Chappell: The Charlie Brown angle went
through to the end of 1983, and in 1984 you were
involved in something really unique…the ‘Boogie
Man Jam ’84.’ Tell us about that concept.
Valiant:
Dave, that was just sort of a natural. I had a
run with the Assassins. I wore them out and kicked
their cans the entire matches…but I could never
take their masks off. Finally, Paul Jones and the
Assassins got to me, tied me up in the ropes, and
cut my beard off. I got down real low after they cut
my beard.
Man,
I was so low after that I was just sitting out there
on the curb. I mean, they took something really
personal that belonged to me.
Chappell:
Then, the Boogie Man Jam ’84 really allowed
you the chance to get revenge against the Assassins
and Paul Jones?
Valiant:
What I did, was I put my hair up against the
mask of the Assassins. So we signed the deal…if I
lost they shaved my head completely bald. If I won,
I could hold their mask up in my right hand.
Chappell:
And these matches were in a number of different
cities, correct?
The
Boogie Man chokes Paul Jones.
Valiant:
We went everywhere with Boogie Man Jam
‘84…around the loop. Richmond, Greensboro,
Asheville, Charlotte…everywhere.
The
way we did it, was that one of the Assassins was
barred from the building…and I took the mask off
of the other Assassin.
Chappell:
You unmasked Assassin # 2, which I believe was
Hercules Hernandez under the hood.
Valiant:
Yes.
Chappell:
The Boogie Man Jam ’84 was the first big
blowup of your feud with Paul Jones. That feud
seemingly went on forever, but few seemed to tire of
it. How do you explain the longevity of your running
feud with Paul Jones?
Valiant:
Well, you know, he had an Army!
Chappell:
Just the variety of the different guys he had in
his stable?
Valiant:
I think that was a large part of it. He had the
Barbarian, Superstar Billy Graham, Shaska Whatley,
Raschke, Abdullah The Butcher, (Manny) Fernandez…I
mean, they just kept on coming.
Chappell:
I remember there were several more “Hair
Matches” over the years between you and Jones and
members of his Army.
Valiant:
I shaved Shaska Whatley’s hair. Then finally,
it ended up with me and Paul Jones himself…just us
two. This was after I shaved his Army’s hair, and
went through all his guys.
Chappell:
Even though it took quite a while to happen, the
buildup was always geared towards you against Jones
personally?
Valiant:
The way it was set up, everybody knew we were
going to have a Hair Match against each other. And
because Jones wasn’t a wrestler anymore, everybody
thought I would easily take his hair. I mean, Jones
was a great wrestler, but at that time he was only a
manager.
So
what [the promotion] did at first was to do a
swerve…Jones and the Army cheated and screwed me,
and I ended up losing MY hair instead! I sat there
and let them take my hair off.
Chappell:
But you eventually got the last laugh!
Valiant:
Yes. The big blowoff, finally, was Hair Against
Hair…and I took Paul Jones’ hair then.
Eventually, all of us lost our hair! But that ended
the run with Jones.
Chappell:
When did you leave
Jim
Crockett Promotions?
Valiant:
It wasn’t all that long after the run with
Jones ended. It was when Turner (Broadcasting
System) bought out Crockett…we’re talking around
late November of 1988.
David
, we all still had jobs then. We all could have gone
to Atlanta with Turner. We were all under
contract…the top boys.
A
number of the older guys…myself, Wahoo, Paul
Jones, Ivan Koloff…we all chose not to go to
Atlanta. Turner wanted everybody to move to Atlanta.
Turner owned all of the major sports teams in
Atlanta, and they didn’t want the wrestlers to be
based in Charlotte. So, everybody had to move.
Chappell:
Everybody but Flair, I guess?
Valiant:
Yeah, and there were a couple of others. If you
stayed in Charlotte, they said you had to fly
yourself to Atlanta. Because the hub there was for
Delta Airlines, and Turner flew his other teams by
Delta and wanted to do the wrestlers the same way.
Turner got a really good deal based on how many of
his sports players and wrestlers flew through Delta.
It was all economics, but it made sense from
[Turner’s] point of view.
Chappell:
Well, that certainly sheds a lot of light on why
we stopped seeing many of our old favorites, all of
a sudden, at that juncture.
Valiant:
It was up to us then. It was our decision.
Everybody probably made their own decisions for
different reasons, but in my case I was going
through a divorce and it was tough, and I just
wanted to move on from there.
Chappell:
What did you do when you decided not to go to
Atlanta?
Valiant:
I went onto the independent circuit, and I also
remarried. I have been married for thirteen years
now to my wife Angel, and we’ve built my Hall of
Fame Museum in Shawsville, Virginia right from the
ground up.
Chappell:
I want to get into your Wrestling Camp and Hall
of Fame Museum and your current endeavors in a
second, but do you have any closing thoughts on your
fondest memories from the Mid-Atlantic days?
Valiant:
Oh, I’ve had so many brother. My goodness. I
tell you one thing…I’ve been around the world
everywhere with wresting, and I’m telling you
brother…Mid-Atlantic wrestling fans and the people
here are the greatest in the world.
Chappell:
You seemed to really enjoy yourself when you
wrestled for
Jim
Crockett Promotions? Was that an act, or did you
really enjoy what you did that much?
Valiant:
It was no act, man. I loved every second of it!
It was great!
Chappell:
I know everyone is interested in what you are up
to now. Tell us what is going on with the Boogie Man
presently.
Valiant:
I’m glad you brought that up,
David
. I run ‘Boogie’s Wrestling Camp,’ in
Shawsville, Virginia. Also on site there is my Hall
of Fame Museum that I just mentioned a minute ago.
The Hall of Fame Museum is really something special.
David
, I really want to invite all the fans to come to my
Camp and spend the day with me…there is no charge
or any fees whatsoever. This is my way of giving
back to the fans that have supported me all these
years. Come spend the day with me, and watch the
kids train.
We’re
open fifty-two Sundays a year from twelve noon until
four o’clock in the afternoon. They’re the only
hours we’re open. I’ve got so much great
memorabilia in there that everyone is welcome to
see.
Chappell:
Tell us about some of the items folks will see
when they come to Shawsville.
Valiant:
Lots of great stuff! I have the ‘Boogie
Wagon’ that’s been in the videos. I have a
couple of Harleys, and the 3 x 3 wheeler that’s
also been in some videos. There’s a dune
buggy…and you know, the Valiant Brothers’
limousine is in there too.
Chappell:
That sounds great. And I’m sure you have a lot
of smaller items in your Museum as well! (laughs)
Valiant:
(laughs) Honestly,
I have thousands of pictures and collages! I have
the mask of Charlie Brown under glass there. But
there is one more big item that I want to mention. I
also have an eight-foot tall replica of the Statute
of Liberty…and it has on it ‘The Boy From New
York City.’
The
Museum is really something special. As I said, me
and my lovely wife Angel have been working on it for
thirteen years. We’ve finally finished
it…we’re done!
Chappell:
I’m sure fans can read a lot about the Hall of
Fame Museum on your website?
Valiant:
Yes, just go to jimmyvaliant.com, and there’s
a lot of information about the Camp and the Hall of
Fame Museum right on there. There is also a map on
my website that gives you good directions to my Camp
and the Hall of Fame Museum.
Chappell:
I’ve heard that your in-ring career will end
later this year. Please tell us about that.
Valiant:
I’m on my farewell tour. I started wresting in
1964. It’s been 40 years, so this year is my
farewell tour.
I’m
also writing a book,
David
.
Chappell:
Really?
Valiant:
Yes. And after I retire from wrestling, the Hall
of Fame Museum will still be open every Sunday, but
I look forward to also touring with the book.
When
I retire, what I want to do is to be a good will
ambassador for wrestling…you know, do whatever I
can to help in any way. God has been good to
me…helped me and has taken care of me. I just want
to try and give back. Because when I retire, I’ll
have the time to devote to that cause. And I want to
help with various charities, and to just help
people. I’m a people person, man.
Chappell:
Do you have your final match booked yet as part
of your farewell tour?
Valiant:
Yes. My last match is already booked…it will
be in the Spartanburg/Greenville, South Carolina
area. It’s going to be on Christmas Day, December
25, 2004.
I’m
going to shave my beard…move on from the Boogie
Woogie Man and go back to Handsome
Jim
my! (laughs)
Chappell:
Well, whether you’re Handsome
Jim
my or the Boogie Man, Mid-Atlantic fans will always
remember you fondly. You clearly still have much to
offer wrestling after your in-ring career ends at
the end of the year. The very best of luck on all
your future endeavors, and we look forward to seeing
you in the weeks and months to come.
Thank
you Boogie so much for doing a little reminiscing
with the Gateway tonight.
Valiant:
Thank you
David
…I appreciate everything. Hope to see you again
soon.
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