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.
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.
Read more about this topic: Troy Graham
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