Standing 6'4 and weighing 275 lbs., with long blonde hair, psychedelic tie-dyed trunks, a deep bronze tan, and a body absolutely rippling with power, the arrogant braggart from Paradise Valley, AZ. created a look and character that would go on to influence -- either directly or indirectly -- virtually everyone in pro wrestling that came after him.
Graham, after winning numerous bodybuilding titles as a teenager, entered the sport as the youngest "brother" in the famous Graham wrestling "family" in the late 1960's. He instantly made a huge impact on the sport, and was giving Verne Gagne a serious run for the A.W.A. World title within 3 years after first entering the sport.
Graham, oozing with charisma, was the consummate showman from the start of his career. And although he relied mainly on an unstoppable "power attack" approach to the sport, Graham was a surprising efficient mat wrestler, more than able to handle himself inside the ring with technical masters like Gagne, Race, and Backlund. But clearly, what made Billy Graham such a star from the beginning was that he made fans notice him. Sure, wrestling had muscular, blonde braggarts before...but no one like "Superstar" Billy Graham. Every move he made seemed to mean something, and the fans -- although most hated him with a true passion -- could not get enough of the young, brash, egotistical muscleman. Graham was also among the first so-called "tweeners", or wrestlers who also have a large group of highly vocal, loyal fans that continue to support that wrestler despite his frequent acts of cowardice, cheating, and egotism. More importantly to Graham, very early in his career it became obvious to promoters across the country that the "Superstar" invariably packed `em in...
He won, among other championships, the N.W.A. Hawaiian Heavyweight title in 1974, one of his first major title victories. Graham also won the N.W.A.'s valuable Florida Heavyweight title on two occasion's (defeating Dusty Rhodes in 1976 and Billy Jack Haynes in 1984), the Florida Tag Team title (w/Ox Baker), as well as the prestigious N.W.A. Southern Heavyweight championship (defeating Dusty Rhodes) in 1977. But Graham will forever be remembered for one title victory in particular...
On March 30, 1977 in Baltimore, MD., Graham, in one of his very first matches since returning to the WWWF after a successful stint in the N.W.A.'s Florida territory, met and defeated his hated, longtime arch-rival Bruno Sammartino for the World Wide Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight title. It was Graham's only World Title, and the match will go down as a true classic.
Although it was a pro-Bruno crowd, Graham once again had his fair share of the crowd...and when he cheated to beat Bruno, gaining "extra leverage" by having two feet on the ropes when he made the pin, it just added to his heel persona.
Try as he might, Bruno could never regain the WWWF title from the powerful Graham.
With the genius of The Grand Wizard Of Wrestling guiding him, "Superstar" Billy Graham went on to hold the WWWF championship for nearly a full year -- something unheard of for a "heel" WWWF champion. Both Ivan Koloff and Stan Stasiak, the only two other "heel" WWWF titleholders, were used as transition champions and had reigns lasting a matter of a few days.
In fact, until Ric Flair and then Yokozuna some 15 years later, Graham
is the only "heel" WW(W)F champion to have lasted longer than 4 months.
He set attendance records at Madison Square Garden during his epic
battles with Bruno, Rhodes, and Backlund. He faced every worthy challenger
in the WWWF during his reign as champion, cleanly (and sometimes not so
cleanly) defeating the likes of Sammartino, Rhodes, Ivan Putski, Chief
Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon, Larry Zbysko, Tony Garea, Dean Ho, Mil
Mascaras, and Bob Backlund among many others.
He also made wrestling history in 1977 by being one of the two World Champions (the other being Harley Race) who put their respective World titles on the line in the first ever N.W.A. vs. W.W.W.F. World Title Unification match. The match was held in the heart of N.W.A. territory -- Miami, FL. The two proud champions, with the eyes of the wrestling world upon them, wrestled to a bloody 1 hour draw. No titles were won or lost, but mutual respect was surely gained...
It was the unsuspecting Backlund, though, who would eventually cause
Billy Graham's championship downfall. On February 2, 1978, 10 months after
Graham's W.W.W.F. reign first started, Backlund defeated the Superstar
in front of a wild, sold-out M.S.G. capacity crowd. Ironically, Backlund
scored a tainted victory while Graham's foot was draped over the rope...making
Graham the only WWF champion to both win and lose the title with his feet
on the ropes. Regardless of the circumstances, Backlund's victory forever
ended Graham's World Championship reign.
The two rivals would then engage in a series of 3 classic, brutal matches. In the first of the trilogy, Graham lost the W.W.W.F. title. The rematch, again at the Garden and in front of over 22,000 fans, Graham pummeled, battered, and bloodied the new champion so badly that the referee called the match due to Backlund's excessive cuts. Graham won, but the gold title belt he craved so deeply stayed with Backlund. The 3rd, deciding match, was again held at the Garden, but this time it was within the deadly confines of a 15 foot steel cage. The match was brutal, bloody, and hard-fought...with Graham controlling the majority of the match. But after dominating Backlund for nearly 30 minutes, Graham missed a running knee into the corner...and instead got his foot tangled in the wire of the cage. Trapped and unable to free himself in time, he watched helplessly as Backlund crawled outside of the cage for the victory.
After losing his feud with Backlund, Graham teamed briefly with his "half-brother" Crazy Luke Graham, and also longtime partner/enemy Ivan Koloff, having great success with both. He also continued to wage war (and set attendance records) with Dusty Rhodes. The two battled many times throughout the W.W.W.F., and engaged in a legendary Texas Bullrope Match to cap off the feud. Graham won, barely, and soon left the W.W.W.F. completely...
Between 1979-1982, little was seen or heard from the famous Graham. Other than a high-profile appearance and respectable placing (along with Ken Patera, Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbo and other famous athletes) on C.B.S.'s The Worlds Strongest Man Competition and a few scattered appearances in Memphis to face Jerry Lawler, Graham all but disappeared from the wrestling world. Rumors even spread that Graham was dead. However, that couldn't have been further from the truth...
In 1983, on the 5-year anniversary of Backlund's WWF reign, "Superstar"
Billy Graham reappeared on WWF television and confronted Backlund, reminding
him and everyone watching that Backlund never cleanly defeated him. He
then, in one of wrestling's most dramatic and impressive moments, proceeded
to take the leather and gold WWF title belt and literally tear it in half.
The new, intense, focused and determined Billy Graham was no longer the colorful blonde muscleman he was before. He had shaven his golden locks off so his head was completely bald, grown a dark mustache, and sported a new, devastating karate arsenal and wardrobe. Graham was all business this time...and it was obvious to fans that Backlund's hands would be more than full with this "new" Billy Graham. The two again engaged in a series of matches to determine who was the better man. After some very controversial endings, Backlund once again managed to keep his grasp on the (newly made) W.W.F. championship belt.
"Superstar" Billy Graham's legendary feuds and matches with Backlund, Gagne, Sammartino, Rhodes, Ivan Koloff, Wahoo McDaniel, Dick The Bruiser, Harley Race, Greg Valentine, Andre The Giant, Mil Mascaras, Ken Patera, Gorilla Monsoon, and Ivan Putski among others drew sell-out crowds across the country. In his day, Billy Graham was truly a "superstar" unlike any other!
He was also a huge influence on the pro wrestling business. His massively muscled, tanned body and long blond hair, plus his colorful ring attire created a wrestling persona imitated by numerous athletes to come...among others, Austin Idol, "Superstar" Steve Strong, Jesse The Body Ventura, and Hulk Hogan come to mind. Or numerous others indirectly influenced by Graham like Lex Luger, Jeff Jarrett, Sting, and other colorful blond musclemen.
Terry Bollea himself has stated that he "borrowed" much of Graham's persona when creating his Hulk Hogan, and later, Hollywood Hogan characters...right down to the "24 inch pythons", posing for the crowd, and tearing off his t-shirt before each match, all of which Graham originated.
But Graham's biggest influence would come in the form of his massive, bulging steroid-enhanced muscles. Others saw the interest that Graham's look caused in the fans, and they emulated it. When Graham wrestled, he was unique. There were no wrestlers -- no matter how muscular they were -- who looked like Superstar Graham. After Graham, the heavily muscled, massive wrestler became the norm...taken to the top by a self professed Superstar Graham wannabe. Billy Graham is by no means responsible for steroids in wrestling, but he was really the first wrestler to gain huge stardom as a result of using them.
However, Graham is now paying the price for those years of steroid
abuse. The drugs have ravaged his once perfect body, leaving him sterile
and nearly crippled. Parts of his skeletal structure have actually died,
and Graham has been forced to undergo several hip replacement surgeries
as a direct result of using steroids.
He is now involved in religion, and often speaks to young athletes about his days as World Champion and the dangerous side effects of steroids. If ever there was a case study of the rewards and subsequent harmful ramifications of steroid abuse, it's Billy Graham.
Truly a pro wrestling legend, we at The Ring Chronicle are proud
to induct the inventive, talented, and revolutionary champion "Superstar"
Billy Graham into T.R.C.'s Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame...
Full Credit to the Ring Chronicle.
The guy who sent me the page, added this little
artile about the 80 year old
rev.Billy Graham, I(Gery) didn`t see it until
now, so I apologize for that, as it`s not
the same Billy Graham, as the above great!