Former WWE Champion and WWE Hall of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham has passed away at 79. Wrestling legend Ric Flair originally broke the news over his Twitter and was shortly confirmed by other sources.

Graham, real name Eldridge Wayne Coleman, transitioned from bodybuilding to become a professional wrestler in the late ’60s. He eventually got his start at the legendary Canadian promoter and instructor Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling Promotion. After circulating around the AWA, he debuted in the then-WWF in 1975 in a tag-team match. He briefly left the company, but on his return, he won the World Championship from Bruno Sammartino, ending the living legend’s historic four-year reign.

Fellow wrestling icons past and present acknowledged Graham’s passing over social media and praised him as the prototype for what eventually would be called “sports-entertainment.” Without Graham, you don’t get the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Ric Flair.