Jesse Ventura Pays His Respects to Superstar Billy Graham

– In a video posted on Substack, WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura paid his respects to the late “Superstar” Billy Graham, who he credited as a major inspiration for him starting a career in professional wrestling. Ventura stated on Billy Graham:

“He was the decade before me and Hulk Hogan and all of us in the ’80s. It was Superstar Billy Graham that was my inspiration that got me to become a pro wrestler. If he wouldn’t have happened, there wouldn’t have been a Hulk Hogan, there wouldn’t have been a Jesse Ventura, there wouldn’t have been many people in the business. That was the impact that Superstar had. He was the first wrestler who brought a bodybuilder’s body, a physique of that level into the world of pro wrestling with the tie-dye trunks, the sunglasses, and the hip talk and all that. His timing was perfect back then in the ’70s, and Superstar became the biggest star in professional wrestling for about three to four years when he defeated Bruno Sammartino for the then WWWF World Heavyweight Championship.

Billy Graham passed away last week. He was 79 years old.