Magnus the Magnificent
King Koopa
didn't want one.
I could write a book about what you don't know!
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Post by Magnus the Magnificent on Feb 18, 2015 11:28:37 GMT -5
The better question: What was Backlund doing between 1984 and 1992? Hey, here is something I always wondered.. What did he do those 9 years he was gone? If the vignettes WWF aired are to believed, he worked as a carpenter, IIRC.
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Post by Aceorton on Feb 18, 2015 16:25:47 GMT -5
It's not like it's some high concept thing that we can't grasp, it's simply that this was not a case of slow burn booking. Maybe you're applying that with the benefit of hindsight? To believe they were planning on pushing a heel Backlund character in the main event back in 1993 is quite a reach. As I already said, this is more or less confirmed in Bret Hart's book when he describes first hearing about it and his surprise over it. I believe Waltman touches on it in his Timeline '94 shoot as well. And I said that his run as a main event heel wasn't probably planned but the seeds of a heel turn were. That's been my take on it. Backlund as a bland throwback weenie wasn't going to do anything for business in 1993, and I think Vince would have known that. It makes much more sense as a booking explanation that they planned to have him do his goofy vanilla act for a long time, establish him as a dork/JTTS to a new generation of fans, and then go shockingly heel when they had the right window for it. It just happened that in the summer of '94, post-Lex Express, with the WWF title picture not going as they'd anticipated, it was a perfect time to unleash Crazy Backlund. Right place, right time. And so of course that level of push would have been a surprise to guys like Bret and Waltman, because Luger was supposed to be the guy at that point and they were forced to change course. I don't think Backlund would have just left the company without going heel eventually -- it just might have been against someone like Duke Droese or Marty Jannetty.
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NOwave
Don Corleone
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Post by NOwave on Feb 18, 2015 17:24:06 GMT -5
Bob was the rare guy from the WWF who might have been better appreciated on his return by WCWs’ more traditional fan base. I can see him being booked as a legitimate and legendary athlete with great technical wrestling skills. He’d be the crafty veteran who could sneak up on and have a chance to beat virtually anybody under the right circumstances.
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willyjakes
Don Corleone
Dingleberry Don
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Post by willyjakes on Feb 18, 2015 20:23:24 GMT -5
Another thing to take into consideration was that Backlund turned down a punk-heel gimmick in the past. The fact that he even agreed to be a heel in any way shape or form was a bit of a surprise
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Post by ________ has left the building on Feb 18, 2015 20:42:42 GMT -5
Another thing to take into consideration was that Backlund turned down a punk-heel gimmick in the past. The fact that he even agreed to be a heel in any way shape or form was a bit of a surprise It would had been a terrible fit for he to be a punk rocker. Hardest music Backlund listens to is Lawrence Welk. Milk is his drug of choice. Guy was called Howdy Doody for a reason.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 20:43:56 GMT -5
I never saw Mr. Backlund as a kid but the more I read about the angle and watch clips of it, heel Bob Backlund might be one of my favorite wrestling characters of all time
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Post by MrElijah on Feb 19, 2015 12:15:39 GMT -5
The more I see it, the more I say it: some of 94 Backlund can be applied to 97 Bret
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 13:20:02 GMT -5
Doesn't Backlund still hold the record for longest Rumble appearance without actually winning? I know Rey broke his record, but that was the year he won.
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Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Feb 19, 2015 13:36:24 GMT -5
I never saw Mr. Backlund as a kid but the more I read about the angle and watch clips of it, heel Bob Backlund might be one of my favorite wrestling characters of all time I remember Mick Foley in one of his books mentioned Michael Hayes (I think) said something along the line of "The best heels are the ones who feel his actions are truly justified". Backlund was the epitome of that
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Post by Viking Hall on Feb 19, 2015 14:10:49 GMT -5
Has it ever been told what prompted Vince to bring him back in the first place? He wasn't one of Vince's guys, he wasn't over anywhere else in fact he'd pretty much faded into relative obscurity so why the sudden urge to bring him out of the darkness?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 23:08:21 GMT -5
I really wish that Backlund had taken that punk gimmick back in the day. Can you imagine how hilarious that shit would have been?
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willyjakes
Don Corleone
Dingleberry Don
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Post by willyjakes on Feb 20, 2015 1:28:03 GMT -5
I really wish that Backlund had taken that punk gimmick back in the day. Can you imagine how hilarious that shit would have been? "I'm a hard core punk rocker Gene! I ingest copious amounts of beer at inappropriate times and locations, cause a general disturbance, and then endanger my life by drinking heroin! rock and roll yes! Now I'm going to saunter off to the back and listen to the Ramone Pistols at decibels that may cause cochlear damage!"
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MolotovMocktail
Grimlock
Home of the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time 5-time Super Bowl Champion 49ers-and Wrestlemania 31
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Post by MolotovMocktail on Feb 20, 2015 3:37:32 GMT -5
Doesn't Backlund still hold the record for longest Rumble appearance without actually winning? I know Rey broke his record, but that was the year he won. That was a hell of a performance. He and Flair going at it in the beginning was awesome.
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Post by MC Blowfish on Feb 20, 2015 11:38:13 GMT -5
I really wish that Backlund had taken that punk gimmick back in the day. Can you imagine how hilarious that shit would have been? It would have been awesome.
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Post by chuck the duke on Feb 20, 2015 12:34:39 GMT -5
I really wish that Backlund had taken that punk gimmick back in the day. Can you imagine how hilarious that shit would have been? Forget Backlund, can you imagine Vince trying to write the material? Vince: I want to make Bob Backlund a punk rocker! And none of this fake shit, get a real PUNK ROCK band to play his theme music. Who can we get? Unfortunate Staffer: Well, if you want a local band, there's Television. Vince: (blankly) Television isn't a band, it's an appliance. Unfortunate Staffer: No, they're a band, they play down at that country bar in the Bowery... Vince: Not country! Punk! I don't want a damned mud-soaked appliance playing DANGEROUS PUNK ROCKER Bob Backlund's theme music! Next! Unfortunate Staffer: Alright... well, if you want someone else, there's the Ramones. Vince: That sounds Mexican. I don't want any damned Mexicans playing ALL-AMERICAN DANGEROUS PUNK ROCKER Bob Backlund's theme music! Unfortunate Staffer: But they're not Mexican, they just use the fake name that Paul McCartney used... Vince: (blankly) Who? Unfortunate Staffer: Paul McCartney... the Beatle? Vince: I don't want any INCOGNITO MEXICAN INSECTS playing ALL-AMERICAN DANGEROUS BUT CERTAINLY HUMAN PUNK ROCKER Bob Backlund's theme music! Next! Unfortunate Staffer: Well, if we leave New York, there's The Germs. Vince: (quickly) I didn't sneeze! I'm germ-free! 100% healthy! Unfortunate Staffer: No, the Germs, they're from Los Angeles... Vince: I don't want any sickness-inducing microbes playing ALL-AMERICAN DANGEROUS BUT CERTAINLY HUMAN AND NOT PLAGUE-INFESTED PUNK ROCKER Bob Backlund's theme music! Next! Unfortunate Staffer: Why don't we just get Jimmy Hart to come up with something? Vince: That's the first good idea you've had! [Cut to Backlund dancing his way down to the ring as the following song plays] Well the boys are all hopped up and ready to fight (they're re ady to fight now!) They've got their wristlocks and they're going to the squared circle a-go-go But Bob just couldn't stay, chicken wings to apply today World Wrestling Fed really has it all Oh yeah, oh yeah Backlund is... a pro wrestler! Backlund is... a pro wrestler! Backlund is... a pro wrestler now! Backlund is... a pro wrestler! Backlund is... a pro wrestler! Backlund is... a pro wrestler now! Well he's a pro pro, a pro wrestler... Vince: I don't like it... I LOVE IT!
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Post by Been burned too many times on Feb 20, 2015 14:33:10 GMT -5
Mr. Bob Backlund should have never lost to Diesel. He should have gotten the year long title run that Diesel got or at least for a few months. Mr. Bob Backlund was an excellent heel.
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Post by RowdyRobbyPiper on Feb 20, 2015 22:28:02 GMT -5
One story I had heard was that when Creative decided to pair LOD with Rocco the Dummy, they were going to do an angle where Rocco is stolen by Papa Shango. Shango was then going to put a spell on Rocco where he turns into a real person who would then be revealed as Bob Backlund.
Yes, you read that correctly. Bob Backlund was going to be Rocco in human form.
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Post by MC Blowfish on Feb 21, 2015 17:40:15 GMT -5
One story I had heard was that when Creative decided to pair LOD with Rocco the Dummy, they were going to do an angle where Rocco is stolen by Papa Shango. Shango was then going to put a spell on Rocco where he turns into a real person who would then be revealed as Bob Backlund. Yes, you read that correctly. Bob Backlund was going to be Rocco in human form. That pretty much writes itself.
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Post by Sir Woodrow on Feb 21, 2015 17:56:13 GMT -5
One story I had heard was that when Creative decided to pair LOD with Rocco the Dummy, they were going to do an angle where Rocco is stolen by Papa Shango. Shango was then going to put a spell on Rocco where he turns into a real person who would then be revealed as Bob Backlund. Yes, you read that correctly. Bob Backlund was going to be Rocco in human form. That sounds AWESOME!
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