The Wild Samoans vs. Bob Backlund & Pedro Morales - World Tag Team Championship Match: Showdown at Shea, August 9, 1980WWE Champion Bob Backlund looks to add another title to his name as he teams with Pedro Morales to take on the Wild Samoans for the World Tag Team Championship at Shea Stadium.06/27/2012 - 19:09
Bob Backlund lasts over an hour in the 1993 Royal Rumble Match: Royal Rumble 1993Bob Backlund enters the Royal Rumble Match at the number two spot and last until the final three.06/27/2012 - 19:16
Owen Hart convinces parents to throw in the towel for Bret: Survivor Series 1994With Bret Hart trapped in the crossface chickenwing but refusing to submit, Owen Hart pleads with his parents to throw in the towel, costing The "Hit Man" his WWE Title at Survivor Series 1994.02/23/2012 - 17:23
Bob Backlund runs for President: Raw, May 15, 1995Has Bob Backlund gone completely nuts? He has officially announced his plans to run for President!05/10/2012 - 13:24
Bob Backlund says it's time to make Darren Young great again: SmackDown, May 12, 2016Time brings Darren Young and his WWE Hall of Fame life coach to their first speed bump.05/12/2016 - 15:21
Bob Backlund schools Darren Young on being problem-free: Raw, July 4, 2016WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund has a special gift for Darren Young.07/04/2016 - 22:19
Bob Backlund reviews Darren Young's goals: Raw, June 27, 2016WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund educates Darren Young on "The Bob Backlund Era" as his protégé thinks about his upcoming goals.06/27/2016 - 22:15
Bob Backlund gives Darren Young some financial advice: Raw, June 13, 2016Bob Backlund gives his protégé some pointers on how to save money ... and reveals an unsettling truth about his wardrobe.06/13/2016 - 21:20
Bob Backlund steals Darren Young's car keys: Raw, June 6, 2016In order to "Make Darren Young Great Again," Bob Backlund forces his protégé to take a walk.06/06/2016 - 22:48
Darren Young learns that his life coach, Bob Backlund, does not believe in note-takingHow will Darren Young commit the life lessons of his WWE Hall of Fame life coach to memory?05/19/2016 - 16:16
Braun Strowman is ready to destroy SmackDown LIVE: WWE.com Exclusive, Oct. 31, 2016The abominable Strowman revels in conquering the competition in Raw's Battle Royal en route to representing Team Red in the 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Men's Elimination Match.10/31/2016 - 23:48
Does The Brian Kendrick look worried?: WWE.com Exclusive, Oct. 31, 2016Following his post-match brawl with TJ Perkins, The Brian Kendrick comments on his strategy to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.10/31/2016 - 23:45
Bob Backlund has some unusual Halloween festivities planned: WWE.com Exclusive, Oct. 31, 2016Darren Young isn't exactly thrilled when Bob Backlund reveals how he wants to celebrate Halloween.11/01/2016 - 00:40
Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre vs. John Cena & David Otunga - WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Bragging Rights 2010John Cena is forced into teaming with Nexus member David Otunga to win the WWE Tag Team Titles from Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes.07/08/2014 - 21:30
The Dudley Boyz vs. The Rock & Chris Jericho - World Tag Team Championship Match: Raw, Oct. 22, 2001WCW Champion Chris Jericho teams with his rival The Rock to try and capture the World Tag Team Titles from The Dudley Boyz.07/08/2014 - 21:23
John Cena & Batista vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase - World Tag Team Championship Match: Raw, Aug. 4, 2008John Cena and Batista form a "dream team" of sorts when they win the World Tag Team Championship on Raw.07/10/2012 - 17:09
Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. The Prime Time Players - WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contenders Match: Raw, Sept. 10, 2012Kane & Daniel Bryan team up, to battle The Prime Time Players for the No. 1 Contendership to the WWE Tag Team Championships.09/12/2012 - 13:53
John Cena and Shawn Michaels vs. Edge and Randy Orton - World Tag Team Championship Match: Raw, January 29, 2007John Cena and Shawn Michaels challenge Rated RKO for the World Tag Team Championship. A certain SmackDown Superstar makes a rare Raw appearance after the match.07/03/2012 - 10:45
Kane & Mankind vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin & The Undertaker - World Tag Team Championship Match: Fully Loaded 1998SummerSlam opponents "Stone Cold" Steve Austin & The Undertaker join forces to battle the World Tag Team Champions Kane & Mankind.09/06/2012 - 16:11
The Wild Samoans vs. Bob Backlund & Pedro Morales - World Tag Team Championship Match: Showdown at Shea, August 9, 1980WWE Champion Bob Backlund looks to add another title to his name as he teams with Pedro Morales to take on the Wild Samoans for the World Tag Team Championship at Shea Stadium.06/27/2012 - 19:09
WWE Champion; World Tag Team Champion; 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee
Bob Backlund: Bio
As American as apple pie, Bob Backlund experienced success as both an adored hero and a loathed villain in a WWE career that spanned across three decades. The kid from Princeton, Minn., quickly became a fan favorite and the seventh WWE Champion in the company’s history at Madison Square Garden in 1978. But when Backlund left WWE for good in the mid-1990s, he was a deranged madman despised by the fans for his outlandish behavior. It was a stunning transformation for the once beloved man who reigned atop sports-entertainment in the pre-Hogan era.
Backlund was a television staple after arriving in WWE thanks to his boyish demeanor and superior talent, and on Feb. 20, 1978, he achieved what few before him had ever done and won the WWE Championship by defeating the flamboyant “Superstar” Billy Graham. A former athletic standout at North Dakota State University – where he won the NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling championship – Backlund had the rare combination of good looks, pure strength and technical skill.
The list of opponents’ that succumbed to Backlund during his reign reads like a who’s who of wrestling greats, including Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine, Antonio Inoki, Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka. He even defended the title against other promotions’ top dogs, including the NWA’s Harley Race and Ric Flair and the AWA’s Nick Bockwinkel.
By the early '80s, pop culture was changing and so was WWE. Backlund lost the WWE Championship to The Iron Sheik while trapped in the Camel Clutch in Madison Square Garden. Backlund never submitted, but his manager Arnold Skaaland opted to throw in the towel to avoid permanent injury. Three weeks later, Hulk Hogan became champion and Backlund quietly left WWE.
After a decade, Backlund made an unexpected return in 1992. At this point, WWE had undergone many changes, and Backlund's boy-next-door looks didn't receive the same reaction they once had. After losing a highly-anticipated WWE Championship opportunity against Bret Hart, Backlund snapped and became Mister Backlund, a bowtie-wearing, dictionary-toting madman who enraged the WWE Universe. He assaulted WWE personalities with the Crossface Chickenwing, including Skaaland, who Backlund blamed for his title loss 10 years prior. The devastating hold put even the most talented Superstars in muscle-stretching agony and has been known to literally tear men apart.
Backlund received another opportunity at Hart’s WWE Championship at 1994’s Survivor Series in a “Throw in the Towel” Match. In spectacular irony, Backlund regained the WWE Championship the same way he had lost it 11 years earlier. With the “Hit Man” locked in the Chickenwing for more than eight minutes, Bret’s mother played the role of Skaaland and threw in the towel. He might have been more “eat your broccoli” than American apple pie, but Mr. Backlund was once again the champ.
The three total days of his second reign did not quite match Backlund’s first six-year run with the title. Backlund slowly ended his in-ring career, had a memorable run for President of the United States in 1995 and briefly managed another American hero, Kurt Angle.
Backlund’s impressive run at the top and subsequent descent into absurd lunacy makes for one of the most unique careers in WWE history. That’s why it was no surprise when the former WWE Champion was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in Madison Square Garden in 2013.