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WWE Hall of Famer Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to honor 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper with dog collar match

WWE Hall of Famer Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine to honor 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper with dog collar match

Posted: Aug 22nd 2015 By: Benjamin Raven - MLive.com

JACKSON, MI ? When someone loses a friend, they might honor their memory with a poem, grieving in groups or maybe even getting a tattoo.

While that might work for some, that's not what WWE Hall of Famer Greg "The Hammer" Valentine had in mind.

Valentine, 63, will honor his fallen comrade "Rowdy" Roddy Piper with a dog-collar match at Jackson's Meggacon 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22 at the Commonwealth Center, 209 E. Washington Ave. "The Hammer" will take on Phil "Nitro" Monahan.

The dog-collar match put the two on the map back in 1983, in which Valentine calls the first real "hardcore" match in pro wrestling history.

While Ric Flair and Harley Race may have headlined "Starrcade '83: A Flair for the Gold," it was Piper and Valentine who stole the show.

"It was just spectacular looking at. It was amazing," Valentine said over the phone Thursday. "The Greensboro Coliseum was sold out and could hold 15,000-18,000 fans, and they probably put 5,000 more chairs on the floor.

"That was such a good match, so rough and so intense. It was hard to pull our punches in that huge chain, so we said 'screw it,' and just clobbered each other."

Piper died July 31 from a heart attack. He was 61, a WWE Hall of Famer, known for his feud with Hulk Hogan as one of the best villains of all time and for his starring role in the 1988 movie "They Live."

The last time Valentine and Piper were together was at Detroit's MotorCity ComicCon in May. It was just like old times back on the roads traveling the world together, Valentine said.

"We were together for four days with rooms right next to each other; it was just like the old days," he said. "After spending all day at the convention, we'd go eat and drink some beers and just be together; it was just great."

Valentine was at the Mid-Atlantic Fan Fest in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he caught wind of Piper's death.

Much like the rest of the wrestling world, it struck him hard and stuck with him.

"When I got the news he passed, I just stayed in my room the rest of the day and just cried all day. It really took a toll on me," Valentine said. "It makes you cherish every day you're alive and see how important it is to not think about every little thing so much and just enjoy the day."

Their match is regarded as one of the most revolutionary and violent matches in pro wrestling history. Valentine broke Piper's eardrum during the match, which caused the latter to lose 50 percent to 75 percent of his hearing in his left ear, according to Slam! Sports.

In the match, the two wrestlers are attached by the neck. Monahan, a Waldron native, is a three-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion.

While he might not be the spry up-and-comer he was the first time around, Valentine said he's ready to put on a show for the fans.

"I still love it," he said. "It's not like wrestling Bob Backlund for an hour at Madison Square Garden, but I'm still healthy and have all my hair.

"I got a little heavy last year, but lost 30 pounds and got back into wrestling shape."

Valentine is admittedly sick of lifting weights after 40 years, so he rides his bike on the beach and works out in his gym at home in what he calls with a laugh "maintenance rehab workouts."

Monahan, who doubles as wrestler and promoter for Championship International Wrestling, said "The Hammer" is pumped to honor his friend.

"He's got 40-plus years in the ring and to have him this excited is pretty special," said Monahan. "I've been wrestling for 20 years, and sometimes I catch myself going through the motions. So to have him this excited is special.

"Meeting guys like Greg when you're early in your career, you get awestruck. After a while, you became peers, and while it's still awesome to meet guys like this, there is more of a mutual-respect relationship."

If you go:

Tickets for Meggacon are $15 at the door and $8 for kids between the ages of 7 and 15. For more information, head to www.meggacon.com.

Camden Toy from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will answer questions from fans on what it was like to work with Joss Whedon of the "Avengers" films. The event starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and runs all day.

Brian O'Halloran, Marilyn Ghigliotti and Scott Schiaffo from the early 1990s cult favorite film "Clerks" will attend the event.

Shane "The Franchise" Douglas of WWE and ECW fame will also appear during the wrestling show, which starts at 7 p.m. Tickets for Meggacon also double as wrestling tickets.

 

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