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Bob Backlund

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Bob Backlund File:Bobbacklund.jpg
BornAugust 14, 1950
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bob Backlund
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight243 lb (110 kg)
Billed fromPrinceton, Minnesota
Trained byEddie Sharkey
Debut1973
Retired2000

Robert Backlund (born August 14, 1950) is a former American professional wrestler and minor politician. He became the seventh man to win the WWE Championship and held it for almost six years.

Career

1970s and 1980s

Backlund was an amateur wrestler at North Dakota State University, winning the Division II NCAA Championship at 190 pounds in 1971. Backlund joined the WWWF and became the World Champion on February 20, 1978, defeating "Superstar" Billy Graham in New York City's Madison Square Garden. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, Backlund was picked to be champion by Vincent J. McMahon, who was looking for a younger version of Jack Brisco. Backlund was recommended to McMahon by Eddie Graham and Sam Muchnick. Over a near six-year period, Backlund held the title on three occasions (although the WWE recognizes it as one constant title reign) and defeated some of the most notorious heels in the sport, ranging from Pat Patterson to Don Muraco to Greg Valentine. On November 30, 1979, Backlund was defeated for the championship by Antonio Inoki in Tokushima, Japan. The loss to Inoki has never been acknowledged officially by the WWF, thus Backlund's reign is officially considered to have been uninterrupted from 1978 through to 1983. Backlund's steel cage match against Jimmy Snuka on June 28, 1982 in Madison Square Garden is considered a classic to this day. Also of note were his title vs. title bouts against AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel and NWA World Champions Harley Race and Ric Flair. Backlund's no-nonsense attitude and superb scientific skill made him a durable champion and a favorite of many fans around the world. Bob Backlund's gimmick was wrestling.

However, by the final months of his title reign, many fans had grown weary of "Howdy Doody," as the Grand Wizard had dubbed Backlund, due to his red hair and boyish features. Additionally, Vincent K. McMahon, who had taken over his father's wrestling promotion, wanted to put the title on the more charismatic and muscular Californian Hulk Hogan. On December 26, 1983, an obviously "injured" Backlund (he was favoring his right arm/shoulder throughout the match) lost the title to the Iron Sheik, when his manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel while Backlund was locked in the Camel Clutch. It's worth noting that Backlund was not defeated via a pinfall or submission. McMahon asked Backlund to become a "punk rock" heel, with dyed hair and face paint similar to that of "Exotic" Adrian Street, Backlund refused and left the WWF. After a run in the short-lived Pro Wrestling USA, a joint promotion between the NWA and the AWA in which he notably challenged AWA Champion Rick Martel, Backlund soon dropped off the pro wrestling scene. He later resurfaced in Herb Abrams' short-lived UWF in June 1991 for Beach Brawl, a pay-per-view event in which he defeated Ivan Koloff.

1992 comeback

In late 1992, Backlund returned to a WWF very different from the one that he had left nearly a decade earlier. In his absence, the company had enjoyed a great deal of national success, with many new fans being drawn to the colorful wrestlers of the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" era. Backlund, whose persona remained the same as it was in his heyday, may have been too bland to get over with the fans of the early 1990s. Many of these fans did not even remember him, as he had left just prior to Vince McMahon's national expansion.

While this period of his career was largely uneventful, it was highlighted by his performance at the 1993 Royal Rumble, in which he lasted sixty-one minutes and ten seconds, a record that would not be broken until 2004 (by Chris Benoit). Backlund's first appearance at a WrestleMania event, at WrestleMania IX, consisted of a quick match, which he lost to Razor Ramon.

Mr. Bob Backlund

In the summer of 1994, Backlund took part in what was billed as an "old generation vs. new generation" match with Bret Hart, with Hart's WWF Championship on the line. Over a number of weeks, viewers of WWF Superstars were treated to vignettes of Backlund working out and training for his match with Hart. Hart won the match, but afterwards Backlund "snapped", slapping Hart in the face and placing him in the crossface chickenwing submission hold, laughing hysterically. When he finally released the hold, Backlund stared at his hands in shock.

Shortly after his match with Hart, on an episode of Monday Night RAW, a changed Backlund explained that he should still be considered the legitimate WWF Champion, as the Iron Sheik had never pinned him, nor had he submitted to the Camel Clutch. Backlund continued wrestling under the new gimmick of an out of touch, yet highly dangerous, maniac out to teach the new generation a lesson. He often appeared in business suits, had a hyperactive personality, and used large words to sound important. He also demanded that he be addressed as "Mister Backlund". On several instances, he attacked wrestlers and other WWF employees and placed them in the cross face chicken wing. These victims included Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, WWF Magazine writer Lou "The Count" Gianfriddo, and his former manager Skaaland, whom he blamed for costing him the WWF Title eleven years before. The gimmick worked, as fans, especially the younger crowd, disliked him highly. Many fans, however, enjoyed seeing Backlund, who had spent most of his career as a clean-cut babyface, dive into his new heel role with such zeal.

On November 23, 1994 at the Survivor Series pay-per-view in San Antonio, TX, Backlund faced Bret Hart in a "Throw in the Towel" submission match, with Bret's brother Owen Hart in his corner (The British Bulldog was in Hart's). The object of the match was to make your opponent's cornerman throw in the towel while you were in a submission hold. During a late point in the match, Backlund took advantage of a mistake by Hart and locked the chickenwing in. Hart was locked in the hold for seven minutes, but refused to give up. Finally, Owen went over to his mother Helen, who was at ringside, and pleaded (not meaning it) with her to throw Bret's towel in (Bulldog had become incapacitated during the course of the match). After several minutes, Helen Hart threw the towel in, giving the match and the championship to Backlund.

Backlund's second reign as WWF Champion was short-lived, however, as he lost the title on November 26 to Diesel (Kevin Nash) at Madison Square Garden, home of many of Backlund's victories in the 1970s and 1980s. This match was one of the most famous WWE matches of all time, as the towering Diesel simply kicked Backlund in the stomach and powerbombed him mere seconds after the bell rang. The match was a total of eight seconds long. For weeks afterwards, fans jeered Backlund with chants of "Eight seconds! Eight seconds!" In a 2005 interview for the Pro Wrestling Torch, Nash fondly remembered how Backlund sold his powerbomb and crawled up the aisleway back to the dressing room area of the Garden. Nash said, "He couldn't have put me over any stronger."

Though Backlund still wrestled on an occasional basis after his title loss, he never again reached main event status. His final noteworthy WWF match was an "I Quit" Match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995. He lost, though many viewers have noted that Backlund never actually said, "I Quit." He screamed unintelligibly into the microphone, which special guest referee "Rowdy" Roddy Piper seemed to interpret as "I Quit."

Following WrestleMania, the WWF ran an angle where Backlund declared his candidacy for President of the United States. Several vignettes were shown on television, including one depicting Backlund campaigning at a beach. However, this angle was dropped without fanfare, possibly due to lack of fan interest and because the U.S. presidential election would not be held for another year and a half.

For a brief time in 1996 and 1997, Backlund joined forces with his old nemesis the Iron Sheik to manage the Sultan in the WWF.

He later returned to wrestle in the 2000 Royal Rumble. After that, he became a brief-time manager for the then-Intercontinental and European Champion Kurt Angle. During his run, he taught his Crossface Chicken Wing submission to Angle, but later on, Angle fired Backlund (and gave Backlund a Crossface Chicken Wing) after he (Angle) discovered that Backlund booked Angle in a Two Falls Match with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, with both of his titles on the line, at WrestleMania 2000.

Possibly inspired by his fake presidential candidacy in 1995, Backlund also unsuccessfully ran for a Connecticut seat in Congress as a Republican in 2000.

Today, Bob Backlund operates a bail bond company in Connecticut.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Trivia

  • Backlund replaced his Atomic Kneedrop finisher with the cross-face chicken wing to avoid wear and tear on his knees.
  • Backlund competed in title unification matches with NWA Champions Harley Race and Ric Flair, and AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel.
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