| Valiant Brothers | |
|---|---|
 Left to right: Jimmy, Jerry and Johnny ,c. 1979 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Jimmy Valiant[1] Johnny Valiant[1] Jerry Valiant[1] |
| Billed heights | Jimmy: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Johnny: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 492 lb (223 kg) (Jimmy & Johnny) |
| Billed from | New York City |
| Debut | November 1973 |
| Disbanded | 1982 |
| Years active | 1973–1979 |
TheValiant Brothers were aprofessional wrestlingtag team ofstoryline brothers "Handsome"Jimmy Valiant, "Luscious"Johnny Valiant, and "Gentleman"Jerry Valiant.[1] The team wrestled for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA), theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (WWWF/WWF) and theWorld Wrestling Association (WWA).[1]
Jimmy Valiant andJohnny Valiant formed atag team inWorld Wrestling Association asstoryline brothers. They began wrestling together asheels. They debuted as a team on 5 January 1974 when they defeatedDick the Bruiser andBruno Sammartino to win theWWA World Tag Team Championship.[2] The titles were held up after a match against Bruiser and Sammartino on 25 January. On 7 February, they defeated Bruiser and Sammartino in a rematch to win the titles a second time.[2] Despite being heels, who usually are hated by the crowd, the Valiant Brothers were cheered by the audience during their second reign. Their tenure with WWA ended after they lost the tag titles toWilbur Snyder and Pepper Gomez on 4 May.
Jimmy and Johnny signed withVincent J. McMahon'sWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in May 1974 and debuted there around soon after. Their biggest success as a tag team came when they defeatedTony Garea andDean Ho to win theWWWF World Tag Team Championship on the 8 May 1974 edition ofAll Star Wrestling.[3][4] The Valiants quickly became a dominantheel tag team as they went on to successfully defend their titles for over a year before losing them toDominic DeNucci andVictor Rivera on 13 May 1975.[5] This made the Valiant Brothers the longest reigning champions of their era with a reign of370 days.[6] The record was broken fourteen years later byDemolition (Ax andSmash), who reigned as tag team champions for 470 days.[6] After losing the titles, the Valiants battled against the likes of Tony Garea, Dean Ho,Chief Jay Strongbow andHaystacks Calhoun.[7]
In 1976, Jimmy and Johnny left WWWF and joined theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) where they toured various NWA territories. They debuted inGeorgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) in the summer of 1976. On 16 July 1976, they defeatedDean Ho and Ken Mantell to win theNWA Georgia Tag Team Championship.[8] On 10 September, they lost the titles to Porkchop Cash and Tom Jones. They joined San Francisco, California-basedNWA San Francisco where they defeated theRoyal Kangaroos (Jonathan Boyd andNorman Frederick Charles III) on 4 December 1976.[9] They lost the titles toPat Patterson and Pepper Gomez on 9 February 1977. Later that same year, they joinedChampionship Wrestling from Florida (CWF). In January 1978, they were awarded theNWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship.[10] On 25 January 1978, they lost the titles to Florida nativesMike Graham andSteve Keirn.
In 1978, the Valiant Brothers returned to WWWF but Jimmy retired and was replaced by "brother"Jerry Valiant.[1] Jerry and Johnny began wrestling in thetag team division while Jimmy became theirmanager. In March 1979, the promotion was renamed the World Wrestling Federation, dropping 'Wide' from the name. On the 24 March 1979 edition ofChampionship Wrestling, Jerry and Johnny defeatedLarry Zbyzsko andTony Garea to win theWWF Tag Team Championship.[11] This second version of the Valiant Brothers was also successful, but Jerry could not achieve the popularity which Jimmy had achieved.
On 13 July 1979, they retained the championship in a match against The Jaguar of Colombia[12] and Tito Santana. Jerry and Johnny lost the titles toIvan Putski andTito Santana on 22 October.[13] After unsuccessful attempts in winning back the titles from Putski and Santana, the Valiant Brothers broke up in 1980, putting an end to the team.
After leaving the WWF in 1979, Jerry and Johnny continued teaming without Jimmy. In 1980 they worked in Japan. Then in 1982, they reunited working in the independent circuit in the States. They disbanded later that year.
Jimmy and Johnny were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameclass of 1996 byOwen Hartand"The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith.[14] All three Valiant Brothers have reunited on theindependent circuit during the 2000s.[1]
Jerry died on 10 March 2010 in Indianapolis after a battle with advanced Alzheimer's on set by post-concussion syndrome, while Johnny died on 4 April 2018 after being involved in a pickup truck crash in Ross Township, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, thereby ending any possibility of a reunion. Jimmy wrestled for independent shows unit 2022 at the age of 80.
Jimmy & Johnny Valiant defeated WWWF Tag Team Champions Dean Ho & Tony Garea to win the titles
Victor Rivera & Dominic DeNucci defeated WWWF Tag Team Champions Jimmy & Johnny Valiant to win the titles
Johnny & Jerry Valiant (w/ Capt. Lou Albano & Jimmy Valiant) defeated WWWF Tag Team Champions Larry Zbyzsko & Tony Garea to win the titles at 10:54 when Johnny pinned Zbyzsko after Jerry and Zbyzsko collided and Jimmy pulled Jerry to the floor, allowing Johnny to take his place in the ring.
Ivan Putski & Tito Santana defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Johnny & Jerry Valiant at 13:39 to win the titles when Santana pinned Johnny, the illegal man, with a crossbody after the champions collided in the ring, with Jerry being knocked to the floor.
Johnny & Jimmy Valiant were rewarded with the highest honor: induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996. Fittingly, they were inducted by British Bulldog & Owen Hart, who were the reigning World Tag Team Champions at the time
The Valiant Brothers' history is covered in a chapter dedicated to the team in the bookThe Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams:
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