WWE Hall of Famer 'Superstar' Billy Graham dies aged 79
One of the the WWE's biggest stars of yesteryear, 'Superstar' Billy Graham has reportedly died. He was aged 79.
Graham is viewed as one of the greatest professional wrestlers from the 1970s and 1980s, whose real name is Eldridge Wayne Coleman, and was put on life support after an extended stay of almost five months in hospital.
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According to the former WWE champion's wife, doctors recommended to pull the plug but she refused.
He was initially hospitalised in January with an infection in his ears that spread to his skull.
Graham was battling numerous health issues that included acute kidney failure, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and hearing loss.
He received a liver transplant in 2002 due to hepatitis C and cirrhosis.
'Superstar' Billy Graham Twitter
The WWE Hall-of-Famer paved the way for some of the bigger names in modern wrestling. WWE
Graham got his start in the entertainment business as a bodybuilder in the 1960s and appeared on magazine covers alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He went on to feature for the NWA and helped pave the way for legends, like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Jesse 'The Body' Ventura.
"Superstar Billy Graham is the reason I wanted to become a wrestler," Hogan wrote in 2017.
"I remember my dad taking me to see him wrestle as a kid at the Armory in Tampa and I remember pointing at Superstar and telling my dad I want to be just like him."
