WWE Hall of Famer Thomas Sullivan, a.k.a. Johnny Valiant, was killed after being struck by a pickup truck Wednesday morning in Ross Township, Pennsylvania. He was 71 years old. According to WPXI, Valiant was crossing a busy road and was not in a crosswalk.
"We do have witnesses. There was other traffic on McKnight at the time, so we were able to speak with people who actually witnessed the accident," Ross Township Det. Brian Kohlepp said. "The driver of the truck stayed here on the scene. There's no indication that this was anything other than a terrible accident at this point, but we're still investigating."
Valiant won the WWWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. After his in-ring career was over, Valiant had a successful career as a manager. After managing Hulk Hogan in the AWA, he signed with the WWF and managed superstars like Brutus Beefcake, Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo and even Demolition. He left the promotion in 1988 and finished his wrestling career in the AWA.
Valiant was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.
"We do have witnesses. There was other traffic on McKnight at the time, so we were able to speak with people who actually witnessed the accident," Ross Township Det. Brian Kohlepp said. "The driver of the truck stayed here on the scene. There's no indication that this was anything other than a terrible accident at this point, but we're still investigating."
Valiant won the WWWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. After his in-ring career was over, Valiant had a successful career as a manager. After managing Hulk Hogan in the AWA, he signed with the WWF and managed superstars like Brutus Beefcake, Greg Valentine, Dino Bravo and even Demolition. He left the promotion in 1988 and finished his wrestling career in the AWA.
Valiant was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.
