7. He Is A Massive, MASSIVE, Bob Dylan Fan...
Billy Graham is a total mark for Bob Dylan; there is no other way to say it. Since Dylan first emerged as a star in the 1960s, The Superstar has been a diehard fan. One of Grahams major regrets in life is that he never got to meet his idol, although he did come close at one time. In the excellent feature length shoot interview Face-To-Face With Superstar Billy Graham, The Number One Selection tells his friend, indie wrestler Devon Nicholson (AKA Hannibal) all about it, So, Im wrestling Ivan Putski. Were in a Dennys restaurant in Portland, Maine, and he (Dylan) is on tour, the Rolling Thunder Tour 1975, with Joan Baez and some other folks. They pulled into a Dennys restaurant and Im at the far end of the counter eating, Putskis right next to the cash register and these guys walk in and they order food to go and they look at Putski there. Arent you Ivan Putski? Yeah, dobre (Polish for good), hes working his gimmick (laughs). They said, hey, ssh, but we have Bob Dylan out in the van. We just finished a concert and he would love to meet you. And Putski could care less about meeting Bob Dylan! Im the mark for Bob Dylan down at the far end, not knowing anything! So they take Putski out into the van, he meets Dylan and he sees a poster, theyve got a poster of me and Ivan Putski - versus Superstar Billy Graham up in their van! On the Rolling Thunder Review! Putski comes back in and says Dobre, guess who I just met? Bob Dylan! I said What? You met Bob Dylan? Why didnt you come and get me!? He said, We had to kayfabe, we have to kayfabe! I said forget kayfabing, brother, this is Bob Dylan! Man, this is more than kayfabe! (laughs) Graham and another friend, former NWA Champion Dusty Rhodes were (and are) total Dylan obsessives. According to Tangled Ropes, they would ride together from town to town, endlessly debating the meanings behind Dylans lyrics. By Grahams account, they would even play each other Dylan albums over the phone. Graham did eventually become friends with Dylans manager and, as it turned out; The Superstars all-time musical hero was also a fan of his, which has to have been very gratifying for the lifelong Dylan aficionado.