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Eldridge Wayne Coleman[1][2] (born September 10, 1943) is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known under the ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham and for his tenures in the World Wide / World Wrestling Federation. During his time in the promotion, he became a one time WWWF World Heavyweight Champion.
As a teenager, Coleman became a devout Christian and also won several bodybuilding titles.[1] He would also perform feats of strength so as to invite people to attend his evangelistic meetings.[1] Upon reaching adulthood, Coleman began playing professional football and joined the American Football League for three years, where he played for the Houston Oilers and the Oakland Raiders.[1]
While being scouted by the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders, Graham was encouraged by Bob Roop to train with Stu Hart for his Stampede Wrestling promotion.[1] After joining Hart instead of the Stampeders, Coleman trained under him before debuting on January 16, 1970[3]After wrestling briefly under his real name, Graham traveled back to America and joined the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles in a tag team with Dr. Jerry Graham and changed his ring name to Billy Graham, as a tribute to the famous evangelist of the same name.[4] While wrestling in Championship Wrestling from Florida, the name doubled as both his ring name and also to make him the (kayfabe) youngest brother of Jerry and the other Graham Brothers (Eddie and Luke).[1]
In 1972, Graham's popularity rose significantly during his feud with Verne Gagne in the American Wrestling Association.[1] Another of Graham's opponents during this time frame was Ric Drasin, a bodybuilder and wrestler who was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's weight training partners.[5][6]
[edit]World Wide Wrestling Federation (1975–1978)
Graham debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1975, with The Grand Wizard as his manager.[1] After a few stints for the promotion between 1975 and 1976, Graham defeated Bruno Sammartino for the World Heavyweight Championship on April 30, 1977, in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] The title win set a precedent, as previous heels who had won the WWWF Title would almost immediately lose it, serving as a conduit (or "transitional champion") between fan favorite reigns. Graham would go on to hold the title for nine and a half months; to this day, Graham's 296 day reign is the longest single world title reign of any heel in WWE history, with Yokozuna's second championship run and JBL's only championship run in a tie for second-place (although Randy Savage held the title longer than all three, for 371 days, he didn't become a heel until almost the end of his title run).[2]
[edit]WWWF Champion
During his reign, he wrestled across America and even in Japan, facing well-known challengers such as former champion Bruno Sammartino, Jack Brisco, Dusty Rhodes, Pedro Morales, Don Muraco, Mil Mascaras and Riki Chōshū.[1] One of Graham's most famous matches took place in 1977 in Miami, Florida at the famed Orange Bowl football stadium against then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race in a WWWF Championship vs. NWA World Heavyweight Championship unification match which ended in a bloody one hour time-limit draw.[1] He eventually lost the title to Bob Backlund on February 20, 1978.[1] Graham competed in the 1980 world's strongest man competition and finished seventh despite being injured in one of the events.[1]
Graham suggested to Vincent J. McMahon that Ivan Koloff should turn on him, thus starting a feud that would make Graham a fan favorite. McMahon refused because of a handshake deal to make Bob Backlund the new fan favorite champion. He did not want to go back on his word. It was also unheard of for a character like Graham to be a fan favorite, because McMahon and many old promoters saw Graham as a heel. Fans were making Graham a popular figure on their own — even Roberta Morgan's 1979 kayfabe book Main Event had to admit that, "Although he is a rule bender, [Graham] has managed to stay very popular with the fans, probably because of his skill, strength, and colorful personality" — but the era of explicit and intentional "cool heels" did not come until the 1990s with the likes of the New World Order (nWo), D-Generation X, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock.
One of Graham's most renowned feuds as Champion was with Dusty Rhodes, which culminated in a Texas Bullrope match.[1] Graham left the promotion soon after the match.[1] As a headliner in Madison Square Garden, which was the WWWF's primary arena throughout his heyday, Graham sold out 19 of 20 shows.[2] Though other wrestlers such as Sammartino and Backlund had more career sellouts at Madison Square Garden, Graham's 95% percentage is easily the highest in company history.[2]
World Wrestling Federation (1982–1983)
Graham returned to the now renamed World Wrestling Federation in 1982. Upon returning to the promotion, Graham debuted an entirely new look, sporting a bald head and mustache. This gimmick was not considered successful, and Graham later stated that he wanted to retire the "Superstar" character out of frustration with Vince McMahon Sr. for not letting him turn babyface.[7]
He soon challenged Backlund for the WWF Championship, but was unable to win the title. In response, he destroyed Backlund's championship belt by literally tearing it half.[1] He left the promotion soon after.[1]
