Jonathan Anthony Wisniski born September 20, is a retired American professional wrestler , better known as Greg " the Hammer " Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. 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 to train under Stu Hart in Calgary. Wisniski was trained to wrestle by Stu Hart , wrestling his debut match in July against Angelo "King Kong" Mosca he lost in around five minutes. Initially reluctant to take his father's ring name , Wisniski wrestled as Baby Face Nelson before becoming Johnny Fargo, one half of the Fargo Brothers with Don Fargo between and He later changed his ring name to Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, and was billed as Johnny Valentine's brother, not his son, because of fears that the elder Valentine would be thought of as too old to be a legitimate threat.
Valentine remained in Florida for a year while also working in Los Angeles and in Japan under Antonio Inoki in and early Valentine was hired to replace his father, who had been forced to retire after he broke his back in a plane crash in He immediately began feuding with Johnny Weaver , who he "retired" with a top rope elbow drop.
Valentine's elbow drop was promoted as a deadly move, with tapes of him breaking wooden boards with his elbow shown to the audiences before his debut. They first defeated Gene and Ole Anderson on December 26, who nine years later would become in storyline Flair's "cousins" in Greensboro , injuring Gene so badly that he had to be stretchered out.
They held the titles until May 8, , when the Andersons defeated them in a steel cage match in the old Charlotte Coliseum. Flair and Valentine regained the tag titles from the Andersons on October 30, this time leaving Ole unable to leave under his own power. The team split after they were stripped of the titles in April by NWA president Eddie Graham as a result of their "unprofessional conduct". Wahoo had cost Valentine and Flair their first tag team championships Wahoo, the then-nemesis of Flair, had been the special referee in the steel cage match , so Valentine was eager for revenge.
