9. Bob Backlund vs. Sgt. Slaughter (October 22, 1983)
Long before he betrayed the United States and became an Iraqi sympathizer, Slaughter was an honorable man loyal to his country. Early on in his career, he wasn't as big of a talent as he soon became, but he was still headlining house shows against Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship. Backlund's five year reign as champ was nearing it end, but he was still as dominant as ever by 1983. The feud between Slaughter and Backlund came to a head that October with the two meeting in a Sicilian Stretcher match with the title up for grabs. Despite an impressive performance from Slaughter, Backlund was still successful in maintaining possession of his beloved title. It was only two months later that Backlund dropped the strap to The Iron Shiek on December 26 in New York. Slaughter would also get a run with the title briefly in 1991.
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.
