Mr. Bob Backlund

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

I was a Backlund mark at that point, I went crazy when they aired a video package on Superstars 3 days after the change....going through Backlund's history....and at age 44...the new Undisputed Hvwt Champion is BOB BACKLUND!

 

*Marks out*

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I remember that video package for the fact that the winner of the WWF Title match wasn't revealed until McMahon's last line in the package:

 

"After 11 years, Bob Backlund's journey has come full circle . . . Bob Backlund is once again WWF Champion!"

 

(Superstars opening)

[JHawk 0]

I remember that video package for the fact that the winner of the WWF Title match wasn't revealed until McMahon's last line in the package:

 

"After 11 years, Bob Backlund's journey has come full circle . . . Bob Backlund is once again WWF Champion!"

 

(Superstars opening)

Remember that some markets aired Superstars on Sunday, so by the time those markets aired that video package, Backlund had already lost the title. Sad, isn't it?

[MillenniumMan831 0]

No doubt.

 

At the time where I lived, it aired on Saturday at 7pm. So Backlund was probably lacing his boots at the time getting ready to drop the title. I marked out when Vince said that line since I figured there's NO WAY in hell they'd give Backlund the Championship. Although, w/in the confines of the rules, you knew that Owen would NEVER throw the towel in. Still, I figured Bret would outsmart the evil duo and hang on to the belt.

 

It gave me belief for a little while at least that ANYTHING could happen in the WWF. Yep, I was a 100% full blooded mark.

[Guest Staravenger]

What Kliq again? Shawn Michaels was a mid-carder, and Scott Hall was only in the company for 4 months. How was Backlund in the Rumble for an hour a rib anyway? Wouldn't a rib be pulling a Mo and have him dumped in 2 seconds?

[Slayer 0]

I remember the Superstars thing on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving as well

 

I remember the "Bob Backlund is world champion again..." vignette, and also how they were drawing comparisons between him and George Foreman, who at the age of 45 had won one of the 250 major boxing heavyweight titles a couple weeks earlier

 

Then the next morning on whatever compilation show aired on USA Sunday Mornings, Todd Massengill was talking about "A NEW new world champion was crowned last night at MSG..." and I couldn't believe it, even as a 14 y/o mark...

 

At least Clique-haters can take solace in the fact that Kevin Nash had one of, if not the, worst reigns in history

[The Metal Maniac 0]

So, as a joke, they made Bob Backlund look like a million dollars?

 

I wish they pulled more jokes like that.

[Guest DeputyHawk]

Okay, so that 93 Rumble rib thing is from the Observer. Any more details? What, he came out second that year behind Flair, right? - did Vince or Patterson or someone just tell all the talent not to eliminate him for an hour? Didn't he even break Flair's longevity record from the year before? What a strange rib..

[MillenniumMan831 0]

They should have went all the way with the rib and had him win the Rumble. Then Hart/Backlund match could have taken place a year early. Yeah, that'd punk out Backlund.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Didn't he even break Flair's longevity record from the year before?

 

He did.

 

And he held the record for the next 11 years.

[Hektik 0]

What Kliq again? Shawn Michaels was a mid-carder, and Scott Hall was only in the company for 4 months. How was Backlund in the Rumble for an hour a rib anyway? Wouldn't a rib be pulling a Mo and have him dumped in 2 seconds?

It didn't say the kliq was behind that particular incident. The kliq did do a lot of mocking behind his back.

I'm guessing the rib is having a 43 year old man (who had not worked a regular schedule since the mid 80s) wrestle for almost an hour and do wacky spots. You wouldn't find it funny if they sent the Ric Flair of today out to wrestle an iron man match?

[Mole 0]

In 2000 Backlund ran an unsuccessful political campaign in Connecticut and was forced to drop out after I think he was discovered squandering donations or something. Now a datys he doesn't do much of anything other then the occaisional appearence at Independently Booked autograph signings.

He didn't drop out of the race.

 

He was killed, something like 95% of the vote, but the congressman who was in there wasn't going to loose to anyone. He was very popular and a democrat in a democrat area.

 

Where'd you get that information anyway?

 

Backland's history is a very interesting one. In the 8/23 edition of WON, there is a nice biography of him. Here is a quick recap of it, since I don't feel like typing it all out.

 

-He has the 2nd most sellouts in MSG history, behind Bruno. (42 sellouts in 67 main events.)

 

-He won the Division II National Championship in 1971 as a 190lber.

 

-Started out in the Amarillo Territory.

 

-He wasn't known as a great wrestler because he couldn't carry many men to a great match like some of the greats can, ie Ric Flair. I'd relate him to a Chris Jericho of today.

 

-Vince looked at him as the future of the WWF, but his gimmick grew old because it was "uncool."

 

-One thing that helped him was that even though he was small, he had a better physique than most men he wrestled. He then started doing long endurance exercises. He then got a buzz cut, which was so out of style back then.

 

-When he wrestled Snuka, Snuka got the cheers and Bob got booed which was unheard of back then.

 

-Bob basically got his shot in 78 because he was the right man at the right time. But in 83 he was the complete wrong man and his style wasn't working with the fans anymore.

 

-When he had a program with Big John Studd in 83, it wasn't the most popular angle. The Snuka/Muraco was a bigger draw and it was the last time that people cared more about the IC title than the World title.

 

-When he lost the title to the Iron Sheik, he wasn't aware that Skaaland would throw in the towl nor "did" Vince Jr. It was done to save face for Bob and because Vince Jr just took over and he wanted to send a message to the wrestlers not to mess with him.

 

-His career went down like a sack of potatoes, and didn't get booked much at all.

-He went to Glastonbury, CT to help coach the US Greco-roman team for the Olympics.

 

-He did a few bookings here and there, but no one wanted this guy who had a buzz cut and was out of touch with the core audience.

 

-When he came back in 92 and was so out of touch with the business. Not only did the audience think he was uncool, but so did the wrestlers. The locker room had changed and everyone thought that he was a big herb because he was clean cut, not doing drugs or boozing. Also he would do lengthy calisthenic routine in the dressing room and people would laugh at him.

 

-There was NO plan for him to have the title long and was just a transitional champion for Nash.

 

-The only other major match for the company; the I Quit match at WM 11.

 

-He then ran around the audience during Raw shows in the Northeast raising money for politics.

 

-He learned to read and write when he was 45.

 

To quote Meltzer:

"Backlund's stardom came bcause he fit the bill at a time when few top amateur wrestlers were getting into prowrestling, and because promoters wanted to replicate Brisco. If he had not been WWF champion, he would have certainly been pushed as a major contender, if not NWA champion, as he was already being groomed as a top NWA star when McMahon asked about needing a new babyface to build around. As champion, he wrestled in more promtions than any WWF champion in history, and was far more advanced technically yhan any wrestler who had held the title up to that point in time. But few wrestlers ever fell from such great heights of stardom as fast. The Backlund story is the story of timing being everyhing, and how someone who really didn't grasp why he was over, changed himself to become, in his mind, a better condidtioned athlete, and badly hurt his career in the process."

[Guest Staravenger]

He seriously didn't learn how to read and write until he was 45 years old?! I had no idea on that.

[Guest Ray]

-He wasn't known as a great wrestler because he couldn't carry many men to a great match like some of the greats can, ie Ric Flair.

That's funny, considering Backlund 'carried' Dusty Rhodes to a better match than Flair did...

 

-Vince looked at him as the future of the WWF, but his gimmick grew old because it was "uncool."

That must be why Backlund held the WWF title for SIX YEARS.

 

 

Don't listen to anything Meltzer says about Backlund. He's ridiculously biased against him. Backlund was a great wrestler and he's very underrated.

[Mole 0]

That must be why Backlund held the WWF title for SIX YEARS.

 

 

Don't listen to anything Meltzer says about Backlund. He's ridiculously biased against him. Backlund was a great wrestler and he's very underrated.

No this at the end of his title reign, before he lost it to Sheik.

[spman 0]

He didn't drop out of the race.

 

He was killed, something like 95% of the vote, but the congressman who was in there wasn't going to loose to anyone. He was very popular and a democrat in a democrat area.

 

Where'd you get that information anyway?

 

I was just remembering what I think I had heard on the local news here in Connecticut at the time when he was running. Im farily certain that there was some controvery in his campaign, but I can't quite remember what.

[Guest Staravenger]

Backlund didn't fit in well to the style of WWF when his reign came to an end in '83. You had Hulk Hogan, who became the God of Wrestlig, Evil Foreigners from Japan, Russia, Iran, etc... Battle of Giants, and more. After that, we got a surge of Hillbillies, which is probably the worst kind of gimmick to use in wrestling.

 

Of course, when Backlund was on during his 92-96 run, he had some of the better matches in WWE. He had three very good matches with Bret on TV/PPV from 94-95 (Superstars episode when he turned, SSeries 94, RAW match wk. before IYH5), and was having entertaining, but quick, matches on regular television against mid-carders like Bob Holly and the 1-2-3 Kid.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Of course, when Backlund was on during his 92-96 run, he had some of the better matches in WWE. He had three very good matches with Bret on TV/PPV from 94-95 (Superstars episode when he turned, SSeries 94, RAW match wk. before IYH5), and was having entertaining, but quick, matches on regular television against mid-carders like Bob Holly and the 1-2-3 Kid.

Of course, I think one of those two matches with the mid-card, in storyline terms, got "Macho Man" Randy Savage fired from being the Raw color commentator.

 

It was either against The 1-2-3 Kid or Lex Luger.

[Guest Staravenger]

Savage got fired TWICE (Lets not forget the Crush incident)?

 

Oh yeah, I THINK it was versus Lex Luger. He (Backlund) kept the hold applied, so Savage ran into the ring and attacked Backlund until he released the Chicken-Wing and left.

[Promoter 0]

Whoever said to not listen to Meltzer on Bob Bcklund is right. Meltzer doesn't really like the guy. If you go to his dirtsheets in the early 80's you would see this. Meltzer is leaving out things about Bob Backlund like the NWA suggesting Vince Mcmahon Sr. to have Bob Backlund as WWWF Champion. As we know, the NWA board was the brass that was most respected in the business and for some odd reason the WWWF never really acknowledged being apart of the NWA then(that is a whole other thread). Verne Gagne(AWA) also liked Backlund and would have used him post 1984, but Backlund it seemed couldn't care less to compete in the business anymore. Vince Mcmahon wanted Backlund to dye his hair black and turn heel against Hogan. There was even an angle that was partly done where Backlund did the Owen thing from WM X(watching Bret's celebration) looking at Hogan during a match shortly after winning the title from Iron Shiek. Backlund refused to turn heel. The night he lost the title was also known. Meltzer doesn't know what he's talking about in this instance or is trying to sell his stuff with the controversy.

 

The problem with Backlund in '83 was that he made a big deal about jobbing the title to an actual wrestler with amateur background and Iron Shiek/Masked Superstar(Ax) were the two chosen men to get the title onto Hogan. As mentioned above he did not want to turn heel. They went with Iron Shiek. The "screwjob" is Backlund claiming that Vince swerved him with his rematch at MSG on the night Hogan won the title. It was advertised Backlund would get his rematch, but Hogan was billed at the last moment to take his place because Backlund was still "injured" from the Persian clubs. I have this stuff on tape. This led to the problems later with Backlund and him quitting a few months later. That is why he never showed up anywhere else after this went down. He was fed up and remember he was on top for 6 YEARS. Backlund was still over in his last couple of years, but the problem he faced was the same thing Triple H had about 2 years ago. He ran through everyone and started to repeat matches. They could only run the underdog champion gimmick for so long(and they did actually for 6 years).

 

Now, for more correction with his 90's run. Vince Mcmahon brought Bob Backlund back because the business was down and Vince wanted to get back to the roots(which is why they did raw in the small Manhattan Center just like Backlund doing tv tapings as champ in Hamburg, Pennyslvania). After the big boom and the wwf going through all the court problems bringing in the clean cut Bob Backlund was a way to help the damaged image of the company. He did not take off as a face though because he was too dull, but that was the whole point. Vince using Backlund as a transitional champion was apart of his plan to usher in a New Generation with Diesel playing Hogan coming out of nowhere to win the big title. Vince made him break the Bruno record of winning the big title in hopes that Diesel would be bigger than Bruno and Hogan combined which I know many are falling out of their seat with laughter now (which is why I disagree wholeheartedly against those who say Hogan was just in the right place and just lucky with the wwf machine because of that was the case Diesel would have taken off the same way). Vince just used the same gimmick he wanted Backlund to do in 1984 against Hulk Hogan. Meltzer is full of it with saying no one wanted Backlund. Backlund in 1984 when he left was just the CHAMPION OF A MAJOR PROMOTION FOR 6 YEARS. Verne Gagne actually offered him money. There are shoot interviews out there that go against what Meltzer claims in terms of Backlund from Masked Superstar to Bob Backlund to Iron Shiek etc.

[Mole 0]

Just about everything you said was in Meltzer's report about him.

[Hektik 0]

I think Meltzer was fair to Backlund when he wrote his bio for the HOF Observer.

[Jericholic82 0]

Isn't Bob now offically recogniozed as a 3 time wwf champion? They had it on the title histories site, they acknowledged inoki as a champ.

 

 

Anyways I remember the 94 angle well. 10 years ago this month on superstars. after the match with bret he went to shake his hand, and slapped him he put on the CFCW and wouldnt let go. when he did he kept staring at his hands (which I guess was part of the shango angle, but he got over so they dropped that and shango got repackaged as Kama) he attacked wwf magazine writer Lou Gianfriddo as well as Skaaland on RAW.

 

I remember I found out about the ss 94 title change by watching the ppv on scramblevision. ON sat they aired superstars and shilled that nights msg houseshow and that Bret wouldnt be there and Diesel would be taking his place. The next morning on challenge they announced the title change I think. On Raw soon thereafter vince interviewed Diesel as they set him up as the Hogan like babyface. I only watched the ppv once (rented it on video at the end of 94) but I belive that was a great match. I was confused when Bret lost the belt only for diesel to win it right after . weird stuff

 

 

I agree with Scott Keith who thought Backlund coulda stayed champ till mania and be dethroned by HBK instead since he was the one getting the face pops more than Diesel. What I mean is HBK should have been the face in the split of NASH/Shawn.

 

Diesel basically bombed as champ, since they took away his cool attitude and made him a wimp and gave him lousy opponents like sid and freakin Mabel

[Guest Staravenger]

I'm pretty sure the match where Backlund turned aired in July...maybe on the 24th or around that day...sorry, being nit-picky again. (shuts up)

 

Edit:Hart

7/30/94:

WWF World Champion Bret Hart pinned Bob Backlund; after the match, Backlund attacked Hart and locked him in the Crossface Chicken Wing

 

I lose.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I'm surprised Bret didn't just "pass out". I mean he was in the fucking Chicken Wing for like 10 minutes.

[Guest Staravenger]

Well, he WAS "injured" until a week or two before the Rumble, so he sold it like it seperated his shoulder.

[Guest krazykat72]

"-When he lost the title to the Iron Sheik, he wasn't aware that Skaaland would throw in the towl nor "did" Vince Jr. It was done to save face for Bob and because Vince Jr just took over and he wanted to send a message to the wrestlers not to mess with him. "

Dave never wrote this. He wrote that Vince tld Backlund to act as if he didn't know. It was to have Backlund save face and not submit.

 

-Paul Jacobi-

[Jericholic82 0]

I'm pretty sure the match where Backlund turned aired in July...maybe on the 24th or around that day...sorry, being nit-picky again. (shuts up)

 

Edit:Hart

7/30/94:

WWF World Champion Bret Hart pinned Bob Backlund; after the match, Backlund attacked Hart and locked him in the Crossface Chicken Wing

 

I lose.

yea i think it was around the 30th of july that I saw it (i know this cuz I was bout to move from ny, I moved to cali a few days later on the 4th of aug after this was shown-thats what made me say august by mistake

[Guest HitmanHart]

I'm surprised Bret didn't just "pass out". I mean he was in the fucking Chicken Wing for like 10 minutes.

That was awesome. I always loved how the WWF built up the Crossface Chicken Wing, and the danger of injury it caused. It was a great way to build up the feud between Backlund and Hart, because it made Backlund from being an old man to a dangerous competitor again with the addition of a single move. Great stuff.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

I'm trying to remember, did Backlund have the Crossface Chickenwing at anytime during his first WWF run?

 

I thought I remember him using it against Samoan #3 on the Hogan DVD.