In April 1989 he began feuding with "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. Two weeks after WrestleMania V (where he teamed with the Jimmy Hart managed Honky Tonk Man in a loss to the now babyface Hart Foundation), he defeated Garvin in a retirement match on "Superstars of Wrestling" by reversing a small package and holding on to the ropes. Garvin became a referee until Valentine and Hart managed to have him fired. Garvin then became a ring announcer, and began aggravating Valentine. At "SummerSlam 1989", for his match with Hercules, Garvin announced Valentine as being Hercules' "so-called opponent" and at 249 lbs looking to Garvin like he was "overweight by thirty pounds" as he approached the ring. Other insults by Garvin during the introduction included Valentine not knowing whether he was "coming or going" and being the only wrestler Garvin knew who had "two left feet" and that he had a "pipsqueak, poor excuse for a manager". Following the match, Garvin then announced Hercules as the winner when Valentine cheated to win, despite the referee declaring Valentine the winner. Valentine knocked Garvin out of the ring before having a further punching match with Hercules while Garvin climbed back in the ring and nailed Valentine. The Screwdriver and Jimmy Hart eventually demanded that Garvin be reinstated so that they could fight in the ring.