Customer Reviews

20 Years Too Soon - Superstar Billy Graham (WWE)

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will feature a documentary on Graham's career as well as the following matches:

*WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino vs. Superstar Billy Graham (Baltimore, Maryland 4/30/77, Graham's title win)

*WWWF champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Ivan Putski (Madison Square Garden, 8/29/77)

*WWWF champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Dusty Rhodes - Texas Death Match (Madison Square Garden, 10/24/77)

*WWF champion Bob Backlund vs. Superstar Billy Graham (Madison Square Garden, 11/21/82)

Superstar Billy Graham vs. Armando Rodriguez (AWA All Star Wrestling, 8/25/73)

*Superstar Billy Graham vs. Angel Rivera (AWA All Star Wrestling, 10/6/73)

The DVD will also feature six promos in the Extra section, listed as:

"I am the arm wrestling champion of the universe." 10/6/73

"These hands can crush coconuts."

"I don't want you to ask me any questions" 8/27/75

"This is the beauty of a champion" 6/27/77

"I am the most colorful man in all of wrestling" 9/3/85

"The people want the real thing" 9/10/85

"The comeback" 11/29/86

I am a huge superstar fan going back to his late 70s / early 80s heyday. While I certainly enjoyed this dvd's footage of da man, I was also disappointed by the somewhat "light" content and especially the slant that McMahon put on this one. Obviously, since it is WWE produced, this is no suprise. As a previous reviewer said, this is way to short to properly chronicle the superstar. Many of his territories, angles, big matches, etc...were completely left out. It showed the WWWF as the main and really only stage for him, again understandable as they produced this. But he was really great outside of the WWWF, what about the NWA, AWA, CWF, Mid-Atlantic, his huge match vs Harley Race? What troubled me was the way McMahon portrayed him towards the end. He made the superstar look like a low life who crawled back for forgiveness, and McMahon was very smug and unsincere when he said that he decided to forgive him because he (Vince) was at the top and Graham at the bottom. He also said that if he was as low as Graham he would not forgive anyone. The fact that he called Graham a derogatory explative that I will not repeat here - and a con-man on this dvd, which should be a tribute to Graham, is a disgrace. When Graham's wife was trying to explain that he is not a con man, and he has alot of character, I found that sad that she had to try and explain. Sure, Graham admits he lied because he was frustrated, but what about the fact that he was fired from the company, when I have read many times in the past that he said McMahon told him that he would always have a place in the company and there would be a place on the payroll for him? McMahon fired him when he was very sick and needed support, and after all Graham had done for the company for many, many years? I don't blame Graham for putting up with this current treatment and biting his tongue on many issues, as at least he is financially ok now as a result. So, I would reccomend to get this dvd, but keep strictly Graham in mind (proceeds he will make from this), ignore the WWE treatment, and look elsewhere for "unbiased" material on him. Graham's own website is really good by the way.

In the 1970s (1975 to 1978 to be exact) I was fortunate to be old enough to really experience and follow the phenomenal era that was defined by the way too brief arrival of one Superstar Billy Graham's era in the WWWF (even met the man once in Pennsylvania as well as outside the Garden before one of his record setting 19 sell-out MSG performances). I can not begin to explain nor describe the ENORMOUS impact Wayne Coleman (aka Superstar Graham) had in the field of Pro Wrestling in the 1970s! I recall some of the last Graham/Sammartino matches booked at NY's Madison Square Garden in the early summer of 1977 and can easily compare those events to the excitement generated by Ali/Frazier's historic battle in 1971! People paid to stand in the hallways and corridors of MSG in order to witness this wrestling Main Event...And like Ali/Frazier it didn't fail to entertain nor excite! If anything this book not only tells fans the way it truly was for Graham back in the day - like it or not - when he not only became a true mat legend, but a bodybuilding icon as well! Hell, even the legendary Arnold was transfixed by Grahams enormous 22 early on in their California days training as boduybuilers, and became one of his early friends in the process! With Grahams's enormous 22" biceps Arnold trained and befriended the young grappler early in their careers before each became the leaders in their own unique professions. Since the mid to late 1970s, there has been nothing like Superstar Graham and that inlcludes the contrived and monotonous '80s version of the phenomenal advent of "Hulkamania" that was all but born out of Superstar's way too short but still enormously influential reign as WWWF champion from April '77 to February '78. If anything, this book defines the horrible price one unfortunate, yet oddly blessed man was always willing to risk (regardless of how reckless those risks were) in order to achieve ultimate fame and fortune on his own terms, only to have it systematically taken away from him, by design, when he easily became the most famous pro-wrestler in the world! Graham does't hold anything back and tells it like it is and was! He comes clean with the destructive lifestyle and reckless habits that brought about his rapid downfall after losing the WWWF title to young, talented, but largely uncharasmatic contender named Bob Baclund in 1978. Whether or not you are a wrestling fan, this book will excite you, make you laugh, make you cry, and make you understand the enormous loss of genuine talent when it is eventually neglected.

Admittedly, until this DVD, I was quite ignorant of the legendary "Superstar" Billy Graham. I started watching wrestling in 1985 and by that time his career was winding down in the NWA-Mid Atlantic area and his short comeback in WWE. I have heard stories about him but this is the first real look I've had at him and I enjoyed it.

Basically, the story starts with his childhood to his first exposure to Christianity. From there, he got involved in bodybuilding and athletics before meeting the late Stu Hart in Calgary and later the late Dr. Jerry Graham.

After traveling to the AWA, Florida and Texas areas, Graham ended up in the WWWF (now known as WWE) and became their heavyweight champion. He definitely changed the way wrestlers should look as almost no one had his physique or his charisma. His interviews were actually more entertaining than his matches. Honestly, he wasn't the most skilled wrestler out there but it didn't matter as people paid good money to see him.

What was also interesting was that though a heel, he got as many cheers as boos! He was almost (in a way) a predecesor to guys like The Road Warriors, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock in the sense these guys were supposed to be heels YET they got lots of cheers when they hit the ring!

From his height, he fell from grace as drugs and a sour attitude took its toll on him. From his crusade against WWF/WWE to his near death in 2001 to his redemption and reconsiliation with both God and WWE, Billy Graham's journey is anything but boring!

Here are the extras:

MATCHES:

*Vs. Armando Rodriguez - This is from AWA All Star Wrestling (8/25/73). A squash basically.

*Vs. Angel Rivera - Also from AWA All Star Wrestling (10/6/73). Another squash.

*Vs. Bruno Sammartino (WWWF Title Match) - April 30, 1977 was the day that "Superstar" would cement his place in wrestling history as he defeated "Da Brune" in Baltimore, MD.

*Vs. Ivan Putski (WWWF Title Match) - A title match from Madison Square Garden against "Polish Power" Ivan Putski, one of the few men that could match power with Billy Graham at that time!

*Vs. Dusty Rhodes (WWWF Title Match) - A title match dubbed a "Texas Death Match." A wild match! Rhodes was one of the few that could match Graham in terms of electrifying the crowd and both these men has the MSG audience at a fever pitch!

*Vs. Bob Backlund (WWWF Title Match) - This is actually a match years later in November 21, 1982. By that time, Graham had gone to a "karate" gimick and to be honest, it looked terrible! Decent match but I would've rathered seen the first Backlund/Graham match where Backlund won the title!

ON THE MIC

*I AM THE ARM WRESTLING CHAMPION OF THE UNIVERSE - All Star Wrestling 10/6/73

*THESE HANDS CAN CRUSH COCONUTS - This is the interview from his AWA days.

*I DON'T WANT YOU TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS - All Star Wrestling (WWF/WWE) with a young Vince McMahon doing the interview! LOL!

*THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF A CHAMPION - Madison Square Garden 6/27/77

*I AM THE COLORFUL MAN IN ALL OF WRESTLING - Worldwide Wrestling 9/3/85

*THE PEOPLE WANT THE REAL THING - Mid-Atlantic (NWA) 9/10/85

*THE COMEBACK - WWF/WWE Wrestling Challenge 11/29/86

DIRECTOR'S CUT

Overdose - A story from Billy Graham how he almost overdosed on drugs two nights before his final night in Madision Square Garden.

Apache Reservation - A funny story about wrestling on indian land!

Jimmy Hart Story - A story about Graham's time in Memphis, TN.

Bruce Prichard Imitation - Fun imitation of Graham by the former "Brother Love."

The documentary is interesting to watch;it is a typical story of a wrestler who abuses of drugs and pays the price afterwards.While he was a champion for a few months in 1977-78,i am amazed that the SUPERSTAR had such a few wrestling holds in his repertoire.In a way, he anticipated so many heels that came after him.Judging from the matches that are featured on the dvd,(which of course does not covers his whole career),you can not put BILLY in the league of BOB BACKLUND or BRET HART.Technically,he is not a great wrestler.On the mike however,he was by far one of the best at doing promos.Future wrestlers should take a look and learn from them.He is perhaps the only wrestler whose promos are better than his matches.On the 6 complete bouts(it's really 4),two standouts as typical of his style:against BRUNO and against IVAN PUTSKI;both are tests of stenghts that ends by treachery(BRUNO) and by trowing the opponent over the ring(IVAN).Although it is featured in a clip in the documentary,i would have liked to see the first championship bout against BOB BACKLUND complete and also the one against HARLEY RACE when he was the NWA champion.I think that only one dvd makes you starve for another with longer matches.Seeing the young VINCE doing interviews at ringside is quite funny.I hope that more wrestlers of that era will have a collection like this under their name.Old school wrestling fans would be in heaven watching their past heroes again.

Before I review the DVD, I want to make something clear:
Other than this DVD, I have no other knowledge or "Superstar" Billy Graham. I didn't grow up watching him, so if anything significant is missing from the main documentary feature, I couldn't tell you what it is.

I love WWE DVDs like this one. 20 YEARS TOO SOON is unlike any other WWE production released. It uses the same "talking heads" and "montage" formats, but this apple is very different from the rest of the barrel.

The most successful superstars of today often give credit to guys like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, or Dusty Rhodes. I'm sure there are many others, but those seem to be the big three. Well, Rhodes and Hogan will be the first to tell you that "Superstar" Billy Graham was the original pioneer of sports entertainment. After watching this DVD, I'm sure most viewers will agree. Even though there were many great wrestlers who got plenty over with the fans, Graham --- according the documentary --- was the first to break through and put a pop culture spin on the product.

As with all other WWE programs like this, 20 YEARS TOO SOON highlights Graham's greatest matches, most famous promos, and struggles with success.

The match highlights mainly include Bruno Sammartino and Dusty Rhodes. There isn't much coverage in this area, but Graham wasn't an active competitor for very long (15 years, I think). We do get to see some good footage of his rivalries, each very easy to understand why they important for their time. I hate when WWE just assumes we know things from 20 years ago, don't you? For example, later in his career, "Superstar" used a bizarre "karate persona". I'll leave that one for you to learn about.

The promos are as masterful as they come. Graham wasn't an overly energetic personality like Hogan, Flair, or Rock. He's much closer to Jake Roberts, where his chosen words and body language didn't require a loud voice. If you want to compile a Top 10 list of the greatest talkers in televised wrestling, Graham easily deserves a spot.

I've read that Graham had stints in other promotions, which aren't included in 20 YEARS TOO SOON. If that's true, I don't know why they were left out. Since I'm someone who didn't know much about Graham, I wouldn't have noticed that anything was missing. But again, I don't think the pro wrestling itself is the heart of the story.

The struggles that Graham endured are what I want to address the most, because they are the true core of what the "Superstar" wants to be about. 20 YEARS TOO SOON isn't a traditional WWE feature. It's more of a biography, with wrestling in the background. Whoever made the final cut of the documentary is to be commended for taking a unique approach to this material. First off, "Superstar" Billy Graham is such a humble and grateful interviewee that it's impossible to dislike the man. He shows no anger, bitterness, or jealousy throughout the program. While he acknowledges how innovative he was for his time, Billy Graham equally enjoys seeing how his style influenced many of today's talent.

The documentary does address Graham's battle with drugs, health, and being physically unable to recapture his magic. I don't wanna get into a steroid debate, but Graham's story makes a good case for having a testing policy of some kind. His health issues are easy to understand why they happened, how they affected his career, and how Graham adapted to them.

Another strength in the documentary is that it doesn't focus too long on the negative aspects. Sure, it gets pretty rough in a few spots, but we are always reminded of the light at the end of the dark tunnel. 20 YEARS TOO SOON is ultimately a celebration of life. I don't wanna give anymore away, but I will spoil this tiny surprise. Vince McMahon actually gets a tad teary-eyed when he talks about "Superstar". I'll leave the rest of the gripping tale for you to discover.

The 2-disc set includes a handful of matches, deleted scenes, and promo footage. I like the selection of matches overall, but a few are a tad short. None are exactly masterpieces, but I always like trying to pretend that I'm watching a 70s broadcast live on TV. Fake nostalgia, I know.

The deleted scenes are all great; I have no idea why they aren't just in the main cut, other than WWE showing this on PPV. And as I said before, the promos and interviews are genius. I dare you not to laugh when Graham talks about "crushing coconuts".

20 YEARS TOO SOON is a DVD any fan will enjoy, as long as you're aware that the actual wrestling is secondary to the biography and historical details. I'm convinced that "Superstar" Billy Graham is most responsible for sports entertainment as we know it. He was ahead of his time and never got the incredible legacy he deserved. But because his peers know how much he mattered, I'm convinced that pro wrestling is in good hands.

I feel the documentary section of the DVD was one of the best WWE has ever produced. It encompassed not only his entire life, but also his entire career, and in addition to Billy's frank and honest commentary about his trials and tribulations out of the squared circle, it had many insights and anecdotes from his wife Valerie, and from many of his peers such as Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Gene Okerlund, Jim Ross, Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon. In addition, it was also nice to see Vince talk about Billy in the way that he did, giving him his due as a pioneering sports entertainer.

However, the extras on the DVD leave much to be desired. The promos were great, but I have issues with the match selections because, in my opinion, they do not highlight the kind of performer he was or the electricity he could bring into a match. First off, to be fair most of what is presented is good with the exception of a number of the matches shown are squashes from his early AWA days, when he was still learning to wrestle. Next, I would have liked to see more from his comeback in 1987-88 (especially some of his matches with Butch Reed, particularly a steel cage match in the fall of '87 from Madison Square Garden) and also a little more from his "karate gimmick" run back in '81-'83. Even though the match shown was hard to watch, I would have liked to have seen the promo of him destroying Bob Backlund's championship belt on TV and the Lumberjack Match the two had at MSG, which was the culmination of their feud. Some of the footage from Florida would have been nice, too.

Overall, I still recommend the purchase of this set mainly because of the documentary section. While it still has its drawbacks, it still presents a very good spotlight on one of the most imitated stars and legends in wrestling history.

Great DVD...if you like history of WWE...could have been more matches...saw many of his as champ as a kid in MSG...and they could have added a few more....no full match of his loss to backland

This is a very entertaining WWE DVD. To be honest, all that I knew of the Superstar was his final days in the late 80's (Bald head days) so it was intersting to see him in his prime. This is a DVD I've watched a few different times already, and it is enjoyable each time. It's rare to see a wrestler from the 70's that could step into the WWE today and still look more impressive than pretty much everyone else.

Good Story of a WWE Legend. He is credited with the mold for the character Hulk Hogan. That says alot. Today, he would probably be the top Super Star, again.