This one is a doozy. It involves threats of violence, Hell, spitting and walking on skulls. Billy Graham is one of the most influential wrestling workers ever. His look and promos gave birth to a style that spawned men like Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. But for as great as Graham was, he's done his fair share to tarnish his legacy since retiring. Superstar has an on-again/off-again relationship with the WWE, and demanded to be removed from the Hall of Fame upon their induction of Abdullah the Butcher. He even went so far as to sell his ring on ebay, though that likely had more to do with financial hardship than proving a point. He's had his share of disputes, but he REALLY hates Chris Jericho. The incident began when Jericho took a shot at the "has beens" who came out of the woodwork and began speaking out in the wake of the Chris Benoit murder/suicide. Graham didn't like being spoken of in such a manner, and sent a message in which he said the following:
"Jericho, that shows your complete lack of respect. You have the face of a choirboy, but you've got the heart of a devil, One day, someone will walk across your skull on the floor of hell. That's exactly where you belong. I'm a music fan, a fan of Bob Dylan. The lyrics to one of his songs,Idiot Wind, fits you perfectly, Jericho. 'Idiot wind blowing every time you move your teeth. You're an idiot (babe). It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.' I know what I'm talking about when it comes to steroids. Unfortunately, I'm an expert. I started using in 1966. I told NBC News that the Benoit murder-suicide was not as a result of steroids. I responded to a man choking an innocent seven-year-old boy to death, then murdering his wife. It was the slaughter of an innocent child and steroids had nothing to do with it. The press connected it to steroids and I had an obligation to speak out. "For speaking out, Jericho called me self-centered and egotistical, only wanting to benefit myself. I received a personal phone call from Linda McMahon thanking me for stepping it up and telling it like it is. Jericho, you have made a huge mistake. You call me an egotistical idiot. If you walked by right now, I would beat the living hell out of you, then spit on your grave for trying to destroy my reputation in your phony little book."
That's some pretty heavy stuff right there. The guy actually said someone will walk across his skull on the floor of Hell. Oh well, Superstar always did have a gift for promos. The two had another run-in when Graham took offense to a shot CM Punk threw at Bruno Sammartino, saying that he had a tougher schedule than the WWE legend and if he had been around in that era he would have been world champion for thirty years. Billy called him out for talking about Bruno like a jobber and Jericho tweeted out that Billy Graham should stop being such a mark. Safe to say this one is still simmering.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
