Seeing the question about Backlund's title reign reminded me of something else: what was the deal with him going coast to coast in the 93 Rumble? It seemed really random especially considering he was just returning and most people probably had no idea he was a former long-time champion.
Yeah, I went back to the WON from that time to check, and Dave just BURIES Backlund's involvement and how no one gave a shit about him. It's pretty funny. I think it was their idea to get him over with the marathon man babyface push, but it so did not work at all.
Also from that time period: Paul Heyman gets fired for allegedly falsifying hotel expense reports, Kerry Von Erich gets arrested for what would turn out to be the conviction that ended his life, Marty Jannetty gets fired again, and it's a spectacularly depressing period all around.
When people finally figured out he was going to pass Flair's time, they popped pretty well. Then they realized it was down to Yokozuna, who promptly tossed him like garbage and it was all over. He didn't have a chance.
ReplyDeleteAlso Dino Bravo died that winter...did you for you forget about Dino Bravo dickhead, (Andre died too)
ReplyDeleteBig pet peeve of mine is when WWE tries something or debuts someone and it doesn't get over with the live crowd the first time it happens so they completely abandon all plans.
ReplyDeleteBob Backlund's becoming as big of a hot topic as Chris Walker around here lately.
ReplyDeleteThen they stumble on the best character of 1994. Crazy.
ReplyDelete1993 is such an odd year for WWF IMO. Kinda the transition year from the Rock n Wrestling to the New Generation.
ReplyDeleteDiesel wasn't in the 1993 Rumble.
ReplyDeleteIt was probably because backlund is one of the WWF's all time greats and he's always in phenomenal shape so they gave him the run.
ReplyDeleteKnee Walk < the worm
ReplyDeleteI always thought they knew Flair was leaving, so they didn't want him to have the longeviety record. So they gave it to Backlund.
ReplyDeleteI always thought this too, but I could have "created" this based on what I have come to learn about Vince's vindictive ways.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would've given us Flair vs Backlund on RAW in '93.
ReplyDelete1993 Royal Rumble =
ReplyDeleteGreat Scott Quote: "And unless it's Hulk Hogan behind that curtain, Yokozuna's taking this one
Number 30 turns out to be Savage. Hmmm, maybe he can win....AND THEN WRESTLEMANIA IX IS BRET AND SAVAGE *blog explosion*
Backlund fascinates me ... every time you hear an old-timer talk about him its with awe at how tough he is. I saw something once where Flair was talking about how the NWA would send Harley Race with him to Japan to keep them from pulling shit on him, he said that with Backlund, such protection wasn't needed. Tough as balls, and nobody seems to appreciate him.
ReplyDeleteBret going over Savage at WM would have made him a year ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteMania IX could've been epic. Bret vs. Hogan, Savage vs. Yoko, Flair vs. Perfect (the Loser Leaves Town RAW match here instead), Steiners vs. Money Inc for the tag belts, Michaels vs. Backlund IC title, Razor vs. Tatanka
ReplyDeleteI get him and Harvey Whippleman confused a lot.
ReplyDeleteHogan only came back in Feb. in storyline to help Brutus. Also, Tatanka was way more over as an IC contender than Backlund.
ReplyDeleteCorrect.
ReplyDeleteDave's extended hatred for Backlund is kind of hilarious. I sort of understand the ill will he had for him in the early '80s due to Backlund being Cena V 1.0, but the stuff around that period is just bizarre because Backlund wasn't really doing anything to warrant that kind of venom.
ReplyDelete'Dave just BURIES Backlund's involvement'
ReplyDeletemeltzer bury wwf? thats unpossible!
if it was misawa going that long in the 93 rumble he woulda given it 5 stars easily!
ReplyDeleteMI-SA-WA! MI-SA-WA! MI-SA-WA!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the share, Scott. My blog's views skyrocket whenever you post a link.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you guys think of the series so far? Not enough talk about wrestling? Too self-indulgent? Going along just fine?
Backlands! You gotta live it everyday!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought that Rumble was well booked. True, Backlund wasn't over when it started, but he was by the end, and having Yoko eliminate him put some nice heel heat on the eventual winner.
ReplyDeleteI remember that Rumble just thinking the whole time "Throw the dork out." 12 year old me hated Backlund with a passion.
ReplyDeleteBacklund was a weird case, though, especially in his original run. He was an anomaly because he was a 'wrestling technician' in a company that favoured brawlers. And yet, his style was really phony--it didn't look at all like, say, Jack Brisco's or Dory Funk's. True, he came a little later than those guys, but I don't think he would've gotten over with that gimmick in the NWA, even in the late-70s.
ReplyDeletei think meltzer has given him 3x's as many 5 * matches as any that happened on north america.
ReplyDeletei can dig the bruce referance.
ReplyDeleteI didn't become a Backlund fan until he went all coo coo for Cocoa Puffs on us. It's funny how that works: I don't care for most faces until they make a heel turn. The exceptions have been 95-96 Shawn Michaels, *mumbles* and Daniel Bryan.
ReplyDeleteMeltzer loves him some Japanese wrestling specifically AJPW in the 80's and 90's If he includes storylines as part of how he rates a match, how does a match with a storyline he doesn't understand or comprehend because of the language/society barriers get 5 stars? Most of the "great" AJPW matches are pretty standard by today's standards. It's just guys dropping each other of their heads or nailing lariats on each other for 20-30 minutes. If that happened today, Dave would be whining saying that guys shouldn't be dropping each other on their heads anymore. He throws a fit when there's a chairshot to the head that's even visually blocked by the opponent's hands.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a depressing time behind the scenes in wrestling...so many coke head 80s stars meeting their personal and/or professional demise.
ReplyDeleteLike most others, I had no idea who he was. Vince was on commentary saying Backlund is this and that. I'm like whatever you say dude. Also, like everyone else, I didn't care about him until one of the greatest heel turns of all-time.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think there was anything to it. Look at the early years of the Rumble and who some of the iron men were. Greg Valentine at 40+ minutes in 90 and then Rick Martel with 52 minutes in 91 before Flair's run. It seems to be more of a an unlikely person/underdog role to keep the crowd interested during the lag in the middle of the match.
ReplyDeleteNot entirely true. There is a different system at work, which confuses American wrestling fans. The storylines were in-ring to an extent. AJPW had a system called King's Road which catered to detail nerds like Meltzer, because every match referenced a previous match or matches, sometimes going back years. The head-dropping was to illustrate that traditional finishers no longer worked on certain guys so things had to escalate for one guy to pin another.
ReplyDeletethats a big gripe of mine with watching japanese wrestling is that i dont have a fucking clue whats going on.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It really pissed me off when guys like taker and perfect were barely in the match but boring red trunks was waddling around in there. That was 12 year old me talking
ReplyDeleteso the 60 times him and kenta wrestled by the last match they were literally killing each other??
ReplyDeleteI've watched a lot of Meltzer's "five star" matches from AJPW and they all have the same formula. It's no wonder all of those guys can barely walk now. If Punk and Cena went out there for 30 minutes and dumped each other on their heads repeatedly, Dave would be crying up a storm.
ReplyDeleteI figured that too back then because I heard from people pre-internet that flair lost the loser leaves match a week earlier on the taped raw
ReplyDeleteThat was a lousy ARCO arena crowd for the rumble. Although the match didnt give them much to work with.
ReplyDeleteHere is a Backlund going nuts promo.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ApvubZN6l0
It's not like they did any follow-up with iron man Backlund. Now that I think about it, 1993 WWF is a lot like 2014 WWE.
ReplyDeleteEvery culture's style of wrestling will have a formula. Also, Punk's well on his way to being able to barely walk based on the number of injuries he's suffered. Just because he isn't being dropped on his head, that doesn't mean he isn't doing damage to himself in a way that's culturally acceptable for American audiences (remember the Savage elbow to Taker through the announce table at Mania?).
ReplyDeleteMy point here is this, most American fans won't understand Japanese wrestling, or lucha libre for that matter, because there's a different set of values and ideas at work. Japanese fans have been conditioned to expect a certain style of wrestling for decades, just as American fans have. That isn't to say one group can't appreciate the other. There are tons of Americans who lose their shit over Japanese anime, while it looks like creepy wide-eyed pedo-bait to the rest of the country. Just keep an open mind. Meltzer is wrestling's equivalent of an anime fan or someone who prefers European art cinema to American films.
I don't remember him being around until the heel turn. I will admit that I don't remember a lot about the time period though
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize Damien Sandow's uncle was a ginger.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay to say John Cena's name.
ReplyDeleteI assume they had Backlund in to appeal to the older fans, forgetting that their bread and butter was kiddie stuff.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about "tossing him like garbage." Yes, Backlund did that Jim Dugganesque "I'm going to run and try to clothesline like an idiot and you are going to backdrop me out" spot, but he had Yoko reeling from a few dropkicks.
ReplyDeleteBob Backlund - He has never eaten marijuana!
ReplyDeleteI could never watch AJPW for more than a match for that reason; old NJPW I could watch for a bit, but more because I grew up with wrestlers as characters. It took me time to get into British wrestling because of the round system, but I had the advantage of English-speaking announcers. I think New Japan ought to try one PPV with an English announcing option to see if it sells.
ReplyDeleteHe was on quite a bit actually. Backlund made a lot of money for he company prior to Hogan. Vince was loyal like that back then.
ReplyDeleteThat '93 Rumble just DIES when Giant Gonzalez walks out and destroys the Undertaker. Just deflates everyone.
ReplyDeleteHe wrestled a very classic Midwestern style - hold oriented, not a whole lot of striking - but with some crazy moves to show off his freak strength. He's the kind of guy I'd have seen on the St. Louis shows in the 80s. I don't envy Backlund having to figure out what to do with those slugs Vince Sr. threw at him.
ReplyDeleteThis was exactly my thought when I read the question.
ReplyDeleteMumbles? Terry Funk was a heel for years.
ReplyDeleteI was referring to David Flair.
ReplyDeleteI dunno. I remember being a kid and being shocked by GG. A true holy shit moment even though the follow-up matches were terrible.
ReplyDeleteYep, as a kid, I didn't care about star ratings. All I cared about was "Has Undertaker met his match? Can he survive this, or is he finished?"
ReplyDeleteThreadjack
ReplyDeleteVideo of Roderick Strong nearly breaking his neck after receiving a Styles Clash at the RoH Tapings last night. Roddy shouldnt have tucked his head.
http://deadspin.com/botched-wrestling-move-at-ring-of-honor-show-nearly-bre-1495028761
I remember hating some of the big lugs and was drawn to the quicker workers but yeah, the angles and stuff caught my attention the most. I remember my first Communion took place the day of WrestleMania VI and how I couldnt wait to leave and watch it at my friends house. Warrior vs. Hogan match was the best thing ever then for me. Still was an awesome match too. I love watching that
ReplyDeleteWow. Good thing Dixie dumped that klutz.
ReplyDeleteDavid Flair was a face?
ReplyDeleteHey, gotta free up space for Dewey Barnes and Norv Fernum
ReplyDeleteThat looked like it was on Strong...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. He tucked his chin when he shouldnt have. You would think by now he knows how the move will go
ReplyDeleteThat was the battle at WM that made me leave the WWF till a little before WM 14....
ReplyDeleteBet he has eaten a whole lotta aspirin since the match...
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they never show the appearance during rumble highlight packages.
ReplyDeleteDewey Barnes? Is that some kind of pyro gimmick?
ReplyDeleteNo
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjFf__EshbY
He's The Dead Man. He doesn't have to survive anything.
ReplyDeleteWasnt he banging Stacy Keibler at one point....
ReplyDeleteWhich would make him a heel.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Backlund's turn influenced Hogan at all...
ReplyDeleteSorry but if George Clooney is getting David Flair's sloppy seconds, Flair is a face.....
ReplyDelete....or at least I would love the promo he could cut...
The New Road Warriors.
ReplyDeleteGeez, Taz, as a fellow short guy, at that height you just can't carry that kind of gut.
[looks in mirror]
Dammit!
Totally goes against that dude's report stating that AJ slipped and caused the botch
ReplyDeleteOn the surface it doesn't seem like it. My guess would be no. After Hogan's initial promo at Bash at the Beach, he never talked with that anger again.
ReplyDeleteI was 4 and I remember seeing Giant Gonzalez debut. I was legit scared. Him and Papa Shango were the only two wrestlers to ever make me cry.
ReplyDeleteI thought there was a shot somebody would remember....
ReplyDelete1992-1996 as a whole was an odd period.
ReplyDeleteI mean I wonder if he saw that Backlund remade his career by turning heel and he had a long run as a top face like Hogan did...
ReplyDeleteIf by slip they mean did the move correctly but the other dude was a moron, the report is on the money...
ReplyDeleteIt's "going along just fine." Your tone is pitch perfect and your emphasis on personal issues, wrestling, and name-dropping (I'd gather most of us want a name dropped now and then just to gauge how successful some of these people are) is well balanced. You got me considering picking up that armadillo detective story. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment. Some really good stuff here.
ReplyDeleteConsidering Backlund was effectively done about 6 months after the turn, I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteI meant seeing that it refreshed a stale character much like Hogan's had become but maybe Im reaching...
ReplyDeleteI doubt that. All accounts say he didn't turn heel until the last minute and even then it took a lot of begging and pleading.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying, but it didn't take the world by storm and was ended pretty abruptly. If it influenced Hogan at all, I think it would've edged toward avoiding turning heel.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing Hogan say Andre died days after their match on Cribs, Ill never believe anything he puts out there.....
ReplyDeleteAs much of this thread would show, Backlund's turn made a huge difference in his career, even if it was a 6 month run.....
ReplyDeleteBut why would a very limited amount of success convince Hogan, who had just entered WCW and was instantly the top face and champion, to turn heel? Backlund went from "I thought he died?" status to top heel for a minute back to "He hasn't died yet?" I just don't see the connection.
ReplyDeleteAnd Hogan has never cared about whether or not his character was stale. The guy is still trying to play 'Real American' Hulk Hogan 30 years after that character debuted. The only change he ever made was as Hollywood Hogan, another character he continues to revisit without much change.
lmao. It never appeared that Hogan's heart was in being a heel. He played to the crowd a lot and turned back babyface first chance he got.
ReplyDeleteI just thought I meant he saw that it could be a effective way to remake himself and that it could work if done correctly....
ReplyDeleteHe did seem to enjoy doing the back rakes and whipping folks with the weight lifting belt. And who could forget his attempt at throwing a fireball at Warrior...
ReplyDeleteGonzalez might have stood a chance without that goddamned foam rubber bodysuit.
ReplyDeleteHe had his moments. Those "god of wrestling" promos were a personal favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteThe "anybody can win" aspect is sorely missing now. It's impossible to suspend disbelief enough to get behind a high midcarder.
ReplyDeleteI was there live. The entire crowd thought Roddy was dead, such a scary moment. Excellent show otherwise, easily the best all-around ROH show in years.
ReplyDeleteI never realized how bad WrestleMania VI actually is. I'd watch that tape so much when I was younger. I used to think DiBiase vs. Jake was awesome. Then I took a break and watched it a few years later and the show was awful. Jake vs. DiBiase was still pretty good though.
ReplyDeleteYou could when there were two titles.
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there!
ReplyDeleteNo one is ever as big a topic as me!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I was being facetious.
ReplyDeleteI would legit fight him like I was in danger and not like he was an old man I don't want to hurt.
ReplyDeleteThe matches aren't all that good, but for me it's just a fun card. You got Demolition winning the tag titles, Andre turning back to face and whipping the Weasel's ass, Macho/Sherri vs. Dusty/Sapphire especially with Jesse's killer commentary, the little Steve Allen bits, and of course Hogan/Warrior. But on an objective level, it's pretty bad overall.
ReplyDeleteWatching live, I had no clue who Backlund was (I was 7 at the time). By the end, I was PISSED Yokozuna tossed him out... then he just kind of did nothing, doing occasional jobs in features on Superstars and Challenge, then all but disappeared for the majority of 1994 until he randomly challenged Bret for the title on Superstars.
ReplyDeleteWell, you should at least use someone plausible. Like Hornswaggle.
ReplyDeleteBacklund was JTTS for a while. I think someone beat him to qualify for King of the Ring on one of the early Raws, and was he in the 94 Rumble?
ReplyDeleteNo, his opinion never changed. In the Survivor Series recap issue he sums up the whole Backlund run as "a cute idea gone haywire" and notes that having a champion who appeals to the age 30+ lapsed fans is a stupid idea if they're supposed to be the "New Generation". He mocks them for running Backlund v. Hart on top and calls the initial Backlund heel turn match a flop, and notes how un-over he is in just about every result featuring him. Honestly, looking at it now it's kind of mean, especially given the nostalgia that the current group of lapsed fans have for that run.
ReplyDeleteI figured they were just out to get rid of Flair's time record in the Rumble, since Flair was leaving. As the guy with the best cardio, Backlund was a solid bet.
ReplyDeleteOne of the few bright spots of 1996 is when Backlund would randomly do commentary. I remember he had a HILARIOUS comment on one Raw where he chided schools for teaching students how to use "condominiums." How McMahon kept from corpsing on TV over that I'll never know.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that he's been the topic of several conversations this year. I wonder where he falls on the all time BoD list of wrestlers.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Basically it's a vehicle for one of maybe five guys to get booked at Wrestlemania. eg: This year it would be Punk, Bryan, Cena, Sheamus? Roman Reigns? I can't imagine anyone else having a chance in winning, such as Ziggler, ADR, Big Show, Henry etc.
ReplyDeleteI posted this in the NFL thread. And that was totally on Roddy, and according to one of the posters in that thread he's intentionally taken that bump like that before. Which is both amazingly stupid but also amazingly cool. I mean, if I guy is willing to take a bump like that to help put over your finisher he'll have no shortage of people trying to work with him.
ReplyDeleteDeadspin isn't a wrestling site, though as far as sports sites go they're pretty kind to wrestling.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone besides Cena, Punk, Lesnar (assuming he's in it), or Batista win I'll be shocked.
ReplyDeleteNot a much better time on camera either, 1993 wrestling found about 2 dozen ways to completely suck balls.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I believe so. Pretty sure Test dicked her down too.
ReplyDeleteExactly. There's no real use rooting for anyone else because we know it's a toss up, if we're lucky, between four guys.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I remember as a kid finding the '94 Survivor Series an absolute borefest.
ReplyDeleteIt usually comes down to about 4 or 5 guys anyway, in any given Rumble at least 23 of them have no real shot.
ReplyDelete2014 Rumble odds, based on nothing scientific whatsoever:
Batista: 3/1
Cena: 4/1 (would be more like even money at the least if he didn't win last year)
Punk: 5/1
Lesnar: 7/1
Daniel Bryan-Wayatt and Roman Reigns: 10/1
Jericho/RVD: 15/1
Sheamus: 20/1
The field: 10,000/1
Geez though, I know I wouldn't want to work with a guy who's willing to risk crippling himself to make a move look cool though. Even though that wasn't AJ's fault at all, I'm sure he would have still felt terrible if Roddy's neck had been broken. This is a lot like that guy Charles Austin who broke his neck taking Marty Jannety's Rocker Dropper wrong. I sometimes wonder if that incident doesn't resonate a bit in Marty's self-destructive streak (probably not, but that still has got to be a heavy bag to carry around).
ReplyDeleteBacklund may be the most boring person on Earth.
ReplyDeleteHe would have been the luchadore dynamo that he was in WCW!
ReplyDeleteBatista is only coming back because he didn't make the 30 man roster of Expendables 3. I might even be pissed if he won.
ReplyDeleteOnly two ways to fix that:
ReplyDelete1. Instead of WrestleMania, the Rumble winner gets a title shot at Elimination Chamber, which opens it up to a few more guys who don't have to be WrestleMania-Main-Eventer level.
2. The final four guys in the Rumble each earn automatic spots in an Elimination Chamber title match. The Rumble winner can then choose to "cash in" his title shot at Elimination Chamber, or pick another wrestler to give it to, and keep his title shot at WrestleMania.
For me he was the antiwrestler of all antiwrestlers. No doubt, he was a great technician, but his name and his appearance was just not... how can I say... cool enough. He looked like a jobber with a jobber name and jobber face and jobber haircut and jobber trunks. And they gave him a 30 minute match and the WWF title at SS94 and a rematch with Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XI which is both still mindboggeling when you have guys like Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Lex Luger, Yokozuna, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Razor Ramon, Diesel, Adam Bomb, Crush...
ReplyDelete*brain went *splooge!**
ReplyDelete...
...
..20 f#&in' years ago. GODDAMN I feel old...
Minor Threadjack: Does the 49ers pep talk, and the multiple NFL teams courting Ric Flair for appearances and speeches finally kill the ridiculous argument that he was "regional" and had no main stream appeal? I certainly think so.
ReplyDelete"Paul Heyman gets fired for allegedly falsifying hotel expense reports..."
ReplyDeleteNow that's shocking...
All of whom, combined, never carried a company as long as Backlund did.
ReplyDeleteI see some Backlund hate going on here. I, for one, enjoyed "psycho chicken wing your grandma" Backlund.
ReplyDeleteBut it was a time which was more or less the wrestling stone age. Also known as the time before Hulkamania. ;) Is here anyone who watched WW(W)F when Backlund was the champion? How many PPVs did they had? How many 2-3 hours of prime time tv shows did they had?
ReplyDeleteHis Survivor Series 94 match with Bret was one of best wrestling matches I've ever seen. And no, he wasn't carried.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. Who do you think he patterned his style after? Verne Gagne's? I grew up near Toronto, so I haven't seen much AWA.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should try eating woke marijuana.
ReplyDeleteKeep pushing (him) 'til it's understood...
ReplyDeleteThe big lugs never really bothered me until I was about 12. The first match I can recall watching and thought was just actively terrible was that Kane/Big Show match from King of the Ring 1999. I remember a friend and I watching it and just thinking, "wow, this is boring as shit. It's actually un-watchable." I don't remember ever hating a match due to the workrate before that one. And this includes numerous Hogan in WCW matches and all that. That Kane/Big Show match was just horrid.
ReplyDelete3. Have an unexpected winner.
ReplyDeleteI get why they'd never do that and I'm not saying they should. But it might add to the "opportunity of a lifetime!" thing. But I guess that's what Money in the Bank is for.
Yeah but I'm not sure Hogan viewed himself as a stale character.
ReplyDeleteAt least he didn't offer them financial advice, I hope....
ReplyDelete(Yes, I went there...)
But was he an A+?
ReplyDeleteOf course Heyman stole money.. do you have any idea how much it cost to have a cellphone back then?? Those things were like a dollar a minute!!
ReplyDeleteDamian Demento refusing to get in the ring was a nice touch though.
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously a plebeian to think such a thing.
ReplyDeleteI heard this was because Gonzalez called him a jobber.
ReplyDeleteI know in hindsight nothing good was coming of it, but still I should have mentioned Gonzalez in the surprise Rumble competitor thread. Never mind he was not really in the match.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading the coliseum rants and scott makes a quick reference to Backlund to not knowing he was going to lose the belt to the sheik and how he was screwed out of the title for real when they had skaaland throw the towel in. This is the only time I've read this, could anyone let me know how real this may be or was it just an old Internet rumor?
ReplyDeleteBut he was maybe the most undeserving world champion ever. He had just no right wo win this title at that time. Yes he lost it very fast to Kevin Nash, but they destroyed the Survivor Series 94 for me and Wrestlemania XI wasn't any better because of Bob Backlund (and LT and Bam Bam).
ReplyDeleteI don't know... he just wasn't a pro wrestler for me. Rather the opposite.
93 was when I got back into the product, and it was also the reason I stopped watching for a few years. I used to go the the Raws at the Hammerstein, and having to sit through hours and hours of Bastion Booger, Godwinns, mutliple Doinks, Men On A Mission and Mr Hughes was too much for even a die hard fan like me.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about this the other day. Most of the early WMs don't hold up if you are looking at the workrate. But I still prefer them to later ones because of the fewer PPVs and that people treated them like big deals back then.
ReplyDeleteBecause he didn't want to SEND FOR THE MAN
ReplyDeleteYeah, really, I thought I was the only one that noticed how Sandow recycled Backlund's robe from this era.
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me to ask again...anyone know the date of the WON issue where Meltzer picks apart Hogan's autobiography?
ReplyDeleteDid Mumbles turn back heel after telling Tracy the truth about 88 Keys?
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that in 1988-89 WONs he talks about Mr. Perfect not being over too. Did he take a while to get hot, or is Meltzer exaggerating?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Kerry's. Seriously, though, Feb of 1993 was a cursed month for wrestling, kind of like July 4th used to be (Adonis' death, Stampede car accident, Brutus' parasailing accident...)
ReplyDeleteBecause Bret Hart vs. Adam Bomb at Wrestlemania just screams "MANY BUYS!"
ReplyDeleteI think it's just a rumor. I've never heard any indication that this was a 'screwjob' like Bret/Shawn or Richter/Moolah. It's possible that Backlund wasn't told to drop the belt until shortly before the actual match given how secretive things were back then and how quickly Vince wanted to get the belt over to Hogan.
ReplyDelete15 years later Big Show and Kane are still boring crowds around the country with their matches.
ReplyDeleteI think you're comparing apples and oranges. Yes, now that he's a legend and has years of national exposure through the WWF and WCW (and JCP to some extent) he's well known and popular across the nation.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the debate focused more on his stint as champion in the early 80s, before Turner bought out Crockett.
Wrestlemania VI was a boring card until Hogan vs. Warrior. Nothing was offensively bad just boring.
ReplyDeleteIf you go to Lance Storm's web site, he does some reviews of a couple of the early Clash of the Champions and other Crockett shows, and he makes the exact same point. "technically' the matches look bad by today's standards, but the crowds were just incredibly into them.
ReplyDeleteEh,I think he was more into it than some of the other nWo guys. He did at times make himself look like a chickenshit when confronted by Piper and some of the other top faces. But overall, he seemed more interested in being cool than being a heel. But of course you could make that argument about a lot of the guys in the NWO. And given how successful they were for a couple years, who am I to argue?
ReplyDeleteAt least Adam Bomb would have been better than a f'n evil Isaac Yankem dentist at Summer Slam...=)
ReplyDeleteOk, maybe not Adam Bomb, but the rest were way more "Pro" wrestler than Backlund. And I mean, that to be a pro wrestler you have to be more than a good wrestler in the ring, but you must have the look and the name of a pro wrestler. Only the "total package" counts.
Yes, but a lot of that is in hindsight. Yes, it was successful enough that a generation of fans who never saw him in his prime (or even heard of him) now know who he is. But let's not go overboard. He was basically a mid-card heel who was used to transition the title from one babyface to another.
ReplyDeleteYes, say what you will about David Flair, but banging Stacy Kiebler is a bigger accomplishment than any wrestling title...
ReplyDeletePush Bob Backlund to the World Title, send the Macho Man to the announce booth and a forced retirement and eventual exile to WCW.
ReplyDelete92-94 WWF is like the fucking Twilight Zone man.
Meltzer followed Japanese wrestling pretty closely. I think he probably understood enough of the story to figure out what's going on.
ReplyDeleteShhhhh. It's like candyman, say it 3 times and it appears again
ReplyDeleteI don't think he's exaggerating. The Hogan/Perfect matches on the house show circuit apparently didn't do very good business (at least compared to the time). Perfect's best stretch was when he was paired with with Heenan (instead of The Genius as his manager) and became IC champion, but that wasn't until 1990.
ReplyDeleteSo, Bruno Sammartino isn't a big deal either then. Got it.
ReplyDeleteLex Luger?
ReplyDeleteim a huge fan of both of em!
ReplyDeleteBacklund/Razor at WM9 still makes absolute zero fucking sense. I do NOT understand it
ReplyDeleteYeah, thats what I thought. The only thing that got me is typically Scott responds to rumors like this with "Scott Sez" rebuttals and he didn't here. I guess he just missed it.
ReplyDeleteI still find it hard to believe that Backlund just leaves after he drops the belt. On top for 5 yrs and then he just disappears, doesn't even get a rematch.
Don't tempt me, you simpleton. ;)
ReplyDeleteDidn't he chickenwing Pettengill, or was that just a wish of mine then?
ReplyDelete(Thinks)... no... I wasn't that lucky. I think he did it to a "photographer", or something like that.
It's almost like throwing away good money, but I'm going with Bray Wyatt to win.
ReplyDeleteWould he have been a believeable WWF Champion in the 90s?
ReplyDeleteBacklund originally broke into pro wrestling in the AWA, so it's likely he picked up a lot from Verne.
ReplyDeleteMeltzer'd reported it earlier in the day, but it's not as though it was announced or even hinted at on TV.
ReplyDeleteNow, that guy dressed like Golddust when he came back, THAT was weird.
Wasn't a surprise, though.
ReplyDeleteCena with his head down, then looking up with the greatest shit-eating "WE GOT YOU, MARKS!" grin is still one of my favourite visuals ever. JR's "IT'S JOHN CENA!" was also *perfectly* timed.
ReplyDeleteThat the only two people in the area who knew Cena was going to be there were HHH and Cena himself makes the entire thing absolutely fucking mindblowing how well it came off.
Oh then I take it all back....
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