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Topic	Scarlet Ranks 150 User-Nominated Wrestlers Part II
scarletspeed7 05/21/18 5:56:01 PM #42:	#62 - Billy Graham Nominated by: Eddv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5WJZON9Nl8" data-time=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yatyp9s3KXM" data-time=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRO3q0WB6pU" data-time=" Billy Graham was, in some ways, a better Hulk Hogan than Hulk Hogan. Billy Graham had an undeniable charisma that he could tap in his interviews. His promo work was phenomenally good. It served as a prototype to an entire generation of workers - Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes... all of them adapted aspects of Graham's gimmick to their own purposes, each achieving the same level of success as Graham or greater. What Graham did best was present a bad guy that fans liked; Graham was one of the first so-called "cool heels" who stayed popular with fans despite his villainous status. He planted the seed for men such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock to become antiheroes that fans would love later. In fact, Graham's popularity was such that he would go on to win the WWF Title in an era where bad guys rarely were given the opportunity to have a title run. When one was given this chance, it was usually a very short reign; weeks at the most, and only so someone else could began a babyface run later. Graham's title reign as a heel was 296 days; that still stands as one of the longest uninterrupted reigns of a heel in modern WWE history. The innovator of the word Superstar in wrestling wasn't without his vices however. Arrogance was ultimately his downfall - Graham basically had a 4-5 year career because of his politics. His legacy is a fraction of what it should be because he really self-destructed in every opportunity he should have had to become a wrestling icon. When he was WWF champ, he became so upset that he had to give the title to Backlund that he basically took 3 years off from the sport right in his prime. When he returned to the ring he was so bitter that he threw away his gimmick and adapted a very strange karate thing that went over like a lead balloon. It's a sad ending to an awe-inspiring career. --- "Reading would be your friend." ~Dave Meltzer <cite>scarletspeed7 posted [p:901748405] in Scarlet Ra... [t:76598098]...</cite> <quote>#62 - Billy Graham Nominated by: Eddv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5WJZON9Nl8" data-time=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yatyp9s3KXM" data-time=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRO3q0WB6pU" data-time=" Billy Graham was, in some ways, a better Hulk Hogan than Hulk Hogan. Billy Graham had an undeniable charisma that he could tap in his interviews. His promo work was phenomenally good. It served as a prototype to an entire generation of workers - Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes... all of them adapted aspects of Graham's gimmick to their own purposes, each achieving the same level of success as Graham or greater. What Graham did best was present a bad guy that fans liked; Graham was one of the first so-called "cool heels" who stayed popular with fans despite his villainous status. He planted the seed for men such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock to become antiheroes that fans would love later. In fact, Graham's popularity was such that he would go on to win the WWF Title in an era where bad guys rarely were given the opportunity to have a title run. When one was given this chance, it was usually a very short reign; weeks at the most, and only so someone else could began a babyface run later. Graham's title reign as a heel was 296 days; that still stands as one of the longest uninterrupted reigns of a heel in modern WWE history. The innovator of the word Superstar in wrestling wasn't without his vices however. Arrogance was ultimately his downfall - Graham basically had a 4-5 year career because of his politics. His legacy is a fraction of what it should be because he really self-destructed in every opportunity he should have had to become a wrestling icon. When he was WWF champ, he became so upset that he had to give the title to Backlund that he basically took 3 years off from the sport right in his prime. When he returned to the ring he was so bitter that he threw away his gimmick and adapted a very strange karate thing that went over like a lead balloon. It's a sad ending to an awe-inspiring career. --- "Reading would be your friend." ~Dave Meltzer</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
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