All language subtitles for S04E03 Dark Side of the Ring

I don't know that there's
been any family in wrestling,

either related for
real or professionally,

that had as much impact,
as much reach,

and as much influence as
the Graham family did.

Graham lands the hardest
punch in wrestling history.

Eddie Graham was not only
a great wrestler and

a great promoter,
he was a visionary.

Eddie's Championship
Wrestling From Florida,

it was built on wrestling,

and the main events
were violent.

Agh!

He gave the
people the circus.

Eddie Graham coming back
into that ring after...

[narrator] Eddie Graham
was a titan of

professional wrestling,
who ruled his era,

and passed on
his iconic legacy

to his only son,
Mike.

The son of any
great athlete,

they've got the
scrutiny on them.

But Mike Graham didn't
take shit off anybody.

I think maybe he felt
like he had to be

as good as his father.

Mike Graham followed in
his father's footsteps

to wrestling greatness...

and also descended into
his own dark world of

pain, addiction,
and grief.

The wrestling culture
is very cutthroat.

You have to have
this thing about you,

where nothing's
gonna break you.

He was under
tremendous pressure

from so many
different angles.

Mike kept shit to himself,
too, like his father.

The apple didn't fall
far from the tree.

It all gets pushed under
the rug in certain families.

Who are you supposed
to go to for help?

The tragic legacy of
a wrestling dynasty,

haunted by self
-destruction and suicide.

It is with a deep sense of
regret that I announce the

untimely death of a friend,
colleague, and a leader.

It was like somebody
dropped a bomb on all of us.

Grandfather, father...

and then the kid.

That runs in
the family genes, right.

Once that spotlight's gone
or once you

don't have that ring,
like, it's emptiness.

♪

Championship Wrestling
From Florida was one of

the most respected
and successful

wrestling promotions
of modern times.

The legacy of the Graham
family in Florida is,

they meant
professional wrestling

to millions of people,
all over the state,

for almost thirty years.

One member of the Graham
family was on the card,

or in the main event,
or behind the scenes.

In the glory years when
they were selling

a million tickets a year
just in the state of Florida

to see live matches,

and their TV ratings
were Super Bowl level.

I guess I was
used to it, like,

when you don't know
what's different,

it's just what your life is.

I just knew that that
was a huge part of, like,

my grandfather
and my dad's life.

I am Nicole Gossett,
and Eddie Graham was

my grandfather, and Mike
Graham is my father.

And that's Eddie Graham in
the centre of the ring now,

his son Mike watching
very carefully.

Every Sunday,
they'd have matches

at the
Eddie Graham Stadium.

And, the first phone call
in the morning was my

grandfather calling my dad
to talk about the night.

We'd wake up, and we'd walk
into like our family room to

see who was crashed out
on our couch for

a little while,
you know.

'Cause we had
different wrestlers

sleeping on our
couch at times.

Magnum T.A.- Terry Allen-
when he first started,

he slept on our couch,
and he was so sweet.

And so, I was pretty
accustomed to having big,

boisterous personalities
and people around.

The one that scared me
was Andre the Giant.

When he came, like,
crouching through

our front door, I-
he freaked me out,

yeah, I was scared.
[Laughing]

[Cheering]

It was the family business.

Everybody wanted to be
on the roster of

Championship Wrestling
From Florida.

For the money,
the weather, for the girls...

And also, to learn
from Eddie Graham.

I'm Jim Cornette.

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

but for even
longer than that,

I've been a collector
and an historian.

Eddie could make you believe
that he was the toughest man

in the state of Florida,
which is exactly what

most of the fans believed.

He just had a
magnetism about him,

and he was somebody that
you wanted to listen to,

and if you were
working for him,

you wanted to follow.

A leader,
a general.

I was born up in them
Tennessee Mountains, brother.

If you didn't have
heart and desire,

you were finished
to begin with.

So, I ain't gonna
lay down and quit.

That's my bottom line.

There you have it.

The comments from
Eddie Graham.

There goes a wrestler,
and one hell of a man.

Eddie was a
legend in Florida.

He could get a reaction
just walking to the ring.

My name is Kevin Sullivan.

I worked for the Graham
family for decades,

and I've been a wrestler
for over 50 years.

Your nightmare
is just starting.

Eddie was about
5"10 and a half,

wide shoulders,
bleach blond hair,

and he just had a
presence about him.

Nobody else was
ever in his class.

The genius of the business,
our Einstein.

Eddie was from the hills
in Chattanooga.

Very difficult life.

His father died young.

Eddie came up through the
college of hard knocks.

Just a good old
touch country boy.

My name is Dotty Curtis,

and I am the wife of the
late Don Curtis.

Don was a very, very
knowledgeable wrestler.

Don and Eddie met
back in around '52,

I think it was.

They became friends, and
Eddie asked to Don to

come up here to
Jacksonville, and

he was the promoter up here
for quite a few years.

Now it's Graham, and a good,
solid chop across the throat.

Eddie Graham is
probably one of the

finest wrestlers that was
around in his time.

I don't think there'll ever be
another Eddie Graham.

Though born Edward Gossett,
Eddie's wrestling career is

forever altered when he
adopts the "Graham" name

from one of the
ring's top stars.

♪

The originator of the Graham
wrestling family dynasty

was Dr. Jerry Graham.

He had the bleached hair,

and he carried himself
like a star.

And what's more,
he had the gift of gab.

Brother teams in New York
were over at the time.

But, if you could find a guy
that looks something

like you, nobody's reading
your birth certificate,

just say it's your brother.

Eddie Gossett was in Texas
wrestling as Rip Rogers,

and a lot of people
told him,

"You look like
Jerry Graham."

Jerry and Eddie
connected, and in 1958,

the Graham Brothers,
"The Golden Grahams",

as a team, ruled the
roost in wrestling

in the biggest
TV market in the country,

where wrestling
is already red-hot,

being presented in the most
famous arena in the world,

Madison Square Garden.

Dr. Graham has just
the treatment for that

tired,
nagging backache.

Eddie performs the surgery

while Jerry looks
on approvingly.

If you could sell out
Madison Square Garden,

you could
sell out anywhere.

Eddie and Dr. Jerry
made a fantastic duo,

hated by everybody,

and just really drew
the crowds in.

Just main eventing
Madison Square Garden,

they were probably making
close to six figures per year

in 1958, 1959, and that would
translate into somewhere

over a million bucks apiece
in today's money.

With money and
fame to burn,

Eddie and Jerry are box
office sensations.

But before long, Dr. Jerry's
behaviour outside the ring

becomes even more
notorious than his matches.

Dr. Jerry Graham, as big
of a genius as he was

in wrestling,
was an alcoholic,

was mentally ill, and...

he got in a lot of trouble
and caused a lot of trouble.

Jerry Graham,
to impress fans,

used to light his
cigars with $100 bills.

Or, he would walk into a
biker bar and walk right up

in front of a guy and say-
[Shouting] "Hey!

My name's Balls!
You got any?"

♪

But the most shocking
incident involving

Jerry Graham transpires
years later,

in his hometown of
Phoenix, Arizona.

One day he got
the word that

his mother was sick and
in the hospital.

And he called the hospital,
and he told the doctor that

his mother better come out of
that hospital in good health,

and then she died.

So, Dr. Jerry Graham shows
up with a 12-gauge shotgun...

a .38 caliber revolver,

and an 8-inch long
hunting knife...

And appears...

in the intensive care unit,
where he fires a shot-

[Bang]

...at the doctor.

And then goes down
the hallway and

grabs the gurney...

that his mother's
body is on.

And as he's taking it
down the hallway,

here come the orderlies
and the interns.

And they're trying
to tackle him.

So, he grabs his
mother's corpse and

slings her over
his shoulder.

And he's screaming,

"I just want to take her
and bury her!"

♪

Jerry Graham was so good
at his chosen profession.

And he was also
completely, utterly insane.

♪

After two years,
Eddie Graham

could not put up with

being partners with
Jerry Graham anymore.

And he had to leave
the greatest spot that

he'd ever had.

In 1960, Eddie uproots
his family from New York,

and settles in Tampa,
the hub of

Championship Wrestling
From Florida.

He was a visionary.
He said to himself,

"I know my capabilities
as a wrestler.

I can get over here.
I can be the star.

And this whole thing
can be bigger."

And over the
next 25 years,

not only did he become
the most successful wrestler

in the history of Florida,
and the most popular-

but he worked his way into
being able to buy into the

promotion, then taking
it over completely,

and expanding wrestling
in the state of Florida,

and made it the place that
everybody wanted to go

to wrestle and to learn.

Eddie probably bought the
territory just knowing that

he had the wherewithal,
the brains,

the connections
with the talent,

to take the territory
to another level.

Hi, I'm B. Brian Blair,

and I started wrestling
in Florida in 1977.

Got my start right
here in Tampa.

Blair has him up,
the Airplane Spin!

The Armory was hot.

I would call it like
Saturday Night Fever.

It was so entertaining.

Tonight, we're in a jam
-packed Armory in Tampa,

Florida, the home of
Championship Wrestling.

All the wrestlers from
Championship Wrestling

From Florida gave their all

every Tuesday night
at that place.

Growing up in Tampa,
wrestlers were just huge.

The fans would
come up to them.

We couldn't go anywhere
without someone

wanting to talk to my
dad or my granddad.

And it was telling that
Eddie Graham would have

continued good relations
with Vince McMahon Sr,

and later on with
Vince McMahon Jr.

He was someone that
the other promoters

all called to
ask for advice.

[News] The president of the
NWA, Eddie Graham,

now describing the
conditions in the contract,

both wrestlers are to...

[Jim] The National Wrestling
Alliance was an

organization of promoters
from regional territories

all over the country.

There was no major decision
made in the NWA

without consulting
Eddie Graham.

He was president twice.

He was well-respected.

But he was a
complicated guy.

Eddie would do some
violent things.

He was a tough,
tough person.

You either did what
he told you to do,

or you were out.

♪

Now, there was the side of
Eddie Graham that

did want to keep
the credibility

of the wrestling business,
and guys were expected

to lay shit in to
make people believe

what they
were doing was real.

Eddie Graham was
a stickler. He said,

"If anybody here
gets their ass kicked by

a mark, you're fired."
In other words,

you get your butt kicked
by a wrestling fan,

you're out of here.

You protect the
business at all costs.

I guess you could
call it, um...

maybe a, a horror
chamber down there

at the Sportatorium.

The fellas would say they
wanted to wrestle,

and they figured all
you had to do is

get in the ring
and perform.

They put them through
their paces and, you know,

some of them were just-
they couldn't take it.

I had to...

do things that
I'm not proud of.

Ah, that I didn't
like to do, but-

A couple of 'em, I did.

Well, they wanted you
to break people's bones.

[Wrestler shouting
& groaning]

Somehow, this guy
got booked for TV.

He said, "Oh, I've
worked some local shows.

I'm a butcher by trade."

And I see Eddie's ears
perk up like a dog's.

And the guy says,

"I'm gonna make
you look good.

I'm gonna tell all the guys
you're a nice guy."

So, the guy drifts off in
the corner, and Eddie said,

"If he doesn't come back
bleeding, you're through."

♪

I kept my job.

I had a family.

At that period,
it was my livelihood.

[Off-screen] Right.

It wasn't his livelihood.

He was gonna go back to
that job no matter what.

Worst thing I
probably ever did.

Eddie's hard-nosed
ambition to dominate

the wrestling trade
is all-consuming.

But his desire for power
is far from his only flaw.

Wrestler and promoter,
Eddie Graham,

is known for his unrelenting
drive, limitless ambition,

and his determination to
legitimize the business.

Eddie was a go-getter.

He had a portfolio
of a lot of property.

He expanded outside of
the wrestling business.

He wanted to write cheques
rather than receive cheques.

Eddie wanted to elevate the
perception of wrestling.

That's where he started
getting involved with the

Boys Ranch, and with
charitable organizations in

every town and every
county in Florida.

They're furthering amateur
wrestling programs.

Eddie was a rock star
in Florida.

I mean, politicians were
kissing Eddie's ass.

To be seen on Championship
Wrestling Florida

when you were running for
office was a big deal.

And I'm sure...

Eddie got favours
from that too.

Eddie was involved
in everything.

I think Eddie put a lot
of pressure on himself.

He never wanted to fail
in anything he did.

And for most of the
things that he did,

like flying and being a
boatsman and that-

diving-
he was fabulous.

His only problem was that
alcohol got to him.

One night, Eddie was
drinking and,

decided he was going
out on his boat.

And his son, Mike,
was panicking

'cause he took off
in the car.

And so, Mike, as a young boy,
he got on his bicycle,

and he drove to a cross
bridge over the water.

And his idea was

he was going to jump off
that bridge and

onto the boat, 'cause he was
afraid his father would

kill himself out
in the water.

And thank God,
he missed the boat.

I mean,
it wasn't there.

'Cause if he'd have
jumped off of that bridge,

he would have possibly
drowned in the water.

That scared Eddie.

That was one of his
sobering moments,

if you want to call it that.

♪

Mike idolized his father,
and vice versa.

I believe you told me
that your own boy

does quite a
little wrestling.

Well, yes, he does.

In fact, I'm hoping
he'll take the state....

state tournament in
the 95-pound division.

-How old is he?
-He's 10 years' old.

Even though he's a lovable
father, he was demanding.

He put high
expectations on Mike.

♪

Then when my dad
started wrestling,

he obviously started wrestling
under "Mike Graham".

So, maybe that gave him
a little bit more of

a chip on his
shoulder at times.

[Announcer]
At 222 and 1/2 pounds,

Mike Graham,
Mike Graham!

He gave me all the tools
to get as good as

I could get before
I turned pro.

But even at that,
the pressure really-

and a lot of it
came from him-

I loved going someplace
where he wasn't

gonna be 'cause
I knew I could go out,

I could wrestle.
I could come back,

and it wasn't
constant scrutiny.

My grandfather did throw my
dad in the ring, be like,

"Okay, let's see
what you got."

Graham breaking up again.
Arm Drag Takedown.

I remember my dad always
saying, "Nicole, don't worry.

The bigger they are,
the harder they fall."

He was not intimidated
by anyone's size.

[Jim]
Mike was shorter and

didn't have the same
over-the-top personality.

But he had the wrestling
knowledge in there,

growing up with
Eddie Graham.

There it is, there's the
fall right out of the blue.

[Cheering]

So, he was a
very good worker.

He was in plenty
of great tag teams,

but the attention never
went on him, specifically.

And to be honest, he didn't
want to be the top guy.

He didn't want to be the
big star because people

would have said it was
because of his father.

[Kevin] Mike swallowed
a lot of shit,

you know,
and let things go.

He did as well,
if not better,

than anybody I ever saw
at being a promoter's kid,

to blend in
with the guys.

[Announcer] And Graham
after Kevin Sullivan.

I had the pleasure
of being his partner,

and I had the pleasure
of being his opponent.

Can't believe this!
They're going to hang him!

I get violent, Sullivan.
I'm waiting for you.

If you got on
Mike's bad side,

you were on his bad side and
he wasn't gonna back down.

He knew the pressure
he was under.

He couldn't go home if
he got his ass kicked.

My grandpa was bloody
all the time, right?

My dad also was bloody.

So, mornings
in my house,

my mom would get my
brother and I up.

My dad would be in bed
'cause he'd get home so late,

and he was just
hungover and beat up.

And we'd go in to like
kiss my dad goodbye

in the morning, and there'd
be like tape on his forehead

with blood and like bite
marks on his finger, and...

the smell of alcohol
oozing from his body.

[Laughing] And,
we'd kiss him goodbye.

"See you later, Dad!
Have a good day!"

[TV Host] Let me turn right
now to Mike Graham

because I know he's...

As the 1980s dawned,
Mike Graham joins Eddie

in steering the ship at
Championship Wrestling

From Florida, as the
company becomes a

breeding ground for
wrestling legends...

including Hulk Hogan,
Ric Flair,

and Dusty Rhodes.

I am the dream!
I am the man!

Go on with it, baby!

Dusty was like the
original surrogate son.

He loved Dusty, and
Dusty loved him too.

Dusty Rhodes, of course,
was always around.

We'd all go out to
the beach together.

Dusty would always say that
fat looks better tan.

[Laughing]

[Jim] Eddie Graham took
Dusty under his wing,

and he became the most
popular wrestler in the

history in the
state of Florida.

[Brian] When Dusty
turned babyface,

the territory was on fire.

All of us became so close,
we were like family.

[Announcer] And now the
ring beginning to fill.

Gerry Brisco charges in!
Don Serrano!

Brian Blair! And a
host of others!

As this younger generation
elevates the territory to

a whole new level,
Eddie, now in his 50s,

decides to quit the
ring for good...

just as his pursuits
outside of the business

begin to
bring him trouble.

There were a lot of things
going on in Eddie's life.

He was torn
between two women.

He was in business with
some shady characters.

I could tell that Eddie
was drinking too much.

He was maybe taking
too much medication.

He had a lot of struggles
in his life, um...

personally.

[Dotty] When he came
back on the plane

at nighttime...

there was a store
that was open,

and he could get a cheap
bottle of wine there.

Every time he was driving,

he would chug-a-lug
that wine down,

and he would take
the bottle and

he'd throw it
out of the car...

into the grass.

And he came
home one night,

and the place
wasn't open.

And he was so desperate.

He went out into
the field there,

and he grovelled around
in the dirt and

found all these bottles, and
he sat there in the field

and drank the dregs
out of those bottles.

By this time, alcohol
had taken over.

He couldn't stop.

Consumed by
his alcoholism,

and burdened with personal
and professional troubles,

Eddie Graham struggles
to find meaning

beyond the ring.

Over time, people forget
who you are, right?

My grandmother told a story
about how they had gone to

a restaurant, and they
didn't know who he was.

He wasn't in the
spotlight anymore,

but I remember my
grandmother being like,

how he was just not himself
after that encounter.

When that career is over,
who are you?

Who's looking back
in the mirror?

One of the last cheques
my grandfather wrote

was to a liquor
store for $8.

In the memo, it said,
"Peace of Mind".

I think if anyone's had time
of their life and

they just can't find comfort
within themselves,

and they feel like
everything's out of control,

you just don't have
that peace of mind and,

he couldn't find it.

He turned 55.

And, I had gone over to
my grandparents' house.

And I was roller-skating,
and so I was like skating

around him in circles,
and I'm like,

"So, what did you get
for your birthday?"

He's like, "55."
I was like, "55 what?"

He said, "55 years."

Looking back, I realize,

he was telling me
that he was...

done.

♪ [Somber] ♪

That he got 55 years,
was what he had.

♪

I was at the Super Bowl.
The Miami Dolphins

were playing the
San Francisco 49ers.

They paged me,
"Mike Graham!

Mike Graham! Please come
to the box office."

I walked into the box
office, and said, "Hey,

my name's Mike Graham.
You paged me?"

And the woman goes, "Oh,
yeah, you gotta call home."

Call home.

"What's wrong, what's wrong,
what's wrong?"

"It's your dad."
"Dad?

What's wrong
with my dad?"

His wife, Lucy,
went out-

is what she told
my daughter.

And when she came back,
he had shot himself,

not once,
but twice.

That's what I heard from
what the coroner said.

And, I will spare you
the gory details

about the bedroom.

He's in the hospital, and
he's hooked up to machines,

and a family member
has to say to

unplug him or
keep him alive.

And I got back home
the next morning...

and went to the hospital,
and there he sat,

back in the corner of his
head all bandaged up

and everything.

And I said, "Well,
it was no accident."

So, I looked at Mom,
and I said, "Mom,

you know,
we gotta do it.

He wouldn't want to be
here like this."

So, we went out and said,
"Okay, pull it."

And he lived about...

ah, 5 minutes.

It was shocking.

I mean, everybody was
in a state of shock.

It is with a deep set of
regret that I announce to you

at this time the untimely
death of a friend,

a colleague,
and a leader...

Eddie Graham.

♪

I immediately
started crying.

I, I couldn't
believe it, I mean...

Why?
Why, Eddie?

Why would you do
that to your son?

To your...

to your grandchildren.

We were young, but
my brother was like,

"If he loved us so much,
how could he do this?"

My brother was very attached
to my grandfather,

yeah,
very attached.

[Kevin] I think that people
knew he was depressed,

but they never thought
Eddie would go that far.

He was keeping
that to himself.

[Dotty] I think he bottled a
lot of it up because

he didn't want people to
know he wasn't

as strong as his
outside persona was.

He realized that if he let
people know he was weak that

there were people that would
love to have just walked in

and taken over, and I think
he was probably

fighting for the
territory, too.

♪

We hear the news, "Eddie
Graham's dead." And...

holy shit, what's gonna
happen to Florida?

We found out
within a year,

Florida was on
its last legs.

Vince McMahon was starting
the national expansion

in 1984, and the territories
were going out of business

because Vince was trying
to suck up all the talent.

When WWE...

started robbing
the territories,

Eddie saw the writing
on the wall...

probably much earlier than
most of the people did.

Yeah.

Yeah, big time.

Well, Dusty left.

Took the whole
crew with him.

Dad had spent years
getting Dusty over and

creating Dusty Rhodes,
but when Dusty left,

he took half the
territory with him.

And that really
made Dad mad.

It was like he was almost
trying to kill the territory

for taking all the
talent with him.

In 1984, Dusty Rhodes
leaves Florida

to work for
Jim Crockett Promotions.

With the wrestling
industry in chaos,

Mike Graham is still reeling
from his father's death

when he inherits the
daunting task of leading

Championship Wrestling
From Florida.

Mike picked up like a man,

ran the territory and...

you know,
life went on.

[Jim] Mike was,
obviously,

attempting to
fill his father's shoes.

It wasn't just him trying
to do everything,

but it just, it wasn't
the same place.

Where have you been?
You've been home!

-[Indistinct shouting]
-Hey, shut up a second!

They even ran an angle
after Eddie's death.

The Freebirds
were down there,

and they were trying to heat
things up, and they thought,

well, if we desecrate the
memory of Florida's most

popular wrestler ever,
then the fans will hate us.

Like father, like son!
You're a loser!

[Fans shouting
& screaming]

Eddie would have wanted
Mike to use his death

in something that
enhanced wrestling.

I'm gonna prove to you that
he was more of a man

than the three of you will
ever be as long as you live.

Your [censored] are mine.

It was too far,
it was too much.

The fans could tell it was
desperation because

they could see the
crowds had shrunk.

[Nicole] At the time, things
were already shifting.

I guess cable TV was
starting to come out.

And my dad was
just trying to

keep it afloat and,
no matter what he did,

it wasn't gonna
quite stay afloat.

Struggling under the
weight of Eddie's absence,

the once great territory
lasts just two more years

before closing its doors.

Eddie would've been the only
one to be able to save it

because of all
the NWA promoters,

of every other territory
in the country,

the one guy that had the
best relationship

with Vince McMahon Sr,

and would have had
one with Vince Jr,

was Eddie Graham,
and he was gone.

Mike and I were at a bar

having a couple beers...

just talking about his dad,
and all of a sudden,

he broke down.

I could tell that his dad
not being there

weighed heavy on Mike
every single day.

Already grieving the death
of his father and the

loss of their family's
wrestling empire,

Mike Graham is soon to face
another devastating tragedy.

Following his father's death
and the collapse of

their company, Mike Graham
must now forge a new path

outside the promotion that
has defined his life's work.

This should be an
interesting matchup-

Mike Graham and
Diamond Dallas Page-

to take on Bill Cashier and
Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

By that point, Mike was
closing in on 40.

He got a position with WCW,
and he was trying to

help mentor some of
the younger guys.

Obviously, people who knew
Mike and knew Eddie

respected him and etc.,
but I think, unfortunately,

he never made his mark in WCW
as anybody with a lot of pull

because he was just one of
the soldiers at that point.

Ah, right in the face!

I think that when it shifted
and it was more theatrics,

it was being written by
people that had no idea

about wrestling,
he got a little bit bitter

'cause he was old school.

My dad was definitely
not a corporate guy.

Mike never reached the
pinnacle of Eddie's dreams,

but he still had a very
successful wrestling career

and, he was a
good businessman.

He had a great lifestyle,
he lived on the water.

He had a multitude
of boats.

He won a bunch of
offshore races.

[Nicole] My brother loved
racing boats, and so,

my dad and brother
actually got the chance

to race a couple times.

My dad never wanted
to sit still.

He would always
be like,

"Yeah, you sleep
when you die."

He got his first tattoo
when he was 40,

and it was, like a skull
with like fire coming

out of the head and
a lightning bolt

going through it.

And then underneath it,
it said, "Peace of Mind".

So, my dad would always
talk to my brother about it.

Peace of mind, like,
if you don't have it...

you have nothing.

But like his
father before him,

Mike's search for inner
peace often ends

at the bottom of a bottle.

He had two driver's
licenses, actually.

One, legally,
under Mike Gossett,

and one under
Mike Graham.

♪

So, Mike Gossett
got one DUI.

Then Mike Graham got one.

And then, his drinking
got so much worse.

After my grandfather
passed away,

he was miserable and...

it just,
he changed.

Normally, you know,
my dad was not like that.

He never showed that
side to my brother and I.

He was always
just upbeat.

More tough to like
my brother, I think,

because he wanted him to
be a strong, strong man.

Stephen did have
to fight and...

prove that he wasn't
a wimp, growing up.

Because he was from a
wrestling family and

he did have kind of like
a stronger build,

I think everyone
expected him to be

some tough,
mean guy.

I think that that hurt him
in the long run,

but he just kind of
never found his stride.

We talked every day,
you know,

text, phone call,
whatever.

I sent my brother a
text in the morning,

and he didn't respond,
and I just thought

he was working or
doing something.

And then my
dad called me,

asking me if I'd
heard from Stephen.

And I was like,
"I'll go check on him."

♪

And so, that's how
we found out...

that he took his life.

♪

When I found my brother,
I, you know,

ran outside and I
called my dad first.

♪

My dad was saying
he'd be there.

I'm like, "No, no, don't
come here, don't come here."

♪

And so, once I
was able to leave,

I walked in the kitchen
with my dad, and he said...

[Exhaling sharply]

He said, "It's a
good thing you found Stephen

because if I would
have found him,

you'd be burying both of us
'cause I'd have

taken my life right
then and there."

[B. Brian Blair]
It just floored me.

I don't know what the demons
were that got him.

Again, now I hear his, his
sister, poor, little Nicole,

you know, just...
distraught.

His dad, everybody,
distraught, you know.

It just didn't have to be.

I wasn't expecting it,
um, at all.

'Cause Stephen and I went
through and saw

how hard it was with
my grandfather.

We saw what it
did to my dad.

We saw how it absolutely
destroyed our family.

But, with my grandfather
doing what he did,

I felt that it
made it an option.

It turned into something
that my brother felt,

"Ah, he did it." Now we
have my grandfather,

and my brother-
who is my best friend-

you know, and I
found my brother.

So, everyone was so
worried about me.

But, I was worried
about my dad.

Haunted by the death of
his son, Stephen,

in 2010, Mike Graham
struggles with the pain of

losing another family
member to suicide.

I think every parent
blames themself.

He said, "I must have
been a shitty son and

a shitty father."
Pretty heavy.

Sometimes we're our
own worst critics,

and we're hard on ourselves
about different things, and...

I think that, you know,
there's many things that

Mike could have
thought about,

and it was just another
one of the things

just knocking on
the bad side of his brain.

You know, between his dad
and now my brother,

he just, he just absolutely
was crushed.

[Kevin] Mike and I were close,
but we weren't that

fuzzy, fuzzy good
feeling close.

He called me up
and said,

"Hey, you know I
love you, right?"

I said, "I love you too,
Mike."

And that was it,
he hung up the phone.

♪

My dad met my daughter
and I at a park,

and I was like, "Dad,
this ends with Stephen."

I'm like, "Look at her.
She doesn't deserve this.

What your dad
did was horrible.

What Stephen did...

we're never gonna recover
from it, but this ends now.

Look at her.
She doesn't deserve this."

And he was like,
"You're right, Nicole.

You're right, Nicole.
You're right."

[Exhaling sharply]

Less than two years later,
he did the same.

Well, he was in
Daytona Beach.

Bike Week or
something...

with his wife.

And...

from what I gather...

she went outside and said

she was gonna go
see some friends.

♪

When she got back
and opened the door,

simultaneously she
heard a gunshot.

♪

And, there was Mike-

dead- in his son
Stephen's boots.

♪

He couldn't
break the cycle.

You can't see what's
behind the person's eyes.

They're telling you one
thing, they're smiling,

but they may be,
you know,

they may be just absolutely
torn up inside.

Then you realize he's gone.

End of story,
you know.

No more,
there's no more.

I mean, I was still trying
to pick up the pieces

after my brother.

And it wasn't, it was less
than two years apart

between my brother
and my dad.

After the conversations
I had with my dad,

asking him, telling him,
begging him,

"Please, this ends
with Stephen,"

it was just a different
level of pain.

♪

Mike had been away from
wrestling for some time,

and I hadn't seen him
in years,

but then the news
comes out, and I-

That was a shock.

Even if you're not shocked
at anything in wrestling,

you still think, well,
the same thing

can't happen to two
different generations.

They can't do
the same thing.

And it happened to
three generations.

You just,
how much...

the same family, what-
how much more can go on?

The pattern of suicide that
haunts the Gossett family

reaches far beyond Eddie,
Mike, and Stephen.

This heartbreaking
cycle of tragedy actually

spans four generations,
and five men.

A lot of people
don't know this,

but Eddie's father
killed himself.

And also, Eddie's brother,
Skip, killed himself.

It's a very vicious cycle

when you have more
than one suicide.

One suicide is
one too many.

But when you have multiple
suicides within

the same family
structure, it's...

just tragic.

My only explanation
or thought,

'cause I'm not a
doctor, obviously,

but is that when
one happens,

then it makes it viable
for someone else

when they're
having a hard time.

And also, the fact
that depression and

addiction is hereditary.

And unless you have
someone step in and

recognize it, and
get help, and...

let them know that it's not
normal what you're feeling,

but it's gonna be okay,

that just wasn't quite
happening in my family.

Big-time lesson to learn,
because it isn't just...

the people that go.

It's the people that
are left behind.

Every burden for
Nicole to carry,

and every burden
for her daughter.

We are at the old Armory,
which is now the

Brian Glazer Jewish
Community Center.

And, Larry Simon,
who was Boris Malenka,

who my grandfather
had huge feuds with,

his son helped put this
together in a way to

commemorate all the
wrestlers that came here

every Tuesday for
many, many years.

So, it's, it's pretty
great to see, actually.

This is my, my dad
and my grandfather.

[Announcer] Mike and
Eddie Graham have won

the Florida tag team
championship.

"Nothing can keep
the fans away.

This was the home of
the Titans of Tampa.

And this will always be
the house that

Championship Wrestling
From Florida built."

[Voice breaking
& sniffling]

♪

I think wrestling fans
should know that

they absolutely
respected the fans.

And I hope that the fans
that met them felt that.

There was so much good.

So much laughter.

A lot of good times,
and...

those are the things that I
focus on more than anything

else because they were
really exceptional people.

I remember Eddie, my
Papaw, as bare-chested,

with a cast net off the
dock catching mullet for us.

A lot of love,
a lot of love.

My brother, my bestie,
my best friend.

I just wish he knew how
everyone loved him and

wanted to be
there for him.

[Sighing] Dad.

♪

We had that...

tough relationship because
I called him out on things.

But there was so much
love and respect.

♪

I miss my dad so much.

I wish he was here to
see my daughter grow up.

Because he's
missing out on a lot,

but that I miss him.

Some of the best times
of my life were

with the Grahams,
and...

with all the people that the
Grahams brought in.

There is a plethora
of good times.

A plethora of good times.

They were dear
friends of mine.

I enjoyed my
time with them.

Wish we could have
had a lot more days.

The thing to do is
not dwell on the bad.

Dwell on the good, that's
what gets me through.

Nicole,
love her, love her.

She's the legacy
of that family.

This is my grandfather
being silly with me, always.

[Laughing]

And it took me a while
to get to a place where

I felt like I could finally
offer some type of assistance.

And so, I found the Crisis
Center of Tampa Bay.

And they offer
amazing services and,

I feel that I've come to
a point in my recovery and

healing that I can,
hopefully,

get a word out there that may
strike a chord with someone

to make them call for help,
or survivors that are

struggling to get
out of bed because

they've lost
family members,

to know that they should
live their lives,

to honour those
that they have lost.

There has to be a lesson to
everybody that's watching

this program that if
you feel suicidal,

there's help just right
around the corner.

And, I don't care
who you are,

somebody loves you.
Always.

You have to just make that
step by reaching out to

someone, just to say,
"Something's not right.

I'm having
these thoughts."

Just speak up,
is what I'd ask.

You can have fame,
family, money, like,

but if you don't have
that peace of mind,

you have nothing.

My grandfather and my dad
clearly didn't have it.

And, my brother
didn't have it,

but it occurred to me

less than a year ago
that I have it.

And I had been wanting
to get a tattoo-

I'm not a tattoo person-

and all I wanted was my
handwriting that says,

"peace of mind"
and a semicolon,

which represents mental
health, you know,

suicide awareness.
Very simple.

And it's just an
amazing reminder of

where I've gotten
with my life,

and how I feel in peace.

I have so much to
be grateful for,

and I'm going to live my
best life because

that's the best way
I can honour them.

I am so happy right now.
Things are great.

My daughter's thriving.
Amazing friends, family.

Like, I'm, I'm really
happy actually.

Does it show?
[Laughing]

♪

♪

♪