Bob Backlund is Still Wrestling!

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

I was just looking him up on Cagematch and it turns out he had two matches in Japan in April this year.

The company he wrestled for is Dradition, which is owned by Tatsumi Fujinami. The name is a combo of Fujinami’s Dragon moniker and tradition. Their gimmick is that a lot of their matches feature legends no one else can or will book. This is kind of sad in a way as I don’t think they have any kind of physicals to make sure it is a safe for these guys to still be working. Vader for instance wrestled his last matches for them shortly before passing away and one botched spot where he landed on his head looked scary.

As far as I know though Bob is still in tremendous shape for his age. As long as he is healthy and getting a good payday to boot then more power to him!

Also, I know older dudes are still wrestling (Dory Funk Jr. wrestled less than a year ago), but let’s try to keep this thread about Backlund.

[No Longer a Produceman]

Aug 29, 2018 17:14:55 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

I was just looking him up on Cagematch and it turns out he had two matches in Japan in April this year.

The company he wrestled for is Dradition, which is owned by Tatsumi Fujinami. The name is a combo of Fujinami’s Dragon moniker and tradition. Their gimmick is that a lot of their matches feature legends no one else can or will book. This is kind of sad in a way as I don’t think they have any kind of physicals to make sure it is a safe for these guys to still be working. Vader for instance wrestled his last matches for them shortly before passing away and one botched spot where he landed on his head looked scary.

As far as I know though Bob is still in tremendous shape for his age. As long as he is healthy and getting a good payday to boot then more power to him!

Also, I know older dudes are still wrestling (Dory Funk Jr. wrestled less than a year ago), but let’s try to keep this thread about Backlund.

Good for Bob. As long as he’s not putting his health at risk I say get the cash when you can.

On a lighter note:

Somewhere in Amarillo, Texas...

Terry Funk: Hold my beer...

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Aug 29, 2018 17:35:08 GMT -5 No Longer a Produceman said:

Aug 29, 2018 17:14:55 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

I was just looking him up on Cagematch and it turns out he had two matches in Japan in April this year.

The company he wrestled for is Dradition, which is owned by Tatsumi Fujinami. The name is a combo of Fujinami’s Dragon moniker and tradition. Their gimmick is that a lot of their matches feature legends no one else can or will book. This is kind of sad in a way as I don’t think they have any kind of physicals to make sure it is a safe for these guys to still be working. Vader for instance wrestled his last matches for them shortly before passing away and one botched spot where he landed on his head looked scary.

As far as I know though Bob is still in tremendous shape for his age. As long as he is healthy and getting a good payday to boot then more power to him!

Also, I know older dudes are still wrestling (Dory Funk Jr. wrestled less than a year ago), but let’s try to keep this thread about Backlund.

Good for Bob. As long as he’s not putting his health at risk I say get the cash when you can.

On a lighter note:

Somewhere in Amarillo, Texas...

Terry Funk: Hold my beer...

I’m a little surprised Dradition has not booked the Funk brothers yet actually. The last time Terry and Dory teamed was in 2013 for AJPW. Maybe the strain of travel is too much of a risk after he had that in-ring health scare a little while back. He was advertised for main eventing a show in 2016, which I made a thread about here: officialfan.proboards.com/thread/543827/terry-funk-main-eventing-first but I’m not sure if it ever happened. The most recent match Funk had according to cagematch is 2015.

Still, I’ve seen too many Terry retirements to count the Funker out for good. Dradition has been pretty consistent too in not trotting all the legends out at once, but instead showcasing guys a little at a time that you’d never expect to see wrestle again.

Anyway, on topic, does anyone remember when Bob Backlund appeared in Creepshow? That was cool. I found out about his recent matches when trying to identify exactly what Backlund/Sika match from MSG it was. If anyone knows feel free to post

[Joe Neglia]

Aug 29, 2018 17:53:45 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

Anyway, on topic, does anyone remember when Bob Backlund appeared in Creepshow? That was cool. I found out about his recent matches when trying to identify exactly what Backlund/Sika match from MSG it was. If anyone knows feel free to post

WWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - March 24, 1980 (26,102 which included 4,000 in Felt Forum)
Televised on the MSG Network - featured Vince McMahon on commentary

WWF World Champion Bob Backlund pinned Sika at 18:32 after throwing the challenger off the top as Sika attempted a diving headbutt

[Deleted]

Hiroshi Tanabe (of puroresu.com & wrestling-titles.com) was selling Backlund/Fujinami autographed photos for $55. Had a picture of the two of them from 1978; Bob as a newly-crowned WWWF champion and Tatsumi as their Junior Heavyweight titleholder. (Autographed during these Dradition meetings.)

If I wasn't so cheap I would have grabbed one.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

This thread is Bob Backlund approved.

Well ol Bob is probably one of the only legends who never did drugs and actually took care of his body. I can see him still wrestling at 245 years old.

[Deleted]

Aug 30, 2018 1:17:02 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

This thread is Bob Backlund approved.

Well ol Bob is probably one of the only legends who never did drugs and actually took care of his body. I can see him still wrestling at 245 years old.

"DON'T YOU EXACERBATE ME, YOUNG MAN!"

I watched a bunch of his 1983 stuff against Sgt. Slaughter last night. The Harvard Step Test/Riding Crop Whipping. (And the follow-up matches.)
Goodness, the welts on his chest!
Then Vince gets him for a promo and he's screaming "There's only one man I let do that to me, and he's back home in Princeton, Minnesota!" And dude was about to burst into tears.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

This thread is making me think WWE missed the boat with having Backlund do more in the early 2000s. Now, they’re rightfully gun shy about having older wrestlers work after what happened with Jerry Lawler and to a lesser extent Sting. But as mentioned Backlund still looks to be in good health and takes care of himself.

In the 2000s all Backlund did in WWE was a Rumble appearance in 2000 and a battle royal in 2007. He was also Kurt Angle’s manager for a brief spell and might have had some other random appearances. I could have seen him being a good WTF competitor for the hardcore title around the early 2000s every now and again (not a full-time schedule). Other than that he could have also had a brief match with Kurt Angle to get his revenge for Kurt turning on him. Kurt would obviously win, but both guys are good enough workers to make that bout believable even with Bob’s age at the time.

Other than that he could have had a brief run or two in one of those odd couple tag teams. Sort of like when he managed Darren Young.

I’m not saying they ever should have had Backlund as a full-time in-ring competitor during the 2000s, but a couple dozen matches or so during the 2000-2010 period would have been fun.

[Deleted]

I legitimately forgot about the Darren Young thing that happened 2 years ago. And that was the one time I seen Bob in person.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Aug 30, 2018 6:51:50 GMT -5 @sandman said:

Aug 30, 2018 1:17:02 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

This thread is Bob Backlund approved.

Well ol Bob is probably one of the only legends who never did drugs and actually took care of his body. I can see him still wrestling at 245 years old.

"DON'T YOU EXACERBATE ME, YOUNG MAN!"

I watched a bunch of his 1983 stuff against Sgt. Slaughter last night. The Harvard Step Test/Riding Crop Whipping. (And the follow-up matches.)
Goodness, the welts on his chest!
Then Vince gets him for a promo and he's screaming "There's only one man I let do that to me, and he's back home in Princeton, Minnesota!" And dude was about to burst into tears.

Bob admitted bondage sessions with Verne Gagne??

[Amazing Kitsune]

Aug 30, 2018 10:10:12 GMT -5 OVO 40 hunched over like he 80 said:

Aug 30, 2018 6:51:50 GMT -5 @sandman said:

"DON'T YOU EXACERBATE ME, YOUNG MAN!"

I watched a bunch of his 1983 stuff against Sgt. Slaughter last night. The Harvard Step Test/Riding Crop Whipping. (And the follow-up matches.)
Goodness, the welts on his chest!
Then Vince gets him for a promo and he's screaming "There's only one man I let do that to me, and he's back home in Princeton, Minnesota!" And dude was about to burst into tears.

Bob admitted bondage sessions with Verne Gagne??

Sounds more like SM sessions than bondage.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

For those curious there is footage of the first Bob Backlund Dradition match on YouTube. He wrestled in a t-shirt for part of it even though he looks in great shape for his age. He still moves around pretty good all things considered.

There is also an interview with Vader done by the Dradition guys where he talks about his health and it is a little sad.

I’m not sure if those videos were uploaded by official sources so I’ll refrain from linking to them due to board rules.

Also, this thread got me in the mood to watch/re-watch some other Backlund stuff. I checked out his cage match with Slaughter. A little paint by numbers as far as the structure of the match goes, but still a lot of fun. I might check out his WON MOTY with Ken Patera next

[corndog]

I saw the Dradition match. Backlund took one or two bumps in the match and he was very mobile. This is much different than watching Dory Funk Jr. continue to work. If you can still work and stay healthy, why not? It's not like he is doing death matches or anything crazy here. He looks great, healthy and seems to be having fun. I can't believe the guy is almost 70 years old.

[The 1Watcher Experience]

Bob Backlund will never capitulate!

[bob]

you know what, good for him

he's always been in great condition - as long as we wants to wrestle let him

[The Barber]

Aug 30, 2018 7:05:01 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

This thread is making me think WWE missed the boat with having Backlund do more in the early 2000s. Now, they’re rightfully gun shy about having older wrestlers work after what happened with Jerry Lawler and to a lesser extent Sting. But as mentioned Backlund still looks to be in good health and takes care of himself.

In the 2000s all Backlund did in WWE was a Rumble appearance in 2000 and a battle royal in 2007. He was also Kurt Angle’s manager for a brief spell and might have had some other random appearances. I could have seen him being a good WTF competitor for the hardcore title around the early 2000s every now and again (not a full-time schedule). Other than that he could have also had a brief match with Kurt Angle to get his revenge for Kurt turning on him. Kurt would obviously win, but both guys are good enough workers to make that bout believable even with Bob’s age at the time.

Other than that he could have had a brief run or two in one of those odd couple tag teams. Sort of like when he managed Darren Young.

I’m not saying they ever should have had Backlund as a full-time in-ring competitor during the 2000s, but a couple dozen matches or so during the 2000-2010 period would have been fun.

I feel his 1994 heel work is underrated and he would have worked in the Attitude Era as a member of the Corporation.

[Deleted]

Aug 30, 2018 13:03:50 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

For those curious there is footage of the first Bob Backlund Dradition match on YouTube. He wrestled in a t-shirt for part of it even though he looks in great shape for his age. He still moves around pretty good all things considered.

There is also an interview with Vader done by the Dradition guys where he talks about his health and it is a little sad.

I’m not sure if those videos were uploaded by official sources so I’ll refrain from linking to them due to board rules.

Also, this thread got me in the mood to watch/re-watch some other Backlund stuff. I checked out his cage match with Slaughter. A little paint by numbers as far as the structure of the match goes, but still a lot of fun. I might check out his WON MOTY with Ken Patera next

That's a good one. I wouldn't say his best, but I enjoyed his match(es) with Ken.

He had a fun match with Larry Zbyszko in June 1980. Any of his encounters with Valentine are top notch; those guys are almost like equals. March 1983 was a really good Texas Death match against Muraco.

I love Bob Backlund's matches.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Bob Backlund is very dedicated to working out and staying in shape.

I do think it's sad watching Dory Funk, Jr. wrestle these days. He was on the AJPW anniversary show last year, and he just looked so old and moved so slowly. Terry Funk has not been able to wrestle or even travel lately due to his health.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

That’s Mr. Bob Backlund!!!!

[J. Hova]

Bob Backlund is probably the only legend that at that age I'd feel comfortable watching. He never took huge bumps, his style was pretty safe for anything and the guy is/was/always will be a workout fiend.

I think it was on one of those Legends of Wrestling or maybe his podcast, but JR was talking about Backlund's workout routine, which was tremendous for people half his age as well as a story about trying to talk him into taking the HoF induction in the mid 2000s and Backlund refusing since he felt he had one more run left. Not as a manager or part timer, we are talking a full working schedule. I have a strong feeling that Backlund is going to be one of those guys like Jack LaLane or Joe Weider that will be in better shape than 99% of the population until the day they die and that day comes at about 95 or so.