Kofi Kingston’s victory over Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 was a joyous occasion for WWE fans on Sunday night. Not only did it mean a fan favorite was finally a world champion, but it also marked the first time an African-born wrestler had reached the pinnacle of the WWE by winning its most prestigious title. But not everyone was happy with the moment. WWE Hall of Famer and former WWWF Heavyweight Champion “Superstar” Billy Graham raged against Kingston’s involvement in the world title picture prior to the event because of his size (Kingston is billed at 6-foot, 212 pounds). After the bout, Graham took to Facebook and pleaded with Kingston to start taking steroids.
“Congratulations to Kofi for winning the most important Title in pro wrestling history….sorry you NWA guys…. Notice the word ‘Heavyweight’ in his Title…so my man, I urge you to start doing some steroids and add about 50 pounds of solid muscle to your championship body,” Graham wrote.
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“Vince wont care, honestly. Actually he would be quite pleased with the muscular transformation, as I predict that you young man will have the longest run as WWE champ in modern-day history. Then in just a short time while you are red hot and the fans are celebrating your win, your 2 former partners in crime, [Big] E and [Xavier] Woods get jealous and turn on you. In my day there would be some blood in that double cross on you but God forbid….not now. You then have Daniel Bryan for rematches and your two former partners as opponents.”
He then advised Kingston to start studying Graham’s promos.
Kingston, naturally, didn’t respond to Graham’s advice. But on an episode of this week’s The Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore, two-time Hall of Famer Booker T spoke out against Graham’s post.
“These old guys need to wake up and realize that their era is over,” Booker said. “To bring steroids into a conversation as far as what a man need to do to get to the top in the wrestling business, man … there’s more to life than the wrestling business. What about your health? I respect ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham for what he did in the business, as well as what he said about me.
“But ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham throwing that kind of talk out to a man who had just won out there,” he added. “And history man, he just made history. And this is how you throw shade on his moment by telling him this is what he needs to do because he’s not muscled up, he’s not jacked up like you were. Like it was back in the 70s with guys.”
Booker pointed out how WWE had installed the current wellness policy to avoid situations like this.
They got a Wellness Policy now,” he said. “They’re trying to keep these guys alive. We lost so many soldiers along the way because of steroids and drugs. And for this man to say another man need to get on drugs to become successful, he is successful. He’s the WWE Champion!”
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