The ur-pro-wrestler of the 1970s dies

May 19, 2023 6:23 PM

"Superstar" Billy Graham, a one-time WWWF Champion and the man who essentially invented the professional wrestler of the 1980s a decade earlier, has passed away at the age of 79.

Eldridge Wayne Coleman took up pro wrestling after trying out evangelism (hence his ring name), bodybuilding (where he trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger), and powerlifting (he was only 11 pounds off the world record bench press in his prime). In the wrestling ring, he posed in flamboyantly colorful outfits, bragged about his physique, and called everyone "brother" (a holdover from his evangelist days). Terry Bollea and James Janos would copy him nearly note-for-note as Hulk Hogan and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Other pro wrestling stars of the '80s from Ric Flair to Dusty Rhodes to the Iron Sheik called him a massive influence. Graham's body was wracked by (probably steroid-related) injury and debilitation, leading to a decades-long on-and-off relationship with the WWWF/WWF/WWE and its owner, Vince McMahon.

posted by Etrigan (9 comments total)

One of my favorite Graham promos, from the NWA days. RIP to the man of the hour, too sweet to be sour.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:46 PM on May 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

He was a huge Bob Dylan fan, and vice versa.
posted by maupuia at 7:44 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

.
posted by vrakatar at 7:53 PM on May 19, 2023

.
posted by riruro at 7:55 PM on May 19, 2023

Oh, and another of my favorite Billy Graham moments, from about 41 years ago:

A match between Swede Hanson and then-WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund is interrupted when Superstar Billy Graham makes his return after a long time away, shouts into the mic, grabs Backlund's title and does his damnedest to desecrate it. The belt apparently wasn't gimmicked in the slightest, so Graham strains mightily to tear it or mutilate it but finally settles for ripping off the centerplate. Backlund sells this insult as though a loved one had been murdered.

(Backlund would be the last of WWF's "territorial" champions. As Vince McMahon secured television syndication deals, he moved wrestlers towards more oversized rockstar personas. Backlund would lose the title to The Iron Sheik, who would in turn lose it to above-noted Billy Graham impersonator Hulk Hogan, kicking off WWF's "Rock & Wrestling" era in the 80s.)
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:08 PM on May 19, 2023 [5 favorites]

Ah, I think I caught him at the tail end of his career when I was growing up, but it's rare that I say "the olden days were better". With characters like superstar billy graham, who exuded outrageousness blended with an astute sense of humor, timing, and wordplay, I stand by that comment. I started watching when Georgia Wrestling was on TBS and Gordon Solie was the announcer, just before AWA and WWF started absorbing the locals.

Reading the above article (and watching Pluto Gangsta's links above, I vaguely remembered him at all except as a name, but I could immediately definitely see how Billy Graham left his stamp on the next wave of wrestlers who I was watching. He was ahead of the curve by a long way. I'm surprised he lived so long! May his memory be a blessing, and thanks for posting this.

(I was also pretty young and addled, so I think I often mistook him for the evangelist Billy Graham.)
posted by not_on_display at 9:48 PM on May 19, 2023

.
posted by the_dreamwriter at 12:02 AM on May 20, 2023

I read Graham's highly entertaining autobiography a few years ago. Given the physical and, especially, chemical abuse this man subjected his body to, it is indeed some kind of miracle that he survived this long.
posted by charlesminus at 7:45 AM on May 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 3:32 PM on May 21, 2023