"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and "Superstar" Billy Graham's feud for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was a legendary one - so legendary that even after the belt was out of the picture, the two were still at each other's throats... eventually facing off in three Madison Square Garden matches broadcast on television. One of them was the infamous Texas Death match.
Billy Graham's career ended before the Attitude Era, so it's possible that many of the younger generation don't know who he is. It's hard to, unless you study professional wrestling's history. That said, it's very important to know who Graham is to understand this match and the rivalry that he and Rhodes had.
Graham was a heel, and incorporated flamboyancy, posing and feats of strength into his showing off. At the time, no one was as built as Graham. Lean, tall and huge. He was also an extremely important champion in wrestling's history. An equally flamboyant manager called The Grand Wizard, arguably one of the greatest heel managers of all time and definitely one of the greatest of the 70s, helped promote Graham during his peak.
"Superstar" Billy Graham defeated Bruno Sammartino in 1977 to win the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship - and was a heel from the very beginning of his reign, winning the championship match with his feet on the ropes. Sammartino's reign had lasted since the end of 1973, and although it was not his legendary seven and a half year reign, Sammartino had still held the belt for over three whole years when he lost it. What would follow one unprecedented championship reign was yet another, but this time for the Superstar.
Back in those days, heels weren't champions. When a heel beat a face, it was only so another face could beat that heel. Heels, when it came to the belt, served as transitional champions and rarely anything more. Billy Graham's nine and a half month run as champion, all the while a heel, was a first for the WWWF and probably professional wrestling. Graham swept the nation and was a huge name, known the world over as the bad guy, and an imposing sight to behold.
As Champion, Graham would face many opponents from around the world, but no opponent captured the attention of America like Dusty Rhodes.
Dusty Rhodes' career lasted a while longer than Graham's, so he's probably a more familiar name with young fans. By the time Rhodes and Graham met, the American Dream was one of the biggest names in the NWA. He was an established fan favorite and arguably the biggest name in wrestling as far as Georgia and Florida fans were concerned.
The "American Dream" everyman gimmick worked well for Rhodes, and he was the perfect guy to face the pompous and showy Superstar. This was all before Dusty's time with WCW or Vincent Kennedy McMahon's WWF, but Rhodes was still way over, and the perfect face to meet Graham in the ring.
Graham and Rhodes's early matches against one and another never ended well. Either by count out, DQ or miracle the Superstar always came out ahead. The pair fought at Madison Square Garden three times. In the first match (I can't find a recording of this match - Sorry!), Rhodes won by count out. The second match is what we're here to talk about. The third match took place after Graham's title reign had came to an end.
October 24th 1977. A month after the first headline match at the Garden, "Superstar" Billy Graham (with manager The Grand Wizard) and "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes would fight in a Texas Death match... and what a night it was. The card was stacked, but Dusty and Graham were the main event. The Texas Death match meant different things throughout the land, but in the WWWF it meant a no disqualification match where the first to get a fall won the prize.
After Graham won the match, he and Rhodes would continue feuding when they crossed paths, even after Graham's historic title reign was ended at the hands of Bob Backlund. Eventually, a third match took place - a Texas Bullrope match, where Rhodes and Graham ripped into each other with a bullrope while Chief Jay Strongbow played ref. Through 1977 and 1978, the pair fought at least twenty-five singles matches against each other.
The two would go some more in 1984, when they reignited their rivalry in Florida.
Rhodes would go on to work very successfully with Jim Crockett Promotions, then the WWF. Eventually, Rhodes became a booker for WCW, and was part of the broadcast team as well as occasional wrestler. He would continue to have very notable feuds, including another as legendary as his with Grahams when he and Ric Flair butted heads.
Rhodes would move on to the independent circuit and operated his own promotion (Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling) out of Georgia for a few years, training the next generation of stars. Rhodes also worked with TNA for a time.
Rhodes returned to WWE in 2005, and is still there as a "legend" alongside his sons, Cody and Dustin, who work under the Stardust and Goldust names. Rhodes was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by Cody and Dustin.
Graham's career, on the other hand, more or less ended with his feud with Rhodes, and he never quite recovered from the loss of his belt and the end of his rivalry with Rhodes. He went around the NWA a bit before he settled back in the WWF, though he also worked with Jim Crockett Promotions for a time. His last run in WWF was tarnished by injury and the strains of his legendary career and steroid abuse. Graham's medical complications had retired him from the ring by the end of the 1980s.
In 2004, Triple H inducted Graham into the WWE Hall of Fame. Triple H said Graham was one of his inspirations to become a wrestler. Graham stayed with WWE as a "legend" for a time. Eventually, mounting medical bills forced Graham to sell his Hall of Fame ring on the internet, and disagreements with WWE regarding his use of steroids caused him to distance himself from the company before he left in 2009.
Today, Rhodes continues to appear occasionally on television. Graham's health problems have forced him out of the public eye.
Graham's manager at the time of the match, Ernie Roth (The Grand Wizard), would never serve as manager for another world champion after Graham lost the title. Roth died in 1983 of a heart attack. In 1995, Sgt. Slaughter inducted Roth into the WWE Hall of Fame.
This match and the feud that went with it are important because they showed what two people with chemistry could do together, and made both Graham and Rhodes national names. Graham's legendary career and the Dusty Rhodes feud pretty much go hand in hand, and Dusty Rhodes would probably never have become the Dusty we all know and love if it wasn't for the feud, either.
The Championship reign that inspired the feud changed wrestling for good, and set a precedent that heels could actually be long-term champions.
The Texas Death match itself would become a classic example of "hardcore" wrestling before that was even really a thing, and along with the later bullrope matches would further lend credence to the idea that gimmick matches could work wonderfully.
All in all, this match was one of the boiling points of one of the most historic feuds of all time. It's hard to ignore, and it's something everyone should be aware of.
There. I think that could serve as a final draft? Until you know what kind of formatting changes are needed, anyway. Pass it around the mods or anyone else you think could offer constructive criticism.