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542:. 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 was also intoxicated, and according to his toxicology report, his blood-alcohol concentration was at 0.259.
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402:(who he sold his father's territory to), with Keirn briefly around this time. He then went back to 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
545:
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
500:
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 a chilling phone call where Mike was emotional and told Kevin he loved him; he killed himself six days
546:
with the death of his son
Stephen. He was also rejected by his daughter, blaming him for the deaths in some part for his father and his son. In the final months in his life, Graham had felt responsible for the deaths of his father and son. A celebration of life for Graham was held in
364:, 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”.
308:. 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
473:, 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
926:
509:
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:
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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
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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
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to turn professional against the wishes of his mother Lucy. Mike was also an accomplished powerlifter who set state records in the bench press.
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344:. Sullivan eventually turned on him to form his "Satanic cult", The Army of Darkness. After getting turned on, Graham teamed with the likes of
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on
September 10, 2005. He made occasional appearances for the revived Florida Championship Wrestling. Mike Graham worked with
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On
October 19, 2012, Graham was found dead by his wife of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at their residence in
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to leave the company for the WWF, granting their releases. In the early 2000s, Graham was a road agent for the short-lived
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in 1983, where he primarily worked as a tag team wrestler. His father Eddie died after committing
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Wrestling
Information Archive - Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years
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Mike Graham was a
Florida high school wrestling district champion his senior year in 1969 for
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550:, where nearly 500 people, including a number of retired professional wrestlers, attended.
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Reserve Championship: APBA / UIM Offshore World Championship in Sanibel Island, Florida.
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in 2008, with Mike representing him at the ceremony and the following night at
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Graham retired as an in-ring competitor in 1992. He became a road agent for
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1129:"Mike Graham's autopsy reveals intoxication at the time of his suicide"
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Callaway, J. D. (June 7, 1989). "Deputy's brawl with wrestler probed".
1155:"Pro wrestling history (01/15): Big John Studd wins 1989 Royal Rumble"
1069:"Mike Graham tragedy - commits suicide like father and son before him"
433:, Mike represented his deceased father when he was inducted into the
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927:"Mike Graham suicide leaves family, friends searching for answers"
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Graham maintained position as the throttle man for each finish.
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829:"Wrestlingdata.com – The World's Largest Wrestling Database"
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NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship
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of the Top 500 Singles Wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
324:
Michael Gossett started wrestling in 1972 in his father's
280:(September 22, 1951 – October 19, 2012), better known as
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492:. Graham then competed in a Legends Battle Royal won by
425:, Graham also worked as a trainer in WCW as part of the
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NWA North American Tag Team Champions (Florida version)
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NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version)
1098:"CAUSE OF DEATH FOR MIKE GRAHAM, WWE ISSUES STATEMENT"
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NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version)
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775:
of the 500 best singles wrestler of the year in the
553:
484:Graham's father was posthumously inducted into the
461:. Graham defeated his arch rival Kevin Sullivan at
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
966:"Eddie and Mike Graham – Triumph and Dark Tragedy"
659:NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship
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312:) in the finals of a district meet. He left the
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390:over the next two years. Graham headed back to
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437:. He was reportedly responsible for causing
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371:Graham (left) during a 1982 match against
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16:American professional wrestler (1951–2012)
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669:NWA North American Tag Team Championship
332:territory. He was trained by his father,
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
1494:20th-century male professional wrestlers
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685:NWA United States Tag Team Championship
610:NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship
567:AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
519:3rd Place Finish: New Orleans, Louisiana
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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1464:Professional wrestlers from Florida
1127:Harris, Keith (November 20, 2012).
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793:Southeastern Championship Wrestling
649:NWA Florida Television Championship
580:Championship Wrestling from Florida
516:1st Place Finish: Marathon, Florida
513:1st Place Finish: Sarasota, Florida
475:Championship Wrestling from Florida
326:Championship Wrestling from Florida
302:Thomas Richard Robinson High School
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1067:Harris, Keith (October 22, 2012).
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229:5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
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378:In 1981, Graham wrestled in the
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1519:NWA Florida Tag Team Champions
1484:Suicides by firearm in Florida
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561:American Wrestling Association
469:in early 2006, on a DVD about
455:Xcitement Wrestling Federation
380:American Wrestling Association
1:
1222:Retrieved on January 13, 2019
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629:) - with Kevin Sullivan (3),
467:World Wrestling Entertainment
320:Professional wrestling career
208:Professional wrestling career
411:World Championship Wrestling
7:
1302:Internet Wrestling Database
330:National Wrestling Alliance
58:"Mike Graham" wrestler
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1489:University of Tampa alumni
413:. Along with the likes of
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1291:Mike Graham's profile at
1187:Pro Wrestling Illustrated
1024:Online World Of Wrestling
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586:FCW Tag Team Championship
360:He was also respected by
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536:Daytona Beach, Florida
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278:Edward Michael Gossett
146:Edward Michael Gossett
1020:"Mike Graham profile"
970:Pro Wrestling Stories
741:(Mid-America version)
596:(1) and Joe Gomez (1)
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286:professional wrestler
1288:at Wikimedia Commons
1258:United States portal
931:The Post and Courier
694:) - with Steve Keirn
633:(1), Ken Lucas (1),
43:improve this article
314:University of Tampa
288:who was the son of
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505:Boat racing career
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161:September 22, 1951
137:Graham, circa 1973
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1403:Katsuji Ueda
1368:Buck Zumhofe
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1200:. Retrieved
1185:
1182:"PWI Awards"
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1164:. Retrieved
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1138:November 30,
1136:. Retrieved
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709:
686:
670:
631:Eddie Graham
618:Scott McGhee
578:
559:
544:
533:
525:
508:
483:
471:Dusty Rhodes
451:Perry Saturn
447:Dean Malenko
439:Chris Benoit
408:
384:Buck Zumhofe
377:
354:Gordon Solie
338:Hiro Matsuda
323:
299:
290:Eddie Graham
281:
277:
276:
246:Eddie Graham
216:Ring name(s)
200:Eddie Graham
176:(2012-10-19)
120:
105:
99:October 2012
96:
86:
79:
72:
65:
53:
41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1449:2012 deaths
1439:1951 births
1399:Lee Gak-soo
1373:Steve Regal
1363:Mike Graham
1166:January 18,
680:Steve Keirn
639:Ray Stevens
635:Steve Keirn
494:Roddy Piper
419:Pez Whatley
346:Steve Keirn
282:Mike Graham
221:Mike Graham
126:Mike Graham
1433:Categories
1418:Dr. Luther
1413:Mark Starr
1408:Ricky Fuji
812:References
242:Trained by
157:1951-09-22
143:Birth name
69:newspapers
1102:PWInsider
1029:April 18,
748:) – with
723:) - with
678:) – with
641:(1), and
616:) - with
592:) - with
386:over the
362:Ric Flair
1196:Archived
936:July 19,
627:16 times
457:and for
202:(father)
1202:June 9,
779:in 1992
777:PWI 500
692:3 times
653:2 times
590:2 times
571:2 times
538:during
501:later.
392:Florida
268:Retired
191:Suicide
83:scholar
803:1 time
768:(1972)
746:1 time
721:1 time
702:1 time
676:1 time
663:1 time
614:1 time
604:1 time
449:, and
196:Family
183:, U.S.
166:, U.S.
85:
78:
71:
64:
56:
637:(9),
530:Death
429:. At
260:Debut
90:JSTOR
76:books
1204:2017
1168:2019
1140:2021
1109:2021
1080:2021
1031:2008
977:2021
938:2022
893:2021
784:#325
773:#100
496:for
421:and
356:and
348:and
336:and
263:1972
171:Died
151:Born
62:news
1383:FMW
1351:AWA
645:(1)
477:on
304:in
45:by
1435::
1300:,
1212:^
1194:.
1190:.
1184:.
1157:.
1131:.
1117:^
1100:.
1088:^
1071:.
1039:^
1022:.
985:^
968:.
946:^
929:.
901:^
884:.
858:^
831:.
820:^
481:.
445:,
441:,
417:,
406:.
292:.
1335:e
1328:t
1321:v
1206:.
1170:.
1142:.
1111:.
1082:.
1033:.
979:.
940:.
895:.
852:.
835:.
805:)
801:(
744:(
719:(
704:)
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690:(
674:(
665:)
661:(
655:)
651:(
625:(
612:(
606:)
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588:(
573:)
569:(
159:)
155:(
112:)
106:(
101:)
97:(
87:·
80:·
73:·
66:·
39:.
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