Friend Encounters: Greg Valentine and Herb Simmons

Friend Encounters is a weekly series about friends meeting celebrities.

Herb Simmons is the man behind Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling. One of the great events is the Fan Fest. This year, it is May 8-9 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Last year, Tony and I made the trek south to cover Fn Fest. Our main goal of Kevin Von Erich had to cancel due to horrible weather in St. Louis. We actually almost drive into a tornado one day. Anyway, despite his cancellation, we had a great time meeting so many other legends like David Schultz, B Brian Blair, Ricky Morton and many others.

This year, the guest lineup is just starting to get released. So far, Johnny Rodz, Spike Huber, Mick Foley and a few others have been announced.

Herb works tirelessly to make this a great event. Usually on the first night, some of the wrestlers are at their booths, but there is also a special session. Last year, it was a Q&A with the legendary ill Apter. This year, Foley is doing something special.

I don't see a lot of pictures of Herb with wrestlers. He is probably too busy making sure everything runs smoothly...and it does. I did manage to find a pic of him with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. That makes two legends and Hall of Famers in one picture.

We are planning on being "On the Beat" again at Fan Fest. It's a fun roadtrip and there are great wrestlers to meet. It is also always good seeing Herb.

Go to SICW.org for more info on Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling and the Fan Fest/. Check here for my recurring coverage.

Greg Valentine and Herb Simmons in St. Louis, MO-May 2025.

Heroes and Legends Fanfest Is Coming In March 2016

It is only the beginning of November and there is a long winter ahead of us.  Still, it is not too early to start marking your calendars for great events in 2016.  One of the earliest fun times will be at Heroes and Legends VI.

The Heroes and Legends Fanfest will be held on Saturday March 26 in Fort Wayne, IN.  A few big name wrestling guests and wrestling matches have already been announced.

Your Olympic hero Kurt Angle is a Platinum Guest.  Other star wrestlers include Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Kevin Thorn.

The two matches signed so far are great starts to what should be a fantastic card.  Heroes and Legends World Champ Dru Skillz will be challenged by Abyss.  Heroes and Legends Cruiserweight Champ Troy Miller is being challenged by DJ Zema Ion.

This event promises to be awesome.  It is a rare opportunity to have so many legendary wrestlers available for pictures and autographs.  Plus, they are presenting a top notch night of wrestling.  This is a wrestling fan's dream day.  There aren't many chances like this in the midwest.

Wrestlers make for some of the best celebrity guests at any convention.  They genuinely appreciate their fans.  They also have interesting stories to tell.

Such is the case with Hall of Famer Valentine.  At the Motor City Comic Con, he told me a hilarious story, which you can find at On the Beat with Greg Valentine.

Valentine was one of two wrestlers there.  At Heroes and Legends, there will be many more.  I'll definitely be there, too.

I'll be providing pre-, live and post-event coverage for here and other sites.  Stay tuned here for more details.

Be sure to check out HeroesAndLegendsWrestling.com for ticket info and more updates and announcements.  Also, "Like" the Heroes and Legends Facebook page to follow them on social media.

Greg Valentine and me in Novi, MI-May 2015.

On the Beat with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine at Motor City Comic Con 2015

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine is a wrestling legend.  The second generation WWE Hall of Fame wrestler has won many titles over his lengthy career, including the WWF Intercontinental title and the WWF tag team tiles (with Brutus Beefcake).  He also wrestled all over the world, entertaining fans for 40+ years.

I have met Valentine several times and he is always good for some wrestling stories.  Finally, at the Motor City Comic Con 2015, I was able to get one of his stories on video.  He also answered a couple other questions for us.

After the interview, Valentine asked us if we would be interested in helping promote his upcoming appearance at CitiField.  Of course, we are more than happy to work with Valentine and the others involved.  More info will be forthcoming, but for now, please enjoy the Valentine interview.

It's Hammer Time

I have met Greg Valentine several times.  Valentine is generally a pretty quiet, but friendly guy, despite his reputation in the wrestling ring and his nickname of "the Hammer".  I did write "generally".
At the Motor City Comic Con, apparently Valentine had enough of my humor.  I approached his table and the next thing I knew, his big, beefy hands were encircling my neck and squeezing tighter with each passing second.
Once Cuzz was able to talk Valentine into releasing his grip, we had a fun conversation.  He even asked me about looking like Jay Leno (which put him into the Jay Leno Club).
Valentine was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.  It was a fitting honor for a wrestling veteran like the Hammer!

Greg Valentine and me in Novi, MI-May 2011.

Bill Apter Joins the Jay Leno Club

As previously explained, the Jay Leno Club is a group of celebrities who have made some sort of comment about me resembling Jay Leno.  Long time journalist Bill Apter is the newest member of the club, although I might have cheated him out of an earlier entry.
Bill is considered to be the best wrestling journalist.  He has been informing and entertaining wrestling fans for over 25 years.  Currently he can be found at 1Wrestling.com and also at wrestling conventions.  I have met him a few times and he is a great guy.
I recently exchanged emails with Bill about some of his celebrity stories.  In one of his responses, he said that he remembered me from the Wrestle Reunion in 2005 and then he referred to me as the Jay Leno lookalike.
Obviously, that remark put him into the Jay Leno Club.  I am just not sure if he called me that at any of the events when I previously met him.  It doesn't really matter.  There are no lifetime stats for longevity in the Jay Leno Club.
I am proud to induct Bill into the Jay Leno Club.  The membership now stands at eleven.  Who will be the twelfth?  Who knows?

Greg Valentine Joins the Jay Leno Club

I have been told many times that I resemble Jay Leno.  While I don't really see it myself, I hear it often.  A while back, I started the Jay Leno Club, which consists of celebrities who have made the Jay Leno connection.
For some reason, wrestlers dominate the club, with 8 of the 10 members being in the wrestling world.  I have no idea why wrestlers make the connection at a much higher rate than the rest of the celebrities I meet.  Maybe wrestlers are just more talkative and thus they mention the Leno thing, where other celebs simply are quieter.
At the Motor City Comic Con, Greg "the Hammer" Valentine became the latest member of the club.  While casually talking about the convention and  wrestling, Valentine brought up the topic.  I laughed and told him he wasn't the first.  In fact, some of his friends (or at least colleagues) had made the Leno reference to me over the years.
The Jay Leno Club now stands at 10 members.  As always, I never know when the club will grow, but as always, when it does, I will report it right here!

Rhythm and Blues and Hass and Johngy

As Hass and I walked by this booth, the Honky Tonk Man called out a "Jay Leno" to me. As I have previously written, Honky Tonk is a member of the Jay Leno Club and has jokingly debated about Terri Runnels calling me "Jay" before or after him.
I wasn't surprised by the Jay Leno remark, but I was surprised to see Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine sharing the booth. I met Valentine before, but never the former tag-team known as Rhythm and Blues together.
Valentine is a WWE Hall of Famer, while HTM is the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental champ. Unfortunately, Rhythm and Blues was not exactly a high point for either of them. Valentine was a great, but dying his hair black and adopting the guitar playing gimmick went against his traditional wrestling background.
HTM and Valentine actually wrestled together (sometimes called Double Trouble) a while before they reunited as Rhythm and Blues. Although they never won tag-team gold in the WWE, they did win the titles in the Northern States Wrestling Alliance. Also, Diamond Dallas Page's first appearance in the WWE was driving them to the ring in a pink Cadillac for Wrestlemania VI.
Honky Tonk was his usual fun self and Valentine was his usual quiet self, but both were definitely willing to talk a bit about wrestling. Honky let me hold the IC title belt. In the lower left, one of Johnny Valentine's (Greg's dad) is sitting on the table.

Greg Valentine, Hass, me and Honky Tonk Man in Rosemont, IL-August 2010.

(Greg) Valentine's Day

Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine has been a wrestler for over 35 years. His father Johnny was also a wrestler.
Valentine has enjoyed a lot of success in the ring over the years. He has held many titles (as a solo and as part of a tagteam) in many organizations like WWE, NWA, AWA and WCW.
Valentine is a throwback. He's like an old-school wrestler. While he has wrestled through the cartoon era of the 80's and the attitude era of the 90's, I think Valentine would have been more comfortable with traditional wrestling of the 60's and 70's. He could work great, long matches with men like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes and Roddy Piper.
He wasn't great on the mic and he wasn't hugely marketable. That's unfortunate, because he has the mat skills and the knowledge advantage over most wrestlers.
That's not to diminish his accomplishments. Valentine is in the WWE Hall of Fame and deservedly so. I just think in an earlier era, he would have been even more successful.
Whenever I meet him, I am always amazed at how thick and solid Valentine is. He's not ripped and cut like others, but I bet Valentine is one of the strongest men in the business.

Greg Valentine and me in Kokomo, IN-October 2007.

It's Hammer Time

In Las Vegas, when I stumbled upon the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion event, Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine was one of the first wrestlers I saw. We came from different directions, but met in the reception area.
Semi-retired now, Valentine is a second-generation wrestler who had been active for about 25 years. Valentine has held many titles over the years and was involved in some great feuds. His title matches with Ric Flair are considered classics. His dog collar matches with Roddy Piper were certainly some of the bloodiest.
Valentine is pretty quiet, but pleasant. He is one thick man, though! He's not huge, but he is solid like a tree.

Greg Valentine and me in Las Vegas, NV-early 00's.