“Superstar” Billy Graham, WWE Hall of Famer, dies at age 79
This was reported days later “superstar” Billy Graham Sadly, the pro wrestling legend passed away while fighting for his life on life support. The news was broken by WWE Hall of Fame inductee Ric Flair, who has often credited Graham as a huge inspiration for his own wrestling career. The news was also announced shortly afterwards on the live broadcast of AEW Dynamite. Graham was 79 years old.
Flair’s tweet reads: “Superstar Billy Graham just left us. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INFLUENCE in my career!”
Graham’s family has also confirmed this TMZ that the beloved wrestling icon died on Wednesday after he was removed from life support. Graham’s wife Valerie and daughter Capella were reportedly by his side at the time. On Monday, two days before Graham’s death, Valerie had publicly asked for “urgent prayers” and revealed that doctors wanted to “take him off life support” that day. She declined, saying that “his will is strong, even if his body isn’t.” A GoFundMe A page has also been launched to help pay for medical bills.
“He is battling a variety of very serious health conditions: a serious infection in his ears and skull that may require IV fluids for six months, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hearing loss as a result of the infection and the list goes on,” it said in the GoFundMe page description and also revealed that Graham had lost 45 pounds in the past three weeks.
“Superstar” Billy Graham was an influence for many
“Superstar” Billy Graham was born Eldridge Wayne Coleman on June 7, 1943. He started his career in bodybuilding and molded that into his personality when he made the switch to professional wrestling. Graham was particularly popular in the 1970s and rose to become one of the biggest stars of the period. In the late ’70s he became the heavyweight champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, now WWE. His larger than life personality also inspired many of pro wrestling’s biggest stars including Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Scott Steiner and more. Graham was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 by Triple H, who then held the same title as Graham had decades earlier. Triple H also called Graham a big inspiration.
“‘Superstar’ Billy Graham was the first wrestler to realize that it took more than good matches to become a household name,” said Triple H in Graham’s induction into the Hall of Fame. “It took charisma, it took personality, it took mic skills, it took a body, it took everything.”
He added, “If you look at those who came after him, you realize that more people than probably anyone have modeled themselves on the ‘superstar’ Billy Graham and have become successful in this business.”
Our thoughts are with Graham’s family at this time. Rest in peace “superstar” Billy Graham. Below you can see some more tributes to Graham from other pro wrestlers.
