Troy Graham

**Troy Roland Thompson Jr.** (December 7, 1954 – March 7, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names **Troy Graham** and **The Dream Machine**.

## Professional wrestling career

Thompson was discovered by Jimmy Hart and first came into wrestling, which he had been dreaming to do since he was a child, as **Troy 'The Hippie' Graham**. During his initial career, in which he debuted around 1976, he fulfilled the role of a heel. He captured the NWA Southeastern Television Championship on March 16, 1980 by defeating Dutch Mantell.

He became a star when he started competing as the masked **Dream Machine**. On March 16, 1981, Thompson teamed with "Superstar" Bill Dundee and defeated Tojo Yamamoto and Wayne Ferris to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship. They dropped the titles on March 30 to Atsushi Onita and Masanobu Fuchi before regaining it from them on April 6. They held onto the belts until May 2, where Kevin Sullivan and Wayne Ferris defeated them, but they regained the titles from them on May 18, until dropping it back on the 25th.

On August 16, 1981, the Dream Machine defeated Steve Keirn in the final bout of a one-night tournament to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. 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. Although he lost the title in a week to Jerry Lawler, he regained it from him on September 7. His reign again lasted a week as he dropped it to Jimmy Valiant, until eventually winning it back, but dropping it on October 26 to Dutch Mantell.

After a reign with the southern tag titles with Jim Mitchell, the Dream Machine (sans mask) was one-half of the tag team known as "The New York Dolls" with Rick McGraw. Managed by Jimmy Hart, The Dolls had a longstanding feud with Steve Keirn and Stan Lane. In the World Wrestling Association, they won the WWA World Tag Team Championship on September 25, 1982 from Spike Huber and Steve Regal. The Dolls had a stranglehold on the titles for the next few months until June 1983 when Abdullah the Great and Jerry Valiant beat them.

Also from 1982 to 1983, Troy Graham 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 on October 3, 1983. On November 7, they lost the titles to The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibsonand Ricky Morton), but won it back from them a week later. On November 28, they were beaten for the titles by Steve Keirn and Stan Lane. In 1984, Graham was replaced in the Bruise Brothers and left the Memphis territory.

Graham reappeared in the Memphis territory, in a wheelchair, as the manager of the Interns. The Interns feuded with the Dirty White Boys and Rock n Roll RPMs. The Interns won the southern tag titles early in 1985. Injuries during the mid-1980s would effectively put an end to his career.

During the 1990s, Graham returned to the Memphis territory, where he won a battle royal in the USWA by eliminating Brian Christopher. This earned him a shot at the Unified World Heavyweight Championship on June 6, 1994, which he won from Christopher and held it until July. After losing the title he competed in a series of matches with Christopher and his dad Jerry Lawler.

## Death

On March 7, 2002, Troy "Dream Machine" Thompson died of a heart attack at his home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 47, leaving behind a seven-year-old daughter Charlie Sue, his mother and great grandmother.