| Rhythm and Blues | |
|---|---|
 Greg Valentine (left) and The Honky Tonk Man | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | The Honky Tonk Man Greg Valentine |
| Name(s) | Double Trouble Rhythm and Blues |
| Billed heights | Honky Tonk: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Valentine: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 514 lb (233 kg)[1] |
| Debut | 1988 |
| Disbanded | 1991 |
| Years active | 1988–1991 |
Rhythm & Blues was atag team composed ofThe Honky Tonk Man andGreg "The Hammer" Valentine[2] in theWorld Wrestling Federation from 1989 to 1991 and later on in theindependent circuit for a short run.
Both the Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine were a part of managerJimmy Hart's stable of wrestlers in the WWF, and both had previously held theWWF Intercontinental Title.[3] Greg Valentine had also held theWWF Tag Team Championship withBrutus Beefcake as one half ofThe Dream Team.[3] Honky Tonk Man and Valentine were also on the same team atSurvivor Series 1988.
In 1988,The Hart Foundation turned face and started a feud with former manager Jimmy Hart for pickingThe Fabulous Rougeaus over them. Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine teamed up (under the team name of “Double Trouble,“ though the announcers rarely used this name) to defend Jimmy Hart through the early parts of 1989 with the two teams facing off atWrestleMania V with the Hart Foundation winning the match.[4] After the loss Honky Tonk Man and Valentine focused on singles feuds with "Superfly"Jimmy Snuka and”Rugged” Ronnie Garvin respectively.
After the Fabulous Rougeaus left the WWF, Jimmy Hart reunited the Hammer and the Honky Tonk Man, gave them the team name “Rhythm and Blues,” and made changes to Greg Valentine’s appearance. Valentine had always been a blonde, ungimmicked wrestler who favored the traditional wrestling robe, but when teamed with the Honky Tonk Man, Valentine’s hair got dyed jet black, he was given shades, a white jacket and a guitar,[1] though he quite obviously did not know how to play. CommentatorGorilla Monsoon nicknamed Greg Valentine “Boxcar” when he saw his changed appearance (most likely after Blues singer “Boxcar Willie”).[5] As a commentator,Roddy Piper once opined "Elvis would be turnin' over in his grave if he was dead." In an interview forWorld Wrestling Insanity, the Honky Tonk Man states the team name was a suggestion made byRick Rude. AnnouncerSean Mooney said that since Honky Tonk Man was like Elvis, Greg Valentine was more like mashup betweenRoy Orbison andJohnny Cash.
Perhaps their most memorable moment came atWrestleMania VI when they were driven to the ring in a pinkCadillac driven by the then unknownDiamond Dallas Page. In the ring, they debuted their new song, "Hunka Hunka Honky Love"; the song was interrupted byThe Bushwhackers who attacked them and broke their guitars much to the delight of the fans.[6] The two teams had a lengthy feud over the summer of 1990 before Rhythm and Blues challenged the tag team champions the Hart Foundation for the titles during the fall.[7] The team had several shots at the gold, but came up short every time.
At the 1990Survivor Series, Rhythm and Blues partnered withTed DiBiase on his "Million Dollar Team" along with the debutingUndertaker, taking onDusty Rhodes' "Dream Team" of the Hart Foundation andKoko B. Ware. DiBiase would go on to be the only survivor for his team.[8]
Near the end of 1990 the Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine started arguing when Valentine got tired of Jimmy Hart’s interference in their matches.[9] This was supposed to lead to a feud between Greg Valentine and the Honky Tonk Man, but the Honky Tonk Man left the federation in January 1991[5] thus nullifying the feud.
At some point after both men left the WWF the team reunited in the Northern States Wrestling Alliance where they won the tag team titles once.[3]
(December 1, 1990) WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Greg Valentine & the Honkytonk Man
(December 28, 1990) Saba Simba defeated Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart) via disqualification at 8:29 after Valentine pushed the referee; after the bout, Hart hit Valentine with his own guitar when Simba moved out of the way, busting him open in the process, when Valentine came around, he almost attacked Hart after the crowd began cheering Valentine to do so, but Hart was able to escape before anything could happen
