 |
|
Home
Wrestling
WWE
TNA
Tape Reviews
Other
Sports
Basketball
Football
Baseball
Hockey
International
Entertainment
Movies / TV
Music
Gaming
Technology
Books / Comics
" The Gravel Pit "
|
|
|
|
Wrestling
TTDR: An Evening with Johnny Valiant
Posted by Jay Doring on Apr 4, 2004, 17:53
|
|
The rich history of professional wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s is lost on many Gen X and Y'ers who grew up watching "Hulkamania" and "Attitude," myself included. Legendary names like Dominic DeNucci, Tony Garea, and Pedro Morales are just that, names, nothing more. However, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself in this bygone age, when I attended the acclaimed one-man show of WWE Hall of Famer "Luscious" Johnny Valiant. A former 2-time WWWF Tag Team Champion (with Jimmy Valiant), and a star all across the country with promotions such as the AWA and WWA, Valiant has enjoyed a second successful life away from the ring as an actor on shows such as "The Sopranos" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." LIke the last Boston Garden WWF show I went to, Valiant's show turned out to be "A Night to Remember."
I found out about this event from my new buddy and fellow indy diehard Adam Kalt, who I actually randomly met on a train coming back from Smackdown! a few weeks ago, in a classic case of, "You like wrestling? I like wrestling too! Let's be friends!" After several misdirections, we found the Good Time Emporium in Somerville, Massachusetts, only to discover that Adam had lost his wallet on the T, which unfortunately put a bit of a damper on the evening.
The event was hosted in conjunction with New England Championship Wrestling, whose promoter Sheldon Goldberg proved himself to be a really class guy, remembering that Adam had called earlier in the day for ticket availablity and shaking his hand. He also gave a truly heartfelt intro to Valiant, saying that he more drawn to the interviews and promos as a kid than the actual wrestling, and that Valiant was one of the promo men who inspired him the most. Several local NECW stars were in attendance as well, and I later found out that Killer Kowalski was lurking around in the back of the room.
Before I start the actual recap, I have to point out that it may not be completely accurate and there may be some parts missing, since it's coming entirely from memory. I went to this show as a fan to have a good time, not to be a hardcore net nerd- and people who bring notebooks to live shows are losers and pencil-necked geeks to being with.
Performance held 3/28/04:
Valiant opened by talking about driving through Stamford, Connecticut on the way to the show, and seeing the enormous WWE offices. It never used to be that huge, and the original WWE offices were in Washington DC. This segues into a story about his childhood, watching wrestling on TV in Pittsburgh. Back in those days, local baseball heroes like Roberto Clemente were all the rage, but once he saw these larger-than-life athletes on TV, he put away his glove and decided that his dream was to be a wrestler.
One day when he was 15, Valiant found out that Bruno Sammartino lived two streets away from his house. Valiant was awestruck and scared, but eventually worked up the courage to ring Bruno's doorbell. It should be noted that since this is a one-man stage show, and not an interview, Valiant simulates the conversations by himself. He first asked for an autograph for him and his father, and eventually mentioned to Bruno that he wanted to be a wrestler. Bruno, out of the kindness of his heart, drew up a workout plan for Valiant in order to prep him for a wrestling career.
Valiant and Vince McMahon Jr. actually went to the same high school and played on the same sports teams. One day, during a baseball game Vince walked a batter, and Valiant, the catcher, noticed that the runner was stealing second. Valiant threw to pick him off, and BAM! beaned Vince right in the back of the head. So you can blame Valiant for [insert stupid WWF/WWE mistake here.]
Fast forward a couple of years, to Valiant getting discharged early out of the Marines and deciding to start up his career. Bruno hooked him up to train with the Original Sheik up in Michigan. Valiant apparently didn't last very long there, (he does mention one training session, with Al Costello, who stretched him pretty bad) because of a nasty mixup with the Sheik. Valiant had driven 100 miles to work the ring crew for a show, and Sheik decided on the fly to make him a crooked referee that night for his match against The Mighty Igor. Well, Valiant forgot to raise Sheik's hand instead of Igor's so he got sent packing to work for Nick Gulas down South.
Valiant gets really excited talking about the gimmicks he saw while working down South, like the Mummy, who was in a super-realistic looking bandage costume and was covered in powder so when you punched him dust flew. -And an ambulance would pull up and the Mummy would get out from the back of the ambulance, and people would flee in terror as he stomped to the arena....I seriously regret not being old enough to see stuff like that.
Another time Valiant is driving 400 miles with this guy named Sputnik, to a show down in Atlanta. Sputnik was adamant about no stops..."ARRRRGH, THIS IS AN EXPRESS GODDAMMIT!-WE GO, WE WRESTLE, WE GET A CASE OF BEER, WE DRIVE BACK, NO STOPS. THIS IS AN EXPRESS!" So they drive down, they wrestle, they get a case of beer and a six pack. So they're drinking in the car, and Valiant has to pee four times, and each time Sputnik gets angry and bellows, "ARRGH! THIS IS AN EXPRESS!" So once they get back, Valiant asks how Sputnik didn't pee the whole time and he drank way more than he did. "I DID GO, RIGHT HERE! I TOLD YOU THIS WAS AN EXPRESS!" Valiant: "I thought that smell was transmission fluid."
We skip ahead to Valiant meeting Dick the Bruiser, who first paired him with Jimmy Valiant as the Valiant brothers, and set them up with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as a manager. Valiant then does a PERFECT ring announcer impression, commentating the highlights of the match from memory.
After this, there's a couple of funny random road stories:
-Rooming with Andre the Giant: "I woke up one night to find Andre wrestling with himself...and winning! I'll never look at baseball bats the same way again."
-Meeting George "The Animal" Steele: Valiant puts over the gimmick huge, especially the green tongue. "Steele says to me, 'in our match, I want you to run away from me like I'm crazy.' It wasn't that hard."
Valiant zips way ahead again, glossing over his Hall of Fame induction, and doing play-by-play of his last indy show as an active wrestler before retiring, against Jimmy Snuka. He asks himself if all those years as a wrestler were worth it, and he replies, "hell yes."
Quick Q and A:
-Feels that the current roster are just incredible performers who have taken wrestling to a new level, mentioning Benoit, Guerrero, and Triple H by name.
-He doesn't really keep up with anyone else in the business, but he does take time out to rag on Brutus Beefcake for his recent cocaine bust.
-Talks about an angle where he had his head shaved and had a dog walk over him. Said it was an...interesting experience for his son.
-Valiant mentions how he thinks pro wrestlers are incredible actors, because they have a presence about them that makes them stand out from a crowd. You see them walking down the street, you KNOW who they are.
Valiant closes by talking about a blind date he has with a young Chinese girl, who speaks no English, so they communicate only with their eyes. He closes with this statement, "love is all about what you do with it, and who you do it with."
The show closed with a quick autograph session with Valiant, who was nice enough to bring his own posters for signing, free of charge.
Final Thoughts:
My friend Adam summed this show up best when he said, "listening to Johnny Valiant made me realize how truly outside the business I am, and how much I want to be in it...I could listen to the guy for hours." Johnny Valiant is one of the most engaging speakers I've listened to, and he has the special ability to make you vividly envision the scene in your mind through his words. Trust me, my recap of the show does not even come close to doing justice to what an entertaining experience it is. My one problem with the show is that not counting the Q & A, it's only about 45 minutes long. But even at 15 bucks a ticket, that 45 minutes is well worth it.
For more information on Johnny Valiant and a list of his upcoming tour dates, visit his official site.
New England Championship Wrestling returns to the Good Time Emporium on April 25th, headlined by a double main event of Maverick Wild vs. Psycho Mike for the NECW Heavyweight Championship and Adrenaline vs. Sabotage for the NECW Tag Titles. For further details visit NECWwrestling.com
Jay Doring
| |
|
|
|
|
|
