INTERVIEW RECAP WITH SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM

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INTERVIEW RECAP WITH SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM

07/20/2006 (3:11:52 pm)
Chris Murray

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Between The Ropes
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Central Florida's Sports Radio 740 The Team
Simulcast online at www.BetweenTheRopes.com

On Wednesday night, July 19, Superstar Billy Graham joined hosts Brian Fritz, Dickerman, and Vito DeNucci live on Between The Ropes on Central Florida's Sports Radio 740 The Team to chat about his Hall of Fame career, his autobiography and DVD released earlier this year, appearing at the Capitol Wrestling Legends FanFest in Rockville, Maryland from August 11-13, and more.

Don't forget that you can now pick up your copy of the critically acclaimed Between The Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures book at retailers, both online and in your neighborhood. Order through the www.BetweenTheRopes.com website and receive a free 'Best of BTR' CD of classic interviews with every book purchase.

Superstar started talking about the Capitol Wrestling Legends FanFest and how excited he is to be seeing a lot of guys that he hasn't seen in ages, such as a Midnight Express since 1984 in Charlotte and Nick Bockwinkel since his days in the AWA. Superstar told an ironic tale that as he went into the Mayo Clinic three and a half years ago for his liver transplant, Nick Bockwinkel's wife was walking out with her new liver.

The discussion shifted to Superstar's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Superstar said it was a great thrill to be inducted by Triple H, who is his modern day hero. Ray Stevens is his all-time favorite. Superstar said it was an incredible experience to be welcomed back into the WWE family despite some dissenters who didn't want him back.

"The two guys dissenting were Pat Patterson and Blackjack Lanza. I had personal issues with Pat that were my fault going all the way back to the Phil Donahue show some years ago when Bruno [Sammartino] and I and Dave Meltzer and some other guys were on. Lanza, being an old school hard liner, felt that the steroid damage that I did during the steroid era of '92, he thought I was attacking the business, but I was really attacking Vince personally and Hulk personally. Of course it rolled over throughout the business and caused Vince quite a bit in financial returns. About that time Hulk went down to Atlanta as you guys know. So really, everybody was wonderful. I felt like I was Willie Mays coming back to a baseball reunion with the way everybody treated me. Lanza and Patterson didn't want to sit down and rehash things. Lanza, I could care less about to be honest with you folks. Patterson, it did hurt me a lot because I did say some very unscrupulous things to him and about him that were simply not true."

Graham was asked what he thought about the current state of steroids in the business. He told a story that he was watching Raw a couple of weeks ago when Edge won the WWE Title back and noticed that as Edge went up the ramp holding the belt over his head, his arms has gotten so small. To Superstar, it didn't even look like he was working out, let alone taking steroids. Superstar said he sees a lot of guys that are no longer involved with chemical substances.

The guys talked about Superstar's personal relationship with the late Eddie Guerrero. Billy said he has known the entire Guerrero family for many, many years. He noted that Eddie was such a sweet man and it took Superstar six months to recover from the tragedy. He said it was a great honor to preside over Eddie's funeral services. Superstar said that Eddie's wife, Vickie, told him that Eddie had been showing symptoms in the weeks leading up to his death - passing out at the dinner table, dizziness - and it's tragic that he didn't go to the doctor because it probably would have been detected.

Superstar spoke a bit about the rigors of the schedule. Billy said he recently spoke to his long-time friend Ric Flair and Flair said the hassles of airport security and regularly standing in extremely long lines have worn him out. The extensive travel is tiring guys out both physically and mentally.

Superstar talked about some of the changes in the behind the scenes aspect of the business. When he got the WWWF Title in the mid-70's, he was told six or seven months ahead of time that it was coming. He and Eddie Graham went to Vince McMahon Sr.'s house in Fort Lauderdale and mapped out when he would win the title and when he would drop it. Superstar said he was dejected that he had to drop it to Bob Backlund when the time came since he was on a string of sellouts, but Vince Sr. didn't change his mind. "Now it just seems like that things change almost every other day, if not definitely weekly. It just seems like every other day a new decision is made. It's really a coin toss almost as to who's going to be the next champion, how long he's going to be, and why he's going to be, and what he's going to go through."

Superstar talked about the notion that he was "twenty years too soon." He would have preferred to come around now since his style would have fit in better with the extensive production of today's WWE. With the lights, music, pyro, etc., he felt he would have been able to capitalize better on his persona.

As for his work today with WWE, Superstar said he's employed by Vince McMahon and does some work behind the scenes for the company. He obviously can't do much physical stuff because of health restrictions. He tries to make the major pay-per-views every year and once in a while, WWE will bring him on a tour to speak in the ring.

The interview wrapped up talking about Superstar's health. This October will be the four year anniversary of his liver transplant, which saved his life and turned his health around. He's in excellent health except for bone and joint problems from the years of excessive and prolonged use of steroids. His hip needed to be replaced and his ankle needed be fused due to bone deterioration. He's lost two or three inches in height thanks to his lower back collapsing from steroid issues. He feels great though and works out every day.

Superstar Billy Graham will be appearing at the Capitol Wrestling Legends FanFest from August 11-13 in Rockville, Maryland. Other stars appearing at the convention include Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Jim Neidhart, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jim Cornette, Stan Hansen, and dozens more. For more information, visit www.capitollegends.com.

To listen to the Superstar Billy Graham interview and the entire July 19 edition of Between The Ropes in streaming audio or to download the full show in MP3 format to listen to on your iPod or MP3 player, visit the show online at http://www.BetweenTheRopes.com. Don't forget that Between The Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures is now available in book stores, online retailers, and also at www.BetweenTheRopes.com exclusively with a free 'Best of BTR' CD. Join us for Between The Ropes for two hours every Wednesday night at 10:00pm ET on Central Florida's Sports Radio 740 The Team and worldwide on www.BetweenTheRopes.com.

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