10 Wrestlers Who Had Their Careers Stolen From Them
9. ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham
When it comes to the biggest mainstream names in wrestling, you don’t get more ubiquitous than Hulk Hogan. During the height of his 1980s popularity every man, woman and child knew about the unstoppable force of red and yellow merchandising that was Hulkamania. Whilst the majority of wrestling fans know that Terry Bollea’s character wasn’t completely of his own creation, the general public probably didn’t know better - and that had to have burnt Billy Graham at least a little bit.
From a certain light, influencing the most well known wrestler of all time should be a compliment, but for entertainers, it no doubt stings to take someone under your wing and then watch them totally overshadow you. Usage of the word “influence” there is probably underselling it a little. Hogan’s attitude, verbiage and even facial hair were all outright taken from Graham’s “superstar” persona.
Whilst Graham considers Hogan his friend now, the two certainly clashed during the WWF’s steroid trial and one has to imagine that Graham felt at least a little bit bitter about his former pupil stealing his gimmick and becoming a megastar with it.
That’s not at all to say that Graham wasn’t successful in his own right however. Everyone stands in the shadow of figures like Rock, Cena and Hogan... but it’s just that little bit colder when it could’ve just as easily have been you.