Troy Graham

Troy Graham
Birth name	Troy Rolland Thompson, Jr.[1]
Born	December 7, 1954[1] Memphis, Tennessee, United States[1]
Died	March 7, 2002[1]
Cause of death	Heart attack[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	The Dream Machine[1] Dr. Troy Graham Randy Tyler Troy Graham[1] Troy T. Tyler
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight	252 lb (114 kg; 18.0 st)
Trained by	Memphis, Tennessee, United States[1]
Debut	October 1978
Retired	1990

Troy Rolland Thompson, Jr. (December 7, 1954 to March 7, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Troy Graham and The Dream Machine.^[1]

Professional wrestling career

Thompson was discovered by Jimmy Hart and first came in to wrestling as "Troy 'The Hippie' Graham". During his initial career, he fulfilled the role of a heel.

Wrestling as the masked "Dream Machine," Thompson captured the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship in 1981 after defeating Steve Keirn in the final bout of a one-night tournament. Promoter Eddie Marlin awarded the belt to Dream Machine and his manager Jimmy Hart during an episode of Championship Wrestling that aired soon after the tournament. Also in 1981, Thompson held the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship title while teamed with "Superstar" Bill Dundee. They were defeated by Kevin Sullivan and Wayne Farris during a televised match on May 2, 1981.^[2]

From 1982 to 1983, Thompson teamed with Porkchop Cash as The Bruise Brothers, as part of Hart's First Family stable. They defeated Dutch Mantell and Koko B. Ware for their first AWA Southern Tag Team Championship titles. They also went on to compete against the Rock and Roll Express, exchanging the Southern Tag Team Titles with them.

As the Dream Machine, Thompson (sans mask) was one-half of the tag team known as "The New York Dolls". The Dolls had a longstanding feud with the Fabulous Ones, Steve Keirn and Stan Lane.

In 1984 Troy Graham was replaced in the Bruise Brothers and left the Memphis territory.

Troy Graham died on March 7, 2002 of a heart attack, leaving behind a seven-year-old daughter Charlie Sue, his mother and great grandmother.

In wrestling

• Managers
  • Jimmy Hart^[3][1]
• Nicknames
  • "The Hippie"

Championships and accomplishments

• Continental Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[1]
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Porkchop Cash (2 times) and Bill Dundee (2 times)^[1]
• Southeastern Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Southeastern Television Championship (1 time)
• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]
• World Wrestling Association
  • WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Rick McGraw^[3][1]

References

1. Harris M. Lentz III (1 January 2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. McFarland. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-7864-1754-4.
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cogK_eTJN8Q&index=35&list=PL3AAE006CB5F907C1
3. Mike Rickard (1 December 2008). Wrestling's Greatest Moments. ECW Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-55490-331-3.

External links