Orton & Graham Part Two

When I left you last, Bob Orton and Eddie Graham had been in a few battles. They had gone to the limits of time, and no real winner was identified. They had pleased the crowds to the end and had brought the fans to a riot stage wherever they had wrestled. Orton still remained the Southern States Champion.

Their mutual respect for each other extended beyond the ring, as each of these men had a son involved in the amateur ranks. Mike Graham and Bob Orton Jr. were both promising rivals. They each wanted to outdo each other and make their famous fathers proud of them. They were both taught by their dads to be respectful of the amateur ranks and never permit their anger to get to the blood stages.

An outstanding professional and great amateur wrestler by the name of John Heath had taught all of his students sportsmanship. Under the patronage of Cowboy Luttrall, John built the characters of both Mike and Bob Jr.

Orton Sr. made the comment that he felt a little embarrassed about not talking to Graham when they passed on the street. He recalled some of the wild battles the two had given each other and the blood spilled between matches. He respected Eddie for his ability in the ring and his determination to win. Most of all, Orton said that he admired Eddie for the way he brought his son up to be a good example to follow. On the same hand, he again made the comment that Graham would never beat him in a championship match and that belt meant more to him than anything ... except the NWA World Championship.

Graham talked about some of the matches the two younger lads had, and he remembered cheering for Bobby and Orton cheering for Mike. But the two men continued to exchange icy cold stares when looking at each other. It was hard to believe that these two men would someday become tag partners and become World Champions.

Bob Orton had teamed with Boris Malenko, and they were two of the most hated men on the entire East Coast. Riots broke out almost every night when the two wrestled. They had captured every tag team title they pursued. But, with glory comes the spoils, and the two had a breakup of major proportions. They had many matches following the split, and neither man got an advantage.

A great team by the name of "THE MASKED MEDICS" had run roughshod over every team on the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle and had decided to enter the Southern States Territory, where teams like the Missouri Mauler & Malenko ruled supreme.

One evening, while wrestling against the Medics, Graham and Sam Steamboat had scored a fall, tying the match up. It was then that Bob Orton entered the ring and issued a challenge to The Missouri Mauler, who had beaten him in a bloody battle just two weeks before.

Bob spotted one of the Medics being handed a rag with chloroform on it from a stooge they had hired to be at ringside. Bob tore into both Medics, and Eddie Graham found himself as allied against the masked pair. During the melee, Sam Steamboat had his leg injured and was put out of action for several weeks.

The fans at once accepted the unlikely team of Graham & Orton to face the Medics. Orton said that he would find himself waking in the middle of the night in a pool of sweat just thinking about the pairing and about whether he could trust anyone else after what Malenko had done to him.

Strategy in the ring was simple... do what you do and do it the best that you can. Tag out often and keep a fresh guy in the ring. Everything seemed to be going good for the two until Eddie came to Bob one evening and said, "I have a commitment to compete in the All Asian Tournament in Japan." Bob looked at him with his mouth drawn up in a stupor and screamed out "I ought to break your neck for this, we are the champs and now you're leaving to go. You had better kick some butts over there, or when you come back, I will plant a size 14 in your hip pocket!" Eddie silenced him by saying, "I may come back a karate expert and chop your head loose from your shoulders."

The tag team belts were forfeited, and a big tournament was started to crown new champs. Orton turned to the promoter on the night they gave the belts up and said that he was tired of being on a tag team.... He had a score to settle with Boris Malenko and The Missouri Mauler, and, also, he wanted a shot against "Big Thunder" Gene Kiniski, the NWA Champion.

Orton turned to Graham and shook his hand one last time, and the two parted, never to wrestle against or with each other again. Boris Malenko is gone.... The Missouri Mauler is gone...and Eddie Graham is gone from us now. Mike Graham, his son, is still involved with wrestling as a trainer. Bob Orton Jr. is semi-retired from the ring and sells cars near St. Louis. His son Randy, Bob's grandson, is in training for the WWF in Louisville and is a big threat to a lot of the talent that the WWF has. At 6 foot 5 and around 265 pounds, this 21-year-old will make history like his dad and granddad did.

Bob Orton Sr. is still alive and well in Las Vegas, Nevada and enjoying the fruits of life. He just celebrated his 72nd birthday and looks forward to many more.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers