Wrestling Wednesday / May 2

John Anthony Wisniski, known to the pro wrestling universe as Johnny Valentine, passed away at the age of 72 at about 3 AM on April 24, the same day as Lou Thez' 85th birthday, in Dallas. He had suffered numerous physical problems with his back and heart, some of which dated back to the '70's, over the past year. There is an eerie link between Valentine and Ric Flair, which, thanks to the Wrestling Observer, I recently became aware of. On Sat., Oct 4, 1975, near Wilmington, NC, a Cessna 310 plane carrying Flair, Valentine, David Crockett, George Woodin ( Tim "Mr Wrestling" Woods ),and Bob Bruggers crashed when it ran out of gas trying to make an emergency landing. Apparently, for unknown reasons, Flair switched places in seats with Valentine. In the crash, while Flair, sitting directly behind Valentine, suffered serious injuries including a broken back, he was able to return to the ring. Valentine was far more seriously injured, largely because he was sitting in the seat Flair had moved from, thus changing the entire course of pro wrestling history. Valentine broke his back in three places, and never walked again, ending his career at age 47. Valentine was born on September 22, 1928.

Wrestling Tuesday / May 1
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