"Hello ladies." That was the catchphrase of the Big Valbowski. The idea behind the "boytoy" changed once the Attitude Era took over in WWE around 1998 when Val Venis showed up. WWE wasn't shy about putting over his persona as a porn star that also happened to be a wrestler. They showed a number of vignettes to try to get over his persona as a porn star, even bringing in the world's most famous porn star Jenna Jameson to be a part of a video as well. Venis was booked mostly as a babyface that would also do an opening promo talking about sex while referencing the "Big Valbowski" whenever he could. It made him popular with the guys because he was out there talking about sex while women loved him and the cameras always showed them in the crowd fawning over him. He was linked to a number of divas in his career like Terri Runnels, Ryan Shamrock, Yamaguchi's wife (choppy choppy), Nicole Bass (that was more of a comedic thing) and they teased something with Debra although it didn't get far. By 2000, he turned heel as part of Right to Censor and later when he went back to the Val Venis gimmick in 2002 it was toned down significantly. He will always be remembered as one of the raunchier characters in WWE during the Attitude Era.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
