Misplaced Pages

#15984

30-766: NWA Florida Underground Wrestling The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions . In 1988, the newly created Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), soon renamed Pro Wrestling Federation (PWF), picked it back up in 1988 and it continued its lineage through NWA Florida, until they ceased operations in 2006. In 2009, Pro Wrestling Fusion revived

60-558: A ring announcer . When Eddie Graham committed suicide in January 1985, due to a combination of personal and business problems, responsibility for the office went to Hiro Matsuda and Duke Keomuka , both of whom bought in during the 1960s. The other remaining owners were Mike Graham, Eddie's brother Skip Gossett, Dusty Rhodes and Buddy Colt . The promotion continued losing money and merged with Jim Crockett Promotions in February 1987. Most of

90-408: A chilling phone call where Mike was emotional and told Kevin he loved him; he killed himself six days later. In addition to his wrestling career, Graham also competed in offshore power boat racing. In 1993, Graham throttled Kiely Motorsports' 35' Offshore Class C catamaran to multiple championship finishes: Graham maintained position as the throttle man for each finish. On October 19, 2012, Graham

120-792: A level necessary to enhance the territory further. In May he decided to part ways with the PWF and join the World Wrestling Federation as a wrestler. Before departing, Rhodes was defeated by The Big Steel Man on May 13, 1989 for the PWF title at an event in Sarasota, FL. His final match with the company was on May 20, where he wrestled Steel Man at an event in Fort Lauderdale. The promotion closed shortly after holding its last show June 29, 1991, in Nassau, Bahamas, which saw Tyree Pride beat Steve Keirn for

150-536: A staple in many Southern households in the 1970s and 1980s, with Dusty Rhodes arguably its most noted headliner, his babyface turn beginning May 14, 1974 against former partner Pak Song . The promotion competed against other syndicated shows on Saturday night like The Lawrence Welk Show and Solid Gold for years. The promotion thrived with stars such as NWA champions Lou Thesz and Gene Kiniski , Graham, Bobby Shane , Robert Lee Schoenberger, Don Curtis , Sam Steamboat , The Magnificent Muraco (Don Muraco) ,

180-541: A successful tag team with Kevin Sullivan . Sullivan eventually turned on him to form his "Satanic cult", The Army of Darkness. After getting turned on, Graham teamed with the likes of Steve Keirn and Barry Windham to feud with Sullivan's team and to capture several tag team titles over the years. He was a mainstay on the Florida circuit during the ’70s and early 80’s and was a favorite of Gordon Solie and Dory Funk Jr. He

210-798: A trainer in WCW as part of the WCW Power Plant . At Slamboree 1993 , Mike represented his deceased father when he was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame . He was reportedly responsible for causing Chris Benoit , Eddie Guerrero , Dean Malenko , and Perry Saturn to leave the company for the WWF, granting their releases. In the early 2000s, Graham was a road agent for the short-lived Xcitement Wrestling Federation and for Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling . Graham defeated his arch rival Kevin Sullivan at WrestleReunion 3 on September 10, 2005. He made occasional appearances for

240-625: A widely publicized boxing match, resulting from a wrestling angle, with a forty-something Jack Dempsey . It worked but Cowboy took a severe beating. Cowboy opened the office in 1949, and Eddie Graham bought into the promotion in 1961, then took over completely in 1971, because of health reasons with Cowboy. The office was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance during the entire CWF era, Eddie Graham serving two terms as NWA president, and loosely aligned before that, with other 'world' champions sometimes defending their titles. CWF became

270-694: The AWA in 1988, where he won the Light Heavyweight Title again. In the following years, Graham & Keirn wrestled in Memphis as a tag team, and Graham went back to Florida to the newly renamed Florida Championship Wrestling, where he briefly teamed with Dustin Rhodes . Graham retired as an in-ring competitor in 1992. He became a road agent for World Championship Wrestling . Along with the likes of Paul Orndorff , Pez Whatley and DeWayne Bruce , Graham also worked as

300-587: The Giant , Jim Duggan , Butch Reed , Rick Steiner , The Freebirds , Cactus Jack , Scott Hall , Terry Allen (later more famous as Magnum T. A. ), Percy Pringle (later more famous as Paul Bearer ), Luna Vachon , Jimmy Garvin , Adrian Street , Héctor Guerrero , Chavo Guerrero Sr. , Oliver Humperdink , One Man Gang , J. J. Dillon , Gary Hart (wrestler) , Bob Roop , Mark Lewin , Dutch Mantel , Mike Graham (Eddie's son), The Sheepherders , Kevin Sullivan – whose cult-like Army of Darkness got tremendous heat from

330-603: The Great Malenko (Larry Simon), Johnny Valentine , Hiro Matsuda , Bob Orton Sr. and later Bob Orton Jr. , Joe Scarpa (later known as Chief Jay Strongbow), Wahoo McDaniel , the Funks ( Terry and Dory Jr. ), the Briscos ( Jack and Jerry ), Buddy Colt (Ron Read), Dusty Rhodes , Blackjack Mulligan , Bruiser Brody , Kendall Windham , Barry Windham , Mike Rotunda , Lex Luger , Rick Rood (later Rick Rude ), Harley Race , André

SECTION 10

#1732868751016

360-558: The PWF Florida Championship. CWF filmed and later taped its weekly TV wrestling show at the famed Sportatorium at 106 N. Albany in Tampa, Fla., which was in reality a small television studio with seating for a live audience of about 100 people (1/40th of the seating capacity of its Dallas counterpart ), with the wrestling office and gym in the same building. Arena footage was always also used, and full arena show broadcasts began in

390-596: The WWF). Dusty Rhodes made his debut for the company on March 4, 1989 at an event in Titusville, FL when he teamed with Steve Keirn to defeat the duo of The Big Steel Man and Dick Slaytor. A week later at the PWF Homecoming event in Tampa, FL he pinned Big Steel Man to become the first PWF Heavyweight Champion. Later that spring as the PWF began to grow Rhodes received a surprise backstage visit from Bobby Heenan , who inquired on

420-579: The dormant CWF territory. Once Dusty departed from WCW they reached out to him, and ultimately partnered to launch the new Professional Wrestling Federation in February 1989. Rhodes had larger visions for the fledgling regional territory, which included a name change from FCW to the non-regional PWF. The new startup promotion featured a raft of current and future stars, including Terry Funk , Dick Slater , Bam Bam Bigelow , Al Perez , The Nasty Boys , Scott Hall , Dustin Rhodes , Mike Awesome , Dallas Page and The Big Steel Man (who would become Tugboat in

450-437: The early '80s. CWF Spin-off shows were Championship Wrestling Superstars , Global Wrestling , North Florida Championship Wrestling , United States Class Wrestling , American Championship Wrestling and Southern Professional Wrestling . In 1960, Gordon Solie became the lead announcer for CWF's Saturday morning television shows, a spot he would occupy for the next quarter-century. In 1980, he hired singer Barbara Clary, who

480-405: The fans – and, in the words of the promotion's legendary commentator and a star in his own right Gordon Solie , 'a host of others'. Solie's deadpan interviewing style often buoyed the outlandish behavior and actions of Sullivan and his minions, bringing a legitimacy to the on-air segments no matter what depths Sullivan would descend to. Dusty Rhodes stands out among the noted performers because of

510-560: The finals of a district meet. He left the University of Tampa to turn professional against the wishes of his mother Lucy. Mike was also an accomplished powerlifter who set state records in the bench press. Michael Gossett started wrestling in 1972 in his father's Championship Wrestling from Florida , which was a National Wrestling Alliance territory. He was trained by his father, Boris Malenko and Hiro Matsuda . He would often tag team with his father upon his arrival, but also formed

540-526: The next two years. Graham headed back to Florida in 1983, where he primarily worked as a tag team wrestler. His father Eddie died after committing multiple gunshot suicide on January 21, 1985, leading to Mike taking over his Championship Wrestling from Florida territory. In the late 1980s, he would again team with Keirn and wrestled in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions (who he sold his father's territory to), with Keirn briefly around this time. He then went back to

570-557: The number of rivalries he had on air through most of CWF's broadcasting history. Well known heels, newcomers and babyfaces who turned heel during their tenure with CWF often sought out Rhodes to make their names in the territory. His rivals over the years included Superstar Billy Graham , Ray Stevens , Ernie Ladd , Ivan Koloff , Ox Baker , Ron Bass , Kamala , Abdullah the Butcher , Ric Flair , his old Texas Outlaws partner Dick Murdoch and of course, Kevin Sullivan. Mike Moore served as

600-691: The promotion began operating under the NXT banner, dropping references to FCW. On June 28, 2013, the WWE formally shuttered the Florida Championship Wrestling Arena, moving all equipment and personnel to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. General Specific Mike Graham (wrestler) Edward Michael Gossett (September 22, 1951 – October 19, 2012), better known as Mike Graham ,

630-438: The revived Florida Championship Wrestling. Mike Graham worked with World Wrestling Entertainment in early 2006, on a DVD about Dusty Rhodes , which was released on June 6, 2006. He made several appearances on WWE 24/7's Legends of Wrestling series as part of a panel which discussed famous pro wrestlers of the 1980s. He also hosted classic episodes of Championship Wrestling from Florida on WWE 24/7 Classics . Graham's father

SECTION 20

#1732868751016

660-511: The stars had gone to Jim Crockett Promotions or the WWF by that point. CWF continued operating as a JCP subsidiary until its last card on November 14, 1987, in Robarts Arena in Sarasota; in the main event, NWA Western States Heritage champion Barry Windham battled Dory Funk Jr. to a 20-minute time-limit draw. In late 1988 during the acquisition of Jim Crockett Promotions the duo of Mike Graham and Steve Keirn were attempting to revive

690-485: The state of the company's business. Shortly thereafter Vince McMahon reached out to Rhodes and made an offer to acquire the PWF as a developmental territory and to bring Rhodes into the WWF. He refused, as his desire was to grow the territory into a national brand that could compete with WCW and the WWF. However the Professional Wrestling Federation's backers did not have a desire to fund the company at

720-403: The title until they left the NWA in 2011. For several months in 2012, a new Championship Wrestling from Florida affiliated with the NWA, briefly reviving the title until NWA Florida Underground Wrestling took over the championship. Championship Wrestling from Florida The original owner and promoter was "Cowboy" Clarence Preston Luttrall, a former journeyman heel wrestler who once fought

750-417: Was also intoxicated, and according to his toxicology report, his blood-alcohol concentration was at 0.259. Graham suffered business misfortunes years prior to his death, and a restaurant he owned in Florida closed in 2011 after about two years of operation. He and his wife were also invested in Florida's real estate market, which suffered during the recession. His friends also said that he had struggled with

780-576: Was also respected by Ric Flair , who noted "Mike Graham was as tough as they come, a phenomenal performer who never got the recognition he deserved because he was considered too small to be a championship contender. His reputation was legit for his size. He was very tough”. In 1981, Graham wrestled in the American Wrestling Association and feuded with Buck Zumhofe over the AWA Light Heavyweight Championship over

810-517: Was an American professional wrestler who was the son of Eddie Graham . Mike Graham was a Florida high school wrestling district champion his senior year in 1969 for Thomas Richard Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida . He became a three-time state AAU champion and a Junior Olympics champion at 198 pounds. Graham was a state champion in the 154-pound weight class and, as a sophomore, defeated senior Richard Blood (later to become Ricky Steamboat ) in

840-525: Was bilingual to conduct interviews in both English and Spanish. Solie was joined on commentary by Buddy Colt during the program's final years. On March 2, 2006, the CWF library was purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for the DVD on Dusty Rhodes . In 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) revived the promotion as a developmental territory under the name Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In 2012,

870-511: Was found dead by his wife of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at their residence in Daytona Beach, Florida during Biketoberfest . He was 61 years old. His father and son had committed suicide in similar manners on January 21, 1985, and December 14, 2010 (some sources state the 15th), respectively. At the time of Graham's death, he was wearing his son's old work boots, and also frequently threatened committing suicide to his wife. He

900-497: Was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, with Mike representing him at the ceremony and the following night at WrestleMania XXIV . Graham then competed in a Legends Battle Royal won by Roddy Piper for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on January 29, 2011. He also held a weekly radio show called Talking Wrestling with Mike Graham. His former tag team partner Kevin Sullivan was the last ever guest in his radio show, recalling

#15984