[[quoteright:288:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bob_Backlund5_1535.jpg]]

Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is, officially, a two time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWE World Heavyweight Champion]], and holds the record for second longest individual possession of the title.

A [[RingOldies Ring Oldie]] who has been wrestling since 1973, bouncing around various leagues, including the {{Wrestling/A|mericanWrestlingAssociation}}WA and Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA, Backlund joined the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} then-WWWF]] in 1977. Playing the part of a clean-cut {{Face}} with impressive technical ability, Backlund quickly got over with wrestling fans, and won the WWF Championship from Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham in 1978. Backlund remained champion for the next five years (though semi-officially lost and quickly regained the belt to Wrestling/AntonioInoki during a Japanese tour, and, in 1981, an angle was played where Wrestling/GregValentine, after losing by pinfall, was "accidentally" given the belt by a {{kayfabe}} "dazed" referee; the title was supposedly "held-up" until the next month when Backlund easily won the rematch). While Backlund defended his championship against a veritable who's who of the early 1980s wrestling scene, eventually fans grew tired of the squeaky-clean Backlund's domination, especially with the more muscular and charismatic Wrestling/HulkHogan waiting in the wings.

The natural angle at this point would be for Backlund to make a FaceHeelTurn leading up to a confrontation with Hogan. However, Backlund refused to change his character and so ended up losing the belt to a transitional champion, ForeignWrestlingHeel Wrestling/TheIronSheik, in 1983. (Sheik would drop the belt to Hogan one month later.) Backlund bounced around the mid-card before entering a semi-retirement in 1984.

Backlund returned to the WWF in 1992, and although at first he was the same face character as before (but now trying to mentor younger stars), he eventually portrayed a gimmick that crossed his current credentials with a Crazy Old Man tendency to "snap" without provocation. Feuding with WWF Wrestling/BretHart in 1994, Backlund defeated him in a Throw In The Towel match at that year's Survivor Series, thus beginning a second official championship reign. Three days later, [[{{Wrestling/KevinNash}} Diesel]] won the title from him in a SquashMatch in an oddly non-televised show.

Since then, Backlund has made sporadic appearances on WWE programming and pay-per-view events (most notably as a JokeCharacter entry in the 2000 Wrestling/RoyalRumble), and made a brief run in TNA during 2007. He also showed up on WWE again in 2012 in the lead-up to the 1000th episode of RAW when a furious and humiliated Wrestling/HeathSlater, fresh off a loss to Wrestling/SinCara, challenged any former champion in the back to throw down with him and Bob answered the call, submitting Slater with his treadmark FinishingMove.

Backlund is also known for a failed attempt in 2000 to run for a Connecticut representative seat in Congress, and for guest-starring in a MemeticMutation worthy episode of ''Series/SingledOut''.
----
!! "The tropes of MISTER Bob Backlund have come TO SAVE YOU plebeians. BUT FIRST, TO SCRUTINIZE YOU... PASTORIZE YOU TO THE FULLEST... AND SYNCHRONIZE YOU... BACK INTO MORALITY!":
* TheAce[=/=]TechnicianVsPerformer: Closer to an all-arounder, much more than the promotion's big names back in the day such as Wrestling/BrunoSammartino or Wrestling/PedroMorales. As a matter of fact, he was a sort of a CompositeCharacter of them both: A performer who can play as the brawler or the powerhouse, and who happens to be a true grapplin' master!
* AllAmericanFace: One of the best examples of IncorruptiblePurePureness in pro wrestling up to 1994. Then he turned into a hellish [[KnightTemplar "Morality Crusader"]].
** Played on the fact that he was also a true "All-American" in Wrestling ''and'' Football back in his college days.
* AlliterativeName: '''B'''ob '''B'''acklund.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: While this applies to his 1994 FaceHeelTurn, it was also evident during Backlund's original run as WWF Champion when a heel wrestler got him angry enough. "Superstar" Billy Graham found this out firsthand during their feud in late 1982-early 1983, when – during a feud that played up his pent-up rage from his title loss nearly five years earlier – he destroyed Backlund's title belt. Bob picked up the pieces of the belt, looked at it and began screaming "WHY?" like a lunatic. Backlund, who usually used mat and scientific wrestling in his matches, also proved he was an excellent brawler when pushed by heel opponents.
** But actually, the psychopathic side of his personality – one who becomes irrational and unpredictable when really angered – was first seen in the fall of 1978, when a close friend, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, attacked his dear manager Arnold Skaaland during a tag-team match, to then turn his attention onto Backlund. After Maivia was separated from Backlund and hustled back to the locker room, Backlund screamed out, "'''I'll KILL that SON-OF-A-BITCH!!!!'''" (Maivia, meanwhile, [[FaceHeelTurn later interview claimed he was sick and tired of Backlund supposedly ducking him and not offering him a title shot]]. Needless to say, Maivia was not successful in his quest to win the title.)
* BlasphemousBoast: The sign that we have completely lost him.
-->'''Bob Backlund''': [[AGodAmI "BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVEyE9F-fGQ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!"]]
* CallBack: A very lengthy one for Pro Wrestling. [[KickTheDog He attacked Arnold Skaaland]] for throwing in the towel during Backlund's WWF Championship loss to the Iron Sheik, which happened over ten years earlier.
* CanonDiscontinuity: According to the "official" WWE title history, Bob Backlund defeated "Superstar" Billy Graham for the World Wide Wrestling Federation Championship in February of 1978, and lost it to Wrestling/TheIronSheik in December of 1983. However, in November of 1979, at a cross-promotional show in Japan, Antonio Inoki defeated Backlund cleanly for the title, and was announced and promoted at NWF (National Wrestling Federation, a subsidiary of the NWA) shows as being the WWF Champion. He lost it back to Backlund a week later in December. Since the WWF never authorized this title change, they never acknowledged Inoki as being their first (and, discounting the Pacific-Island-Billed-As-Japanese Yokozuna, only) Asian world champion.
* CaptainErsatz: In the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance versions of ''Videogame/FireProWrestling'' as '''"Shamrock" Moss [=McLand=]'''.
* ChekhovsGun: Watch closely the page image. You see what's on his shoulders, right? Well... it was ''[[TheArtifact the very same towel]]'' Arnold Skaaland threw in to save Bob for being further injured by The Iron Sheik.
* CloudCuckooLander: Good Lord, yes....!!!
* ConsistentClothingStyle: His attire reflected his GoodOldWays status, [[FashionDissonance being as basic as]] ankle-long boots, kneepads, trunks, a short bathrobe, his towel and nothing more. Incidentally, he wore this same set in many colors, favoring the blue and the red ones but extending to olive green, light purple, pink, brown and even black.
** This also extended to his civvies, being basically working shoes, khaquis with suspenders, a white long-sleeved shirt and his trademark red bowtie.
* CurbStompBattle: [[Film/TheRoom2003 O hai]], [[{{Wrestling/KevinNash}} Diesel]].
* DarkerAndEdgier: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] Backlund was given the opportunity to have a FaceHeelTurn in TheEighties, but he refused, and left the WWF once Hulk Hogan was champion. When he finally did turn during his second run in 1994, it was instead a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] of his AllAmericanFace status.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: His overwhelming victory against Graham was seen as this in a time Super Star was considered the WWWF's hottest propiety. Bob was pitted against wrestling ''top of the tops'' back in the day to defend his championship, having dessisive victories against them all.
** An aversion was his defence against a pre-Hulkamania Hogan. Considered one of The Hulkster's ''best matches ever'' for it was a rarity showing a very mat-savvy Hogan defeating Backlund, albeit by count-out.
* DemotedToExtra:
** After Hulk Hogan made his presence felt in the WWF, it was downhill for Backlund, who'd had his day, and just couldn't compete with a charismatic, larger than life character like Hogan.
** Happened ''again'' after he dropped the WWF title to Diesel. His feud with Bret culminated in an unmemorable [=WrestleMania=] match, and he was given a "Running for President" gimmick that was [[AbortedArc abandoned]].
* {{Determinator}}: His sixty-one minutes and ten seconds performance at ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble 1993.'' It was a record that stood for eleven years and was then passed by both Wrestling/ChrisBenoit (61 minutes, 30 seconds in 2004) and Wrestling/ReyMysterio (62 minutes, 12 seconds in 2006).
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Managed to invoke this in Wrestling/JerryLawler, who was fresh off his feud with Hart. Even The King thought Bob lost it when he started randomly putting people in that dreaded chickenwing of his.
* EtTuBrute: In his heel turn in 1994, Backlund took this stance toward his former manager, Arnold Skaaland, who threw in the towel and caused Backlund to lose the title to Wrestling/TheIronSheik. Backlund would [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFwtjILNN28 get his revenge]] on an early episode of ''Wrestling/{{WWE}} [=RAW=]''.
* FaceHeelTurn: When Backlund lost a scientific match to Bret "Hitman" Hart in 1994. On the surface, it appeared as though Backlund was just disappointed he lost a match to one of his contemporaries, but instead it brought up years of frustration of being considered "old style" and uncharismatic (never mind the fact that Hart also was a successful scientific wrestler who, while more charismatic than Backlund, never had to rely on his persona to get him over).
** During his face run in the 1970s and 1980s, he was the victim of this several times, most notably "High Chief" Peter Maivia in 1978-1979. This was usually due to a so-called friend secretly wanting the title and frustrated that Backlund didn't think to grant him a title shot.
* FieryRedhead: Quite a dynamic, merry lad as a face and a ''completely insane'' middle-age man as a heel.
* FinishingMove: The ''Crossface Chickenwing'', which was considered a devastating move when he used it as a face, at the time of his 1994 heel run, was put over as ''[[DangerousForbiddenTechnique "...possibly the most dangerous hold in wrestling."]]''
** Backlund's other favorite finishing move was to pin by "The Bridge" right after a ''German Suplex'' or an ''O'Connor Roll'' (where, by the leverage of his arched back, pinned his opponent's shoulders flat to the mat).
*** Bob's other OTHER finishing move, back during his first babyface run, was the "Atomic knee drop". Which, despite what the name my lead you to believe, was not a top rope knee of any kind, but actually little more than a Running Atomic Drop. People might scoff now, but he defeated Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham with that very technique.
* TheGrappler: Arguably the best example of this on an american promotion outside of the AWA, 10 years prior to the arrival of the likes of The Hitman and [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect]]. Being this the only trait he carried on with once he turned heel.
* HandshakeRefusal: Standard procedure during most of his face matches; he would extend his hand to his opponent at the opening bell, and if refused (which was most of the time) would act terribly hurt.
* HiddenDepths[=/=]MeaningfulName: Both him and '''Mrs. Backlund''' are RealLife P.E. Teachers, so there is a very good reason you better start to call him '''MISTER, plebian!'''
* IsThisWhatAngerFeelsLike: During his 1990s run, Backlund went from a nice guy/mentor to the up-and-coming stars to heel-gone-mad over what he perceived as unjustly losing the WWF Championship in 1983 to Wrestling/TheIronSheik, attacking friends old (Arnold Skaaland) and new (Wrestling/BretHart and Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith).
* ItMakesSenseInContext: In his autobiography, he said that his "Mr. Backlund" character made more sense in 1994 than 1984. Apparently, [=McMahon=] wanted him to play a similar character (An embittered/jealous heel upset that someone better, flashier, etc., was now getting the cheers he once did.) shortly after Hogan was hired back to become its new star, and that was to be the catalyst for Hogan winning the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
** The 1994 heel turn allowed the WWF to refine the character they had in mind, ten years had passed since the days when Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection was just starting to pick up steam (Hogan had been gone from the WWF a year) and allowed Backlund, who knew well how to draw negative heat, to play the character to perfection. His matches with Wrestling/BretHart also gave the WWF some of its best mid-1990s shows, and given that Backlund's submission hold works better on smaller wrestlers (like Hart and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels) than large, steroid-sized monsters that were common during the era, this allowed him to use the move to greater effect.
** Then again, Backlund's agreeing to be booked as the loser of his match to the Iron Sheik made the title transition to Hogan make sense. After all, who wanted TheAllAmericanBoy, the standard-bearer for nearly six years and one of the most popular babyfaces of the era, to face the new [[AllAmericanFace "Real American"]] World Heavyweight Champ? Fans ''wanted'' America vs. one of its most hated enemies ... and the 22,000-plus fans that saw Hogan crush the Iron Sheik (and in effect, America getting a decisive win over Iran) that January 1984 night was exactly what they got.
* LargeHam: As Crazy Bob...and apparently has twisted the knob right off and gone to eleven permanently as Darren Young's manager.
** When trying to ''educate'' the audience, you can be damn sure he lost it once he started to [[SuddenlyShouting rise his voice up]], ending his phrases in a "hissing squeal" pitch.
* NeverLearnedToRead: Until he was 42 (In {{Kayfabe}}, of course). Played upon his "innocent lad" persona.[[note]]He did have mild dyslexia as a child, though.[[/note]]
* OlderIsBetter: His character's stained view of nowadays world is an echo to his own old school wrestling style.
** To those old (Or savvy) enough, you may remember him as the clean-cut little town lad who was the "never-cheating do-good hero" back in his day, but since he wasn't able to roll on with the changes, it was a natural CharacterDevelopment to turn him into the FallenHero.
* PrecisionFStrike: When his partner Peter Maivia turned on him during a tag match, an enraged Backlund vowed "to kill the son of a bitch".
* RedBaron:
** "TheAllAmericanBoy" as WWWF Champ.
** "New York no Tenou" (ニューヨークの天応 "Emperor of New York") during his brief stints in Japan.
* RingOldies: Just ask Wrestling/HeathSlater. Or the fans who chanted "He's still got it!" during a July 2012 episode of ''Raw''.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: His mid-'90s FaceHeelTurn was characterized by his speaking with words from the unabridged dictionary; notably, calling the fans "plebeians".
* SignatureMove: Not just ''EVERY'' hold and lock on legs, arms, head and waist you could possibly imagine but also their '''counters'''. Besides of this, there were '''lots''' of throws, but favouring the ''Atomic Drop'' over them all.
* SpiritualSuccessor:
** [[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] himself inherited his "Mr. Backlund" personality just three years later. Complete with his ''"hunt for little perverts"'' like [[Wrestling/SteveAustin Austin]] and [[Wrestling/ShawnMichaels Michaels]].
** Although his career was cut short pretty soon, Bob's character traits were pretty much Wrestling/ChristopherNowinski ones to a tee. This can also be said in Wrestling/JackSwagger's case.
* SquashMatch: Losing the title to [[{{Wrestling/KevinNash}} Diesel]] in just 8 seconds.
* StillGotIt: And [[BewareTheNiceOnes don't make him prove it]].
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: That's ''Mr.'' Backlund to you, unless you want to get stretched.
* VillainTeamUp: In 1996, Backlund and The Iron Sheik teamed up to manage The Sultan [[note]]Rikishi Fatu in an Arabian costume and mask[[/note]].
* WhenEldersAttack: Backlund's often played the role of a dangerous, mean old guy who hates whippersnappers and goes after them. Instead of a cane, though, his "weapon" of choice is his feared and revered finisher.
* WrestlingPsychology: Having to face one of the greatest names in the business, a former world heavyweight champion for almost ''six years'' who not only was his own generation's best technician, but also sturdy enough to face the likes of Hogan and Wrestling/SgtSlaughter on their own terms can be demoralizing.
** Case in point: Wrestling-wise, the purpose of applying a seemingly simple maneuver like a ''Colar-and-elbow'' or a ''Front waist lock'' is to keep your opponent completely immobilized, and ''that's'' before you do something that really hurts!
----
->"... these tropes didn't change, YOU CHANGED! And now you have been ''educated'' I want you to make MISTER Backlund GREAT AGAIN!"
----