“The
Times they are a-Changin’…” – Bob Dylan
It was a Friday night in
early 1980, and the whole family was excited as we sat in our seats in the
World Famous Olympic Auditorium in Los
Angeles
For while The Olympic Auditorium had Jeff Walton for a publicist, my
Stepfather was his very own. “Man, look
at these great seats! We have better
seats than almost everyone! The other kids’ Dads didn’t get them seats like
this!”
The only thing that night that made him feel more impressed with himself
took place during the intermission.
Sitting in front of us were two other Latinos who were about 16 years
old, and at one point they both turned around, and one of them asked my
Stepfather, “Who are you?” Apparently,
they thought he was a wrestler who had decided to get a closer look at the
matches. “Him?!” I thought
incredulously. While my Stepfather was a
little bigger than lots of Latinos at that time, I hardly thought that he
looked like a professional wrestler. But
then again, he did have a Carlos Mata type of body, and the wrestlers’ bodies
at that time would look very different from what many wrestlers would look like
in years to come.
And as I sat there waiting for the intermission to be over and the
program to resume, the thought of wrestler’s physiques and Carlos Mata made me
flash back to about a year and half earlier, when I first caught a glimpse of
what was undoubtedly the greatest wrestling physique at that time.
It was 1978, and I was at home watching Wrestling from the Olympic on
the UHF channel and they were broadcasting matches that had been recently taped
on Weds. August 30th. And it
was Carlos Mata himself waiting for his opponent to arrive and enter the
ring. And soon would enter a man, who
compared to Carlos Mata looked like a Giant of a man, and who had the most
impressive physique I had ever seen on a wrestler! The guy looked more like Lou Ferrigno, the
bodybuilder/actor who played the Incredible Hulk on Television than he did any
wrestler I had ever seen! And what made
him even more impressive to me, even before he performed a single move in the
ring, was ring announcer Jimmy Lennon proclaiming that the man was a former
WWWF World Champion. I knew from the
wrestling magazines that Bruno Sammartino had been the previous champion, and
after having seen a profile of Bruno on the “Greatest Sports Legends”
Television program, I knew that if this “Superstar Billy Graham” had beaten
Bruno, he was a man to be reckoned with.
And while he would at times manhandle Carlos Mata during the match, it
would still be a few years before I would begin to grasp what a tremendous
impact Superstar Billy Graham would make in professional wrestling.
His stay at that time turned out to be brief, and in actuality, this
wasn’t the Superstar’s first trip through L.A. Calgary , Los Angeles
But in the summer of 1970 it was still “Wrestling” so when bodybuilder
turned wrestler Billy Graham showed up alongside the infamous Jerry Graham in
promoter Mike LeBelle’s office, LeBelle along with Booker Charlie Moto and
assistant Freddie Blassie, had their doubts about the duo. Fortunately,
publicist Jeff Walton saw promise in the massive bodybuilder and the Graham
brothers were given a shot. While
Billy’s stay was only a few months, the opportunity gave him much needed
experience and exposure, and he enjoyed the local bodybuilding scene and the
sunshine. And shopping in L.A.
For the “Superstar Billy Graham experience” would eventually become a
multi-faceted one, a multi-layered one, with so much to offer. With the feathered boas, the tie-dyed attire,
the jewelry, the entertaining promos, the bumps and selling in the ring, the
chiseled physique, and his amazingly charismatic presence, it was like having a
multi-course meal at a fine restaurant.
Sure he wasn’t exactly a ring technician, and he’d be the first to admit
that, but he excelled so much in presentation, the lack of a vast wrestling
repertoire was easy to overlook. After
all, most meals in fine restaurants are presented so beautifully, are made to
appear so appetizing, that you quickly forget just how small the portions
are.
And Billy completely understood that and it was an important part of the
psychology of his wrestling. And it was
during his time in Roy Shire’s San
Francisco
And it’s perfectly normal for people to bristle at the thought that
they’re being manipulated (and for some, to be referred to as a “mark”), for it
makes them feel as if they’re being taken advantage of, made to appear
foolish. But in this case, I wouldn’t
look at it as a “dirty” word. Because
for anyone whoever had exposure to the Superstar Billy Graham experience, they
wanted to be manipulated. That’s because
unlike most situations where the manipulator is the sole beneficiary of the end
result, here, everyone wins.
Because Billy gave us what we asked for, what we wanted to see. We wanted to hear what he had to say, even if
it made us angry at times, even if he belittled his opponent, even if that
opponent was our hero. And we were
gluttons for the punishment. What he
said on the mic made us want to see him in the ring. He put asses in seats and viewers in front of
television sets, and that was his job.
And no one ever got dragged kicking and screaming to those seats. It’s where we wanted to be. His promos were the entrée that whetted our
appetite, made us look forward with eager anticipation to what was to
come. If we admired his opponent before
Graham took the mic, we absolutely adored him afterward. It made us root for him all the more so that
he would topple the big man with the big mouth. And not only did we hope that
our hero would do it, but we also knew that quite possibly, he might. Because even though he belittled his
opponent, Graham was clever enough to also acknowledge his prowess. After all, who would want to pay or tune in
to see him beat a “nobody”? And yet, not
everyone wanted to see the brash, arrogant Graham fall from grace. His charisma, magnetic personality, and
unique look and presentation certainly earned him a share of supporters. Most wanted to see him soundly defeated, some
wanted to see him victorious, but all wanted to see him.
And he wouldn’t disappoint.
Whether you were rooting for him or against him, when he was in the
prime of his career, you always felt as if watching Graham was both time and
money well spent. And that’s a kind of
manipulation that anyone can live with.
Billy was an artist, not only in his personal life, but in his
professional one as well. Some artists
paint a picture with paints, writers do it with words, but all invite the
viewer or reader to participate to a degree, to bring their own perspective,
emotions, and interpretation to the experience.
And Billy did that as well, responding to the crowds, leading them where
he wanted them to go, getting them emotionally involved, immersing them in the
experience. It was both theater and art
at its finest.
And in order to do that, Billy would check his ego at the door. He was a true professional, because for him,
it was all about telling a compelling story, what would make the fans fell like
they got their monies worth, and would make them be willing to come back for
more. One great example of this was the
match where he defended the WWWF title against Mil Mascaras on December 19,
1977 at New York ’s Madison Square
Garden
Once the bell rang, the initial action was fast and furious, with Billy
taking large bumps, begging off from Mil’s assault, seeming bewildered,
overwhelmed, and consulting with his manager the Grand Wizard, as if to say,
“What do I do with this guy?!!!” And
when Billy had the advantage, he was ever the arrogant, cocky, crowing bully,
only to beg off again, take big bumps, and flop around on the mat like a fish
out of water when his opponent turned the tide. This was a formula that Graham often employed
as part of his ring psychology, and as usual, the crowd ate it all up, and in a
way that you just don’t see anymore.
Graham always made people want to see him “get his”, receive his “come
uppings”, but it never really seemed to happen.
It’s interesting to note that many of his matches ended by count out or
disqualification, but I don’t think that mattered much. That’s not really part of his legacy. Because even when he lost, he had delayed our
satisfaction, increased our tension, made us have to come back for more. And even when our relief would finally come,
it would only be after he would draw things out. And we enjoyed it more because he made us
work for it, and during the time that we did, there was always an element of
uncertainty as to what the end result would be. It’s like comparing an easily won love
interest to the one we had to work for. And if selling out Madison Garden 19
times out of the 20 that he headlined the card, if the fact that fans and
wrestlers alike are still talking about the great memories they had of
Superstar’s career are any indication, then no one’s complaining about the
results. While Superstar Billy Graham’s
career at the top of the Professional Wrestling game and his reign as WWWF
World Champion were brief, his legacy is immortal. - RR
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