 Sullivan,c. 1981 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Sullivan (1946-11-25)November 25, 1946[1] |
| Died | April 4, 2018(2018-04-04) (aged 71) |
| Cause of death | Traffic collision |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Johnny Valiant[1] Luscious Johnny V[1] John L. Sullivan[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | New York City, New York[1] |
| Trained by | Al Costello[1] |
| Debut | 1967[1] |
| Retired | 2006 |
John L. Sullivan (bornThomas Sullivan;[1] November 25, 1946 – April 4, 2018) was an Americanprofessional wrestler andmanager, better known by hisring name,Johnny Valiant. He competed in theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which became the World Wrestling Federation during his time with the promotion. He won theWorld Tag Team Championship two times. The first run (which lasted over a year) was with his first and most famous storyline brotherJimmy Valiant overTony Garea andDean Ho on May 8, 1974; his second title run was with his second storyline brotherJerry Valiant over Tony Garea andLarry Zbyszko on March 6, 1979.[4][5]
Sullivan grew up in Pittsburgh's North Hills suburb, not far from wrestling championBruno Sammartino. After asking for advice on how to become a professional wrestler, Sullivan became close friends with Sammartino and began his career in the Detroit territory wrestling, refereeing and working the ring crew for the wrestling villain and promoter,The Sheik. KangarooAl Costello trained Sullivan in the mat wars and soon he began traveling the twenty-five regional territories throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.[6] From 1969 through 1973, he enjoyed a protracted stint in the WWWF as "John L. Sullivan," a mid-card babyface, losing to top-tier heels likeKiller Kowalski andToru Tanaka, but repeatedly holding the notorious BaronMikel Scicluna to a draw, and regularly defeating low-carders likeAngelo Savoldi andJohnny Rodz. Autographs of Valiant during the "Sullivan" era are believed to be rare. On one of his visits to Ontario working forDave McKigney, Sullivan metJimmy Valiant. Jimmy took a shine to the young, enthusiastic Sullivan and shortly thereafter, brought him to theWorld Wrestling Association, whereDick the Bruiser teamed up Sullivan (now renamed Johnny Valiant) with Jimmy Valiant as the Valiant Brothers.[6] A victory for the WWA tag team titles over Dick the Bruiser and Bruno Sammartino put the name of the Valiant Brothers on the marquee and the Valiants proceeded to have a five-year run.[6][7]
After he retired from active competition, Valiant went on to a successful career as a manager. He briefly managedHulk Hogan in theAWA in 1981 until shortly after Hogan's turn to face. Valiant moved back to the WWF and went on to manageBrutus Beefcake beginning in 1984. The pair appeared at the inauguralWrestleMania I event with Beefcake battlingDavid Sammartino (seconded by his fatherBruno Sammartino) to a double disqualification after Valiant slammed David on the floor before being attacked by Bruno who threw him into the ring where all four continued the fight. Valiant and Beefcake were also regulars on other WWF television shows including the weekly syndicatedWWF Championship Wrestling.
Soon after in May 1985, Valiant and fellow heel managerJimmy Hart put togetherThe Dream Team with Beefcake teaming with thenIntercontinental ChampionGreg Valentine. After initially feuding withTito Santana (who reclaimed the IC title from Valentine in July) and theJunkyard Dog, The Dream Team began to challengeThe U.S. Express (Barry Windham andMike Rotundo) for theWWF World Tag Team championship after Valentine had lost the IC title to Santana in July. On August 24, 1985, atThe Spectrum inPhiladelphia, Valiant led the Dream Team to the Tag Team championship,[6] when they defeated The U.S. Express after Beefcake rubbed Valiant's lit cigar in Windham's eyes.[4] The Dream Team held on to the title for eight months, facing challenges from teams such as the U.S. Express andThe Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell andB. Brian Blair) before losing it to theBritish Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid andDavey Boy Smith) in theChicago segment ofWrestleMania 2. The Dream Team chased the Bulldogs for the next few months but were unsuccessful in regaining the championship belts.
Valiant addedDino Bravo to his stable in early 1987. AtWrestleMania III in front of 93,173 at thePontiac Silverdome, Valiant, Valentine and Bravo abandoned Beefcake in the ring after the Dream Team had defeatedThe Rougeau Brothers (Jacques andRaymond) and The New Dream Team of Valentine and Bravo was born.[8] Not as successful as the first incarnation, this Dream Team had a lengthy feud with the scorned Beefcake, now nicknamed "The Barber", who cut Valiant's hair on an episode ofSuperstars of Wrestling when an overly confident Luscious had given the New Dream Team the night off.[8] The New Dream Team initially feuded withThe Islanders (Haku andTama) as well as continuing the feud with the Rougeaus. The Dream Team also had a couple of unsuccessful Tag Team Championship matches against then-championsThe Hart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart). These matches were unusual for the time as both teams were heels with The Hart Foundation managed by Jimmy Hart.
Also in this stint in the WWF, Valiant was known to do commentary on matches from time to time (filling in on Wrestling Challenge for fellow heel manager/commentatorBobby "The Brain" Heenan when he had to leave the broadcast booth to manage one of his wrestlers) and introduced the team ofDemolition (Ax andSmash during which time the original Smash (Moondog Rex) was replaced byBarry Darsow due to fans recognizing him as one ofThe Moondogs). After a few months, Demolition was managed byMr. Fuji.
One of Valiant's last appearances as a manager in the WWF was at the1987 Survivor Series. After this show, Valiant was phased out as manager of the New Dream Team and was then relegated to the role of a wrestler once again, as ajobber to the stars.[9] Valiant left the WWF in March 1988, just before WrestleMania IV, and then returned to the AWA as a manager and led theDestruction Crew (Wayne Bloom andMike Enos) to theAWA World Tag Team Championship in 1989 (defeatingGreg Gagne andPaul Diamond in a tournament final).[5]
Sullivan went by the moniker of Johnny Valiant as an actor and comedian. He appeared on multiple episodes ofThe Sopranos andLaw & Order.[5] He also had several feature films on his resume. His one-man show "An Evening with Johnny Valiant" garnered critical praise fromTime Out New York,The Village Voice and WBAI Pacifica Radio.[5] He was remarried in 2004 and lived inQueens, New York City.[5]
A documentary and sequel featuring Johnny Valiant, Jimmy Valiant, and indy wrestlers Sky Hosoya and Larry Brisco called "The Absolute Truth About Pro Wrestling (Parts 1 and 2)" was released in 2008.
Sullivan was struck and killed by a pickup truck at 5:30 a.m. inRoss Township, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, on April 4, 2018. Police treated it as an accident.[3] He was taken toAllegheny General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.[10][11] Police told local news Sullivan was not in a crosswalk, and the driver of the vehicle remained on the scene.[12]
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