10 Things You Didn't Know About Val Venis

10. He Had A Very Successful Pre-WWE Career In Mexico & Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbIJmqPKgbU WWE will often tout a wrestler's international experience and accomplishments. Or they used to, anyway. Whenever a wrestler such as Fit Finlay or Chris Benoit would wrestle the commentators would be instructed to bring up their stints in Japan, Europe and Mexico. One wrestler whose international accomplishments WWE never really promoted was Val Venis. This despite the fact that he had a very successful career in Japan and Mexico before debuting on WWF television. Venis, wrestling with a robot-like mask and gimmick as Steele, won the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship, a major championship in Mexico. He also did tours for All Japan Pro-Wrestling. Venis would adopt the moves of one of All-Japan's biggest stars, Kenta Kobashi, when wrestling in the WWE. So why didn't WWE big up Venis' international success? Probably because it didn't fit in with his adult film star gimmick.