I met Graham back in 1974 and we became friends in 1981 and beyond. While he respected Backlund as a person and a fantastic amateur wrestler, he had 0 respect for Backlund as a pro wrestler. McMahon, the then WWWF made a huge mistake forcing Graham to drop the belt to Howdy Doody. Graham was the original Hulk Hogan. Probably even better.
@@tonydefrancisco4928 If Graham was better than Hogan and Backlund, why did he never work on top anywhere for the rest of his career other than the few months when he returned as Karate Man to job out to Bob again?
I love this MAN!He was devastated by dropping the belt to Backludnd. He was never the same after.I can't imagine how huge turning Baby Face would have been for the sport. If Ivan Koloff turned on the Superstar, this could have been as lucrative as Hulk Hogan. Merchandise like Action Figures, T-shirts and the like.
Your right about that. The business would of changed before Hulk. Superstar would of been the biggest Icon in Wrestling/Sports Entertanment . I could defentley see Billy doing Movies , tv shows , shirts , action figures etc etc
The problem was Vince Sr’s way of thinking. If Vince jr took the reins 6 year earlier then Graham would’ve been a star and Backlund nothing but a passerby.
@@MinusTheRogue- This is true. Vince admits that Billy Graham was the template for what he wanted his stars to be: larger than life and charismatic. Billy Graham is also why Vince started referring to his performers as superstars instead of wrestlers. Vince JR recognizes taking the belt off Graham was a horrible decision
I can understand his frustration, Billy Graham as WWWF champion in 1977 was starting to get cheered, it would have been amazing seeing an angle where he splits up with the Grand Wizard and becomes a baby face, he was ahead of his time, Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and others looked up to him. His reign as champion should of been much longer, but Vince Senior saw otherwise, unfortunately
Dusty Rhodes was crap: fat, couldn't wrestle, big mouth, trailer-trash king. Graham wasn't much better. WWWF was very smart to make Backlund the champion. He built the company into what it is now.
The Friday before he dropped the belt to Backlund, he faced Bruno in Philadelphia. Before the match, he told Bruno that he was going to drop the belt that Monday (12-20-1978) at the Garden to Bob. Bruno looked at him and said "Backlund?! Backlund?! Are you serious, Wayne? Backlund?!" BTW, Wayne Coleman is Billy's real name.
Backlund was still pretty green. Bob had only been in the territory for 6-9 months. Backlund speaks very well of BG in his book even after acknowledging that BG has done nothing but bury him
Graham was garbage. I never would have gone to MSG to see him as champion. I was twelve in 1979 and didn't miss a match. Backlund was also a very convincing champion and a clean-cut guy in a game loaded with slugs.
A guy in his 60s going off the deep end about something that happened nearly 40 years ago while also calling someone else a "child" is the pinnacle of irony.
"It's still real to him, dammit!" Lol.. In all seriousness I would still be pissed too. Billy Graham was very popular, over as all hell, white hot as a heel, and the fans were on the verge of turning him babyface. That was unprecedented in the WWWF in the 70s. He sold out something like 19 out of 20 MSG shows. His career was never the same after losing to Backlund. The company wasn't either. They would have to load the shows with talent from other territories in order to draw a house. They went from Bruno (who was a God up there, especially to Italians), to Graham (who was a cool ass heel), to weird ass goofy Bob Backlund.
Damn ! That was amazing. I'm not surprised he's still raw over the whole deal. It was a atrocious decision to go with Backlund when Graham was so red hot at the time.
@@17donhol those sell outs wasn't because of backlund.....vince sr had to stack those under cards with dusty rhodes, andre the giant, snuka, muraco, pedro, putski, tito santana, chief jay strongbow and rocky johnson among others.....even bruno had to come back for his run with zybyszo to fill the houses......smh. trust me i was there in the north east backlund whole run and he never drew anything....it was the stars under him who did. like superstar said....vince sr made a HUGE mistake.
Graham knew exactly when he was dropping the belt from the time McMahon called you to come in. And that child is better educated then you & would destroy you in a real fight.
lmao I love this, every second of it. Funniest part is that he's signing authographs while shooting on that child Bob Backlund. Imagine getting one of those angry Superstar signatures.
How exactly? Superstar Billy Graham was very over and a draw, sold out almost every show he was booked on, and the fans practically wanted to Billy to be a face. Backlund was a charisma black hole, and whenever shows drew while he was champion, it was due to others being on the card like Andre the Giant, Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, amongst others. Don't get me wrong, I like Backlund, but he should've never had the title as long as he did. Graham's title run should've been longer than it was
Billy Graham Was a boxer, bare nuckle brawler and bouncer from Phoenix Arizona. I'm pretty sure he couldve handled Backlund . Backlund was a great athlete and strong . But Bob was no street fighter .
I didn't watch wrestling during Superstars reign in 1977-1978. I do remember Bob Backlund circa 1982 and had to wonder why on earth the WWWF made Howdy Doody their world champion. I know Backland was a great amateur wrestler and Vince, Sr. was trying to attract amateur wrestlers to turn pro, but Backlund? Watching Video from the 1970s and having met Wayne Coleman aka Superstar Graham, it is a real shame that they took the belt and gave it to Backlund. Coleman/Graham broke Bruno Sammartino's attendance records. Had they turned Graham into a babyface like they would do with Hogan 5 years later, Graham-mania could have started in 1978. I knew Wayne Coleman as a bodybuilder. He was a great bodybuilder, powerlifter and also a evangelist. His faith in the Almighty was as powerful as Coleman was. RIP my friend.
Graham was a steroid junkie, foul mouthed, and couldn't wrestle to save his life. Backlund mainstreamed the WWWF by being decent, clean-cut, and a "real" wrestler.
@@jimsy7alWhich fit with his image as a good guy who could take on the heels and who had superior strength and wrestling skill. Without Backlund the WWE as you know it today does not exist.
I like Superstar and respect what he did in the business, but if that's the worst thing Backlund ever did to him then he's got nothing to complain about. As far as representing the belt as a WRESTLER Backlund represented it way better than Superstar and could work circles around him in the ring. Bob didn't have to ruin his body with steroids either and isn't now falling apart as a result. Lastly Bob Backlund seems much happier and healthier than Superstar and hasn't ever put down anyone. Bob not only won Superstars belt, but it seems he also beat Billy at the game if life in general!
Backlund sucked, he was boring, and he was a child for not showing the belt. It sounds like you can relate to that mentality, the way you're kissing his rear end.
@@jmtontheroad Sounds like you're butthurt about someone having an opinion. The internet might not be the place for you. And you say this whole kissing Superstars ass lol.
@@jmtontheroad It''s ironic that you mention acting like a child, because in addition to giving your opinion you acted like one too. You couldn't help but throw in an insult just because you didn't like my point of view.
@@MissterX What, the childish point of view? No, I'm not a big fan. I bet you would have done the same thing Backlund did, you would have said you liked your robe too.
In a real, amateur style wrestling match, yes. But this is show entertainment plus sport. Backlund was a huge mistake. They had to keep Graham and then bring back Sammartino and Pedro Morales to draw audiences. Backlund was Booooorrrrring. Great amateur wrestler. Nice man But boooorrrring.
at least bob Blacklund was an Amateur wrestler & he could work, what did Billy Graham bring to wrestling besides bodybuilding & his broken down body from all that steroid abuse.
billy- i love you but you couldn't hold your drugs! and you couldn't defend against a shoot! you were your own worst enemy! if you weren't on drugs maybe they could've protected you against a shoot! bob backlund didn't have your problems! he was reliable AND could protect the belt! Bob was the end of old school wrestling! You were 20 years too early! maybe if you had your S#!^ together you could've been 5-10 years early! stop blaming bob for your problem! he played the game, you stayed the same! move along, few to nobody cares what happened to the belt forty years ago!
It was such an issue, Bob's manager Arnold Skoland could have just carried the belt to the ring where everyone would have saw it, like we see with Boxers. This is fucking pathetic on Billy's part, it wasn't Bob's decision to take the belt off of you, it was Vince Sr's.
I love Billy but you were almost dead, I think you owe it to God that your alive, don't keep up this animosity all your life.You were given another chance at life.
Superstar Billy Graham, love you brother, but you going to have to let it go over your hate with Bob Backlund. You should have vent your anger towards Vince Sr over his decision to have you drop the belt, not Backlund
@Lyles music Speaking of children, you have the spelling and sentence structure of one. Don't talk shit about Superstar. You never walked in his shoes.
RIP Billy, you were a legend. A few counterpoints: 1.) Billy was indeed way over and would have had a great babyface turn. He was not the worker Hulk Hogan was, more in the league of Jesse Ventura. The job of a WWF babyface champion was basically to fight heel after heel every month, with the MSG bouts being the centerpiece of the program with that heel. Backlund was able to carry any of the heels to a decent match, night after night. Sort of like Ric Flair could do with both heels and babyfaces. Billy would have struggled with this. I envision Billy vs. King Kong Mosca, or Killer Khan, and I'm not sure how good those matches could be. 2.) Billy admitted to having a drug problem by his second WWF run in 1982, where he appeared to have aged 20 years in 4. There were no shortage of drugs in wrestling, but if that was going on in 78, drugs would be a reason alone to not keep him as champion. During kayfabe, a drug incident with the WWF champion that made the press could have been very damaging. The McMahons knew that would not happen with Backlund, or Bruno before him. But great respect to a wrestling trailblazer and true original.
Opening up deep, raw wounds. McMahon Sr. had history in the palm of his hands. By his decision he took wrestling history away from Superstar Graham, away from the fans, away from the sport and gave it to Backlund. Backlund should have and could have waited another year. Backlund was an OK champion. I was a fan of his. But Graham was in the middle of one of the most unique, enjoyable, exciting, red hot WWF title reigns ever. And that was as a heel. The WWF had fed him the usual fan favorites like Monsoon, Strongbow, Garea, Putski, Sammartino and Mascaras. He had finished with Dusty. I agree that as a heel there was nowhere else to go with Graham. But a face turn at the hands of Graham's sometime partner Ivan Koloff would have worked and blown the roof off Madison Square Garden. Maybe Graham's entire life would have been better. Maybe there would never have been the seething anger and depression that Graham fell into. I wish things would have turned out differently. I loved Superstar Graham as a ten year old back in 1977. Superstar won the title on my tenth birthday, April 30th 1977. I was in front of the TV in 1982 when Graham made his WWF return. I was devastated when I saw his new appearance and style. I had several fan letters published in the Wrestler and Inside Wrestling magazines voicing my disappointment. Superstar Graham is by far my favorite pro wrestler. He was what wrestling was all about during a decade when the sport really mattered, 1974-1983, the true golden years of the sport. He's gone now, but I'm still here, and until my exit I want everyone to know how special Superstar Graham was, both as a wrestler and a man of faith and courage.
He’s not lying. He could have been the Hulk Hogan of his time. A face turn would have made him the guy, untouchable, and unquestionably THE top guy in the business. Another year with the belt and he would have been a made guy. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out like that.
Hard facts on this...Graham was NOT championship material. To perform at that level you need more than 1 or 2 moves and a body. He was great in his way, a big draw in his own right, but not a champion.
Graham, outside of your language, you are right but you can't blame Backlund. Let it go. I am upset that you are still upset. You don't need to wear the WWWF title around your waist. Be content knowing that you own the one title, that both McMahons knew - one immediately and the other later...you are The Superstar!!!! Your legacy lives on in WWE. Not Backlund's...not Bruno's...not Hogan's... not Austin's. Get over the negativity of the business, that screws everybody, and let your star continue to shine super! Love you Billy and keep eating t-bone steaks and lift barbell plates because you are sweeter than a German chocolate cake!
I really starting to think that he jealous of Bob backlund he need to worry about his health can't even walk Bob backlund is in great shape up in tell this day this seems lile a serious feud he don't want known of Bob backlund right now he is really at war with Bob backlund put them in the ring now
Bob backlund is not paying him any mind he is still stuck back in 1978 you the one that started getting high and shooting poison in your veins backlund will put his ignorant self in the chicken wing right now
Superstar is 1000% right. Backlund did not LOOK like a champion and he could not cut a promo to save his ass. I've seen the interviews with others where Eddie Graham BEGGED Vince Sr. to take Steve Keirn and make HIM the WWWF champion instead of Backlund. Backlund??? Pedro was still in the WWWF at that time. If Bruno could do two reigns as champ, Pedro could've as well. Dusty was in the WWWF at that time as well. A Dusty/Superstar title match at MSG would've been a great idea as well. But no...we had to have Howdy Doody Backlund and his put-you-to-sleep work and promos....
I heard a story that Vince McMahon Sr. made a bet with Eddie Graham on weather or not he could make Backlund a star in the WWWF. Well looking back now its clear Billy Graham looked like the obvious choice to go with over Backlund. But Vince choosing to make Howdy Doody the champ could've all been because of a silly bet between the promoters.
I read Backlunds book and according to him, Vince SR. wanted the title off Superstar because he was a heel in a face friendly territory. There was not enough faces for Superstar to wrestle. I am not sure why they didn't turn Graham face. Backlund also claims that Dusty did not get the title because Vince Sr. was worried that he would get too over and then start to control the company like he did in Florida. Pedro did not get the tittle because Vince Sr. wanted the belt on an "all American boy", he wanted to move on from the ethnic champion like Bruno and Pedro. Vince Sr. also wanted the belt on someone that can he could trust and be able to hold himself if the match turns into a shoot. So, he picked Backlund.
This "child " that Graham called Backlund was a real wrestler, a former NCAA Collegiate wrestler, a shooter, Graham wasn't, and not to speak ill of the dead, but Graham couldn't defeat Bob Backlund anyway if the match was legit. Graham was a good athlete, a tough guy Im sure, a great entertainer, but he wasnt a wrestler, Backlund was, and as far Vince Sr. worried about Backlund's robe and the fans not being able to see the belt, the fans would see it around his waist after he took the robe off and see him put it back on after the match, the fans would see it and Im sure they did.
You fail to understand the point. Bob Backlund didn't have 1 percent charisma of Billy Graham. Wrestling is more about entertainment and entertaining the fans than anything. Obviously also selling merchandise and stadiums. Billy Graham did it much better than Backlund. There was a reason why WWWF wasn't doing well with Backlund. Billy Graham sucked as a worker and Backlund was a better worker but who cares. The same thing happened with Luger and vince wanted Luger to be the champion and Bret cried backstage and they didn't make Luger the champion. Patterson and Brisco sided Bret and hated Luger. The house shows in 94 crashed with Bret and not with Yokozuna or Lex Luger. They did European tours in 94 and Luger was a part of 2 bigger house shows sell outs without Bret and Undertaker on Card. Those were Yokozuna vs Luger drawing 12000 fans and Luger vs Tatanka selling 10000 fans in Europe. Bret the champion didn't sell out anything close to that with being the champion. That's the reason Vince put the belt out of nowhere on Diesel. Same goes to Cena and all these critics hate him to death and say he didn't have it and WWE pretty much died after his departure. In Wrestling being a larger than figure with average Wrestling is what better than being a good worker. As a kid when Hogan left WWE and Bret became the champion pretty much most casual fans stopped watching WWF. I've seen the same with Cena, once he left I hardly hear any kids talking about Wrestling. I only hear older guys saying AJ styles is amazing and Punk is amazing and Cody is amazing. Wrestling today has become a niche with these uncharismatic Vanilla midgets on top who only resonate with critics and Hardcore fans and never sell.
Superstar has been holding onto this jealousy and resentment for all these years, and if anything his animosity for Backlund has only grown. Say what you will about Backlund, but he was a pure athlete from head to toe and worked his a$$ off. Billy never had any respect for Bob, and was disrespectful to him the moment he found out that he was going to have to drop the title to him. Billy thought he was bigger than the Belt and he had the mindset that nobody at that time was worthy of wearing it but him, and instead of congratulating Bob on the opportunity he was given, he turned it into 40 year grudge that he still holds to this day. If you ever want to get Billy Graham fired up, just ask him about his title loss to Backlund.
Harley Race and Flair wore robe's with the belt underneath. Oh yeah and Backlund could tie you into a knot anytime he wanted too. McMahon Sr. didn't want a qualude popping junkie as champion
I have a feeling that the belt went to guys like Backlund and Sheik because it's easy to get it off of them later, and the fans don't mind when you have them drop the belt. It also makes the guy who dropped the belt to either of them look bad, so it accomplishes several things. But, it does probably cost some seat sales in the meantime while either of them has the belt.
gotta love billy taking a nothing story and making it sound like some backstage crisis. there was't enough face talent to justify keeping the title on graham. after bruno and putski you had all 2nd tier face talent. sr. took the belt of graham at the right time. backlund had a ton of great challengers , a ton of entertaining matches. sure he got old after awhile but for the first three years he was fine. yes bruno's feud with zbyzsko overshadowed backlund's title reign for awhile but there wasn't a wrestler from the beginning of pro wrestling to today who that wouldn't happen to.
I got the impression that Bob Backlund went overboard when he wrestled ppl. Almost if he was tired being called howdy doody and wanted to hurt ppl as much as he could. Not impressed with Bob either 😂
Superstar could have been "Hulk Hogan" before there was a Hulk Hogan. That's a lot of money to have to lose out on. However, Billy should have stayed with WWF, even if he wasn't gonna be champion; Andre was not the champ and still had a great career.
I can appreciate the bitterness. I lost in the state tournament in HS wrestling to 2 people I had beaten because my coaches sucked. Costing me a college wrestling scholarship. I'm still bitter to this day. It wasn't until 30 years later that I found Jesus and have found it in my heart to forgive.
Wayne Coleman aka Superstar Billy Graham was class all the way. McMahon made a huge mistake taking the belt away from Graham and giving it to Howdy Doody. Sorry to hear about Backlund's mental health problems.He was a decent person and a fantastic amateur wrestler. No way he deserved to be a world champion Pro Wrestler. He lacked personality. No charisma.
Well, pretty well sums up Bob Backlund. A childish, stubborn guy who you couldn't reason with, not to mention boring as hell. No wonder the sheik had to take the belt from so quick, I'm sure Vince got sick of it.
"So quick"? Really? Did you miss the 5 something years that backlund had the championship? I'll never say backlund was the most charismatic person but technically speaking there were very few better
Profanity has nothing to do with Christianity. I went to a Catholic high school run by Franciscan Friars and they all swore like sailors. Didn't mean they were not men of Christ.
And you know what Christ talked like? You were around back then? You figure all the "cuss words" would've made it into the bible? (Also I missed: "Thou shalt not use foul language." What was that? The ELEVENTH commandment?) You know what DID make it in there? "Judge not lest thee shalt be judged." Matthew 7:1-3. Adam Highhorse...
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring. My brothers can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine beard figs. Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3: 9-12)
Christians all over the world are laughing their fucking asses off at this and thinking what a stupid fucking thing to says Jesus fucking Christ. As a former Christian I can tell you that that no, being a Christian doesn't mean you stop fucking swear.
Sounds like to me he's been mad at the wrong person all these years he should've been mad at Vince Sr bc he called the shots... Backlund was champion bc that's what Sr wanted also Graham was champion bc of Vince Sr too
Can't blame him for being pissed, even after all these years. The decision did kind of tank his career. The fact it had been decided a full year ahead of time must drive him nuts when he was selling out shows left and right.
Billy Graham tanked his own career. He knew the day he won the belt the day he would lose it. That how far in advance they booked the champion. Graham should have had a great career after his WWWF run on top and its nobody fault but his own that he did.
Superstar has no reason to be upset. Superstar is iconic Backlund was Howdie Doodie. Plus Superstar destroyed Backlund championship belt on regular television.
Sick of all the Bruno love when he was just a discount Ivan Putski, but Putski's crime was that the polish-American population in the northeast was much smaller than the italian-American.
Superstar went off the Cliff after the Title switch....He knew what was what but he couldn't deal with it....sadly he had a pretty bitter on-and-off relationship with WWF_WWE ....this type of mindset may have been the reason Vince Sr ...decided to go ahead with the title switch even though Superstar was overly popular but he might have been acting goofy behind the scenes enough to cause Vince Sr not to reconsider...Superstars later life problems kind of indicate that things were not right in his attitude ....
I have never heard Billy Graham drop so many F-Bombs before this.
With EVERY FIBER in his being he HATES Backlund
Same here!!
I met Graham back in 1974 and we became friends in 1981 and beyond. While he respected Backlund as a person and a fantastic amateur wrestler, he had 0 respect for Backlund as a pro wrestler. McMahon, the then WWWF made a huge mistake forcing Graham to drop the belt to Howdy Doody. Graham was the original Hulk Hogan. Probably even better.
@@tonydefrancisco4928 If Graham was better than Hogan and Backlund, why did he never work on top anywhere for the rest of his career other than the few months when he returned as Karate Man to job out to Bob again?
@@kwmusic4560 I think Graham was sort of in that Andre category where he didn't stay in a territory too long. Graham is also a pathological liar too
"But Vince, I like my robe"😂😂😂😂
Best promo I've seen in years
God rest this wonderful man’s soul.
I love this MAN!He was devastated by dropping the belt to Backludnd. He was never the same after.I can't imagine how huge turning Baby Face would have been for the sport. If Ivan Koloff turned on the Superstar, this could have been as lucrative as Hulk Hogan. Merchandise like Action Figures, T-shirts and the like.
Your right about that. The business would of changed before Hulk. Superstar would of been the biggest Icon in Wrestling/Sports Entertanment . I could defentley see Billy doing Movies , tv shows , shirts , action figures etc etc
The problem was Vince Sr’s way of thinking. If Vince jr took the reins 6 year earlier then Graham would’ve been a star and Backlund nothing but a passerby.
@@MinusTheRogue- This is true. Vince admits that Billy Graham was the template for what he wanted his stars to be: larger than life and charismatic. Billy Graham is also why Vince started referring to his performers as superstars instead of wrestlers. Vince JR recognizes taking the belt off Graham was a horrible decision
I can understand his frustration, Billy Graham as WWWF champion in 1977 was starting to get cheered, it would have been amazing seeing an angle where he splits up with the Grand Wizard and becomes a baby face, he was ahead of his time, Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and others looked up to him. His reign as champion should of been much longer, but Vince Senior saw otherwise, unfortunately
Vince Sr made the same mistake with Billy Graham as Verne Gagne did with Hulk Hogan .
First time I’ve ever heard Billy Graham talk. I can see why people say he had the charisma of Dusty Rhodes. Dude could TALK!
He was more charismatic than Dusty Rhodes and I liked Dusty.
Dusty Rhodes was crap: fat, couldn't wrestle, big mouth, trailer-trash king. Graham wasn't much better. WWWF was very smart to make Backlund the champion. He built the company into what it is now.
The Friday before he dropped the belt to Backlund, he faced Bruno in Philadelphia. Before the match, he told Bruno that he was going to drop the belt that Monday (12-20-1978) at the Garden to Bob. Bruno looked at him and said "Backlund?! Backlund?! Are you serious, Wayne? Backlund?!" BTW, Wayne Coleman is Billy's real name.
Backlund was still pretty green. Bob had only been in the territory for 6-9 months. Backlund speaks very well of BG in his book even after acknowledging that BG has done nothing but bury him
Graham was garbage. I never would have gone to MSG to see him as champion. I was twelve in 1979 and didn't miss a match. Backlund was also a very convincing champion and a clean-cut guy in a game loaded with slugs.
Best wrestling match of all time......back in 1982, when Superstar BG destroyed Bob Backlund's WWF championship belt.
The saddest part is that Bob would beat Graham 100/100 times in a legit shoot but Graham was better for business
Actually Backlund was way better for business.
A guy in his 60s going off the deep end about something that happened nearly 40 years ago while also calling someone else a "child" is the pinnacle of irony.
"It's still real to him, dammit!" Lol.. In all seriousness I would still be pissed too. Billy Graham was very popular, over as all hell, white hot as a heel, and the fans were on the verge of turning him babyface. That was unprecedented in the WWWF in the 70s. He sold out something like 19 out of 20 MSG shows. His career was never the same after losing to Backlund. The company wasn't either. They would have to load the shows with talent from other territories in order to draw a house. They went from Bruno (who was a God up there, especially to Italians), to Graham (who was a cool ass heel), to weird ass goofy Bob Backlund.
Damn ! That was amazing. I'm not surprised he's still raw over the whole deal. It was a atrocious decision to go with Backlund when Graham was so red hot at the time.
All of those numerous MSG and Spectrum STANDING ROOM ONLY SELLOUTS would disagree
@@17donhol those sell outs wasn't because of backlund.....vince sr had to stack those under cards with dusty rhodes, andre the giant, snuka, muraco, pedro, putski, tito santana, chief jay strongbow and rocky johnson among others.....even bruno had to come back for his run with zybyszo to fill the houses......smh.
trust me i was there in the north east backlund whole run and he never drew anything....it was the stars under him who did.
like superstar said....vince sr made a HUGE mistake.
Graham wanted to turn Face and get a long run with the belt. And he was over as a heel!
Graham knew exactly when he was dropping the belt from the time McMahon called you to come in. And that child is better educated then you & would destroy you in a real fight.
@@SYKOPATHeist Such a huge mistake he held the title for nearly 6 years lol
I love it just awesome. This man is old and has had dozens of serious surgeries and he's still so well spoken and speaks so clearly.
Now THAT'S A PROMO!
Actually this is real he hates bob
I love him!!! Even though hes gone, he'll be here with us forever!
lmao I love this, every second of it. Funniest part is that he's signing authographs while shooting on that child Bob Backlund. Imagine getting one of those angry Superstar signatures.
It would be worth every cent 😁
I would have been scared shitless
Without Backlund, Graham would have run WWWF into the ground. Switching the belt was by far the best move the company ever made.
How exactly? Superstar Billy Graham was very over and a draw, sold out almost every show he was booked on, and the fans practically wanted to Billy to be a face. Backlund was a charisma black hole, and whenever shows drew while he was champion, it was due to others being on the card like Andre the Giant, Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, amongst others. Don't get me wrong, I like Backlund, but he should've never had the title as long as he did. Graham's title run should've been longer than it was
I have always absolutely loved Superstar! Still shooting hard as ever! If not for Superstar WWF would have sucked!
Backlund sold out arenas too be honest
Not true. And Backlund was over big.
If they ever shot in the ring back then Billy wouldn't be talking like that.
He was a real Professional. His charisma was contagious.
Billy Graham Was a boxer, bare nuckle brawler and bouncer from Phoenix Arizona. I'm pretty sure he couldve handled Backlund . Backlund was a great athlete and strong . But Bob was no street fighter .
Tell em how you really feel, Billy!
I didn't watch wrestling during Superstars reign in 1977-1978. I do remember Bob Backlund circa 1982 and had to wonder why on earth the WWWF made Howdy Doody their world champion. I know Backland was a great amateur wrestler and Vince, Sr. was trying to attract amateur wrestlers to turn pro, but Backlund? Watching Video from the 1970s and having met Wayne Coleman aka Superstar Graham, it is a real shame that they took the belt and gave it to Backlund. Coleman/Graham broke Bruno Sammartino's attendance records. Had they turned Graham into a babyface like they would do with Hogan 5 years later, Graham-mania could have started in 1978. I knew Wayne Coleman as a bodybuilder. He was a great bodybuilder, powerlifter and also a evangelist. His faith in the Almighty was as powerful as Coleman was. RIP my friend.
Graham was a steroid junkie, foul mouthed, and couldn't wrestle to save his life. Backlund mainstreamed the WWWF by being decent, clean-cut, and a "real" wrestler.
We love you Billy!!!
Lots of fans back then did not like backlund as champ. They blew it taking the belt from superstar
And Backlund had the charisma and personality of a doorknob!!
@@jimsy7alWhich fit with his image as a good guy who could take on the heels and who had superior strength and wrestling skill. Without Backlund the WWE as you know it today does not exist.
Backlund was over big.
bruno and vince jr. kept pleading with vince sr to make superstar a face and to continue being champion
I like Superstar and respect what he did in the business, but if that's the worst thing Backlund ever did to him then he's got nothing to complain about. As far as representing the belt as a WRESTLER Backlund represented it way better than Superstar and could work circles around him in the ring. Bob didn't have to ruin his body with steroids either and isn't now falling apart as a result. Lastly Bob Backlund seems much happier and healthier than Superstar and hasn't ever put down anyone. Bob not only won Superstars belt, but it seems he also beat Billy at the game if life in general!
Backlund sucked, he was boring, and he was a child for not showing the belt. It sounds like you can relate to that mentality, the way you're kissing his rear end.
@@jmtontheroad Sounds like you're butthurt about someone having an opinion. The internet might not be the place for you. And you say this whole kissing Superstars ass lol.
@@MissterX I was just giving my opinion on the child mentality, and how some people can relate to Bob Backlund not having a clue. I'm not mad bro.
@@jmtontheroad It''s ironic that you mention acting like a child, because in addition to giving your opinion you acted like one too. You couldn't help but throw in an insult just because you didn't like my point of view.
@@MissterX What, the childish point of view? No, I'm not a big fan. I bet you would have done the same thing Backlund did, you would have said you liked your robe too.
Still working! I love it!
BTW Backlund would/could have taken that WWWF title from anyone in that ERA for real, at anytime he wanted to.
Bob had zero charisma, this isn’t the ufc.
Had below zero charisma!@@R2B2YT
In a real, amateur style wrestling match, yes. But this is show entertainment plus sport. Backlund was a huge mistake. They had to keep Graham and then bring back Sammartino and Pedro Morales to draw audiences. Backlund was Booooorrrrring. Great amateur wrestler. Nice man But boooorrrring.
this hurt billy just as much as montreal hurt bret hart
Fuck Bret Hart. When you leave, you drop the belt. Simple as that.
Ric Flair and Harley Race would wear the NWA world title under their robes. you know. 2 of the greatest of all time
at least bob Blacklund was an Amateur wrestler & he could work, what did Billy Graham bring to wrestling besides bodybuilding & his broken down body from all that steroid abuse.
Billy has a valid point. The title and the wearer need to be seen simultaneously so people easily I'd you as the champion.
Ask Ric Flair that
billy- i love you but you couldn't hold your drugs! and you couldn't defend against a shoot! you were your own worst enemy! if you weren't on drugs maybe they could've protected you against a shoot! bob backlund didn't have your problems! he was reliable AND could protect the belt! Bob was the end of old school wrestling! You were 20 years too early! maybe if you had your S#!^ together you could've been 5-10 years early! stop blaming bob for your problem! he played the game, you stayed the same! move along, few to nobody cares what happened to the belt forty years ago!
if you really want to be mad, be mad at hogan. he stole your schtick which definitively put you out to pasture as a mid carder.
Backlund did an incredible job as champion, could wrestle, and Graham was just a loudmouth named after a preacher.
It was such an issue, Bob's manager Arnold Skoland could have just carried the belt to the ring where everyone would have saw it, like we see with Boxers. This is fucking pathetic on Billy's part, it wasn't Bob's decision to take the belt off of you, it was Vince Sr's.
I love Billy but you were almost dead, I think you owe it to God that your alive, don't keep up this animosity all your life.You were given another chance at life.
spectrumlocalb191 *you’re
You pencil neck geek. Shut the f...up.
Superstar Billy Graham, love you brother, but you going to have to let it go over your hate with Bob Backlund. You should have vent your anger towards Vince Sr over his decision to have you drop the belt, not Backlund
Miss the Super Star.
This promo > stone colds best attitude era promo
Epic rant
Billy seems a little upset! :)
@Lyles music Speaking of children, you have the spelling and sentence structure of one. Don't talk shit about Superstar. You never walked in his shoes.
And delusional.
RIP Billy, you were a legend. A few counterpoints: 1.) Billy was indeed way over and would have had a great babyface turn. He was not the worker Hulk Hogan was, more in the league of Jesse Ventura. The job of a WWF babyface champion was basically to fight heel after heel every month, with the MSG bouts being the centerpiece of the program with that heel. Backlund was able to carry any of the heels to a decent match, night after night. Sort of like Ric Flair could do with both heels and babyfaces. Billy would have struggled with this. I envision Billy vs. King Kong Mosca, or Killer Khan, and I'm not sure how good those matches could be. 2.) Billy admitted to having a drug problem by his second WWF run in 1982, where he appeared to have aged 20 years in 4. There were no shortage of drugs in wrestling, but if that was going on in 78, drugs would be a reason alone to not keep him as champion. During kayfabe, a drug incident with the WWF champion that made the press could have been very damaging. The McMahons knew that would not happen with Backlund, or Bruno before him. But great respect to a wrestling trailblazer and true original.
He could have kept the robe & put the title over his shoulder.
Exactly.
Opening up deep, raw wounds. McMahon Sr. had history in the palm of his hands. By his decision he took wrestling history away from Superstar Graham, away from the fans, away from the sport and gave it to Backlund. Backlund should have and could have waited another year. Backlund was an OK champion. I was a fan of his. But Graham was in the middle of one of the most unique, enjoyable, exciting, red hot WWF title reigns ever. And that was as a heel. The WWF had fed him the usual fan favorites like Monsoon, Strongbow, Garea, Putski, Sammartino and Mascaras. He had finished with Dusty. I agree that as a heel there was nowhere else to go with Graham. But a face turn at the hands of Graham's sometime partner Ivan Koloff would have worked and blown the roof off Madison Square Garden. Maybe Graham's entire life would have been better. Maybe there would never have been the seething anger and depression that Graham fell into. I wish things would have turned out differently. I loved Superstar Graham as a ten year old back in 1977. Superstar won the title on my tenth birthday, April 30th 1977. I was in front of the TV in 1982 when Graham made his WWF return. I was devastated when I saw his new appearance and style. I had several fan letters published in the Wrestler and Inside Wrestling magazines voicing my disappointment. Superstar Graham is by far my favorite pro wrestler. He was what wrestling was all about during a decade when the sport really mattered, 1974-1983, the true golden years of the sport. He's gone now, but I'm still here, and until my exit I want everyone to know how special Superstar Graham was, both as a wrestler and a man of faith and courage.
Mr. Bob Backlund FEELS LIKE GOOOOOOD! 😂
He’s not lying. He could have been the Hulk Hogan of his time. A face turn would have made him the guy, untouchable, and unquestionably THE top guy in the business. Another year with the belt and he would have been a made guy. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out like that.
I agree with superstar billy graham on this he should have got it back he is a true champion sorry bob
Hard facts on this...Graham was NOT championship material. To perform at that level you need more than 1 or 2 moves and a body. He was great in his way, a big draw in his own right, but not a champion.
2:23 Jesus lol
agree with everything Superstar just said
Nothing wrong wearing a full length robe while wearing the belt ask Harley Race and Ric Flair
Not me. Not a lot of other people either, judging by comments all over RUclips.
Tell us how you really feel. Rip champ
Graham, outside of your language, you are right but you can't blame Backlund. Let it go. I am upset that you are still upset. You don't need to wear the WWWF title around your waist. Be content knowing that you own the one title, that both McMahons knew - one immediately and the other later...you are The Superstar!!!! Your legacy lives on in WWE. Not Backlund's...not Bruno's...not Hogan's... not Austin's. Get over the negativity of the business, that screws everybody, and let your star continue to shine super! Love you Billy and keep eating t-bone steaks and lift barbell plates because you are sweeter than a German chocolate cake!
Vince Sr never should of taken the belt off of Superstar for Backlund. xoxo The Clarences
Danm....but I wonder how he feels about Bob backlund?
I really starting to think that he jealous of Bob backlund he need to worry about his health can't even walk Bob backlund is in great shape up in tell this day this seems lile a serious feud he don't want known of Bob backlund right now he is really at war with Bob backlund put them in the ring now
Bob backlund is not paying him any mind he is still stuck back in 1978 you the one that started getting high and shooting poison in your veins backlund will put his ignorant self in the chicken wing right now
you are so right - bob was one of most underrated shooters with unreal strength conditioning and resilience
Oh Bob would kill him. In seconds.
Wayne, it's been forty years. You need to take a chill pill...STAT!!!
how ironic he got Backlund into wrestling, meeting him at that gym..
I saw this on the mother f-ing internet
RIP
Awesome I wanted to hear more!!
Like when Karl Gotch chased Buddy Rogers around in the locker room , kickin his ass
THE BEST., TELL HIM SUPERSTAR WHO'S KING BABY, YOU ARE!
Superstar is 1000% right.
Backlund did not LOOK like a champion and he could not cut a promo to save his ass. I've seen the interviews with others where Eddie Graham BEGGED Vince Sr. to take Steve Keirn and make HIM the WWWF champion instead of Backlund.
Backlund??? Pedro was still in the WWWF at that time. If Bruno could do two reigns as champ, Pedro could've as well. Dusty was in the WWWF at that time as well. A Dusty/Superstar title match at MSG would've been a great idea as well.
But no...we had to have Howdy Doody Backlund and his put-you-to-sleep work and promos....
I heard a story that Vince McMahon Sr. made a bet with Eddie Graham on weather or not he could make Backlund a star in the WWWF. Well looking back now its clear Billy Graham looked like the obvious choice to go with over Backlund. But Vince choosing to make Howdy Doody the champ could've all been because of a silly bet between the promoters.
Scott Levison Vince McMahon senior preferred technical
I read Backlunds book and according to him, Vince SR. wanted the title off Superstar because he was a heel in a face friendly territory. There was not enough faces for Superstar to wrestle. I am not sure why they didn't turn Graham face. Backlund also claims that Dusty did not get the title because Vince Sr. was worried that he would get too over and then start to control the company like he did in Florida. Pedro did not get the tittle because Vince Sr. wanted the belt on an "all American boy", he wanted to move on from the ethnic champion like Bruno and Pedro. Vince Sr. also wanted the belt on someone that can he could trust and be able to hold himself if the match turns into a shoot. So, he picked Backlund.
@Jimbo Jones Son..I was 21 when Howdy Doody became champ. How old wre you, son?
@@scottlevison7994 I was eleven and went to every MSG match in 1979.
Wow! Don't hold back Billy, say what you really mean.
Like Superstar, but if he’s a real Christian he shouldn’t cuss. There’s no 2 ways about it!
Giving the belt to howdy doody was the worst mistake ever.
Yeah, Backlund selling out everywhere for 6 years as champ was a big mistake. Right.
I wish he would stop beating around the bush and just say how he feels.
Superstar was WAY better than Howdy-Doody...
dirbrody You are pathetically delusional. Backlund was a farrrr greater technical wrestler.
Putski was better than all of them.
No he wasn't.
He forgot to mention he cheated to win the belt from Bruno.
Graham is 100% Correct!
Graham is bitter and delusional.
This "child " that Graham called Backlund was a real wrestler, a former NCAA Collegiate wrestler, a shooter, Graham wasn't, and not to speak ill of the dead, but Graham couldn't defeat Bob Backlund anyway if the match was legit. Graham was a good athlete, a tough guy Im sure, a great entertainer, but he wasnt a wrestler, Backlund was, and as far Vince Sr. worried about Backlund's robe and the fans not being able to see the belt, the fans would see it around his waist after he took the robe off and see him put it back on after the match, the fans would see it and Im sure they did.
You fail to understand the point. Bob Backlund didn't have 1 percent charisma of Billy Graham.
Wrestling is more about entertainment and entertaining the fans than anything. Obviously also selling merchandise and stadiums. Billy Graham did it much better than Backlund. There was a reason why WWWF wasn't doing well with Backlund.
Billy Graham sucked as a worker and Backlund was a better worker but who cares.
The same thing happened with Luger and vince wanted Luger to be the champion and Bret cried backstage and they didn't make Luger the champion. Patterson and Brisco sided Bret and hated Luger.
The house shows in 94 crashed with Bret and not with Yokozuna or Lex Luger.
They did European tours in 94 and Luger was a part of 2 bigger house shows sell outs without Bret and Undertaker on Card. Those were Yokozuna vs Luger drawing 12000 fans and Luger vs Tatanka selling 10000 fans in Europe.
Bret the champion didn't sell out anything close to that with being the champion. That's the reason Vince put the belt out of nowhere on Diesel.
Same goes to Cena and all these critics hate him to death and say he didn't have it and WWE pretty much died after his departure.
In Wrestling being a larger than figure with average Wrestling is what better than being a good worker.
As a kid when Hogan left WWE and Bret became the champion pretty much most casual fans stopped watching WWF.
I've seen the same with Cena, once he left I hardly hear any kids talking about Wrestling.
I only hear older guys saying AJ styles is amazing and Punk is amazing and Cody is amazing.
Wrestling today has become a niche with these uncharismatic Vanilla midgets on top who only resonate with critics and Hardcore fans and never sell.
LOL!!! I've never seen this before! 😂😂😂😂
Superstar has been holding onto this jealousy and resentment for all these years, and if anything his animosity for Backlund has only grown. Say what you will about Backlund, but he was a pure athlete from head to toe and worked his a$$ off.
Billy never had any respect for Bob, and was disrespectful to him the moment he found out that he was going to have to drop the title to him.
Billy thought he was bigger than the Belt and he had the mindset that nobody at that time was worthy of wearing it but him, and instead of congratulating Bob on the opportunity he was given, he turned it into 40 year grudge that he still holds to this day.
If you ever want to get Billy Graham fired up, just ask him about his title loss to Backlund.
Tell us how you really feel
Harley Race and Flair wore robe's with the belt underneath. Oh yeah and Backlund could tie you into a knot anytime he wanted too. McMahon Sr. didn't want a qualude popping junkie as champion
I have a feeling that the belt went to guys like Backlund and Sheik because it's easy to get it off of them later, and the fans don't mind when you have them drop the belt. It also makes the guy who dropped the belt to either of them look bad, so it accomplishes several things. But, it does probably cost some seat sales in the meantime while either of them has the belt.
shut up ya fucking wop. Damn mark.
They were heels. And before you comment, yes, it did matter back then.
From 1980 on they were grooming Hogan to take over.
gotta love billy taking a nothing story and making it sound like some backstage crisis. there was't enough face talent to justify keeping the title on graham. after bruno and putski you had all 2nd tier face talent. sr. took the belt of graham at the right time. backlund had a ton of great challengers , a ton of entertaining matches. sure he got old after awhile but for the first three years he was fine. yes bruno's feud with zbyzsko overshadowed backlund's title reign for awhile but there wasn't a wrestler from the beginning of pro wrestling to today who that wouldn't happen to.
Putski should have been champ but the Polish-American population was too small.
I got the impression that Bob Backlund went overboard when he wrestled ppl. Almost if he was tired being called howdy doody and wanted to hurt ppl as much as he could. Not impressed with Bob either 😂
If I ever see Graham, I’m gonna wear a robe with a a championship belt under it and tell him how much I love my robe.
this is so old. January 28, 2011
Billy, get over it already... that was 40 long years ago!!
philaman1972 some things hurt forever..
Superstar could have been "Hulk Hogan" before there was a Hulk Hogan. That's a lot of money to have to lose out on. However, Billy should have stayed with WWF, even if he wasn't gonna be champion; Andre was not the champ and still had a great career.
I can appreciate the bitterness. I lost in the state tournament in HS wrestling to 2 people I had beaten because my coaches sucked. Costing me a college wrestling scholarship. I'm still bitter to this day. It wasn't until 30 years later that I found Jesus and have found it in my heart to forgive.
He's is over it but it would've changed his life and he would have been in totally different place now.
If dude was so great, how come he never had a run as NWA Champ?
He was wrestling mostly in Northeast territory aka WWWF which left the NWA by the 60s
There's plenty of great wrestlers who were never NWA champ, that doesn't exactly prove he wasn't great.
Billy, brother God bless, hope you're at peace but I have to ask you. How do you really feel about dropping the belt to Backlund?
Wayne Coleman aka Superstar Billy Graham was class all the way. McMahon made a huge mistake taking the belt away from Graham and giving it to Howdy Doody. Sorry to hear about Backlund's mental health problems.He was a decent person and a fantastic amateur wrestler. No way he deserved to be a world champion Pro Wrestler. He lacked personality. No charisma.
Yeah, this interview is very classy.
Well, pretty well sums up Bob Backlund. A childish, stubborn guy who you couldn't reason with, not to mention boring as hell. No wonder the sheik had to take the belt from so quick, I'm sure Vince got sick of it.
"So quick"? Really? Did you miss the 5 something years that backlund had the championship? I'll never say backlund was the most charismatic person but technically speaking there were very few better
Quick?
You go Billy
Billy should have held the BELT longer. No doubt. Backland was boring.
@Jimbo Jones Part of the game was cutting promos. Backlund SUCKED at cutting them.
Isn't Graham suppose to be a Christian? His language and anger hardly reflect the love of Christ.
Profanity has nothing to do with Christianity. I went to a Catholic high school run by Franciscan Friars and they all swore like sailors. Didn't mean they were not men of Christ.
And you know what Christ talked like? You were around back then? You figure all the "cuss words" would've made it into the bible? (Also I missed: "Thou shalt not use foul language." What was that? The ELEVENTH commandment?) You know what DID make it in there? "Judge not lest thee shalt be judged." Matthew 7:1-3. Adam Highhorse...
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring. My brothers can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine beard figs. Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3: 9-12)
Matthew... seven... one... to... three.
Christians all over the world are laughing their fucking asses off at this and thinking what a stupid fucking thing to says Jesus fucking Christ. As a former Christian I can tell you that that no, being a Christian doesn't mean you stop fucking swear.
vince sr. must of been spinning in his grave the way vince jr was using bob backlund in the 90s
I will never understand how the WWWF would let Backlund beat Graham I’ll never understand
baclund was a legit wrestler
Because Backlund is the living legend probably the greatest wwe star of all time Backlund is a man’s man
Sounds like to me he's been mad at the wrong person all these years he should've been mad at Vince Sr bc he called the shots... Backlund was champion bc that's what Sr wanted also Graham was champion bc of Vince Sr too
Can't blame him for being pissed, even after all these years. The decision did kind of tank his career. The fact it had been decided a full year ahead of time must drive him nuts when he was selling out shows left and right.
Billy Graham tanked his own career. He knew the day he won the belt the day he would lose it. That how far in advance they booked the champion. Graham should have had a great career after his WWWF run on top and its nobody fault but his own that he did.
Tired of Billy's story. Guess I've heard it too many times. His anger at Backlund is tiring. Billy knew the deal from the beginning.
Superstar has no reason to be upset. Superstar is iconic Backlund was Howdie Doodie. Plus Superstar destroyed Backlund championship belt on regular television.
Sick of all the Bruno love when he was just a discount Ivan Putski, but Putski's crime was that the polish-American population in the northeast was much smaller than the italian-American.
Vince Jr. Knew the score that’s why when his old man gave him control he got rid of Backlund for the Next Billy Graham, Hulk Hogan.
Iron Sheik level shoot.
I love this. He is being real. No bullshit here
SAD to see him speak like this.
Superstar went off the Cliff after the Title switch....He knew what was what but he couldn't deal with it....sadly he had a pretty bitter on-and-off relationship with WWF_WWE ....this type of mindset may have been the reason Vince Sr ...decided to go ahead with the title switch even though Superstar was overly popular but he might have been acting goofy behind the scenes enough to cause Vince Sr not to reconsider...Superstars later life problems kind of indicate that things were not right in his attitude ....
Backlund was better as a heel and Superstar would've been better as a face.
he was Backlund was like a child back in the day Howdy Doody looking dork lol i agree with Billy Graham RIP Superstar
Up look legend in the fucking dictionary this man is it superstar
Really? Where's the evidence?
0:41... I love that INTENSITY from Billy
Damn he was angry lol