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00:00Gracias por ver el video.
00:30Y es un gran promotor, era un visionario.
00:32Eddie's championship wrestling for Florida.
00:34It was built on wrestling, and the main events were violent.
00:39He gave the people the circus.
00:42Eddie Graham coming back into that ring after Killer Knapp.
00:45Eddie Graham was a titan of professional wrestling who ruled his era
00:49and passed on his iconic legacy to his only son, Mike.
00:53The son of any great athlete, they've got the scrutiny on him.
00:56But Mike Graham didn't take shit off anybody.
00:58I think maybe he felt like he had to be as good as his father.
01:04Mike Graham followed in his father's footsteps to wrestling greatness
01:08and also descended into his own dark world of pain, addiction, and grief.
01:13The wrestling culture is very cutthroat.
01:16You have to have this thing about you where nothing's going to break you.
01:20He was under tremendous pressure from so many different angles.
01:24Mike kept shit to himself, too, like his father.
01:27The apple didn't fall far from a tree.
01:30My mom gets pushed under the rug.
01:32In certain families, who are you supposed to go to for help?
01:35The tragic legacy of a wrestling dynasty,
01:38haunted by self-destruction and suicide.
01:41It is with a deep sense of regret that I announce the untimely death of a friend, colleague, and a leader.
01:47It was like somebody dropped a bomb on all of us.
01:51We're a father, father, and we're a kid.
01:55That runs in the family genes, right?
01:58Once that spotlight's gone or once you don't have that ring, like, it's emptiness.
02:01Championship wrestling from Florida was one of the most respected and successful wrestling promotions of modern times.
02:17The legacy of the Graham family in Florida is they meant professional wrestling to millions of people
02:24all over the state for almost 30 years.
02:27One member of the Graham family was on the card or in the main event or behind the scenes
02:33in the glory years when they were selling a million tickets a year just in the state of Florida to see live matches.
02:40And their TV ratings were Super Bowl level.
02:43I guess I was used to it.
02:44Like, when you don't know what's different, it's just what your life is.
02:47And I just knew that that was a huge part of, like, my grandfather and my dad's life.
02:52I am Nicole Gossett, and Eddie Graham was my grandfather, and Mike Graham is my father.
02:57And that's Eddie Graham in the center of the ring now, his son Mike watching very carefully.
03:02Every Sunday, they'd have matches with the Eddie Graham Stadium.
03:05And the first phone call in the morning was my grandfather calling my dad to talk about the night.
03:10We'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?
03:16Because we had different wrestlers sleeping on our couch at times.
03:19Magnum T.A., Terry Allen, when he first started, he slept on our couch, and he was so sweet.
03:23And so I was pretty accustomed to having big, boisterous personalities and people around.
03:28The one that scared me was Andre the Giant.
03:30When he came, like, crouching through our front door, he freaked me out.
03:33Yeah, I was scared.
03:36That was the family business.
03:39Everybody wanted to be on the roster of championship wrestling from Florida,
03:45both for the money, for the weather, for the girls, and also to learn from Eddie Graham.
03:51I'm Jim Cornette.
03:53I've had a 40-year career in professional wrestling,
03:55but for even longer than that, I've been a collector and an historian.
03:59Eddie could make you believe that he was the toughest man in the state of Florida,
04:05which is exactly what most of the fans believed.
04:07He just had a magnetism about him, and he was somebody that you wanted to listen to,
04:12and if you were working for him, you wanted to follow.
04:15A leader, a general.
04:16When I was born up in the Tennessee mountains, brother,
04:19if you didn't have heart and desire, you were finished to begin with.
04:22So I ain't gonna lay down and quit.
04:24That's my bottom line.
04:26There you have it.
04:27The comments from Eddie Graham.
04:29There goes a wrestler and one hell of a man.
04:33Eddie was a legend in Florida.
04:36He could get a reaction just walking to the ring.
04:38My name is Kevin Sullivan.
04:41I worked for the Graham family for decades,
04:44and I've been a wrestler for over 50 years.
04:47Your nightmare is just starting.
04:51Eddie was about five, ten and a half, wide shoulders,
04:55leech blonde hair, and he just had a presence about nobody else was ever in his class.
05:01The genius of the business, R. Einstein.
05:05Eddie was from the hills in Chattanooga.
05:07He had a very difficult life.
05:09His father died young.
05:11Eddie came up through the College of Hard Knocks.
05:15Just a good old tough country boy.
05:18My name is Dottie Curtis,
05:20and I am the wife of the late Don Curtis.
05:25Don was a very, very knowledgeable wrestler.
05:29Don and Eddie met back in around 52, I think it was.
05:34They became friends, and Eddie asked Don to come up here to Jacksonville,
05:40and he was the promoter up here for quite a few years.
05:43Now it's Graham for the good solid chop across the throat.
05:46Eddie Graham is probably one of the finest wrestlers that was around in his time.
05:53I don't think there'll ever be another Eddie Graham.
05:57Though born Edward Gossett, Eddie's wrestling career is forever altered
06:01when he adopts the Graham name from one of the ring's top stars.
06:06The originator of the Graham wrestling family dynasty was Dr. Jerry Graham.
06:12He had the bleached hair, and he carried himself like a star,
06:16and what's more, he had the gift of gab.
06:18We will be the international tag team champions as soon as that match comes off,
06:22and it's going to be the greatest match ever.
06:24Brother teams in New York were over at the time.
06:28But if you could find a guy that looks something like you,
06:32nobody's reading your birth certificate, just say it's your brother.
06:34Eddie Gossett was in Texas wrestling as Rip Rogers,
06:40and a lot of people told him, you look like Jerry Graham.
06:45Jerry and Eddie connected, and in 1958, the Graham brothers,
06:50the Golden Grahams, as a team, ruled the roost in wrestling
06:54in the biggest TV market in the country, where wrestling is already red hot,
06:58being presented in the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden.
07:02Dr. Graham has just the treatment for that tired, nagging backache.
07:06Eddie performs the surgery while Jerry looks on approvingly.
07:09If you could sell out Madison Square Garden, you could sell out anywhere.
07:13Eddie and Dr. Jerry made a fantastic duo,
07:18aided by everybody, and just really drew the crowds in.
07:23And just main eventing Madison Square Garden,
07:25they were probably making close to six figures per year in 1958 and 1959,
07:32and that would translate into somewhere over a million bucks apiece in today's money.
07:37With money and fame to burn, Eddie and Jerry are box office sensations.
07:42But before long, Dr. Jerry's behavior outside the ring
07:45becomes even more notorious than his matches.
07:49Dr. Jerry Graham, as big of a genius as he was in wrestling,
07:53was an alcoholic, was mentally ill,
07:56and he got in a lot of trouble and caused a lot of trouble.
08:00Jerry Graham, to impress fans, used to light his cigars with $100 bills.
08:06Or he would walk into a biker bar and walk right up in front of a guy and say,
08:10hey, my name's Balls, you got any?
08:13But the most shocking incident involving Jerry Graham transpires years later
08:20in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.
08:23One day he got the word that his mother was sick and in the hospital.
08:27And he called the hospital and he told the doctor
08:29that his mother better come out of that hospital in good health.
08:33And then she died.
08:34So, Dr. Jerry Graham shows up with a 12-gauge shotgun,
08:41a .38 caliber revolver, and an 8-inch long hunting knife.
08:46And appears in the intensive care unit where he fires a shot
08:50at the doctor.
08:54And then goes down the hallway and grabs the gurney
08:57that his mother's body is on.
09:00And as he's taking it down the hallway,
09:03here come the orderlies and the interns.
09:06And they're trying to tackle him.
09:08So he grabs his mother's corpse and slings her over his shoulder.
09:14And he's screaming, I just want to take her and bury her.
09:21Jerry Graham was so good at his chosen profession
09:24that he was also completely, utterly insane.
09:28After two years, Eddie Graham could not put up
09:34with being partners with Jerry Graham anymore.
09:37And he had to leave the greatest spot that he'd ever had.
09:41In 1960, Eddie uproots his family from New York
09:44and settles in Tampa,
09:45the hub of championship wrestling from Florida.
09:49He was a visionary.
09:50He said to himself,
09:51I know my capabilities as a wrestler.
09:54I can get over here.
09:56I can be the star.
09:58And this whole thing can be bigger.
10:00And over the next 25 years,
10:02not only did he become the most successful wrestler
10:05in the history of Florida and the most popular,
10:08but he worked his way into being able to buy into the promotion,
10:12then taking it over completely
10:13and expanding wrestling in the state of Florida
10:16and made it the place that everybody wanted to go
10:20to wrestle and to learn.
10:22Eddie probably bought the territory
10:24just knowing that he had the wherewithal,
10:28the brains, the connections with the talent
10:31to take the territory to another level.
10:34All the wrestlers from championship wrestling from Florida
11:00gave their all every Tuesday night at that place.
11:03Growing up in Tampa,
11:04these wrestlers were just huge.
11:06Fans wouldn't come up to them.
11:07We couldn't go anywhere without someone
11:09wanting to talk to my dad or my granddad.
11:11And it was telling that Eddie Graham
11:13would have continued good relations
11:15with Vince McMahon Sr.
11:17and later on with Vince McMahon Jr.
11:20He was someone that the other promoters
11:22all called to ask for advice.
11:25The president of the NWA, Eddie Graham,
11:27now describing the conditions in the contract.
11:30Both wrestlers are deposed.
11:31The National Wrestling Alliance
11:33was an organization of promoters
11:34from regional territories all over the country.
11:37There was no major decision made in the NWA
11:40without consulting Eddie Graham.
11:43He was president twice.
11:45He was well-respected.
11:47But he was a complicated guy.
11:51Eddie would do some violent things.
11:53He was a tough, tough person.
11:55You either did what he told you to do
11:58or you were out.
12:01Now, there was the side of Eddie Graham
12:04that did want to keep the credibility
12:06of the wrestling business.
12:08And guys were expected to lay shit in
12:11to make people believe
12:12what they were doing was real.
12:14Eddie Graham was a stickler.
12:16He said,
12:16If anybody here gets their ass kicked
12:19by a mark, you're fired.
12:21In other words,
12:22you get your butt kicked by a wrestling fan,
12:24you're out of here.
12:25You protect the business at all costs.
12:27I guess you could call it
12:28maybe a horror chamber down there
12:32at the Sportatorium.
12:34But fellas would say they want to wrestle.
12:37And they figured all you had to do
12:38was get in the ring and perform.
12:39They'd put them through their paces
12:44and, you know, some of them were just,
12:46they couldn't take it.
12:48I had to do things that I'm not proud of,
12:52that I didn't like to do.
12:55A couple of them I did.
12:58Well, they wanted you to break people's bones.
13:06Somehow, this guy got booked for TV.
13:09He said,
13:09Oh, I've worked some local shows.
13:12I'm a butcher by trade.
13:14And I see Eddie's ass burke up on your dogs.
13:17And the guy says,
13:18I'm going to make you look good.
13:19I'm going to tell all the guys
13:20you're a nice guy.
13:22The guy just off the corner.
13:23And he said,
13:25If he doesn't come back bleeding,
13:26you're through.
13:31I kept my job.
13:36Your marching orders were to make this guy bleed.
13:38I had a family.
13:40At that period,
13:41it was my livelihood.
13:43Wasn't his livelihood.
13:45He was going to go back to that job no matter what.
13:48Worst thing I probably ever did.
13:51Eddie's hard-nosed ambition
13:53to dominate the wrestling trade
13:55is all-consuming.
13:56But his desire for power
13:58is far from his only flaw.
14:00wrestler and promoter Eddie Graham
14:09is known for his unrelenting drive,
14:12limitless ambition,
14:13and his determination
14:14to legitimize the business.
14:16Eddie was a go-getter.
14:19He had a portfolio
14:20of a lot of property.
14:23He expanded outside
14:25of the wrestling business.
14:26He wanted to write checks
14:28rather than receive checks.
14:30Eddie wanted to elevate
14:32the perception of wrestling.
14:34That's where he started getting involved
14:36with the Boys' Ranch
14:37and with charitable organizations
14:39in every town
14:40and every county in Florida.
14:42They're furthering amateur wrestling programs.
14:45Eddie was a rock star in Florida.
14:47I mean, politicians
14:48were kissing Eddie's ass.
14:51To be seen on Championship Press
14:52in Florida
14:53when you're running for office
14:55was a big deal.
14:56And I'm sure
14:57Eddie got favors from that, too.
15:00Eddie was involved
15:01in everything.
15:05I think Eddie
15:06put a lot of pressure on himself.
15:09He never wanted to
15:10fail in anything he did.
15:12And for most of the things
15:14that he did
15:14like flying
15:16and being a boatsman
15:17and that,
15:18diving,
15:19he was fabulous.
15:21His only problem was
15:22that alcohol got to him.
15:25One night,
15:26Eddie was drinking
15:27and decided
15:28he was going out
15:29on his boat.
15:31And his son, Mike,
15:32was panicking
15:33because he took off
15:34in the car.
15:34And so Mike,
15:35as a young boy,
15:36he got on his bicycle
15:37and he drove
15:39to a crossbridge
15:41over the water.
15:42and his idea was
15:44he was going to
15:46jump off that bridge
15:47and onto the boat
15:48because he was afraid
15:49his father would
15:50kill himself
15:51out in the water.
15:52And thank God
15:53he missed the boat.
15:54I mean,
15:55it wasn't there
15:55because if he'd have
15:57jumped off of that bridge,
15:58he would have possibly
16:00drowned in the water.
16:02That scared Eddie.
16:04That was one of his
16:05sobering moments,
16:06if you want to call it that.
16:07Mike idolized his father
16:11and vice versa.
16:13I believe you told me
16:14that your own boy
16:15does quite a little wrestling.
16:17Well, yes, he does.
16:18In fact, I'm hoping
16:19he'll take the state
16:20tournament
16:21in the 95-pound division.
16:23How old is he?
16:24He's 10 years old.
16:25Even though he's
16:26a lovable father,
16:27he was demanding.
16:29He put high expectations
16:30on Mike.
16:31Then when my dad
16:35started wrestling,
16:36he obviously started
16:36wrestling under Mike Graham.
16:38So maybe that gave him
16:40a little bit more
16:40of a chip on his shoulder
16:41at times.
16:42At 222 and 1⁄2 pounds,
16:44Mike Graham.
16:45Mike Graham.
16:46He gave me all the tools
16:48to get as good
16:50as I could get
16:51before I turned pro.
16:52But even at that,
16:53the pressure really,
16:54and a lot of it,
16:55came from him.
16:56I loved going someplace
16:57where he wasn't going to be
16:58because I knew I could go out,
17:00I could wrestle,
17:01I could come back
17:02and it was a constant
17:03scrutiny.
17:05My grandfather did
17:06throw my dad in the ring,
17:07be like, okay,
17:08let's see what you got.
17:09Graham breaking it up again,
17:10arm drag, tick down.
17:11I remember my dad
17:12always saying,
17:13Nicole, don't worry.
17:14The bigger they are,
17:15the harder they fall.
17:17So he was not intimidated
17:18by anyone's size.
17:20Mike was shorter
17:22and didn't have the same
17:23over-the-top personality,
17:25but he had the wrestling knowledge
17:28in there
17:29from growing up
17:29with Eddie Graham.
17:31And there it is.
17:31There's a fall
17:32right out of the booth.
17:33Mike Graham.
17:34So he was a very good worker.
17:37He was in plenty
17:38of great tag teams,
17:40but the attention
17:41never went on him specifically.
17:43And to be honest,
17:44he didn't want to be
17:44the top guy.
17:45He didn't want to be
17:46the big star
17:46because people would have said
17:48it was because of his father.
17:50Mike swallowed a lot of shit,
17:52you know,
17:52and left things go.
17:54He did it as well,
17:55if not better,
17:56than anybody I ever saw
17:57being a promoter's kid
17:59to blend in with the guys.
18:01And Graham after Kevin Sullivan.
18:03I had the pleasure
18:03of being his partner,
18:05and I had the pleasure
18:06of being his opponent.
18:07I can't believe this.
18:08They're going to hang him.
18:09I get violence told
18:10that I'm waiting for you.
18:11If you go to Mike's bad side,
18:13you're on his bad side,
18:14and he wasn't going to back down.
18:16He knew the pressure
18:17he was under.
18:18He couldn't go home
18:19if he got his ass kicked.
18:21My grandfather was bloody
18:23all the time, right?
18:24My dad also was bloody.
18:26So mornings in my house,
18:28my mom would get
18:28my brother and I up.
18:30My dad would be in bed
18:31because he'd get home so late,
18:32and he was just hungover,
18:33beat up,
18:34and we'd go in to, like,
18:35kiss my dad goodbye
18:36in the morning.
18:38And there'd be, like,
18:39tape on his forehead
18:40with blood
18:40and, like,
18:41bite marks on his finger
18:43and the smell of alcohol
18:44oozing from his body.
18:47And we'd kiss him goodbye.
18:49See you later, Dad.
18:49Have a good day.
18:50Let me turn right now
18:51to Mike Graham
18:52because I know he's...
18:53As the 1980s dawn,
18:55Mike Graham joins Eddie
18:57in steering the ship
18:58at Championship Wrestling
18:59from Florida
19:00as the company
19:01becomes a breeding ground
19:02for wrestling legends,
19:04including Hulk Hogan,
19:05Ric Flair,
19:06and Dusty Rhodes.
19:07I am the dream.
19:09I am the man.
19:10Go on with it, baby.
19:12Dusty was like
19:13the original surrogate son.
19:16He loved Dusty,
19:17and Dusty loved him, too.
19:19Dusty Rhodes, of course,
19:20was always around.
19:21We'd all go out
19:22to the beach together.
19:23Dusty would always say
19:24that fat looks better tan.
19:27Eddie Graham took Dusty
19:29under his wing,
19:30and he became
19:31the most popular wrestler
19:32in the history
19:33of the state of Florida.
19:34When Dusty turned babyface,
19:36the territory was on fire,
19:38and all of us became
19:39so close.
19:40We were like family.
19:41And now the ring
19:42beginning to fill.
19:43Jerry Briscoe charges in
19:44Don Serrano,
19:45Brian Blair,
19:46and a host of others.
19:47As this younger generation
19:49elevates the territory
19:50to a whole new level,
19:52Eddie, now in his 50s,
19:54decides to quit the ring
19:56for good,
19:57just as his pursuits
19:58outside of the business
19:59begin to bring him trouble.
20:02There were a lot of things
20:03going on in Eddie's life.
20:04He was torn between two women.
20:06He was in business
20:08with some shady characters.
20:10I could tell that
20:13Eddie was drinking too much.
20:15He was maybe taking
20:18too much medication.
20:19He had a lot of struggles
20:20in his life, personally.
20:25When he came back
20:27in the plane at nighttime,
20:29there was a store
20:32that was open,
20:33and he could get
20:34a cheap bottle of wine there.
20:37Every time he was driving,
20:39he would chug-a-lug
20:40that wine down,
20:42and he would take the bottle,
20:43and he'd throw it out
20:44of the car
20:45into the grass.
20:48And he came home one night,
20:50and the place wasn't open,
20:52and he was so desperate.
20:54He went out
20:55into the field there,
20:57and he groveled around
20:59in the dirt
21:01and found all these bottles,
21:04and he sat there
21:06in the field
21:06and drank the dregs
21:09out of those bottles.
21:11By this time,
21:13alcohol had taken over.
21:15He couldn't stop.
21:24Consumed by his alcoholism
21:26and burdened with personal
21:28and professional troubles,
21:29Eddie Graham struggles
21:31to find meaning
21:32beyond the ring.
21:33And over time,
21:34people forget
21:35who you are, right?
21:37My grandmother
21:38told a story
21:39about how they had gone
21:40to a restaurant,
21:42and they didn't know
21:43who he was.
21:44He wasn't
21:45in the spotlight anymore,
21:46but I remember
21:47my grandmother being like,
21:48how he was just
21:49not himself
21:49after that encounter.
21:54When that career's over,
21:56who are you?
21:57He was looking back
21:58in the mirror.
21:59One of the last checks
22:01my grandfather wrote
22:02was to a liquor store
22:04for $8,
22:06and in the memo
22:06it said,
22:07peace of mind.
22:10I think if anyone's
22:11had time of their life
22:12and they just can't
22:13find comfort
22:14within themselves
22:15and they feel like
22:15everything's out of control,
22:17you just don't have
22:17that peace of mind,
22:18and he couldn't find it.
22:21He turned 55,
22:23and I had gone over
22:25to my grandparents' house.
22:27And I was roller skating,
22:30and so I was like
22:30skating around him
22:31in circles,
22:32and I'm like,
22:33so what'd you get
22:33for your birthday?
22:35He's like,
22:3555.
22:37And I was like,
22:3855 what?
22:39He said,
22:4055 years.
22:42Looking back,
22:42I realize
22:43he was telling me
22:45that he was
22:46done.
22:51That he got 55 years
22:53is what he had.
22:54I was at the Super Bowl.
23:01The Miami Dolphins
23:01were playing
23:02the San Francisco 49ers.
23:04They paged me,
23:06Mike Graham,
23:06Mike Graham,
23:07please come to the box office.
23:09I walked into the box office
23:11and said,
23:11hey,
23:11my name's Mike Graham.
23:12They paged me,
23:13and the woman goes,
23:14oh yeah,
23:14you gotta call home.
23:16Call home.
23:17What's wrong?
23:18What's wrong?
23:18What's wrong?
23:19What's your dad?
23:21Dad?
23:22What's wrong with my dad?
23:23His wife Lucy
23:26went out,
23:27is what she told
23:29my daughter.
23:31And when she came back,
23:33he had shot himself
23:34not once,
23:35but twice.
23:37That's what I heard
23:38from what the coroner said.
23:42And I will spare you
23:44the gory details
23:45about the bedroom.
23:46He's in the hospital,
23:48and he's hooked up
23:49to machines,
23:50and a family member
23:51has to say
23:51to unplug him
23:52or keep him alive.
23:55And I got back home
23:56the next morning
23:57and walked to the hospital,
23:59and there he sat
24:00back in the corner,
24:01his head all bandaged up
24:02and everything.
24:04I said,
24:05well,
24:05it was no accident.
24:07So I looked at Mom,
24:08and I said,
24:08Mom,
24:10you know,
24:10you gotta do it.
24:12He wouldn't want
24:13to be here like this.
24:15So we went out.
24:16I said,
24:16okay,
24:17bullet.
24:18And he lived about
24:18five minutes.
24:25It was shocking.
24:26I mean,
24:27everybody was
24:28a state of shock.
24:31It is with a
24:32deep sense of regret
24:34that I announced
24:34to you
24:35at this time
24:35the untimely death
24:37of a friend,
24:39a colleague,
24:40and a leader,
24:41Eddie Graham.
24:43I immediately
24:48started crying.
24:52I couldn't believe it.
24:54I mean,
24:54why?
24:56Why, Eddie?
24:57Why would you
24:57do that to your son,
25:00to your,
25:01to your grandchildren?
25:04We were young,
25:05but my brother was like,
25:07if he loved us so much,
25:08how could he do this?
25:10My brother was
25:12very attached
25:13to my grandfather.
25:15Yeah,
25:15very attached.
25:18I think that
25:19people knew
25:20he was depressed,
25:21but they never thought
25:22Eddie would go that far.
25:24He was keeping that
25:25to himself.
25:26I think he bottled
25:29a lot of it up
25:30because he didn't
25:31want people to know
25:32he wasn't as strong
25:33as his outside persona was.
25:36He realized that
25:37if he let people know
25:39he was weak,
25:40that there were people
25:42that would love
25:42to have just
25:43walked in
25:44and taken over.
25:45And I think he was
25:46probably fighting
25:47for the territory, too.
25:48We hear the news.
25:52Eddie Graham's dead.
25:54And holy shit,
25:56what's going to happen
25:56to Florida?
25:57We found out
25:58within a year,
26:01Florida was
26:01on its last legs.
26:03Vince McMahon
26:04was starting
26:04the national expansion
26:05in 1984,
26:07and the territories
26:08were going out
26:09of business
26:09because Vince
26:10was trying to suck
26:10up all the talent.
26:12When WWE
26:13started robbing
26:16the territories,
26:17Eddie saw the writing
26:18on the wall
26:18probably much earlier
26:21than most of the people did.
26:24A year before
26:25Eddie passed away,
26:27the territory
26:29started struggling.
26:31Yeah, big time.
26:32Tell me about that.
26:34Well, Dusty left.
26:36Took the whole crew with him.
26:39Dad had spent years
26:40getting Dusty over
26:41and creating Dusty Road,
26:43but when Dusty left,
26:44he took half the territory
26:45with him.
26:46And that really
26:47made Dad mad.
26:48It was like he was
26:49almost trying to kill
26:50the territory
26:50for taking all
26:51the talent with him.
26:52In 1984,
26:54Dusty Rhodes
26:54leaves Florida
26:55to work for
26:56Jim Crockett Promotions.
26:58With the wrestling
26:59industry in chaos,
27:00Mike Graham
27:01is still reeling
27:02from his father's death
27:03when he inherits
27:04the daunting task
27:06of leading
27:06the territory.
27:08Mike picked up
27:09like a man,
27:10ran the territory,
27:11and, you know,
27:14life went on.
27:16Mike was obviously
27:18attempting to fill
27:20his father's shoes.
27:21It wasn't just him
27:22trying to do everything,
27:23but it just,
27:24it wasn't the same place.
27:25Where have you been?
27:26You've been home.
27:27Hey, shut up.
27:28A second one.
27:29They even ran an angle
27:30after Eddie's death
27:32with the Freebirds
27:32were down there
27:33and they were trying
27:34to heat things up
27:35and they thought,
27:36well, if we desecrate
27:37the memory of
27:38Florida's most popular
27:40wrestler ever,
27:41then the fans
27:42will hate us.
27:43It's like father,
27:44like son.
27:45You're a bold loser.
27:46Eddie would have wanted
27:49Mike to use
27:51his death
27:53in something
27:54that enhanced wrestling.
27:56I'm going to prove to you
27:57that he was more of a man
27:59than the three of you
28:00ever be.
28:01As long as you live,
28:03your asses are mine.
28:05It was too far.
28:06It was too much.
28:07The fans could tell
28:08it was desperation
28:09because they could see
28:10the crowds had shrunk.
28:12At the time,
28:13things were already shifting.
28:14I guess cable TV
28:15was starting to come out.
28:16And my dad was just
28:18trying to keep it afloat.
28:20And no matter what he did,
28:21it wasn't going to
28:22quite stay afloat.
28:24Struggling under the weight
28:25of Eddie's absence,
28:26the once great territory
28:28lasts just two more years
28:30before closing its doors.
28:32Eddie would have been
28:33the only one
28:33to be able to save it
28:34because of all
28:36of the NWA promoters
28:37of every other territory
28:39in the country,
28:40the one guy
28:41that had the best relationship
28:43with Vince McMahon Sr.
28:45and would have had one
28:46with Vince Jr.
28:48was Eddie Graham
28:49and he was gone.
28:50Mike and I
28:50were at a bar
28:51having a couple beers
28:53and just talking
28:55about his dad
28:55and all of a sudden
28:56he broke down.
28:57I could tell
28:58that his dad
28:59not being there
29:00weighed heavy
29:02on Mike
29:02every single day.
29:05already grieving the death
29:07of his father
29:08and the loss
29:09of their family's
29:10wrestling empire,
29:11Mike Graham is soon
29:12to face another
29:13devastating tragedy.
29:21Following his father's death
29:23and the collapse
29:24of their company,
29:25Mike Graham must now
29:26forge a new path
29:27outside the promotion
29:29that has defined
29:30his life's work.
29:31This should be
29:32an interesting matchup.
29:33Mike Graham
29:34and Diamond Dallas Page
29:35to take on Bill Kazmaier
29:37and Jusin Thunder Liger.
29:39By that point,
29:40Mike was closing in on 40.
29:42He got a position
29:43with WCW
29:44and he was trying
29:45to help mentor
29:46some of the younger guys.
29:48Obviously,
29:48people who knew Mike
29:49and knew Eddie
29:50respected him
29:51and et cetera,
29:52but I think unfortunately
29:53he never made his mark
29:55in WCW
29:56as anybody
29:57with a lot of pull
29:58because he was just
29:59one of the soldiers
30:00at that point.
30:01Right in the fence!
30:02I think that when it shifted
30:03and it was more theatrics,
30:06it was being written
30:07by people
30:08that had no idea
30:09about wrestling.
30:10He got a little bit bitter
30:11because he was old school.
30:13My dad was definitely
30:13not a corporate guy.
30:15Mike never reached
30:16the pinnacle
30:17of Eddie's dreams,
30:19but he still had
30:20a very successful
30:21wrestling career
30:22and he was
30:23a good businessman.
30:25He had a great lifestyle,
30:26lived on the water.
30:27He had an altitude of boats
30:30and he won a bunch
30:31of offshore races.
30:33My brother loved
30:34racing boats
30:35and so my dad
30:36and brother
30:37actually got the chance
30:38to race a couple times.
30:40My dad never wanted
30:42to sit still.
30:43He would always be like,
30:44yeah, you sleep
30:45when you die.
30:46He got his first tattoo
30:47when he was 40
30:48and it was
30:50like a skull
30:51with like fire
30:52coming out of the head
30:53and a lightning bolt
30:54going through it
30:54and then underneath it
30:56it said peace of mind.
30:57So my dad
31:00would always talk
31:01to my brother and I
31:01about it.
31:02Peace of mind.
31:03Like if you don't have it,
31:05you have nothing.
31:07But like his father
31:08before him,
31:09Mike's search
31:10for inner peace
31:10often ends
31:11at the bottom
31:12of a bottle.
31:14He had two driver's licenses
31:15actually.
31:15One legally
31:16under Mike Gossett
31:17and one under
31:18Mike Graham.
31:18So Mike Gossett
31:22got one DUI,
31:23then Mike Graham
31:24got one
31:24and then his drinking
31:27got so much worse.
31:30After my grandfather
31:31passed away,
31:32he was miserable
31:33and it just,
31:36he changed.
31:37Normally,
31:37you know,
31:38my dad was not like that.
31:39He never showed that side
31:41to my brother and I.
31:41He was always just upbeat.
31:43More tough to like
31:44my brother, I think,
31:45because he wanted him
31:46to be a strong,
31:47strong man.
31:49Steven did have to fight
31:51and prove
31:53that he wasn't
31:54a wimp growing up.
31:57Because he was
31:58from a wrestling family
32:00and he did have
32:00kind of like
32:01a stronger build,
32:02I think everyone
32:02expected him
32:04to be some tough,
32:06mean guy.
32:08I think that
32:09that hurt him
32:10in the long run,
32:12but he just kind of
32:14never found his stride.
32:17We talked every day,
32:18you know,
32:19text,
32:19phone call,
32:20whatever.
32:21I sent my brother
32:22text in the morning.
32:23He didn't respond.
32:24I just thought
32:24he was working
32:25or doing something.
32:26And then my dad
32:27called me
32:27asking me
32:28if I'd heard from Steven.
32:31And I was like,
32:31I'll go check on him.
32:36And so that's how
32:37we found out
32:37that he took his life.
32:40When I found my brother,
32:48I, you know,
32:49ran outside
32:50and I called my dad first.
32:54My dad was saying
32:55he'd be there.
32:55I'm like,
32:55no, no,
32:56don't come here,
32:57don't come here.
33:00And so once
33:01I was able to leave,
33:03I walked into the kitchen
33:04with my dad
33:05and he said,
33:06it's a good thing
33:09you found Steven
33:10because if I would have
33:11found him,
33:12you'd be burying
33:13both of us
33:13because I'd have
33:13taken my life
33:14right then and there.
33:16It just floored me.
33:18I don't know
33:19what the demons were
33:21that got him.
33:23Again,
33:24now I hear
33:24his sister,
33:26poor little Nicole,
33:27you know,
33:27just distraught.
33:30His dad,
33:31everybody distraught,
33:33you know.
33:33it just didn't
33:36have to be.
33:38I wasn't expecting
33:39it at all
33:41because Steven
33:42and I went through
33:43and saw how hard
33:44it was with my grandfather.
33:45We saw what it did
33:46to my dad.
33:46We saw how it
33:47absolutely destroyed
33:48our family.
33:49But with my grandfather
33:50doing what he did,
33:52I felt that
33:53it made it an option.
33:55It turned into something
33:57that my brother
33:58felt,
34:00eh,
34:01he did it.
34:02Now we have
34:02my grandfather
34:03and my brother
34:04who is my best friend,
34:06you know,
34:07and I found my brother.
34:09So everyone was
34:09so worried about me.
34:11But I was worried
34:13about my dad.
34:22Haunted by the death
34:24of his son Steven
34:25in 2010,
34:27Mike Graham struggles
34:28with the pain
34:29of losing another
34:30family member
34:30to suicide.
34:32I think every parent
34:33blames himself.
34:35He said,
34:36I must have been
34:37a shitty son
34:38and a shitty father.
34:40Pretty heavy.
34:42Sometimes we're
34:43our own worst critics
34:44and, um,
34:46we're hard on ourselves
34:47about different things.
34:49And I think that,
34:51um,
34:51you know,
34:52there's many things
34:52that Mike could have
34:53thought about
34:55and it was just
34:56another one
34:57of the things
34:57just knocking
34:59on the bad side
35:00of his brain.
35:02You know,
35:03between his dad
35:04and now my brother,
35:05he just,
35:06he just absolutely
35:07was crushed.
35:09Mike and I
35:10were close,
35:11but we aren't
35:12that fuzzy,
35:13fuzzy,
35:14good feeling,
35:15close.
35:16He called me up
35:17and said,
35:18hey,
35:18you know,
35:19I love you,
35:19right?
35:20I said,
35:21I love you too,
35:21Mikey.
35:22And that was it.
35:24We hung up the phone.
35:28My dad met
35:29my daughter and I
35:30at a park
35:31and I was like,
35:32Dad,
35:32this ends with Stephen.
35:34I'm like,
35:34look at her.
35:35She doesn't deserve this.
35:37What your dad did
35:37was horrible.
35:39What Stephen did,
35:40we're never going
35:41to recover from it,
35:42but this ends now.
35:43Look at her.
35:44She doesn't deserve this.
35:46And he was like,
35:46you're right, Nicole.
35:47You're right, Nicole.
35:48You're right.
35:52But less than two years
35:53later,
35:53he did the same.
35:56He was in Daytona Beach,
35:58bike week or something,
36:00with his wife.
36:04And from what I gather,
36:10she went outside
36:12and said she was going
36:13to go see some friends.
36:15When she got back
36:23and opened the door,
36:25simultaneously,
36:27she heard a gunshot.
36:33And there was Mike
36:36dead in his son
36:40Stephen's cowboy boots.
36:45And he couldn't break
36:55the cycle.
36:57You can't see
36:58what's behind
36:59the person's eyes.
37:01They're telling you
37:02one thing,
37:02they're smiling,
37:03but they may be,
37:04you know,
37:04they may be just
37:05absolutely torn up
37:07inside.
37:08Then you realize
37:09he's gone.
37:11End of story,
37:12you know.
37:13No more.
37:14There's no more.
37:15I mean,
37:15I was still
37:16trying to pick up
37:17the pieces
37:17after my brother.
37:18Again,
37:18it wasn't,
37:19it was less than
37:20two years apart
37:21between my brother
37:22and my dad.
37:23After the conversations
37:24I had with my dad,
37:25asking him,
37:26telling him,
37:26begging him,
37:27please,
37:27this ends with Stephen,
37:29it was just
37:29a different level
37:31of pain.
37:34Mike had been away
37:35from wrestling
37:35for some time
37:37and I hadn't seen
37:38him in years,
37:38but then the news
37:39comes out
37:40and I,
37:40that was a shock.
37:43even if you're
37:44not shocked
37:45at anything
37:45in wrestling,
37:46you still think,
37:46well,
37:47the same thing
37:47can't happen
37:48to two different
37:48generations.
37:50They can't do
37:51the same thing
37:51and it happened
37:53to three generations.
37:55You just,
37:55how much,
37:57the same family,
37:58what,
37:59how much more
37:59can go on?
38:00The pattern
38:01of suicide
38:02that haunts
38:03the Gossett family
38:04reaches far beyond
38:05Eddie,
38:06Mike and Stephen.
38:07This heartbreaking
38:08cycle of tragedy
38:09actually spans
38:10four generations
38:11and five men.
38:14A lot of people
38:15don't know this,
38:16but Eddie's father
38:17killed himself
38:18and also
38:20Eddie's brother
38:21Skip killed himself.
38:23It's a very vicious
38:24cycle when you have
38:26more than one suicide,
38:29one suicide
38:30is one too many,
38:31but when you have
38:32multiple suicides
38:33within the same
38:34family structure,
38:35it's just tragic.
38:38My only explanation
38:39or thought,
38:40because I'm not
38:41a doctor,
38:42obviously,
38:43but is that
38:44when one happens,
38:46then it makes it
38:47viable for someone else
38:48when they're having
38:48a hard time
38:49and also the fact
38:51that depression
38:51and addiction
38:53is hereditary
38:54and unless you have
38:56someone step in
38:57and recognize it
38:58and get help
38:59and let them know
39:01that it's not normal
39:04what you're feeling,
39:04but it's going
39:05to be okay.
39:06That just wasn't
39:06quite happening
39:07in my family.
39:09Big time lesson
39:10to learn
39:10because it isn't
39:12just the people
39:15that go,
39:15it's the people
39:16that are left behind.
39:18Heavy burden
39:19for the cold
39:21to carry
39:21and heavy burden
39:22for her daughter.
39:23We are at
39:36the Old Armory,
39:38which is now
39:38the Brian Glaser
39:39Jewish Community Center,
39:41and Larry Simon,
39:42who was Boris Malenko,
39:44who my grandfather
39:45had huge feuds with,
39:47his son helped
39:48put this together
39:49in a way to commemorate
39:50all the wrestlers
39:51that came here
39:52every Tuesday
39:53for many, many years.
39:55So it's pretty great
39:57to see, actually.
39:59This is my dad
40:00and my grandfather.
40:02Mike and Eddie Graham
40:03have won
40:04the Florida Tag Team Championship.
40:06Nothing can keep
40:07the fans away.
40:08This was the home
40:09of the Titans of Tampa,
40:10and this will always
40:12be the house
40:12of the championship
40:13wrestling for Florida girls.
40:14I think wrestling fans
40:21should know
40:21that they absolutely
40:22respected the fans,
40:24and I hope that the fans
40:26that met them felt that.
40:28There was so much good,
40:30so much laughter,
40:32a lot of good times,
40:34and those are the things
40:36that I focus on
40:36more than anything else
40:38because they were
40:39really exceptional people.
40:42I remember Eddie,
40:43my papa,
40:43as bare-chested
40:46with a cast net
40:47off the dock
40:48catching mullet for us.
40:50A lot of love.
40:52A lot of love.
40:54My brother,
40:55my bestie,
40:55my best friend,
40:57I just wish he knew
40:58how everyone loved him
41:00and wanted to be there
41:02for him.
41:07Dad.
41:10We had that
41:11tough relationship
41:13because I called him
41:14out on things,
41:15but there was so much love
41:18and respect.
41:22I miss my dad so much.
41:24I wish he was here
41:25to see my daughter grow up
41:26because he's missing out
41:28on a lot,
41:28but that I miss him.
41:29Some of the best times
41:31of my life
41:31were with the Grahams
41:32and with all the people
41:34that the Grahams brought in.
41:35There is a plethora
41:38of good times.
41:40A plethora of good times.
41:42They're friends of mine.
41:44Enjoyed my time with them.
41:47Wish we could have
41:48a lot more days.
41:48The thing to do
41:51is not dwell on the bad.
41:54Dwell on the good.
41:55That's what gets me through.
41:58Nicole,
41:59love her.
42:01Love her.
42:02She's the legacy
42:02of that family.
42:04My grandfather
42:05being silly with me
42:06always.
42:07And it took me a while
42:09to get to a place
42:10where I felt like
42:10I could finally offer
42:12some type of assistance.
42:13And so I found
42:14the Crisis Center
42:15of Tampa Bay
42:15and they offer
42:17amazing services.
42:18And I feel that
42:20I've come to a point
42:21in my recovery
42:21and healing
42:22that I can hopefully
42:24get a word out there
42:26that may strike a chord
42:27with someone
42:28to make them call
42:29for help
42:29or survivors
42:31that are struggling
42:32to get out of bed
42:33because they've lost
42:34family members
42:34to know that
42:35they should live
42:36their lives
42:36to honor those
42:37that they have lost.
42:40There has to be
42:41a lesson to everybody
42:42that's watching
42:43this program
42:44that if you feel suicidal
42:45there's help
42:46right around the corner
42:47and I don't care
42:48who you are
42:49somebody loves you
42:50always.
42:52You have to just
42:52make that step
42:53by reaching out
42:54to someone
42:55just to say
42:56something's not right
42:57I'm having these thoughts
42:58just speak up
42:59is what I'd ask.
43:01You can have fame
43:03family
43:04money
43:05but if you don't
43:06have that peace
43:06of mind
43:07you have nothing.
43:08My grandfather
43:08and my dad
43:10clearly didn't have it
43:12and my brother
43:13didn't have it
43:14but it occurred
43:15to me
43:16less than a year ago
43:17that I have it
43:19and I had been
43:20wanting to get a tattoo
43:21I'm not a tattoo person
43:22and all I wanted
43:23was my handwriting
43:24that says peace of mind
43:25and a semicolon
43:26which represents
43:26mental health
43:27you know
43:28suicide awareness
43:29very simple
43:30and it's just
43:31an amazing reminder
43:32of where I've gotten
43:33with my life
43:35and how I feel
43:36and peace
43:37I have so much
43:39to be grateful for
43:40and I'm going to live
43:41my best life
43:42because that's the best
43:43way I can honor them
43:44I am so happy right now
43:46things are great
43:47my daughter's thriving
43:48amazing friends
43:50family
43:50like I'm
43:51I'm really happy actually
43:52say show?
43:53yeah
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