Days after it was reported that “Superstar” Billy Graham was fighting for his life on life support, the pro wrestling legend has sadly passed away. The news was broken by fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who has often credited Graham as a big inspiration on his own wrestling career. The news was also announced soon after on the live broadcast of AEW Dynamite. Graham was 79 years old.
Flair’s tweet reads, “The Superstar Billy Graham Just Left Us. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR INFLUENCE On My Career!”
Graham’s family has also confirmed to 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 passing, Valerie had publicly pleaded for “urgent prayers,” revealing that doctors “wanted to remove him from life support” that day. She refused, saying that “his will is strong even if his body isn’t.” A GoFundMe page was also launched to help with the expenses from the medical bills.
“He is dealing with a myriad of very serious health issues: a major infection in his ears and skull that may take six months of intravenous IVs, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hearing loss as a result of the infection, and the list goes on,” the GoFundMe page description noted, also revealing that Graham had lost 45 pounds over the last three weeks.
“Superstar” Billy Graham Was Influential to Many
“Superstar” Billy Graham was born Eldridge Wayne Coleman on June 7, 1943. He started his career in bodybuilding and worked that into his persona upon his transition into professional wrestling. Graham was especially popular in the 1970s, rising as one of the era’s biggest stars. In the late 70s, he became the Heavyweight Champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, which is what is known as WWE today. His larger than life personality would also inspired many of pro wrestling’s biggest stars as well, including the likes of 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 was, at the time, holding the same title Graham had held decades earlier. Triple H also credited Graham as a big inspiration.
“‘Superstar’ Billy Graham was the first wrestler to realize that it took more than just good matches to become a household name,” Triple H said in Graham’s Hall of Fame induction speech. “It took charisma, it took personality, it took microphone skills, it took a body, it took all of it.”
He added, “If you look at those that came after him, more people have patterned themselves after ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham and become a success in this business than probably anyone.”
Our thoughts are with Graham’s family at this time. Rest in peace, “Superstar” Billy Graham. You can see some more tribute posts for Graham from other pro wrestlers below.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
