osbourne of wrestling!

[@JustinJaiC.]

Keith Richards.

[@douglasroseveare7295]

I miss those days. So many great wrestlers filled in that era who were trained and refined by the old school greats.

[@richardl3720]

Salvatore Bellomo & Nick DeCarlo voted greatest tag team of all time in professional wrestling history.

[@blastproces]

im 38 and bald as a goose w.hat is going on lol

[@tophyl7558]

I always loved the heels; Valentine, Piper, Orndorf. I had a friend who was a wrestler(jobber) and he told me all sorts of stuff

[@mrgreenbaypacker929]

I remember as a kid back in like ‘79 in a tv taping when Greg Valentine said “ if anybody ever picked up a Wrestling Magazine “!they all know I broke the leg of a man named Wahoo McDaniel with the Figure 4 … so Greg claiming he didn’t use the figure 4 before was not correct . Also he being tag team with Flair I’m pretty damn sure he used it . I’ve a great memory

[@karmamaker8318]

Greg ... Give me life advice for an hour ..I will pay you ❤

[@loriguy7030]

I remember well when Flair&Valentine wrestled as a tag team.Good memories!

[@thefrase7884]

In real life the good guys were the a’holes and the heels were the good guys

[@DanielFitzpatrick713]

I love listening to these videos of "The Hammer" reflecting on his career. Good stuff. Thanks for posting these.

[@dhenry1976]

Greg has aged very well.

[@DW-nb2zc]

And he's still alive

[@AllanAdamson]

Bob was a great worker and champion..

[@charleslowe2095]

Greg gave kudos to Florida by far the best territory back then.

[@charleslowe2095]

Florida was great up until 85 when Eddie Graham committed suicide, they folded two years later Hiro Matsuda killed the promotion.

[@MonstroLab]

When he said that about Florida i grinned...i always loved The Hammer's figure 4 move and Im a proud florida native that grew up watching Gordon Solie and my gradeschool PE teacher was none other than pro wrestler/commentator Coach John Heath and id often watch coach help Gordon on TV weekends! I feel lucky but i miss those days.

[@henrydycha7689]

One of greatest tag teams

[@RobertCookJr-vh3xk]

I all ways like Greg Valentine. A great worker.

[@jagastan892]

"The rest is history, WrestleMania 1".

[@walkerdeshazier3479]

One of my favorites The Hammer is the man!!

[@jonmccormick8683]

"I loved all the guys and enjoyed breaking their legs" = Greg Valentine.

[@jyesucevitz]

can anybody expound upon what Greg said about not being allowed to wear a mask there? (or then?) and he cuts the face out instead of taking it off?

[@jb888888888]

@Irv Smith My guess too. Masks and removal thereof are serious business in Lucha Libre so he wore as much of his mask as legally allowed.

[@justthethreeofus.8161]

I loved working with he’s wife! Greg was my favorite!’

[@MrAce-lm8es]

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine makes his World Wide Wrestling Federation debut in 1975.

[@kurtashton4155]

The one and only HAMMER 🔨🔨

[@tinymeat2347]

Back in the day I couldn't stand him, now I love him. One cool mother efer...

[@jamiepreston1490]

I never hear Greg talk bad about anybody. He did his heel thing very well because I couldn't stand that motherf__ker growing up. Lol. He seems like a very gentle person now.

[@theravagedgrapefruit8190]

Fun fact it was against the law at that time I. nY to cover your face with a mask. Hence why EO has an opening where his face was in his mask.

[@ronaldgranville9760]

I love HIS INTERVIEWS.

[@ThePunkrawkdaddy]

What an amazing nice respectful wrestler. So cool

[@fillopez2646]

I'm glad Greg isnt like all other wrestlers thinking they drew like hogan. Ugly dudes had it made back then I wish I was there.

[@sparkie119]

Was Greg the Hammer Valentine a member of the Fargo Brothers tag team? they wrestled in my Home town of Abq, NM. Mike London, promoter.

[@sparkie119]

@Irv Smith Thanks. Watched them as a kid on Sundays on a local Albuquerque wrestling show.

[@marqueswilliams345]

I had a elementary school gym teacher she looked just like Greg Valentine

[@MICKEY4356]

Love to here wrestling stories.

[@mistermay7986]

During 79 & 81 when Greg was going back and forth to Crockett and Vince. Which promotion was paying Greg more for main events

[@TheEWFX29]

Back them it was all based on the amount of tickets sold. So I guess whoever was drawing more was the better payout.

[@tomwalker389]

Didn't Johnny teach Greg the Figure Four?

[@Sprawl1978]

Why couldn’t you wear a mask in New York?

[@lawrenceturner5382]

There was an actual New York law on the books prohibiting people from wearing masks in public unless at a masquerade or party. Because the WWWF had wrestling in the Garden every month, McMahon Sr "donated" money to the Commission in order to get the ban lifted. This allowed Mil Mascaras the ability to wrestle there.

[@thecellardoor54543]

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

[@ragnarlothbrook4652]

Greg valentine it’s just a class act

[@douglasowen5521]

Good interview, seems a nice guy, but can't stop thinking how much he looks like the old woman out the goonies 🤣

[@codyhollis3677]

G.V IS SUCH A CLASSS ACT??????

[@maga6252]

Oh, I bet he does not wanna talk about 'Rythm and Blues' when he was tagged up with The Honky Tonk Man! #ShakeRattle&Roll 😆🎸🎶

[@Chili453]

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@aceross4177]

Is this the Man who broke Wahoo’s leg?🤔

[@thegodfather1907]

I can watch these all day.

[@jamesshute8258]

I remember being 9 years old back in the late 70's. My parents surprised me and my sisters with a 2 week Disney World trip. I remember being more excited about seeing Florida Championship Wrestling than I was about Disney. That was back when wrestling was only regional. I only had WWWF wrestling back then. My dad used to by me wrestling magazines. I was so excited to finally get to see all the wrestlers I had only got to read about. Greg Valentine was one of those wrestlers. Bob Backlund was another. A short time after we got home from that trip, both guys ended up in the WWWF. Such good memories.

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

That's an awesome story, man. 👍

[@sprintkick9793]

Grew up watching the great Gordon Solie on CWF every Saturday night @ 7 on channel 44. Never missed. Oh the memories...

[@Trumper1963]

Hammer is the man

[@SuperAtlantis1]

A legendary wrestler.

[@prayingmantis6777]

The Estwing.

[@aw8119]

The mid to late 70s run that Valentine had in the Mid-Atlantic region was epic. I remember for about one or two weeks he was a titleholder of three championships as either a singles competitor or as part of a tag team with Flair. Also the way the Crocketts handled the transition from Johnny to Greg after Johnny’s accident was very believable.

[@shayneholder9300]

Greensboro Rules

[@BillyBob-ld5nv]

Born and raised in Charlotte. Always wondered why Greg left Mid Atlantic. Thanks for the vid.