"Superstar" Billy Graham

Eldridge Wayne Coleman
Eldridge Wayne Coleman
	File:Graham-book.jpg
Born	September 10, 1943; Paradise Valley, Arizona
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	"Superstar" Billy Graham
Billed height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Billed weight	285 lb (129 kg)
Trained by	Stu Hart
Debut	1969
Retired	1987

Eldridge Wayne Coleman, (Born September 10, 1943), better known by his ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham, is a retired American professional wrestler.

Graham was one of the first professional wrestlers to achieve popularity principally on the basis of his character rather than his wrestling skills, paving the way for wrestlers like Jesse Ventura, Scott Steiner, and, particularly, Hulk Hogan, who were all heavily influenced by Graham's career. He had a physique that was far superior to anyone in pro wrestling; his twenty-two inch arms were called "pythons." His look and his personality sold out arenas across America. He was the sixth man to become WWE Champion.

Career

A former football player and bodybuilder, Coleman selected his ring name as a tribute to the famous evangelist Billy Graham, at one of whose revival meetings he had converted to Christianity, and also as a means of relating him to the earlier Graham Brothers (Eddie Graham and Dr. Jerry Graham). Coleman added "Superstar" to his ring name after hearing the song Jesus Christ Superstar. Sometimes he was simply referred to as Superstar Graham to avoid confusion with the Reverend.

In 1972, Superstar Graham's popularity rose significantly when he came to the AWA to help Dusty Rhodes in his feud with Baron Von Raschke and Horst Hoffman .

Graham defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWF Championship on April 30, 1977. When other heels had won the WWWF/WWF title, they had almost immediately lost it thereafter, serving only as a conduit between face reigns. Graham, though without question a "rulebreaker," had undeniable energy, charisma, and appeal to fans; thus he retained the title for almost a year, including in several rematches with Sammartino. To this day, Graham has had the longest world title reign of any heel in WWE history, considering Randy Savage was a face when he won the title..

Graham suggested to Vincent J. McMahon that Ivan Koloff should turn on him, thus starting a feud that would make Graham a babyface. McMahon refused because of a handshake deal to make Backlund the new babyface champ. He did not want to go back on his word. It was also unheard of for a character like Graham to be a face, because McMahon and many old promoters saw Graham as a heel. Fans were turning Graham babyface on their own, but the era of "cool heels" would not come until the 1990s with the likes of The Rock and the nWo.

One of Graham's most famous match took place in 1977 against then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race in a WWF Championship & NWA World Heavyweight Championship unification match which ended in a bloody one hour time-limit draw. He eventually lost the title to Bob Backlund on February 20, 1978. Graham competed in the 1980 world's strongest man competition and finished seventh despite being injured in one of the events.

Graham would return to the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 with an entirely new look. Gone were the long bleached-blonde locks and colorful clothes. They were now replaced with a bald head, mustache, all-black outfit, and a newfound knowledge of the martial arts. (As he had with Graham's previous persona, Hulk Hogan would copy elements of this look, this time into his evil "Hollywood Hogan" character in the 1990s.) Graham was billed as a "leaner, meaner Superstar."

Again, Graham would unsuccessfully challenge Backlund, but in one memorable incident he would destroy Backlund's championship belt ringside while Backlund wrestled.

After a run in the Florida territory as a member of Kevin Sullivan's Army of Darkness, Graham spent some time in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions working for Paul Jones in his feud against Jimmy Valiant. Graham also spent some time in the AWA promotion, working with Wahoo McDaniel and Ken Patera.

Graham returned to the WWF one more time in 1986, now as a face. After a few appearances, it was diagnosed that Graham required a hip replacement, the result of steroids deteriorating his body. The footage of Graham's hip replacement surgery were actually shown in full gory detail on WWF TV as a means to promote Graham's comeback. He returned in mid-1987 and feuded with Butch Reed for a few months, but the strain on his hip as well as his ankles also deteriorating proved to be too much. One Man Gang retired him from active competition permanently with a big splash manuover on the concrete floor during a match against Reed. Don Muraco came to Graham's aide, and the Superstar became Muraco's manager. Graham had been scheduled to wrestle in the main event in the first-ever Survivor Series, but Muraco took his place once Graham retired.

Graham would have further medical complications in subsequent years, having to have his ankle fused in 1990, and a second hip replacement (on the same leg) in 1991.

In 1992, at the height of Vince McMahon's steroid allegations, Billy Graham went on the Phil Donahue show (Donahue), revealed to the world that he was an avid user of steroids, and went on a tirade againt Vince McMahon about it. Billy Graham also testified against Vince when the steroid allegations became a federal trial after Vince was caught up by the federal government in a possibility that he was distributing steroids to his wrestlers. This caused a rift between McMahon and Billy Graham that would last for over ten years before Billy Graham was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

After retiring, he returned to his faith in God and started preaching the Gospel as he had before his wrestling career started.

Graham received a liver transplant in 2002 from a twenty-six year old donor named Katie Gilroy who died in an auto accident. He claims that he wouldn't be alive today without the transplant.

Graham was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at WrestleMania XX in 2004. His body ravaged from years of steroid use, Graham now lectures high school athletes on the dangers of steroids.

On November 18, 2005, Billy Graham presided over the funeral service for Eddie Guerrero.

Graham's autobiography Tangled Ropes was released by the WWE on January 10, 2006. The WWE also released a DVD about Graham's career titled 20 Years Too Soon: The Billy Graham Story on January 17. He dedicated the book to his wife.

Graham was hospitalized on May 24, 2006 due to a bowel obstruction from an earlier surgery. Doctors are hoping to remove the obstruction without further surgery.

Legacy

"Superstar" Billy Graham is credited for changing how American professional wrestling is portrayed, and may have been the driving force behind the creation of "sports entertainment" and the idea of the professional wrestler as an entertainer rather than trying to play themselves as legitimate althletes, although in recent times with the rise of wrestlers getting over on wrestling ability rather than showmanship, Billy Graham's pioneering ways have been seen by smarks as a damaging move in the progression of professional wrestling today.

Many wrestlers have claimed to have based their looks and styles on Billy Graham. Some famous examples are Scott Steiner, Triple H, Steve Austin and most famously, Hulk Hogan and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. To this day, Graham holds the record for the longest heel reign of WWWF/WWF/WWE Champion in history (296 days).^{[citation needed]}