Billy Graham - Not a babyface?

[Hard Hit Prince]

»» World Wide Wrestling Federation (nka WWE) was a big promotion back in the 70's, not as big as they were some years later, but big enough to compete with the NWA and AWA in a lot of ways - their main guy? Bruno Sammartino no doubt about that, but by 1975 Vince Sr. hired "Superstar" Billy Graham, without knowing how big he was about to be.

Now "Superstar" really lived up to his name, he was no wrestler, he was no Lou Thesz, however he had a fantastic, fantastic look, way ahead of his time and he showed the world that charisma and psichology was very very important, he had the maneurisms, the little things that actually brought him to the main event, to the place in 1977 where he beat Bruno Sammartino to become the WWWF Champion, and what a champion he was. Selling out the Garden in every possible way, and most notably with Dusty Rhodes and Harley Race. One does not simply ignore those matches, those wrestling landmarks that evolved the business. However Billy Graham was about to get his career somehow "killed".

Vince McMahon Sr. was looking for someone to fill in Bruno's shoes, to be the babyface of the company and so he picked Bob Backlund, which is fine since he was an amazing athlete and filled the mold back then, but when you watch one of Graham's last matches you can feel that the crowd cheered for him, he was such a cool heel that the fans were turning him into a babyface and one can argue what the wrestling business would turn out if Vince Sr. made the call to turn him face.

Not long after that Billy Graham found the dark-side and his career would never be visited again, at least not with that amount of hype and popularity. However stars like Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and Triple H picked up a lot from Graham - Hogan is the most notable rip-off we might say and probably a proof that Graham could have been huge if he turned back in the days.

• Now what are your thoughts on Superstar's Carreer?
• Best match or best promo?
• Over or Underrated?
• Could he have been a big babyface?

 

[legendkiller1979]

I would like to add more stat to the list. Graham is the longest reigning heel WWE champion ever. Think about that. This is an era when heel champions were nothing more than transitional champions. This position was common for the first 30 years of the WWE. The only two dominant heel champions in that time were Graham and Yokozuna.

I think this speaks volumes about how special Graham was. I think he could have been huge as a face. Obviously Vince Sr had his mind made up about Bob Backlund being the guy to carry the ball. It makes me wonder though. Was Graham's long reign a result of nobody being ready to take the title from him? I'm not discounting Graham but it's a legitimate question. Look at the honky tonk man. He is the longest reigning IC champion ever. This was a direct result of Jake Roberts being injured and not being able to take the belt from him. I don't know if this was the case from Graham. But I am curious.

Back to the topic at hand. Unfortunately for Graham (and so many others) he competed in the pre wrestlemania era. It seems like anything that happened before 1985 doesn't get as much attention because we aren't able to go back and watch their matches and hear their promos. Any opinion I have on him would not be genuine because I simply have nothing to base an opinion on. I know it's not fair to Graham or anyone else. But it is what it is.

 

[asiatic7]

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• Now what are your thoughts on Superstar's Carreer?
• Best match or best promo?
• Over or Underrated?
• Could he have been a big babyface?

1. Superstar had a great run as a heel in his day. He would have had a wonderful but short run as a face had he not left the company after losing the title. Superstar's career was stalled by his own selfishness, but I'll get more into that later.

2. His best promo? Not sure, there were plenty. The guy had a ton of charisma and flair and admitted to being inspired by Muhammad Ali, the greatest most charismatic PERSON EVER!!! Superstar knew how to work a crowd and was definitely before his time in just about every way.

3. He definitely was not overrated he deserved every bit of credit he is given. The mans influence is still felt today. He's your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler! While there were plenty of guys with great physiques in his day (Rocky Johnson, Tony Atlas, Ivan Putski), Superstar stood head and shoulders above them all because of his brash cockiness and ability to talk fans in the building. He also had a great wardrobe that was innovative for his time..

4. This is where I pick up on Superstar's selfishness. He would have been a huge draw as a babyface, no doubt about it! But, the fact that Superstar admitted that he was very bitter about losing the title and quit instead of working a program with Backlund that would have seen him chasing the title again and probably putting Backlund over in the process (boy did he need it!) and making a ton of cash, showed that he was only out for numero uno. His life tail spun into a life of drugs and he became really depressed. He returned with a horrible Kung Fu gimmick to no real success. Years later, he worked for Vince jr. as a wrestler and when he could not perform in the ring, he became an announcer until he was let go. Superstar admitted that he sat at home and plotted Vince's downfall, because he couldn't bear to see WWF go on without him, making money so, he spearheaded the whole steroid scandal to destroy Vince's empire.

The fact is this: Yes Billy Grahamn would have been a top draw for years as a babyface, but the moment he felt he couldn't get his way, he would take his ball and go home. I come to this conclusion from how he acted the few times he had to step down for Backlund and his stint in the late eighties. If he would have had a better attitude about doing whats right for buisness, we would probably be talking about him instead of Hulk Hogan.

 

[HBsam31]

Now what are your thoughts on Superstar's Carreer?
He was a great star, and for him to be a heel and hold the belt like he did was huge in that time. Really a guy that was ahead of his time. Another thread idea could be how would he have done in a later era.

Best match or best promo?
He has had some many great matches and promos I wouldn't even know where to start to pick one.

Over or Underrated?
He seems to be underrated as he does not seemed to get mentioned as much as other past stars from his era.

Could he have been a big babyface?
I think he could have been a huge babyface. He did seem to have an attitude problem when he didn't get his way, and it robbed us from seeing what he could truely do as a top face.