Current fans may remember Bob Backlund for his recent but brief WWE run as the crazed manager of Darren Young, while older fans might remember the aging heel veteran in the mid-1990s New Generation era who feuded with Bret Hart. But a decade before that, Backlund was famous for being WWE Champion for six years, from 1978 to 1983, where he was a tremendously popular babyface and gifted in-ring technician.
Any legend worth their salt has great stories and anecdotes from their long careers. And Backlund is one of the all-time greats, so let’s take a look at some of the stories spanning his long career, which include his early days wrestling fans, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, and a surprising altercation at a bar.
10 WrestleMania XI
The feud between Bret Hart and Bob Backlund resulted in a great match at Survivor Series 1994, but their rematch at WrestleMania XI the following year served to disappoint not only the fans but at least one of the opponents. Hart has called it his worst PPV ever, as the I Quit stipulation removed pinfalls from the scenario, making it difficult to put on a good match while guest referee Roddy Piper’s “What do you say?” prompt for verbal confirmation drew unintentional laughs from the crowds. Despite the underwhelming results, Hart and Backlund have gone on record to express their utmost respect for one another.
9 Wrestling With Fans
In Bob Backlund’s earlier days working for NWA Tri-States, fewer fans were aware that wrestling was staged. As a result, many fans -- particularly drunk ones -- thought they could take on some of the wrestlers, and Backlund was tapped to actually wrestle them before the shows began.
Backlund’s easy-to-underestimate, non-threatening look combined with his shoot abilities made him a perfect choice for the duty, but Backlund also knew losing wasn’t an option, as a loss to a civilian would “expose the business.”
8 Bob Backlund’s Exercise Routine
WWE, WCW, and TNA star Jeff Jarrett recently shared a story about Bob Backlund’s idiosyncratic approach to conditioning. While touring the UK, a number of wrestlers were staying at a small English hotel, where Jarrett heard a persistent rhythmic knocking for hours in the middle of the night. The next morning, he learned from a surprisingly spry Backlund that the former champ was doing step-up exercises on the chair adjacent to Jarrett’s hotel room wall -- again, for HOURS.
7 His Would-Be Heel Turn
Backlund famously turned heel in the 1990s, but he almost turned heel a decade prior. With Backlund’s popularity declining and the younger Vince McMahon taking the company over from Vince Sr., it was decided that Hogan would be next in line to become WWE Champion.
The initial idea was that Backlund would turn heel to oppose Hulkamania, but Backlund felt the change in direction for his character would disappoint his fans, so they used The Iron Sheik as a transitional champion instead. Backlund would slide down the card and end up leaving the company in 1984.
6 He Can Arm Wrestle, Too
In a shoot interview, “The Model” Rick Martel shared a fun story about Bob Backlund. In 1975, they were drinking in a Florida dive bar when a drunk trucker wanted to see just how tough wrestlers were by challenging them to an arm-wrestling match. Backlund politely declined, but the trucker kept pestering them, so he finally relented -- one arm wrestling match so he’ll leave them one. Still maintaining his polite demeanor, Backlund quickly won by slamming his opponent’s hand on the table and then repeated the motion until the guy apologized for bothering him.
5 Backlund vs. Hogan
The transition of the WWE Championship from Bob Backlund to Hulk Hogan was the end of the era, as Backlund was Vince Sr.’s guy and Hogan was Vince Jr.’s. It would prove a wild success for WWE, but according to Hogan himself, the odds were against him.
Hogan turned face by rescuing Backlund from an attack and then tagging alongside him, but eventually, Backlund requested to no longer work with The Hulkster and even tried to convince Vince Sr. that Hogan was not a “real” athlete and thus not deserving of the belt. According to Hogan, the younger Vince McMahon worked to smooth everything over, and Hogan eventually got the WWE Championship as planned.
4 His WWE Return
Backlund returned to WWE in 1992 and spent a couple of years continuing his vanilla babyface persona but found it wasn’t going over with fans as it did before. Realizing his character needed new wrinkles to stay interesting, Backlund decided it would be cool if he retained his staunch moral outlook, but went overboard with it, especially as hero/villain lines were starting to blur even that early in the decade. It’s interesting that, despite refusing to turn heel in the ‘80s, Backlund eventually came around to the idea on his own.
3 His First Payday
After wrestling his first match in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a young and naive Bob Backlund was expecting a huge payday. Allocating the imaginary money in his head -- some for a nice hotel, some for a steak dinner, some going back home to help out family -- he was crushed to find out that his payment amounted to five dollars. A long way from his home in the Midwest and out on his own, Backlund used the money to buy a couple cans of tuna for dinner and slept in his car in a church parking lot.
2 Quitting Against Bret Hart For Real
Bob Backlund’s signature submission move was the Crossface Chicken Wing, which was a natural fit for his aforementioned “I Quit” match against Bret Hart. The Hitman would reverse the maneuver on Backlund to get the win, but there’s a funny story behind that. Backlund was apparently scripted to say “I Quit,” but it turned out that the Chicken Wing hurts for real when applied, so when Backlund was in the hold he couldn’t help but scream a bunch of panicked gibberish -- which Roddy Piper just interpreted as a verbal submission.
1 Making Darren Young Great Again
Backlund’s most recent -- and all too brief -- run with WWE had him taking Darren Young under his (Crossface Chicken)wing, becoming Young’s mentor/coach/manager in 2016 until Young got injured in 2017. What fans might not know is that it was actually Young’s idea. According to Young, he noticed at signings that both he and Backlund stood up while interacting with fans, and really appreciated the veteran’s energy. Inspired by Mike Tyson and his early trainer/father figure Cus D'Amato, Young came up with the whole idea and pitched it to Vince McMahon, who loved it and personally asked Backlund to take part.