Things Fans Should Know About Bob Backlund

There are only a handful of WWE stars that could be considered the face of the company in their given eras. Alongside names like Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, John Cena, and (arguably) Roman Reigns is Bob Backlund, who was WWE Champion in the late 1970s and early 1980s — just before WWE became a national promotion.

He wrestled in the 1990s and has made appearances in the decades since, but there’s likely a lot fans might not know about Bob Backlund, given his pre-Hulkamania heyday. So let’s cover what they should know about the Hall of Famer, including his WWE Championship wins and stints as a manager for younger wrestlers.

10 Athletic Background

Like many old school wrestlers, Bob Backlund played “legitimate” sports. Growing up in Minnesota, Backlund competed in amateur wrestling in high school and did both wrestling and football in college. As a wrestler, he proved to be successful, earning accolades as an All American and winning the NCAA Championship in 1971. These abilities helped him out in pro wrestling at the beginning, as promoters hired him to wrestle drunk fans who weren’t aware that pro wrestling was staged.

9 Chased The WWE Championship

The year 1976 marked Bob Backlund’s foray into the WWE, which at the time was called the World Wide Wrestling Federation, and would be challenging top heel Superstar Billy Graham for the WWE Championship within months. More shots at the belt would follow as Backlund gained momentum against his rival, until finally he defeated Graham for the championship in February 1978. With this win, Bob Backlund didn’t just become the eighth-ever WWE Champion, but also the top babyface in the company.

8 WWE Champion for Nearly Six Years

It seems unthinkable now, but before the 1990s, babyface champions in WWE tended to hold the title for years, with brief transitional heel runs between them. As such, Bob Backlund’s WWE Championship reign lasted six years, making him one of the longest reigning champions in WWE history.

As champion, Backlund regularly defended the belt, too, fighting off such big names as Don Muraco, Jesse Ventura, and Superstar Billy Graham in several rematches.

7 Lost The Title to Inoki (Kind Of)

There was, however, a strange instance where Bob Backlund came up short during his title reign. It was in late November 1979 when Backlund defended the belt in Japan, but ended up losing to New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Antonio Inoki. However, a rematch was declared a no contest due to interference, and Inoki chose to vacate the belt. Backlund soon won back the belt weeks later, but WWE has never recognized that the title ever changed hands, so Backlund’s reign remained unbroken as far as WWE’s history is concerned.

6 Refused To Drop The Title To Hogan

Things changed for Bob Backlund by the time his WWE Championship reign reached the early 1980s. Vince McMahon Jr. bought the company from his father Vince Sr., and sought to put Hulk Hogan at the top of the company. Plans were made for Backlund to turn heel on his way to dropping the belt to the Hulkster, but Backlund didn’t want to lose to Hogan due to the future champion’s lack of “legitimate” wrestling skills. As a result, Bob Backlund dropped the belt to The Iron Sheik, who soon lost the belt to Hogan.

5 Finally Turned Heel in 1994

While Backlund dodged turning heel in the 1980s, it finally happened in the 1990s. Backlund returned to the company in 1992, still working the same squeaky-clean gimmick, but as an unspectacular midcarder. As the company transitioned into the New Generation Era, Backlund soon turned heel, developing a persona as a crotchety old man out to teach the up-and-comers and current stars like Bret Hart a thing or two. His big thing was putting opponents in his signature crossface chickenwing maneuver and not letting go.

4 Two-Time WWE Champion

Bob Backlund wins the WWE Championship in 1994

Bob Backlund’s first victim of the crossface chickenwing thing was Bret Hart, so naturally the two would end up having a feud for Hart’s WWE Championship. It happened at Survivor Series 1994 in a submission match where one could only lose if a wrestler’s manager threw in the towel. Owen Hart, a heel at the time, convinced his and Bret’s mother to submit on Bret’s behalf.

This surprise win would make Backlund a two-time champion, but this second reign would only last a mere three days, ending in an eight-second match against Diesel at a house show in Madison Square Garden.

3 Attitude Era Manager

Given his All American amateur wrestling background, it was only natural that Bob Backlund would interact with WWE’s resident Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling, Kurt Angle. After appearing in the 2000 Royal Rumble, Backlund actually became Angle’s manager for a brief period, though Angle turned on Backlund due to his setting up a match that was not in the Olympian’s favor at WrestleMania. It was during this period that Backlund wrestled his last WWE match that wasn’t a nostalgia battle royal, tagging with Angle on an episode of SmackDown.

2 Wrestled For Impact

While Bob Backlund spent most of his TV wrestling career working with WWE, he did make a brief sint in Impact Wrestling, back when it was known as TNA, in 2007. He was mostly involved with the X Division, during which he was a thorn in the side of Austin Starr (a.k.a. Austin Aries). Backlund also wrestled a couple of matches during this run, defeating Alex Shelley at Slammiversary and then teaming with Jerry Lynn in a losing effort against Shelley and Chris Sabin at Victory Road.

1 Darren Young’s Manager

In 2016, after years of making guest appearances, Bob Backlund made a return to WWE as an active character. With the catchphrase of “Make Darren Young Great Again,” Backlund became a manager/life coach for Young, even going as far as teaching him the crossface chickenwing. Outside a pay-per-view shot at the Intercontinental Championship, not much came out of the angle, especially as Darren Young got injured and Backlund quietly disappeared from TV as a result.