| Dream Team | |
|---|---|
 Brutus Beefcake (left), Greg Valentine (right) | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Brutus Beefcake (1985–1987) Greg Valentine Dino Bravo (1987) |
| Name(s) | Dream Team New Dream Team |
| Billed heights | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – Beefcake 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) – Valentine 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) – Bravo |
| Combined billed weight | 520 lb (240 kg) (Dream Team)[1] 491 lb (223 kg) (New Dream Team)[2] |
| Debut | 1985 |
| Disbanded | 2013 |
TheDream Team was aWorld Wrestling Federationtag team from 1985 to March 29, 1987 consisting ofBrutus Beefcake andGreg Valentine managed by"Luscious" Johnny Valiant.The New Dream Team, also managed by Johnny Valiant, sawDino Bravo replace Brutus Beefcake and competed from March 1987 until the winter of 1988.
Prior to creation of the Dream Team, Greg Valentine, managed byCaptain Lou Albano, had won theWWF Intercontinental Championship fromTito Santana[3] and was in the middle of a brutal feud with Santana.[4] In the midst of that feudJimmy Hart took over Albano's managing duties while Valentine was still the champion. Brutus Beefcake had entered the WWF in 1984 under the management of Johnny Valiant.
Managers Johnny Valiant and Jimmy Hart first put Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake together in May 1985.[5] Early on Beefcake teamed with Valentine to fight off Tito Santana and theJunkyard Dog, both high ranked contenders for Valentine's Intercontinental title. In Toronto'sMaple Leaf Gardens on April 21, 1985 the Dream Team lost to Santana andRicky Steamboat in approximately 15 minutesin what many consider one of the best tag team matches of the 80s[citation needed]. The match appears on the WWF's Coliseum Home Video release "Best of the WWF Vol. 4". On July 6, 1985 Santana regained the Intercontinental Title in a steel cage match[3] and shortly afterwards the Dream Team set their sights on the reigningWWF World Tag Team champions,The U.S. Express (Barry Windham andMike Rotunda).[6]
Not long after Johnny Valiant became the sole manager of the Dream Team as the two started to team more and more regularly. Their initial shots at the tag team champions were unsuccessful[7] but on August 24 atThe Spectrum inPhiladelphia the Dream Team won the tag team titles from the U.S. Express when Beefcake (storyline) rubbed Luscious Johnny's lit cigar in Windham's eye.[3]
Immediately after their title win, the Dream Team were challenged byThe British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and theDynamite Kid), often escaping with their titles due to underhanded means.[8] Besides defending against the Bulldogs the Dream Team also put the gold on the line against such teams asThe Killer Bees[9] as well as the former champions the US Express (both versions). The Bulldogs remained a constant threat to the Dream Team as 1985 turned to 1986, finally the Dream Team agreed to give the Bulldogs one final tag team title shot atWrestleMania 2. On April 7, 1986 the two teams met in the Chicago section of WrestleMania broadcast from theRosemont Horizon, with the addition of "Prince of Darkness"Ozzy Osbourne in the Bulldogs’ corner the Dream Team finally ran out of tricks and lost the gold.[3]
Finding themselves in the challengers position the Dream Team now chased the Bulldogs in the months following WrestleMania 2 climaxing in a series of steel cage matches during the summer of 1986.[10] A running gag on the WWF's weekly television wasGorilla Monsoon's constant suggestion that the Dream Team never mentally got over the loss at WrestleMania 2, likely in acknowledgement of what many consider the best match on the card that night. Gorilla would always make a point to mention it happened in Chicago's Rosemont Horizon, the location Gorilla himself was stationed at for the event. As the summer passed the Dream Team found themselves facing the Killer Bees and the second version of the US Express instead of challenging for the gold. As 1986 turned to 1987 the Dream Team found themselves feuding withThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jaques andRaymond). The team was also joined by Johnny Valiant's newest additionDino Bravo in six-man tag matches.[11] Lack of championship success, not to mention Beefcake feeling muscled out by Bravo, began tension within the team.
AtWrestleMania III the Dream Team and the Rougeaus clashed once again with the Dream Team winning due to Dino Bravo's interference.[12] After the match Dino Bravo and Greg Valentine argued with Brutus Beefcake, kicking him off the team.[4]
After dumping Beefcake, Valentine and Bravo began wrestling as "The New Dream Team",[4] starting out strong by defeatingThe Islanders in a series of house show matches[13] after which they continued the long running feud with the Rougeau brothers splitting matches between them over the summer, often in six man matches with Beefcake joining the Rougeaus to take on Valentine, Bravo and Valiant.[14] The Dream Team also had a couple of shots at the world tag team championsThe Hart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart), but did not manage to repeat the success of the original Dream Team.[15]
The New Dream Team's last major appearance as a team was at the inauguralSurvivor Series where they took part in a ten team, tag team elimination match. Valentine was pinned byPaul Roma ofthe Young Stallions, eliminating the team from the match.[12]
After Survivor Series the New Dream Team broke up quietly, they simply stopped teaming up and went their separate ways. One of the main reasons for this split was because Valentine and Bravo legitimately did not get along outside the ring. Johnny Valiant left the WWF, Greg Valentine began working as a singles wrestler reuniting withJimmy Hart,[16] andDino Bravo came under the guidance ofFrenchy Martin.[17] Valentine and Bravo would later be teammates inRandy Savage'sKing's Court team at theSurvivor Series (1989), by which time Bravo had joined Valentine under Hart's management. That same night, Beefcake would appear in a different Dream Team, captained byDusty Rhodes. Valentine and Bravo would also later team up again up againstThe Rockers on a WWFVHS tape calledWWF Supertape, Volume 2 in 1990.
Bravo left the WWF in 1992 after he retired from the sport. Beefcake was released by the company in 1993 and went to WCW. Valentine left the company in 1992 and went to WCW. He returned to WWF in 1993 and left in 1994 and went back to WCW.
Valentine and Beefcake reunited for the first time in 16 years on November 1, 2003 defeatingThe Powers Of Pain at The Road Warrior Hawk Memorial Show. Then they lost toHacksaw Jim Duggan andTito Santana at the debut of Power Wrestling Alliance on November 11, 2005 in Dix Hills, New York. On November 9, 2007 they won the BCW Tag Team Championship for Brew City Wrestling defeating Brandon Tatum and Dinn T. Moore. The titles were dropped as they lost to Hardcore Craig and Steve Stone on January 12, 2008. They continued wrestling in the independent circuit. On July 20, 2013 they won the AWF Tag Team Titles and later that year split up.
Bravo was murdered on March 10, 1993 at his home in Laval, Quebec at 44. Valiant died after being hit by a car on April 4, 2018.
After 2013, Beefcake retired from wrestling in 2015 and Valentine retired form wrestling in 2019.
Valentine was inducted in theWWE Hall of Fame in 2004 and Beefcake was inducted in 2019.
(May, 1985) included Brutus Beefcake, Greg Valentine, Johnny V and Jimmy Hart as guests of the Body Shop in which Valentine & Beefcake billed themselves as the 'Dream Team' for the first time.
(July 9, 1985: Shown August 3, 1985) Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) defeated Barry O & Larry Finnegan at 3:18 when Windham pinned Finnegan with a bulldog; during the bout, Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, & Jimmy Hart appeared at ringside
(August 10, 1985: Shown September 10, 1985) WWF Tag Team Champions Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeated Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake at 24:02
(September 11, 1985) Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake via disqualification
(September 17, 1985) WWF Tag Team Champions Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake defeated B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell
(July 14, 1986: King of the Ring) WWF Tag Team Champions Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid defeated Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake in a steel cage match; Beefcake and Dynamite escaped the cage first; Smith escaped the cage after Valentine accidentally knocked him out the door
(January 6, 1987) Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, & Dino Bravo (w/ Johnny V) defeated Tito Santana, Pedro Morales, & Hillbilly Jim via count-out at 4:35
(April 26, 1987) Greg Valentine & Dino Bravo defeated the Islanders
(June 6, 1987) Brutus Beefcake, Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo, & Johnny V
(September 11, 1987) WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart fought Greg Valentine & Dino Bravo to a double count-out
(December 9, 1987) Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeatedPete Sanchez via submission with the figure-4 at 2:01
(December 26, 1987) Dino Bravo (w/ Frenchy Martin) pinned Koko B. Ware at 6:38 with the side suplex
