History Wrestling / BobBacklund

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 would win the WWF Championship from Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham in 1978. Backlund would remain champion for the next five years (though would semi-officially lose and quickly regain the belt to Wrestling/AntonioInoki during a Japanese tour, and, in 1981, an angle was played where Wrestling/GregValentine, after losing by pinfall, would be "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 would defend 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 would end up losing the belt to a transitional champion ForeignWrestlingHeel Wrestling/TheIronSheik in 1983. (Sheik would drop the belt to Hogan one month later.) Backlund would bounce 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 would eventually portray 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 would defeat him in a Throw In The Towel match at that year's Survivor Series, thus beginning a second official reign of championship. Three days later, [[{{Wrestling/KevinNash}} Diesel]] would win the title from him in a SquashMatch in an oddly non-televised show.

* TheAce[=/=]TechnicianVsPerformer: Closer to be an all-arounder much more than the promotion's big names back in the day 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. To then turn into a hellish [[KnightTemplar "Morality Crusader"]].
** Played on the fact he was also a true "All-American" in Wrestling ''and'' Football back in his college days.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: While this applies to his 1994 FaceHeelTurn, it also was 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 he – during a feud that played up his pent-up rage from his title loss nearly five years earlier – 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, his psychopathic personality side – 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.)

* NeverLearnedToRead: Until he was 42 (In {{Kayfabe}}, of course). Played upon his "innocent lad" persona.

* CurbStompBattle: [[Film/TheRoom O hai]], [[{{Wrestling/KevinNash}} Diesel]].

* AcceptableProfessionalTargets:[[invoked]] Normally during his original WWF run, Backlund greatly respected the officials and never touched them. But during one match at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1983, after he got disqualified in a match against Wrestling/GeorgeSteele (he had gotten Steele's foreign object, a dull blade of some sort, away from him and began hitting him with it repeatedly), he went crazy, shoving down the referee.
** In his autobiography, he and Steele recalled their series of matches, remarking how they wanted to put on a morality-play-of-sorts and have the fan empathize with the good guy (Backlund) who got the raw end of the deal by a referee making a bad call. In the matches they planned, Steele would jab Backlund with the blade several times in the neck, all without trying to actually wrestle, before the referee took his bump, Backlund landed a blow to cause Steele to drop the object, Backlund hitting Steele several times with the object before the referee comes to and, seeing Backlund use the blade and disqualifies him.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Managed to invoke this in Wrestling/JerryLawler, who was fresh off his feud with Hart. Even The King thought Bob loose it when he started randomly putting people in that dreaded lock of his.

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''

* LargeHam: As Crazy Bob...and apparently has twisted the knob right off and gone [[UpToEleven to eleven]] permanently as Darren Young's manager.

** "New York no Tenou" (ニューヨークの天応 "Emperor of New York") during his brief stint in Japan.

* TheAce: Closer to be an all-arounder much more than the promotion's big names back in the day 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!

* 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 order to save him for being further injured by The Iron Sheik.

* {{Determinator}}: His sixty-one minute 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).

* SignatureMove: ''EVERY'' lock and hold on legs, arms, head and back you could possibly imagine. Besides of this, there was the ''Atomic Drop.''

* TechnicianVsPerformer: As stated in "The Ace" above.

!! "The tropes of MISTER Bob Backlund have come TO SAVE YOU plebeians, BUT FIRST... TO SCRUTINIZE YOU, PASTORIZE YOU TO THE FULLEST AND SYNCHRONIZE BACK INTO MORALITY!":

* 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]].

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 crossface chicken wing.

* 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 Crossface Chickenwing.

* ChekhovsGun: Watch closely the page image. You see that towel on his neck, right? Well... it was ''[[TheArtifact the very same towel]]'' Arnold Skaaland threw in order to save him for being further injured by The Iron Sheik.

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 possession of the title.

!! "These tropes associated with MISTER Bob Backlund have come TO SAVE YOU, BUT FIRST... TO SCRUTINIZE YOU, PASTORIZE YOU AND SYNCHRONIZE YOU BACK INTO MORALITY plebeians!":

* TheAce: Arguably the best example of this on an american promotion outside 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.
** Also closer to be an all-arounder much more than the promotion's big names back in the day 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 [[TheGrappler a true master of his craft]].

* CaptainErsatz: In the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance versions of ''Videogame/FireProWrestling''.

* AGodAmI: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVEyE9F-fGQ "BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!"]]

* LargeHam: As Crazy Bob...and apparently has twisted the knob right off and gone to eleven permanently as Darren Young's manager.

* SignatureMove: ''EVERY'' lock and hold on legs and arms you could possibly imagine. Besides of this, there was the ''Atomic Drop.''
* SpiritualSuccessor: Wrestling/KurtAngle and Wrestling/JackSwagger in his "Mr. Backlund" personality.

** 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 have your opponent completely immobilized, and that's before to do something that really hurts.

->"... these tropes didn't change, YOU CHANGED! And I want you to make MISTER Backlund
GREAT AGAIN!"