C.S. Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 We knew it was coming, but still sad news. Superstar Billy Graham influenced so many who came after him, from Hulk Hogan to Scott Steiner and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 Amazingly charismatic heel with an iconic look and super impressive track record as a draw. His matches with Bruno are great. Also created magic with Dusty RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 it feels weird to call someone like him underrated, but he kind of is how he obviously influenced so many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Brown Koko Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 My son just got into wrestling and absolutely loves Superstar Billy Graham. Such an influential wrestler and better than I remember in drawing heat. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLB Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 Hard to imagine Hulkamania ever existing without Superstar. Ironic for a man that is so remembered as a major heel would inspire the biggest babyface of a generation in Hogan. Even in the famous loss to Backlund, Graham was protected to a degree (foot on the rope). Aside Hogan and Steiner, you can see shades of Billy's style in Batista and currently Alex Hammerstone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 I think Austin Idol was a Graham clone and Paul Ellering as a wrestler absolutely was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 How's the doc/dvd about him on Peacock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 9 minutes ago, WingedEagle said: How's the doc/dvd about him on Peacock? If it's the one from 2006 it's pretty good IIRC. The autobiography from the same time is really good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEdger Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 Superstar Billy Graham changed the way wrestlers presented themselves. At a time where your in-ring skills mattered more than everything, he made it about the sizzle & the larger-than-life look. One true pioneer of the entire business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted May 19, 2023 Report Share Posted May 19, 2023 Graham and Dynamite Kid are arguably the two most influential wrestlers in North America over the past half-century, for completely different reasons. And their first real breaks in the business both came from Stu Hart. Kind of crazy if you think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr JMML Posted May 19, 2023 Report Share Posted May 19, 2023 His run in Florida got me into the territories. RIP Superstar Billy Graham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLB Posted May 20, 2023 Report Share Posted May 20, 2023 I touched on this before but it is fascinating to consider Graham and Hogan. The father runs this character as his top heel in the promotion with Graham, then his son takes over the business and inverts the role with Hogan as the top babyface. Later on, Vince Jr would rather move on from Hogan altogether than consider turning him heel. Hogan leaves Vince and dials up the Superstar persona even more with the Hollywood gimmick full circle as the top heel. Hogan goes back to Vince Jr and becomes the top babyface once again within months of returning as a heel. VKM always viewed the Superstar archetype as a hero in his promotion. Even Scott Steiner initially arrived in WWE as a babyface against HHH. Conversely, you had Vince Jr book Backlund as a heel champion rather than a babyface champion. He turned his dad's biggest heel into a babyface and his biggest babyface into a heel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmo Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 Yeah you could tell when he showed up on Superstars in 80s Vince was a pretty big mark for him. I wonder if that's why Graham was so bummed about dropping the strap. He thought Vince had enough pull with his old man to keep the strap for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 Anybody got match recommendations (with dates)? I've been thoroughly digging the Bruno and Dusty matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 5 hours ago, pmo said: Yeah you could tell when he showed up on Superstars in 80s Vince was a pretty big mark for him. I wonder if that's why Graham was so bummed about dropping the strap. He thought Vince had enough pull with his old man to keep the strap for him. Even Bruno thought it was crazy to take the belt off him when he was drawing huge houses all over the territory. My only guess is babyface Superstar would have been full bore sports entertainer and I don't think Sr knew what to do with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 They probably could've called an audible and delayed the title change a few months and milked it a bit more, but the fact is Backlund had been booked super strong and had gotten over with the fans. This wasn't a forced situation at all. Vince Sr wanted a new babyface superhero and he had basically created one through a year of careful booking. (Which, when you study it, really was a masterclass in creating a star) The houses basically stayed the same with Backlund on top, so you can't say he was wrong. Babyface Graham would've been interesting, particularly against guys like Ken Patera or his former partner Ivan Koloff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Jackson Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 8 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said: Anybody got match recommendations (with dates)? I've been thoroughly digging the Bruno and Dusty matches. Outside of Bruno and Dusty, 8/29/77 MSG against Ivan Putski is super fun, with as molten a crowd as you can get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliott Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 20 Superstar Graham matches to watch: Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (JIP - WWWF - 2/2/76) Superstar Graham & Ivan Koloff vs Louis Cerdan & Tony Parisi (WWWF - 3/1/76) Antonio Inoki vs Superstar Graham (NJPW - 9/10/76) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 4/30/77) Superstar Graham vs Gorilla Monsoon (WWWF - 5/16/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 6/27/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF – 8/1/77) Superstar Graham vs Ivan Putski (WWWF - 8/29/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 9/17/77) Superstar Graham vs Dusty Rhodes (WWWF - 9/26/77) Superstar Graham vs Dusty Rhodes (Texas Death Match - 10/24/77) Superstar Graham vs Mil Mascaras (WWWF - 12/19/77) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (Steel Cage Match - WWWF - 2/18/78) Bob Backlund vs Superstar Graham (Sicilian Stretcher Match - WWWF - 9/16/78) Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Graham (WWWF - 10/23/78) Superstar Graham vs Higo Hamaguchi (IWE - 4/18/79) Superstar Graham vs Great Kusatsu (IWE - 4/19/79) Superstar Graham vs Mighty Inoue (IWE - 4/20/79) Superstar Graham vs Rusher Kimura (Cage Match - IWE - 4/21/79) Dusty Rhodes vs Superstar Graham (Houston - 1/4/80 The matchup with Bruno is one of the great US rivalries of all time. They're perfect opponents for each other. That Putski match that Ricky linked to is great. I love the matches with Monsoon & Mascaras. His 1977 is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted May 21, 2023 Report Share Posted May 21, 2023 Thanks, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted May 23, 2023 Report Share Posted May 23, 2023 Great retrospective on Superstar Billy Graham’s career by Jim Cornette and Brian Last. Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliott Posted May 23, 2023 Report Share Posted May 23, 2023 On 5/21/2023 at 6:26 PM, ohtani's jacket said: Thanks, guys! You're welcome! Hope you enjoy! I couldn't have been more surprised by how good he was in the 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted May 23, 2023 Report Share Posted May 23, 2023 7 hours ago, The Thread Killer said: Great retrospective on Superstar Billy Graham’s career by Jim Cornette and Brian Last. Highly recommended. I'm not doubting anything about Cornette here, but whoever does the thumbnails for his videos is absolutely not doing him any favors. He could be spitting the 100% God's honest truth and I would think he's a tryhard asshole just on those thumbnails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDuke Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 I've always found it weird how they seem so proud of the Travis Heckle artwork when it just looks like something made in MS Paint to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 That's the best stuff Cornette does on podcasts now. That, and the reviews of WWE Biography and Rivals shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 The artwork shows up well in a thumbnail. Most YouTube thumbnails are incredibly cringe anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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