Timeline WWE #04 | "Superstar" Billy Graham | 1977-78

It was before Hogan, before Ventura, and before charisma counted as much, perhaps more so, as mat skills. It was 1977 in New York and Bruno's run would soon come to an end.
Enter The Superstar...
Superstar Billy Graham burst onto the scene in the WWWF, unseated Bruno Sammartino, and rewrote the rulebook for pro wrestling heels. And now he wants you to join him on a journey to that pivotal year, where he'll tell you everything that was happening within the walls of the largest wrestling federation in the world!
We pick up the action in April of 1977, just before Graham gets the strap, and we follow the action into 1978, when Backlund takes it.
The Sammartino title change
the McMahons
the "Wiz"
Japan
Backlund
the backroom dealings
missed opportunities
Albano's antics
working the blade
the TV Tapings
...all that and EVERYTHING that was happening in 1977/78 in WWE!!!
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[@TheTakadaMonster]

RIP Superstar. And thank you for doing this, Sean.

[@Kas58223]

Always enjoy Sean interview style always has his question’s prepared and whoever he interviews let’s them answer and no different here with a legend RIP Billy Graham

[@hunkallgood73]

Coleman can't read this so what's the point?

[@Pillmanized]

​@@Kas58223It would be questions not question's and lets them not let's them. (Let's is a contraction of let us...)

[@dustinwashington4976]

I w😅w

[@dustinwashington4976]

@@Kas58223😅😅😅 😅😮😅😅😅😅😅😅what is the reason 😅

[@karmaisreal261]

The man with the largest arm, the man with the most charm. Rest in Heaven Superstar

[@yoholmes273]

The man who is the women's pet....and the men's regret.

[@MrYouarethecancer]

Without Superstar there’d be no Flair, no Hogan, no Rock, no WWE. RIP to a true legend.

[@nicholashurst780]

Sean Oliver should be put in the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. May not have been the first to do shoot interviews (I genuinely don't know) but he is the reason pro wrestling podcasts exist now. Not just Conrad's stuff or WSI but like no Kayfabe Commentaries no Stone Cold Sessions

[@screwintuna]

Superstar revolutionized the Wrestling Promo, this guy could talk so much better than anybody else around him at the time and became the prototype for a whole generation of talent. What a legend! The man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour.

[@MrRight80]

Graham's emotional story about Baron Mikel Scicluna is heartbreaking.

[@dubyuellem7534]

Yeah, I used to read that a lot of those prelim mid-card wrestlers basically lived out of their cars, traveling from gig to gig, barely surviving. Sad, real sad.

[@sychophantt]

facts

[@orangepeel1366]

@@dubyuellem7534 i dont know why they tolerated that shit ...just leave the business and work a regular job .. anything but being treated like a dog

[@stephengennarelli1808]

Thanks to Davey O'Hannon, Scicluna later got a day job as a truck driver for the New York Times, which gave him benefits and of course, another source of income besides the wrestling income.

[@jamie.777]

Absolutely 😢, Billy had genuine compassion. Must have been sad, a once top wwwf heal. Even in his 40s, baron was a huge scary man. Just big boned raw strength 💪🏽, he was beast. Than seeing older barron broke, with no jacket . It's not fear, American culture is about youth, older people don't matter. I like Japan's culture that respects elders

[@SuperMarry23]

I remember the first time I saw Superstar on tv. He was the manager of Don Maroco. I was 11. I knew nothing about him, But I understod that this man was important for wrestling Rest now Superstar. You will be missed.

[@JGD185]

I'm still a big Hulk Hogan fan but he owes so much of his career to Billy

[@airfixx_8952]

Not just Hogan. SSBG is the prototype modern superstar.

[@abcsin6526]

@@airfixx_8952 ssbg??

[@airfixx_8952]

@@abcsin6526 SuperStar Billy Graham. 😎

[@abcsin6526]

@@airfixx_8952 oh!!ok...didn't got the short form

[@anthonyjoseph1480]

Hogan copied everything from Superstar. Mic work, the look,.... Hogan originated nothing.

[@msu15]

RIP to an all time legend

[@PhilMiCoochie]

R.I.P. Supahstah Billy Graham baby Sean I really do admire the fact that you memorialize legends that pass away. You did the same for Scott Hall. I know a lot of fans appreciate the sentiment

[@85futureshock]

27:04 was very powerful and heartbreaking. An example of a good man in a sometimes not so good industry.

[@Kas58223]

Graham breaking down like that he was bigger than life but still a gentleman helping out were he could

[@garywright3523]

What a well spoken and articulate gentleman. One of the key figures in wrestling. RIP Superstar 🙏

[@handofgod2000]

Hulk hogan stole this guys look. It shows you what an impact he had back then. Rip to billy

[@richardclark7224]

Him and Ventura a lot of guys copy the great superstar, Billy Graham RIP superstar…. Gone but never forgotten ❤❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@thomass789]

Well, look at that goatee. Remind you of a certain genetic freak? Holla if you hear me!

[@bb-gc2tx]

hogan openly admits he did

[@cmurphy0707]

Dusty Rhodes even got his promo style from Superstar.

[@Kas58223]

Billy Graham was so ahead of his time the tye dye clothes, that body and just the way he did his promos

[@dubyuellem7534]

RIP Superstar Billy Graham/Eldridge Wayne Coleman. This was a GREAT interview, thank you so much.

[@mamayl8592]

RIP. I think it's a shame that Superstar wasn't more involved in creative or a road agent. He had a tremendous mind for the business, knew what would draw money/audiences, and could have been a great mentor to young talent.

[@randylynch4330]

He was out of touch significantly the last 20 or so years. It jjst wasn't meant to be

[@mamayl8592]

@@randylynch4330 I was thinking more along the lines of after he hung up the boots. You're correct, the last 20 years his health would have made it hard to be involved day to day.

[@thomass789]

Vince Jr tried to keep him around. He failed at the post-in-ring spots he was given a chance at. He was not a good commentator. He was not good as a manager. I love SBG, I'm a HUGE fan. But he just wasn't good at the jobs they gave him after he couldn't wrestle anymore.

[@waxoftriple9]

@@A09119 That was my intro to Superstar, commentary team back in the late 80's. He looked awesome.

[@Rjensen2]

He was too busy claiming McMahan was literally possessed by demons. 😂

[@nriab23]

Thats why these interviews are so important. Keeps memories alive and it writes history dosn for future generations

[@fatalsniper3413]

Biased one-sided history is what it writes.

[@nriab23]

@@fatalsniper3413 doesn't matter because when so many people are interviewed you eventually hear both sides of the story?

[@russellcampbell3500]

Great thing u done Sean. R.i.p. " the man of the hour with all the power who was just to sweet to be sour. Because what you see is what you get and what you don't is better yet. Yeah baby". Missing you already superstar

[@DaveSosidka]

This was the first Kayfabe Commentaries DVD I bought, and it may be my favorite, Too bad Sean didn't get a chance to do more of a total career retrospective with Superstar, as well as some of the other legends who have now passed away.

[@greenonions7492]

Imagine a shoot interview of Buddy Rogers, that'd be so dang awesome.

[@jandafin]

Wrestling needs more Karate champions like The Superstar. R.I.P Champ.

[@nickcurrier1546]

I've always loved Billy Graham and this shoot did not disappoint, the raw emotion in the jacket story was real and showed a different side to Graham. Couldn't stop listening to his story telling

[@orangepeel1366]

that really touched my heart that graham gave his new jacket to Scicluna ...i don't know why promotors mistreated their talent like this .. why these wrestlers tolerated this type of stuff.

[@russblack443]

​@@orangepeel1366the promoters treated those guys like that because they could. Most of those guys were married and had kids. They didn't want to be traveling in another territory and be away from their families or moving their kids from school to school every year or two. So the promoters took full advantage of it and paid them shit. Another one was to get another promotion to bring someone in and give them a push and tell them they were going to work on top. So they would sell their house bring their families from another state. Rt after that they would quit booking them. So they had to go home with their tail tucked between their legs the more they just came from making a fraction of the money they were. Don Owen and Bob geigel did it to piper. Jim Crockett and giegel did it to Rufus R Jones.

[@russblack443]

Roy shire and Dick the bruiser did it to pepper Gomez

[@josemontano7767]

RIP Superstar you where (are) my favorite world champion!

[@5tennbjj]

Superstar came along just a few years too early. Fantastic look, great on the mic, a huge draw, and a genuinely lovely human being. I absolutely love how he puts over all of the guys from his era. It would have been so easy for him to be bitter about his short title run, missing out being on top in the huge 80s era, etc, but he stays positive. Underappreciated, never duplicated, Billy is an all time great. RIP

[@chadhartsees]

Superstar was a really sensitive guy, you could tell, I suppose he could also hold grudges and could lash out, but it's clear he was a real sensitive guy with a code of honor.

[@Rjensen2]

Code of honor? He was a lying sack of shit.

[@SonicandTheTailsboys]

RIP Superstar! Thanks for all the great memories. Should've been champ for a lot longer.

[@babarazamsucks]

R.I.P. Superstar Billy Graham.😢

[@Doral4720]

Nice man Billie Graham. Well-spoken. RIP Superstar!

[@sicariosicario9889]

Wish we could have seen more of the superstar in NY not just a few years !

[@stb2017]

Superstar will live forever through his kindness, what a wonderful human being he was #RIPSuperstar

[@cowpalacedave]

GREAT INTERVIEW SEAN! Billy should have never had the belt taken away from him.

[@josemontano7767]

Wow this is KZbin Gold! I never seen this before!

[@sicariosicario9889]

The first to bring wrestling to the entertainment scene by his character which was great !

[@anthonybradley1555]

Every time I hear the clip of him saying "i am the champion, i am the greatest" it really sticks with you just like Monsoon saying "superfly perched 15 feet high!!"

[@RyanRumbles434]

The man of the hour, the man with the power; Too sweet to be sour! Thanks Sean

[@JasonL77]

In case you’re wondering, the first opponent for Bruno after losing the belt in MSG, according to Billy’s autobiography, was George “The Animal” Steele.

[@romainlavoie1526]

Sean really delivered on this one . Without question one of the best sports interview's. In 1977 - The Superstar was the man in pro sports and Vince Senior did not see it. I still cant believe . 46 years later this is a solid topic. If he keeps Billy Graham as World's Champion it changes everything for the NWA. The possibilities could have been endless. What happens to Ric Flair ? Is Dusty staying for good with the WWWF. We could go on for an entire evening of discussions .To me this is one of the greatest blunders in the history of Pro Sports .

[@philaman1972]

I saw this interview years ago, but wanted to check it out again after SBG's passing. There will never be another person so entertaining, so captivating like SBG! Thank you and RIP!

[@vampirascoffin870]

The greatest colorful , man of the hour to sweet to be sour , charisma to the T , you be deeply missed 💪🏼Superstar💪🏼 , my favorite WWE champion of the 1970s , total Groundbreaker , way ahead of this time

[@waynekaress5778]

Such an amazing interview. RIP Superstar!

[@arthur-ri4zo]

14:27 The Grand Wizard drove all night on the Yellow Brick Road to manage his first wrestling match. He's still looking for Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man.

[@Willowdog08]

Maybe Backlund could have been the next Bruno. His work in the 90’s was epic.

[@dannyackroyd8941]

Great episode with the Superstar, saw this year's ago n it still stands up. RIP Superstar, thanks for this Sean

[@savage8594]

The "auditorium on the hills" would be the legendary Bangor Auditorium, last time WWE used that arena was a house show in March 4 2012 which I was in. I miss the venue after it was demolished and was replaced by the Bangor Cross Insurance Center, currently planning on going there on December 2-3 cos Rhea's gonna hopefully be there🥹💜. RIP Billy

[@kencoakley3959]

Bob Backlund was a fine champion. I saw him wrestle Ray "The Crippler" Stevens in a Texas Death Match at Boston Garden in 1982. Wrestling as an entertainment form for adults and kids alike was coming to an end. Once Hulkamania took over I was out and didn't come back until ECW. Even when ECW took off, th3 WWF still had a roster full of cartoon characters.

[@trouser-shitter6982]

He was well before my time as a fan (or birth) but it seemed like everything I read about him during the past 20 years painted him as bitter and adversarial, with occasional exceptions like the HOF and the DVD. Surprised and happy to see how engaging and thoughtful he actually was. Great storyteller, great memory, and more humility than I had been led to believe he had.

[@MagnoliaLSAT]

One of the best shoots ive ever seen. Billy Graham is a great storyteller.

[@richardstine1343]

The Man of the hour, The Man with the Power!!!

[@OfficialFingazMC]

RIP

[@option3590]

Been listening to this in the background for almost 2hours and when I hear “Bobby… the belt” at 1:59:00 my attention snapped fully to the vid lol. Had to pause cuz I was beaming from ear to ear. Given how LIVID he got telling this story in my go-to Billy Graham clip I didn’t expect him to tell it at all here 😂

[@PatI-zg9gm]

Graham was more style than substance, but his impact can not be understated. He never really recovered from having to drop the belt, but he was aware of the plan. He was given an out date, from the onset. I don’t think McMahon envisioned Graham’s popularity, but he had already committed to Backlund.

[@VoDkAvi]

Can see where hogan got the 2-tone mustache and beard. Superstar was so important to wrestling still existing and being as big as it is today

[@jamie.777]

Billy is correct!! East Providence has a giant Portuguese community. I am a Portuguese, i got lots of family in east Providence. Carlos rocha , Portuguese champion 😅😅😅

[@greenman5229]

Seeing him here and how people thought about him later in life i feel like he probably was suffering from degenerations. Cuz he is so well spoken here and likeable.

[@leppak42088]

rip superstar. thanks for everything

[@davidmurray6949]

You still hear the hurt in his voice that he didn't keep the title longer than he did. I told my coworker that. Titles sometimes ruin guys mentally. Graham, Bret, Harley, and they should evaluate these guys & make sure the fame isn't going to their heads and if we agree on giving you the title you have to understand that the end date is the end date.

[@donjohnson1498]

I would agree that seeing yourself as a champion is a tad silly, considering you were assigned that “title”, and that you could not even be considered for that position if not for the countless men you worked with. I think the situations for the men you mentioned are different. Graham was completely over, and he had a reason to question the “length”of his run. McMahon was just stuck on Backlund, but it is not as if he could not have given Graham a longer tenure. I think Hart put his blood and sweat into it, from childhood, and he saw it as a business to be taken seriously. He may have reasoned, and I agree, that he could have been a long running champ, who could take on heels and faces, so there was no reason to do a switch, simply based on heel to face. I think he was more like Flair in the early 80’s anyway, a tweener. He also hated Michaels, and that was a blind spot. Race is in a category all his own. No one traveled more than Harley did as champion. No one else, until Flair, wanted to, or could do it. Harley may have felt that he was the NWA champion until he said otherwise, and he did have well earned stroke with the promoters in the territories( Graham, Boesch, Watts, Geigel, Crockett). It is one of many questions that makes the “history” of wrestling so fascinating.

[@asmundukkelberg8741]

It's a sunny day here in Oslo, Norway today. But the world is a little bit grayer, a little bit duller.

[@rgwebb5165]

This is really good. Not enough KZbin videos covering WWWF pre expansion.

[@GlassTarantulah]

Thank you Sean and crew.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

Thanks for uploading this. RIP Superstar.

[@Faithvational7210]

Totally Awesome Interview. Thank you.

[@rockinyouallnight]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@thegreatone9923]

RIP SUPERSTAR

[@jaimejaviergarcia3743]

Fantastic interview. Superstar FOREVER! Rest in Power

[@ThoughtPolice007]

R.I.P. Superstar Thank you to the Pride Of New Jersey Sean Oliver

[@airfixx_8952]

A genuine trailblazer......... RiP Superstar.

[@timothygutierrez]

Thank you Sean. Also love the audio books. Got 2 of them.

[@bxsolx5086]

Thank you Sean.

[@gripstrength]

Excellent interview as always

[@joemixon834]

Sean always did great work on these timeline years I wish he would do more

[@mandyfox9376]

R.I.P a real legend

[@scypsylock9402]

He was the man who helped change wrestling from the Old School Era to the Golden Era by introducing the "entertainment" part of the sport, just as Mohammad Ali did for Boxing. Often imitated, never duplicated, he was truly a superstar! Thank you Eldridge for what you gave and brought to wrestling! Without you we would not have had others like Hogan, Flair, Dusty, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura to name a few enter in the ring. You showed that in the world of wrestling a promo can make someone reach for the stars and touch them!

[@LeeShields11]

The paradigms between Vince Snr and Jr are astounding! This was excellent.

[@mikerophone235]

Thanks Sean, RIP Superstar Billy Graham.

[@trentaccid2177]

And a correction to Sean's piece here about the Spectrum being Closed in 2009 and demolished our building to build a hotel. Yes the Spectrum was demolished but no hotel was ever built. .Incidently Thankyou Superstar Graham in working for Tge Spectrum Billy was so nice to me every time he would see me there and the pictures I had with him remain the favorite of people who see them i my Den. God Bless Billy.

[@PatI-zg9gm]

I loved that place. It was the first venue that I watched wrestling in, and it was great for all events: basketball, hockey, concerts, etc.

[@jeromestracks108]

The man of the hour The man with the power To sweet to be sour RIP Superstar

[@jameskelly5672]

The greatest heavyweight wrestling champion of professional wrestling.R.i.p Super star Wayne Coleman.

[@richardsypniewski9279]

Rest In Power,Legend! One of a kind.💪😢

[@bonlouis8808]

RIP to the man of the hour, the man with the power and the man too sweet to be sour

[@elijahwells1676]

This guy is the best wrestler interviewer I've seen...The way he describes the stingy ticket giving is hilarious lol

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

the original Superstar. The man of the hour, too sweet to be sour, a woman’s pet and a man’s regret. How you gonna deal with the man of steal? How you gonna act when you get superstar attacked?

[@Rjensen2]

Almost entirely a Muhammad Ali interview.

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

@@Rjensen2 he admits he stole from Ali

[@randdeutsch9943]

RIP my friend,there will never be another like you 😔

[@nichhodge8503]

24:17 I see why Vince McMahon Jr doesn’t care for tag team wrestling as he got it from his dad who as Billy Graham said Vince McMahon Sr put all his focus on Bruno Sammartino (his World Champion basically). But at least Vince McMahon Jr kept the tag team titles active and not have his tag team titles not defended/active like what his father did on April 22nd 1977 when he had his last tag team titles’s match for however long

[@nichhodge8503]

2:00:24 if Bob Backlund loved his robe so much why didn’t he either carry the WWWF Championship over his shoulder or have his manager Arnold Skoleland walk down the aisle in front of Bob Backlund holding the title up in the air with both hands so the crowd could see it. Personally that’s what I would’ve done

[@robertosso5210]

vince jr made sure superstar was a babyface when he came back in 1986

[@dachronicalalittlebitofeve6630]

Rest in peace BG…😢😢 We owe so much to Superstar, even the very term of superstar itself, let alone the Hulkster, Dusty and so many others who were influenced by Billy and we wouldn’t have such a magnificent a wrestling legacy like we do without that. It’s quite sad he hasn’t been given that by the wwe, that he isn’t mentioned in the history books nearly have as much as he should be. They talk about Andre, Bruno, but never Billy Graham, it’s a shame he became bitter and criticised them so openly because no doubt that added to the divide between them. He was a big part of the steroid and sex scandal accusations against the company. It’s sad he wasn’t given a back room role to help others develope their skills

[@chrishanzek8930]

Good memory and good storyteller. I don't get the vibe of revisionist history like I do with other wrestlers.

[@Grandmastergav86]

I've always got a legit vibe from Billy Graham, he's been honest about steroid use etc RIP.

[@gregdufour3955]

His criticisms of Backlund can get pretty ridiculous.

[@airfixx_8952]

@BEST OF the KC VAULT - Please, please, please resurrect the Timeline series/format, Sean.......... My ticket money is ready and waiting. 🙂

[@dontworryboutit404]

The man of the hour, too sweet to be sour. RIP Superstar

[@Thomas_Swift]

Growing up in the Metro NY area, WWWF on WWOR TV late at night right after Horse racing was SPECIAL. SO MANY LEGENDS ON TV TOOK US ALL ON A JOURNEY AND IF YOU HAD THE HONOR OF WATCHING WWWF WRESTLING LIVE AT ANY BUULDING THAT HAD A SHOW YOU SAW WHAT AT THE TIME LOOKED REAL AND THEY STAYED IN CHARACTER. SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM AND HIS INTERVIEWS AND HIS WALK TO THE RING AND THE WHOLE PRE MATCH BABY OIL LOTIONING 😂 IS ICONIC TO THIS DAY. SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM MADE IT COOL WEAR TIE DYES AND TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF BY LIFTING WEIGHTS. NO WRESTLER TO THIS DAY CAN EVER DUPLICATE SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM'S PERSONNA A TRUE LEGEND AND A TRUE STORY TELLER. THANK YOU SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM. A TRUE TO LIFE LEGEND 👍👍👍👍👍

[@louissmith4218]

Fascinating interview R.I. Gods Peace SUPER ⭐️ STAR

[@martinwalton9307]

Seemed like a very savvy and intelligent dude.

[@battlestarmarc]

Superstar was colorful and unreal in the 70's.

[@jamesreding6336]

RiP Supper star Billy Graham see you in heaven

[@jasonkraatz9574]

The Bob Backlund story was told by someone I can’t recall, but Eddie Graham had told Vince Senior that Steve Keirn would have been a better pick for champ because his dad was a POW and he could sell that. But Senior told Eddie that he was taking Backlund to prove he could draw with him. It worked that’s for sure

[@DHARMYOGCOM]

this guy was like hogan before hogan was made

[@Josephvespa-hg6ee]

Super star Billy graham

[@allurhatrbelongtome]

I love you Superstar!!!

[@nichhodge8503]

14:38 what with the Grand Wizard being gay I’m sure he was the perfect guy to act as his valet. Everyone talks about how important Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes were but no one really gives Superstar Billy Graham his dues for how important he was to the business, his charisma and his look being the first bodybuilder body wrestler setting a trend for decades to come. But no Superstar Billy Graham no Jesse Ventura or Hulk Hogan!

[@gts8919]

Bob Backlund was to Vince Sr what Shawn Michaels was to Vince Jr.

[@frankdombrowski4068]

GOOD 👋 DAY 🐉 MATE'S! Rest in Peace Billy Super 🌟 Star Graham. Many Hour's of Entertainment You Gave Me Many, Many Year's Ago!

[@joelburgos69]

RIP Superstar a true legend of the business...