All language subtitles for Dark Side Of The Ring s06e05 Billy Graham.eng

I am the champion.
I am the greatest.

I am the strongest!
This is my proof!

I got the proof, baby.

[Narrator]
A world class bodybuilder

who revolutionized
the business of wrestling,

Billy Graham
was the first superstar.

Superstar Billy Graham
was the biggest

box office attraction
in the world.

The man of the hour.
The man with the power.

The man that's too
sweet to be sour.

Oh my gosh!

Perfection.
[Laughing]

His body
was unbelievable.

He was so far
ahead of his time.

He was an icon, but he
was imitated so much.

Every time you watch
a wrestling show,

Billy Graham influences
all of them.

And most of them
don't even know it.

You're looking at the
strongest wrestler

in the world today.

Crowned world champion,

Graham spiraled after
losing the belt.

Superstar Billy Graham
lost the title

and never recovered.

He had it all
taken away.

And the drugs that
made him a star

proved to be
his undoing.

Steroids came
to define Billy.

It absolutely
destroyed his joints.

The damage was done.

My dad would do anything
to keep that fame

and that stardom
and that status.

He was at the pinnacle.
He was selling out arenas,

and then it's
yanked from him.

And he couldn't
accept it.

And for some people, when
you get that taken away,

you don't have a lot left,
except for spite.

So he went to war
with Vince McMahon,

and Vince could squash you
like a grape if he wanted to.

The rise of Superstar Billy
Graham is fascinating,

but the decline of Superstar
Billy Graham is tragic.

He overcame
everything in life,

from meager beginnings,

to be the champion
of the world.

But he killed himself
in the process.

?

There he is,
"Superstar" Billy Graham.

Very charismatic,
colorful individual.

Look at the size of
those upper arms.

Ladies and gentlemen,

they border
in some 22 inches.

My dad, he was
always Superstar.

Since the day he was born,
it was always in him.

He's always
been Superstar.

My name is Capella Flaherty,
and I am the daughter of

"Superstar" Billy Graham.

I remember being at a match
with my brother,

and the ceiling of the
arena opened up,

and the sun beams
shown down on my dad,

and he just lit up.

When that light
shone on him,

there was no getting
away from it.

Oh, there's Superstar,
there's Superstar,

there's Superstar.

He's "Superstar"
Billy Graham!

He was more Superstar
than he was Wayne Coleman,

at least to myself
and my brother.

When he was When he
was Wayne Coleman,

he was loving
and he loved us.

But I think he loved being
Superstar a little bit more.

Very loud,
very boisterous.

Always trying to be the
center of attention,

and if he wasn't, he would
make sure that he was.

That's just
who my dad was.

I'm Joseph Michael Miluso,
and I am the son of

Superstar Billy Graham.
My dad was always on...

even when the camera
wasn't on him.

If you don't have
a color television,

go out and hawk your car and
buy a color TV so you can

see Superstar Billy Graham
in living, living color.

In the late 1970s,
Superstar Billy Graham

was on top of the world,

redefining the look,
the style,

and the idea of the perfect
professional wrestler.

Superstar Billy Graham was
the world champion of the

biggest wrestling company
in the United States.

The look is what made
Superstar Billy Graham.

Nobody in that era, like,
nobody looked like him.

I'm Dave Meltzer,
and I've been covering

pro wrestling for just
over 50 years.

He had the bleached
blond hair and he was

a legitimately very,
very strong guy.

He was very flamboyant.
Whatever "it" is,

Superstar
Billy Graham had it.

He had all the charisma.
He had the body.

Most guys looked like
Chief Jay Strongbow.

A little bit of a potbelly.
A little bit flabby arms.

But Billy had a physique
that was phenomenal.

The body in wrestling wasn't
crucial until Billy Graham.

I'm Jim Cornette.

I've had a 40-year career
in professional wrestling,

but for even longer
than that,

I've been an historian.

[Grunting]

He wasn't a polished
in-ring performer,

but he looked great
and he could talk.

This is the beauty
of a champion.

This is the brains
of a champion.

Look, look, look!

Before making it big
in New York,

Billy Graham had first
made a name for himself

as a teenager,
growing up in Arizona.

He was a competitive
bodybuilder and in 1961

was teenage Mr. America.

He was a born athlete
and was self-made.

When he was in his teens,
he took to weightlifting and...

he would pour concrete
into coffee cans,

and that's how he
would lift weights.

I think that was just...

what made him
feel good.

It probably gave him
some strength.

When he was younger,
his dad used to be

very physical,
abusive with him,

and my dad would get
hit with the belt.

One day, my dad was
just big enough,

and grabbed the belt out
of his father's hand,

and that's when he knew the
beatings were over and

they were over
'cause he showed,

"Look, I'm bigger
than you now.

I'm stronger than you.

You can't
beat me anymore."

Eager to put his physical
attributes to work,

Wayne Coleman travels
from Arizona to Calgary,

where a failed attempt at
Canadian football stardom

leads him to the
legendary Stu Hart.

?

Billy walks into the gym
and meets Stu.

Stu's just enamored by
the size of this guy.

He was just a specimen
beyond description.

My name is Steve Strong,

and I was a professional
wrestler for 19 years,

and Superstar
Billy Graham

was one of my
best friends.

There's a carte blanche
about the Dungeon and

Stu Hart that if you
broke in with Stu Hart,

you could pretty much
stamp your path to

whatever territory you
wanted to go to,

and Super worked up
there for a while and...

left and,
started his career.

Back in Arizona,
a chance encounter

with another
wrestling legend

sets Wayne Coleman on
the path to greatness.

We will be the International
Tag Team Champions

as soon as that
match comes off,

and it's going to be
the greatest match.

The Graham family legacy in
wrestling is one of the most

famous in the history
of the business.

In the early 70s, and
Dr. Jerry Graham is broke,

and drunk,
and he thought,

"Maybe I need
another brother."

And Superstar Billy
Graham is born.

They went to
Los Angeles together,

and Jerry was just
a hopeless drunk.

Jerry lasted a couple of weeks,
and they fired him,

but Billy had enough charisma
that they kept him on.

I am a reflection
of perfection.

The number one selection.
You've got it.

At that time, Billy would
train at Gold's Gym like

every bodybuilder would,
and he was

Arnold Schwarzenegger's
regular training partner,

and they were very
close friends.

I was born in
June of 1972,

and my father
was a heel at the time,

and some fans
had vandalized

my father's Cadillac,
so he couldn't drive

to pick my mother and I
up from the hospital.

So, Arnold picked up my
mom and my sister

from the hospital in his
blue Volkswagen Bug.

Here's an Arnold picture.

Here's a couple
Arnold pictures.

I'm not sure where
that was, but...

I think it was in our
apartment on Ocean Avenue.

-Probably.
-I just found this recently.

This is an original Western
Union telegram that

my mother had sent
her parents...

the day that she
married my father.

They went to
Vegas and eloped.

January 19th, 1971.

This is Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Miluso.

That was my grandfather.

"Mom and Dad.
Billy and I were just married.

We really love each other.
Please try and understand.

I love you both."

My mother was
Madeline Miluso.

She worked in a bank
in Southern California,

and he came in and...

thought she was
really pretty.

She always
loved his smile.

And he made her
laugh a lot.

She fell in love with him.
She thought he was

the most handsome man
in the world.

She got pregnant with me,
and they got

an apartment in
Santa Monica, California.

She didn't care about the
wrestling part of it at all.

She just loved my dad.

I remember Mom tie-dying
clothes in our kitchen.

She was a big part
of his look.

Mr. Rainbow, more colors
of the rainbow.

The prettiest wrestler
in the world.

Billy Superstar Graham.

The look was good, and he
understood his deal

was posing and flexing
and everything.

But it was really
the promos.

I'm gonna take out
my frustration.

I'm going to take out
my wrath.

I'm going to take out
my anger.

He'd been an evangelist
in his younger years.

He was a traveling
tent show preacher.

My dad started preaching
as an evangelist

when he was in his teens.

He went all over Arizona,
in particular,

speaking at churches,
and did feats of strength.

When I listen to
his promos now,

it's like he's standing in
front of a church assembly.

It's the same thing,
except it's wrestling.

Superstar, you are
the greatest.

You are the strongest.
You're the man of the hour!

Billy Graham was probably one
of the first to use various

catchphrases that he would
then start repeating.

-I'm the man of the hour!
-The man with the power.

-The man with the power!
-Too sweet to be sour!

Too sweet to be sour!

I mean,
it's legendary stuff.

They were unbelievable
promos back then.

These hands can
crush coconuts.

These hands can
straighten out horseshoes.

You know what
his arm can do?

In 1975,
Billy Graham's star

is already on the rise

when he gets a call from
Vince McMahon Sr.,

New York's top promoter.

He weighed in
at 285 pounds.

Superstar Billy Graham!

Billy was very, very excited
about being at Madison

Square Garden and being
in the limelight.

McMahon has a clear
vision for the superstar,

with a bold plan for
the future of the

World Championship.

?

Bruno Sammartino is
ready to step down

as being the champion.

He'd already had a
9-year run from '63 to '71,

and then he was champion
again in the mid 70s.

Bruno was so embedded
into the history of

the sport in New York.

But it was time for him
to drop the strap.

You know, when you've had
it for so long and so long,

there has to be a
passing of the guard.

Bob Backlund
was Vince's guy.

He wanted that squeaky clean
guy who would go to schools

and tell kids, "Don't
do drugs, don't smoke."

Bobby Backlund was
my tag team partner

before he went up there.

He was a great athlete,

but his promos were
the drizzling shits.

I've been raised
on the farm and

climbing has been
a part of my life.

Bruno wanted to lose the
belt to somebody...

huge, a big man.

So, Billy Graham becomes
the transitional champion.

He will hold the belt for...
almost a year,

and then he will lose it
on such and such date

so they can crown
their new champion.

The All-American boy,
Bob Backlund.

-[Cheering]
-That's the deal.

So, Billy knew the day
he was winning it.

He knew the day
he was losing it.

He was told.

[Indistinct commentary
& cheering]

But something happens.
Graham wins the title.

Even though he's a bad guy,

people start
cheering for him.

Billy Graham became the
hottest box office attraction

in the business.

He's selling out
Madison Square Garden.

The winner of the bout and

still champion, Superstar!

Every month there's
25,000 people

watching Billy Graham
defend the title.

But Vince Senior
always had a plan,

and he was always
regimented,

and he was sticking to it
no matter what.

It was strictly, we want a
babyface as the champion.

And Billy was not going
to be that babyface.

And this is what led to
Billy Graham's downfall.

The Worldwide
Wrestling Federation

heavyweight champion,

Superstar Billy Graham!

Superstar Billy Graham's
reign as champion ushers in

an era of good fortune
for his family.

We had a very nice
house in New York.

We had maids in New York.

We had a three-story home
in New York.

We had a limo.
We had a lot of money.

I remember going
in their bedroom,

and I found his
championship belt.

I'm like, oh,
this is cool.

And I took it out,
and I laid it on the bed,

and I was shining his belt
so the gold would sparkle

and the little gems.

And then I put it back so
I didn't get in trouble.

But for Billy's wife,
Madeline, and their children,

those good fortunes
prove short lived.

I know he loved my mother,

but there was something
going on...

while he was married
to my mother.

I remember him talking
to my mom when

he told her that he wanted
to divorce her.

I was hiding
behind the couch.

She's crying,
and I'm looking at my dad,

and he's breaking
my mother's heart...

right now, saying,
"I'm in love with Valerie."

When I was 18 years old,
I met him at an IHOP.

It was right next to the
hotel where he was staying.

And I would go,
and sit at the IHOP

just to get a
glimpse of him.

And that particular night,
they came in and sat down

at the table next to us and
just started talking.

Hi, I'm Valerie Coleman,
and I was married to

Superstar Billy Graham for
just short of 45 years.

Basically, from the
time we met,

we were together
all the time.

Yeah,
it sucked, but...

It was just really sad
watching my parents

break up right
in front of me.

It was probably
almost a year...

before he told me
about his family.

It was devastating.

I didn't know what to do.

I was very conflicted.

But ultimately...

I didn't leave him.

And we were married a
couple of months later.

[Crowd chatter
& cheering]

With a new wife
and a new life,

Superstar Billy Graham
feels on top of the world.

But even as Superstar
pushes himself to deliver,

the demands of being champion
wreak havoc on his body.

He'd always have
pills around, and so

when he would call us,
it's clear in his voice

that he was definitely
on something.

Yeah, I mean, he was
in pain. You know,

and when you're in pain,
you want to take medicine.

And unfortunately, he had
that type of personality

that he just abused it.

He just didn't know
how to control it.

He overdosed in his
hotel room in New York

several times while
he was champion.

It was all pharmaceuticals,
uppers, downers,

trying to get through the
pain and just live with it.

He had an overdose
in the hotel room.

He'd gone into the
bathroom and taken

a handful of pills
and came out.

And all of a sudden,
his body rolls over

and he's not
breathing at all.

?

I call downstairs and

I'm begging for them
to come help.

And this woman
comes up,

and she starts pounding
and beating his chest,

and screaming,
"Don't die on me!"

And she's cussing him out,
"Don't you die on me,"

and she's beating him.
Paramedics get there,

and they're trying to use
the defibrillators and

things on him.
His heart had stopped.

They, you know,
shocked him back.

So yeah, that was a
pretty intense time.

[Cheering]

There's pandemonium
tonight!

There's excitement.
Look at the people's faces.

Look at the people's
expressions.

Can you feel it?
Look at you.

You're excited because
I am the champion.

After almost a
year as champion,

Billy Graham is set to lose
the belt to Bob Backlund

following the plan
originally laid out

by Vince McMahon Sr.

His run was the
hottest it ever was,

but I think in his mind
it's like...

I'm going to
prove them wrong.

I'm going to draw
so big that

they can't take the
title from me.

Graham went to Vince Sr.,
he's like,

"How can you?
We're selling out.

We're turning them away."

The New York promoters
had always put

their heavyweight
championship on a hero,

and Vince Senior was looking
for his next champion,

who was going to
be Bob Backlund.

He had planned this
for a year and a half,

and nothing was going
to change his mind.

Ask Bobby Backlund
when you see him,

how he expects to
get out of the

Superstar bear hug,
ask him that.

Right before he goes out
before the match,

he was trying to get them
to change their mind.

And they're like, "No, we're
going with Bob Backlund."

[Indistinct commentary]

Bob Backlund...

I hate that --ing guy.

Wait a minute!

Bob Backlund has Superstar
Billy Graham in the air!

There may not be an
escape for Graham!

He's in the middle
of the ring!

Atomic knee drop!

Down to the canvas!

Backlund covers Graham:
1, 2, and 3!

[Cheering]

The World Wrestling
Federation champion!

He was the biggest box office
attraction in the business,

and it was taken
away from him.

He couldn't understand why.

?

All the struggles,
all the pain.

Working his way up
from nothing.

To being champion
of the world.

Then to all of a
sudden lose it.

In his mind, he's like,
what was the point?

Did I do something wrong?

These guys obviously
don't know greatness

when they see it.

So, it hit him
very hard.

That's all that there
is in this world,

is the championship belt.
The greatest wrestler...

Wayne was very, very,
his entire life,

a very insecure person.

It's kind of hard to believe
when you would look at him,

with the physique
and everything,

but he was very insecure, so
he just never could believe

that he was really
worth anything.

He was beaten down
so much growing up,

not just the physical,
the verbal abuse and

being told that you're
worthless, you're no good.

You'll never be anything.
You're ugly.

And he took it.
He, he received that.

He accepted that, you know,
and he believed it.

His entire life,
it stayed with him.

Being on top,
being the champion,

carrying that belt
meant so much to him.

And when he lost that title,
it certainly changed

everything from
that day forward.

It just flat out was
devastating to him.

It destroyed his ego.

One day he had started
a big bonfire.

Burned all of his
wrestling gear.

Boots, his jackets,
his robes.

His attire.

You know, just...

He burned everything.

?

Bob Backlund has Superstar
Billy Graham in the air!

There may not be an
escape for Graham!

For Billy Graham,
losing the championship

was more than
just a storyline.

It was a blow to
his self-worth

and his confidence.

It was everything to Billy.
It was his life.

It was bigger than I
could even understand.

Some guys can't take it.

He wasn't mentally capable
of seeing the light

in other places.

Hi, I'm Steve Keirn,
and I've been in

professional wrestling
over 40 years,

and I've shared
a locker room

with Superstar Billy Graham.

He saw the big money
was New York.

He was the man.
He had the belt.

Now he's beltless.
You didn't win that belt.

Somebody told you that
you're gonna get that belt.

It's not real,
the part about

you're a champion or
you're not a champion.

It's not real.

Like a year later,
Billy's running

a lawn care business or
something in Arizona.

You know, wrestling
on Friday nights.

I mean, he's out of it
so much that...

people thought he died.

It's in the
paper he's dead.

Gorilla Monsoon wrote that,
"Here's tragic news.

Billy Graham has
died from cancer."

And for a couple of
years there...

I mean,
he was right.

That Superstar Billy
Graham was dead.

When he lost the belt,

that was the beginning
of his decline.

And a lot of it was mental.

We went back to Phoenix,

and he didn't know
about withdrawals.

And he just cold turkey
stopped taking pills

on our road trip.

And we were in this ran down
little hotel in New Mexico.

And he had a
grand mal seizure.

And I called paramedics,

and they thought he
tried to kill himself.

I said, "Well, he didn't
try to kill himself,

he's actually
trying to live."

And instead of going home,
he went into a rehab.

But it didn't work,
it didn't last.

I was so afraid
of him dying, I,

and I, you know, was
naive enough to think

I could love him back from
whatever brink he was on.

[Buzzing]

Broke and frustrated
by his stagnant career,

Graham seeks to reinvent
himself and get back into

the business that
made him famous.

He was so crestfallen that
he wanted to reinvent himself

and do it in a vindictive
style that would say,

"Screw you if you didn't want
that original Superstar.

I'm going to give
you something else."

He comes back
to the WWF.

Bald head,
much smaller.

Looked like a completely
different guy,

and he claimed that he had
left wrestling and

he'd become the world's
martial arts champion.

When I give him
the Superstar chop,

the people will fall
out of their seats.

Will fall out of their seats!
Drop dead...

I watched him one of the
very first times, I think.

And I said, "What the
-- is he doing?"

This isn't the Superstar
I remember.

Superstar Billy Graham!

He would just do karate chops.
He'd have a black belt.

Just like kind of stood there,
was pretty immobile,

you know, it was like
really lame.

And his wrestling wasn't
good at all at that point.

He was covering up his
body all of a sudden,

like with his judo
jacket on, you know,

and he looked
kind of hokey,

kind of like a guy that
fell out of a...

third grade judo class.

It was so bad, and he
just looked so defeated.

He just was not
the same person.

It was something he did out
of being desperate

to get back into
the limelight.

Superstar in big trouble!

Unfortunately, Billy's body
started giving out.

He started getting
hip injuries.

That was a sad time.

I look at him when he was
like that and it just

makes me so sad because
he was so thin,

he was so high on pills,

and he did not
know who he was.

Everything has been said,
everything has been done.

All the preparation,
everything is ready.

He just looked so sick to me.

It's hard for me to look
at him during that time.

It really is,
I don't like it.

That's one of the
darkest times of my life.

Wayne started using pain pills
and sleeping pills again.

That's when he became
emaciated and,

I mean, he looked
like he was dying.

It was a horrible time.

I mean, McMahon had
aspirations to push him

to the moon, but Billy
lost his mojo.

It was gone.

Look at this.
Look at the shot!

Less than a year
into his return,

Billy Graham leaves the
WWF for a second time.

Who knows what the
plans were for him?

Because before too long,
Hulkamania is running wild.

Hulk Hogan, he drops
a big leg on him!

He's down for the count.

1, 2, he's got him!

The way the business
was growing,

McMahon kind of transitioned
into making Hogan his

ideal version of
Superstar Billy Graham,

and embellishing
that character,

and creating someone that
maybe he felt like

he didn't do enough of
for Billy Graham.

My pythons are ready!

The largest arms
in the world!

Superstar Billy Graham
will put the 22-inch

python arms around your
body and squeeze.

The promo skills,
the posing.

All of that stuff, it came
from Billy Graham.

Hulk Hogan, he was wearing
boas and things like that.

I want to know one thing,
brother!

Superstar started,
"Brother, brother."

"Hey, brother.
Hey, brother.

How are you doing,
brother?"

I got the Hulk Hogan war
bonnet on now, brother.

Literally, though, everything
from, you know, the ear.

Wayne ripping the
shirt off and

throwing it out
to the crowd.

You name it,
he did it.

Look at the videos,
there's Wayne doing it.

You're gonna see a lot of
number one contenders

come and go,
brother.

But there's only
one Hulkster.

There's only one
Hulk Hogan, Daddy!

My dad deep down
knew that, you know,

Hulk was younger and more
relevant at the time,

and was probably
a little jealous.

Vince had said that if the

Billy Graham of 1974 was
around in 1984,

he could have been
Hulk Hogan.

-Unbelievable!
-[Cheering]

The former World Wrestling
Federation heavyweight champ,

now working out every day
and training with a vision,

a vision of being back
in the squared circle.

Superstar Billy Graham
is on top of his game,

and the future is mine.

The pythons are back.

In 1987, following his
first failed attempt

to reinvent himself,

Billy Graham once again
attempts a comeback.

Billy's not the same,
the fans aren't the same,

and Billy was more
considered an old timer

by '86 and '87.

He tore his body up.
He had his ankle fused.

They had a steel rod that
went from the

bottom of his heel
through his leg.

His spine was collapsing.
It was an absolute mess.

It was, the steroids
had eaten him up.

Billy was pumping a lot of
steroids in his body still.

He'd always been
on steroids.

He was one of the original
users of steroids in wrestling.

To him,
it was normal.

He didn't care, you know,
what anybody thought of him.

Because he still,
first of all,

he knew he had
to do the work.

Anybody can take steroids,

but not anybody is going
to have a physique.

He had a big ego...

and he took roids
to look good,

just like Arnold
Schwarzenegger did.

All the bodybuilders
of the 60s and 70s.

Anybody in my industry
in the 70s and 80s,

they were playing with
steroids because they saw the

effect on promoters when
they had a better body.

?

He was really struggling
mentally with it.

I think he wanted to be
who he was back in the 70s,

and it wasn't
going to happen.

He would get in these moods.

He could get really
incredibly rageful.

He never was physically
abusive to me,

but he would destroy
the house and

he could be very
intimidating.

So, if he wanted to shot
in his hip, you know,

I would have to
give him the shot.

But I would stab him.

That was just my only
thing I could do.

I would use it like a
dagger or dart and

do it as hard as I could.

The mental anguish that
he was going through,

I'm sure was amplified also
by the physical pain of

his body, and the fact that
he wasn't in the ring.

He wasn't wrestling, which
is what he wanted to do.

Even as he got older,

he always talked about
how he lost that belt...

and that he shouldn't
have lost it that soon.

I'm like, well, Dad,
that's the way that

it was supposed to happen.

But I think that
once he lost that,

that was his downfall.

Billy never,
ever, ever, ever,

ever forgave
Vince McMahon Sr.

for having him drop the belt
to Bob Backlund.

When this segue wayed
into the early 90s,

I think Billy was just going,
how can I hurt Vince McMahon?

To be successful
in pro wrestling,

it's an absolute must
to take steroids.

From 1985 to 1991,

McMahon and a
doctor conspired to

distribute steroids to the
wrestlers to enhance

their size and
muscle development.

Dr. Zahorian was the
wrestling commission doctor,

but then he became close to
some of the wrestlers and

he became their drug supplier
of prescription drugs.

He sent,
through the mail,

thousands upon
thousands of pills

just to my
husband alone.

He made a ton of money,
got very, very rich

off of their suffering
and their addiction.

Billy testified for
the prosecution.

Here was, you know,
the former world champion

on the witness stand
talking about his life and

history with
anabolic steroids.

But he didn't go
after Vince and

he didn't go
after Hogan then.

And then, Hogan goes
on Arsenio Hall.

I saw a guy on a program,
named Billy Graham.

What's up with him?

Well, Superstar Billy Graham,
apparently, in the 70s,

was one of the
top wrestlers...

Hulk says something
to the effect,

"Oh, he's just like
some old time," like,

that he was nobody.
That he was a nobody.

That's when things started
changing with Wayne about

the way that he felt about
Terry, about Hulk.

And he apparently was a
heavy duty steroid abuser.

Graham was furious at Hogan
for using his name like that

because, hey, Hogan was
doing the same steroids.

So Billy was
really mad and so,

at that point he went
and said that, you know,

"Hogan did steroids.
I know he did steroids."

Of course he did steroids.

And Billy had the bitterness
against Vince too.

That's how it
really manifested.

And because of that,
we end up on

The Phil Donahue Show.

Superstar Billy Graham.

I'll tell you what,
he's won his share.

It's Billy, it's Bruno,
it's myself, and it's Meltzer.

And then we found out
that McMahon was,

in fact,
going to be there.

They wanted to do a story on
the steroid use in wrestling.

The tension you could
cut with a knife.

And Billy wanted to unload.

The selling of drugs by
Dr. George Zahorian

has gone on for
15 years

in the World Wrestling
Federation.

Billy said, "I shot
Hogan up with steroids."

I've injected the man myself
probably a half a dozen times.

And Vince just goes,
"You're lying.

You never shot Hogan up
with steroids."

When he Vince looks at him,
and he says,

"Superstar, you know
that's not true,"

I literally started to cry
in the audience.

I knew when
Wayne was lying.

I think he had an enormous
amount of guilt over it,

after it was all
said and done.

He's human.

Just a human being,
just a man.

And he was bitter and
he was hurt. I mean,

when you've been physical
since you were ten years old

and all of a sudden
he's crippled.

And there's this awful,
awful bitterness

towards certain people.

And Vince happened
to be one of them.

Struggling with addiction
and financial ruin,

Billy's relationship with
his children unravels.

There is a difference
between a dad and a father.

Father's somebody
who in every aspect

is always there for
the children.

And my father was
a dad because...

he got my mother
pregnant with me,

and that's kind
of it, really.

I mean, I hate to say this,
but my father

never really paid
child support ever.

So my mother, she went back
to working at the bank.

My mom was working a lot,
doing 2 or 3 jobs,

but she would make sure
that me and my sister ate.

She always was verbal
about how hurt she was,

but she loved him
'til the day she died.

I mean, my mother...

never remarried.

He'd moved on.

He married Valerie,
fell in love.

We were part of
his past life.

He never helped us.

There was never a father
figure in my life.

I never respected
the guy, as a kid.

I never respected him
as I got older.

He made me very angry

about how he
treated myself,

and my sister, and my mom.
Got me very angry.

I mean, it was
heartbreaking,

you know, because I look
at him and I love him.

You know, and I just wanted
him to want to be with us.

And he didn't want it.

He just didn't want it.

?

Joey knew that
my dad, I think,

loved me more than him.

My brother was born sick.

He was born with a
hole in his heart.

So I think because my
brother wasn't perfect,

my dad kind of pushed him
aside a little bit.

He would forget my brother's
birthday all the time

because my dad
didn't really

care about him.

When I was 18,
I changed my name from

Joseph Cole Coleman to
Joseph Michael Miluso,

because Melissa
is my mom's maiden name.

I decided I was...

moving on from who
my dad was in my life,

and I was hoping it
hurt him when I did it.

That destroyed him.

It broke his
heart completely.

He hurt me my
entire life.

I made him upset
or mad at me?

Tough shit,
I don't care.

He loved those kids
so much.

He didn't know how
to be the dad

that he wanted to be.

He never had a role model.

Unfortunately, so much of his
life was defined by his dad.

I'm very happy that he
found Valerie and

they were in love for
so long because

they truly were meant
to be together.

I don't like the fact
that he treated us

as if we weren't
there anymore.

I just knew that my dad
was full of shit,

but I accepted it
because I loved him.

But my father was not
invited to my wedding,

so my brother
gave me away.

?

I was lonely,
I was depressed.

And I'm telling you, I felt
every emotion that

you brothers have
felt in your life.

Alienated from his children
and the world of wrestling,

Wayne Coleman returns to
his roots as a preacher.

He didn't have
anything else,

and he knew he was
good at ministry.

So, he went
back to that.

I think as he got older,
he went full blown

with the church, and maybe
to make amends to God

for the sins that he
committed in his life.

He truly believed,

and I believe it as well,

that his true calling
was for ministry.

Wayne wrote a play
called The Empty Ring.

It was Wayne's life story,
and it was a wrestling ring,

but it was empty
for him, right?

There was no fulfillment.

And Jake The Snake
played Wayne's part.

I wanted my daddy to look me
in the eye, and say,

"Son, I'm proud of you."

[Slamming]

He couldn't do it.

One scene was a
hotel room, and he,

he overdoses in the scene,
and it shows him like

taking the bottle
of pills, and...

it's very dark, and there's
a lot of demons

all around, Jake.
They're swirling, like,

trying to get him.

But ultimately, it's a
redemption story,

and it was so emotional for
me to watch that

because it was so real,
you know?

And it was his life,
and it's what we lived.

You can see, like this peace
and this joy inside of him.

But even as Graham
finds peace,

the damage to his body from
years of wrestling and

drug abuse continue to
take their toll.

He had contracted hepatitis
from I think a cut on

his knee, from wrestling,
is what he told me.

His liver was like
turned to a rock.

And just the years of abuse
on his body and

all the drugs
he was doing.

One night we're laying
in bed, and he coughed,

and I felt
something wet...

hit me in the face.

And I jump up and
turn on the light,

and I'm covered
in blood.

And he was
bleeding out.

We got to the hospital,
and they said there was

nothing they could
do for him.

That's when they
told us he's got

stage four liver disease.

He has to have
a transplant.

He was getting sicker
and sicker and sicker.

And, he's like,

"Capella, I've only
got like six weeks, max."

Ravaged by Hepatitis C,

Superstar Billy Graham
faces a fight for survival,

requiring a
liver transplant

just to stay alive.

Knowing that he
might not wake up...

He called Vince, and he
just asked him again

to forgive him, and he told
him that he loved him.

And he thanked him
for everything

he'd ever done for him.

But that tells you his heart,
what was on his mind

were the people
that he had hurt.

You know, people...

the things he hadn't
forgiven himself for.

Vince was gracious enough,

and he was very kind,
thankfully.

'Cause he didn't have to be,
even then, but he was.

This poor girl had
died and donated

all her organs that
could be donated.

Thank God for that,
because I really thought

he was gonna,
that was it.

That was it for him. And then
a short while after that,

I told him, I'm never gonna
forget all the things that

happened in the past
between you and Mom

and me and Joey.

But I'm an adult now,
I'm pregnant.

You're going to be a
grandfather, and...

I can forgive.

I was given 21 more years
with him.

You know, God,
for whatever reason,

he had his hand
on Wayne's life,

and he never let go, and he
never gave up on him.

He was a walking miracle.

?

In January 2023,
after two decades

of battling liver
and heart issues,

Graham is
hospitalized once more.

All the times he
got sick, I'm like,

my dad's always
bounced back.

I'm not worried about it.

And me and my sister talked
for about six months before.

She's like, "Do you think
we should go see him?"

And I'm like,
"He's fine, he's fine.

He always gets sick.
He always gets better."

I was still conflicted if
I was going to go or not,

I just,
I had had enough.

You know, if he dies,
he dies, okay?

God's going to take him.

And that's just what
happens to us.

We live, we die, and...

You know, as much as he
had disappointed me...

for most of my life, I wanted
to make him happy at the end.

For a while,
I was like,

why the hell should
I go see him?

Why should I put myself
out to go see my father

in Arizona, when he never
did anything for me?

I mean, what am
I supposed to do?

And then I saw some pictures
that Valerie posted,

and that's when
I saw my dad...

as my dad.

He wasn't
Superstar anymore.

He is going to die.

So that's when I went
to go see him.

He started actually telling
me some stories

about my mom.

And, it sounded
like he was very...

very remorseful about
how he treated her...

how he wished he could have
been a better person, and...

when I heard that,
I knew he was dying.

And I looked at him and...

his body was...

he was,
he was just...

I hate to say it,
but he was so small.

He had no muscle anymore,
and I looked at my dad like,

oh my God,
this is not

Superstar Billy
Graham anymore.

My brother had flown out
there before I did, so...

I bought a ticket and I
flew out there by myself.

I played him Bob Dylan, and
that meant a lot to him.

I put that music on,
and he closed his eyes,

and he put his head back,
and he got this little faint

smile, his best smile that
he could give at the time,

and he just was so happy
to be listening to Dylan.

And it made me happy that
I could do that for him.

You know,
and the next day...

Valerie and I are talking to
the doctors, and we're like,

"You know what..."
Valerie was like, "It's time."

My sister was with him
at the hospital,

and I was home, and I could
hear my dad on the phone.

I told him, I said,
"Dad, you know,

we've had our
problems in life.

We've had a lot of
issues with each other.

I've hated you for
a very long time,

but I always understood
you were my dad.

And I always have loved you,
so I just want you

to know that I've always
loved you."

And...

?

The last words he told me...

I could hear him.

?

Trying to get the words out.

He just said, "I love you,"

and that's the last thing...

That's the last thing
I heard from my dad.

?

[Whispering]
Yeah, that was it.

And it wasn't
the Superstar.

It was my dad.

?

He's been gone
for 17 months.

But there's no relief.

There's not,
I just miss him.

I can't even
describe it, so...

He was appreciated,
he was loved.

He was admired,
he was respected.

He is
Superstar Billy Graham!

[Cheering]

He's missed, you know,
he's missed by so many

that he would never have
imagined missed him.

But he is.

It's a tragic story because
of somebody

who had it all and
who lost it all.

I am happy that he had
God in his life.

I'm not happy about
all the other things,

but I am happy
that he is my dad.

I understand where he
was coming from more now.

The job he had and the life
that he was trying to have

and who he wanted to be.

He was
Superstar Billy Graham.

?

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