Bob Backlund was in incredible shape in his heyday. He had he ideal physique to be a pro wrestler; small, stocky, powerful, thick necked and muscular. Later adopted by such technical greats as Dynamite kid, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle etc
I never understood why WWF gave backlund such a push and a title run. He had no mike skills and was not an exciting wrestler. Until ofcourse he turned bad guy in the 90s
@mrach198 Bruno was good but all he did was punch-kick-punch-kick-repeat. Race was the better performer and a legit tough guy. Backlund was a pure wrestler. Very strong but dull on promos.
@yardlet6 He made up for the promo work in his 90's promos when he was playing MR. BOB BACKLUND. Oh man the promo he gives after he defeated Bret Hart at SS '93 was awesome.
Hogan was the wrestler that people hate at WWF and he moved to California and made rocky 3 movie and played in AWA as the good guy , then WWF got him back and made a stupid story by letting Backlund loose at 24 of Dec to Hussein Arab , at that time there are big problem between USA and IRAN , so Hussein and his RUSSIAN friend spit to the Americans FLAG and said bad word about USA , and the scheduled math at the new year day was with HOGAN ,
lol look how much time Backlund gets vs Race.... Vince you suck !!... actually per Backlund interviews.. this one is pretty good.... he is usually very boring...
Backlund was a great technical wrestler but he was awful at doing promos. The iron sheik and hogan were both 1000x better at generating excitement with their off the wall comments, bob just stuttered and stammered like a nervous child.
Backlund had no mic skills but had that belt 6 years why only Vince Sr knew. The NWA had the better talent back then but the Mcmahon`s always had the SUPER SIZED media markets of Philly,DC, and NY all Top Ten TV markets during this era as well as at that time Baltimore which was a Top 15 TV market during all of the 1970`s.
What's odd is that today, Backlund has a hell of a lot more energy when he speaks. Maybe it's a long-delayed reaction to adrenaline, but imagine if he had shown that kind of energy back then.
Bob Backlund was a punk. When the Iron Sheik whipped his ass, he tucked his tail between his legs and went to the AWA where he got his ass kicked in by Sgt Slaughter, Larry Zybysko and Dino Bravo. He held the America's title in the AWA briefly, but buckled under the competition. That showed how crappy a wrestler Bob Backlund was.
@adidaslou Backlund was a great worker & it was a different era. Iron Sheik did not "whip his ass". Are you a 10 year old? The match was pre-determined as Vince McMahon hand-picked Hogan to launch pro wrestling from a territorial industry to nationwide. Backlund never even really lost - the angle was that his manager threw in the towel. Backlund wouldn't do the job to Hogan and Shiek was a transitional champ. Don't make a fool of yourself by acting like who wins/loses is not predetermined
@bwashinski Amen, both guys were awesome amateur wrestlers, Iron Sheik, was an Olympic medalist for Iran in Mexico City 1969, Backlund 2x NCAA Div. 2 national champ, Univ. of Minnesota. I had the pleasure/honor of meeting both these guys , Bob was always eager to answer a small kid's (me) questions and to sign autographs, Met the Iron Sheik @ my local high school in the weight oom b4 a card the school lined up, those clubs he twirled weighed like 75# each, no easy task to pick up those.
@oldschool6804 And with your vast knowledge, how did he double cross him? The Shiek was offered a cash incentive to injure Hulk Hogan by Verne Gagne & didn't do it. You're a knuckle-head who knows nothing about the business.
@oldschool6804 It's all predetermined - even back then. The only time it wasn't was when the promoters wanted to get the belt off Buddy Rogers, who wouldn't tour southern territories. They selected Lou Thesz - because Thesz could legit beat Rogers if Rogers refused to job. Thus - that led to the WWE as we know it today. Sammartino was selected to represent the WWWF title - and he could physically "win" the match if he had to as well. But make no mistake, promoters chose winners.
@oldschool6804 It wasn't the wrestlers not cooperating with each other - it was the promoters. Harley Race's loss to Tommy Rich was a loss that was not approved by the board of promoters as the GA promoter wanted to increase gate revenue. But the wrestlers were not going at it legit - matches were pre-determined. Wrestling's legit days were in the early part of the century and were considered too boring, and lost popularity fast.
@bwashinski thre were always matches where one guy didn't wan't to lose and tried to change the finish it happens if you don't think so you don't know the history of the business
@bwashinski I would have liked to see Iron Shiek keep the title for maybe a few more months to build up heat and then have Hogan win the belt. Backlund was a good worker and ALWAYS made the heels look good! It was nice to see NWA and WWF wrestlers on each others shows, not making a big competitve to do about things!
Vince Sr. wanted a "serious champion" along with the NWA. It was no accident that Race and Backlund were world champions. Non flamboyant - serious dudes. It was just the era. Promoters were SO kay-faybe then. They wanted serious dudes. Why else would Backlund be champion for over 5 yrs!
@Reg197844 Of course, most fans never said that Bob Backlund or whomever didn't have any "mic skills" then because wrestling was presented as genuine in terms of being a pure sport.
harley Race was a muthafucka, man. I loved him. Thats the Harley Race i remember. Not that bullshit "king" gimmick he had in the mid to late 80s in the wwf.
oh be still my heart, I might have a Fred Sanford type heart attack. Vince Jr. actually talking about another wrestling promotion and their Champion. who is this guy what happen to Vince JR.? LOL. strange hearing him talk about another promotion.
@MIZIKE69 no he doesn't. you see in 1987 Ted turner bought JCP to create WCW, then in 1991 he made his own WCW World championship. He experienced some troubles with the NWA and in 1993 the NWA withdrew WCW from their membership. After that WCW keep using the Big gold belt (first as their international world before unifing it w/the WCW title). The NWA reused harley's title belt here and today Adam Pierce is the world champ, while Edge is just the WCW Champ.
@MIZIKE69 I have no question about the WWE title but I'm just stating fact there is still an NWA and it is not a recreation, It is the same NWA that gave Harley Race the title and this promotion recognizes Adam Pierce as their champion. As for WWE's world title. their statement or WCW's statement that the world title replaced the NWA championship is a bunch of crap. I know my facts and the world title that vince has at the least is a continuation of the WCW title that was created in 1991...
@MIZIKE69 I'm not going to lie. the physical title belt was once consider the NWA title but that started at around the mid to late 1980's but the NWA World heavyweight title is not owned by the WWE. That is all i'm saying.
@MartinGiacomo ok so after vince bought out wcw in 2000 what happen to the world title is it sitting somewhere in a museum come on dude that world you see today is the same nwa world title vince bought out everything nwa/wcw all past matches get a wrestling almanac vince just kept the world title alive after he bought it. that is all i'm saying.
@MIZIKE69 all he bought was Jim Crockett Promotions and that wasn't the entire NWA. You are correct about WCW though. Now quite honestly I don't need to get an almanac cause I lived through the time that this happened and I know the facts. If you want to put some more two cents in, feel free but I've made my statement with legitimate facts and I'm done talking.
@MartinGiacomo i make a comment i'm sticking too 1000% that i'm right. i lived though it too and i could give a rats ass you're done talking good. stop texting me false bullshit. thank you very much and have a nice day
The NWA title was the best ever in the history of wrestling back then what people forget is the the NWA belt was a belt defended in Territories and, The wwf belt was only defended in the wwf territory
Bob Backlund and Harley race wrestled 3 times. The first occurred on 2-23-78 in Jacksonville, Florida. The second was in Orlando on October 29, 1979. Big surprise that both ended as time limit (6o minute) draws. the final encounter was this one- Sept 22, 1979 at MSG in New york. A double DQ. The idea of unification matches was novel, but neither group dared to lose their top title the other- ever.
@tommy15958 Also, Backlund was in the final title unification match when he took on Flair in the Omni on July 4, 1982. That match also ended in a double-dq and that would be the final NWA/WWF unification match.
Also, getting back to Race, Vince tried to sabotage Starrcade 83 by trying to get him to no show the card and bringing the NWA belt with him to the WWF. However, Race honored his committment to the Crocketts and put Flair over that night.
Skizz is right WWWF title was only a reginal title and at that time they were part of the NWA and till this day Vince thinks he now has the World Championship because of the big gold I don't care what any one says about the NWA they died a long time ago or they are just full of Indy promotions It don't matter they still exists and until they fold as a organization or Vince wrestles it a way from them all the lineage and history still belongs to the NWA.
My god,look at Backlunds face during Vince' intro. It's like he has NO idea where he is or what is going on. Geez,at least try a LITTLE. Show SOME signs of life. Then when he's talking he's falling all over himself. The epitome of awkwardness.
@Rightsideup Ah so was Backlund. He won an NCAA championship in wrestling and was a pretty tough dude. Ask people like Superstar Graham and Tony Atlas. They said Backlund was was strong person and knew how to wrestle. Would have been a good fight.
@Dietpepsivanilla I have heard that he was a strong dude, and could wrestle like a mofo. Who knows, you just hear more about Harley being a bad SOB than any other wrestler, except maybe the iron shiek or Sammartino.
@Rightsideup race is my all time favorite and a legit tough guy but i'd put my money on backlund in a shoot. stronger, faster, younger and with a solid amateur background. it would be a good fight though. well, it would have been [past tense]
Back then the NWA title was recognized as the only world title, they were global and the WWWF was a regional, just like the AWA. McMahon Sr liked it that way. The Push for title vs title had to be Juniors idea when he started smelling dollars from such matches.
@keithjfro you kidding right.the man was top 10 of all-time.even if you blow someone you couldnt get to where he got. there is no one that good in todays wrestling.
@Reg197844 Not sure that Bockwinkel - Flair was title v title. I think Nick was in between title runs. Baklund and Race wrestled Race twice. I just think that it is interesting that the WWWF was a regional title in the NWA but did not have unification matches until the late 70's.
@APaulA222 Bruno never wrestled a unification bout. I'm sure it was because he did not want to lose or draw. I'll bet there were opportunities to wrestle Kiniski or Funk Jr. in the 60's.
It's 2 bad that when Vince didnt keep WCW a secret when he bought it and tried 2 secretly keep it a legit competition. And once a year the 2 champs coulda faced off just like this old school stuff.
Baklund won by DQ when Race headbutted the ref. This was Vince's one and only unification match. NWA had Graham wrestle Race and Backlund wrestle Race in FL. Flair wreslted Backlund in Atlanta. Bockwinkle wrestled Backlund in Toronto for the only AWA vs. WWWF title match.
Vince is trying to copy Howard Cosell with the ABC jacket and speech delivery. I don't know what's worse, the "Stand Back" video or Vince as the lame announcer. At least his change to cutthroat promoter he made right his earlier wrongs.
When wrestlers (and athletes in general) still carried themselves with dignity instead of trying to show how cool, hip, or anti-establishment they can be.
Exactly. Neither was Hogan. What you CAN do and what makes money is the dividing line between why the WWF continued to flourish and why JCP ended up going under. Hogan, while not a great wrestler by any stretch, was more than serviceable in Japan where they have a different view of wrestling. So my point stands...Hogan was no worse than Graham or Sammartino. Terry Bollea may be a scumbag, but there's no denying that Hulk Hogan is the biggest name/draw/idol in pro wrestling history
Bob Backlund faced AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkle at a sold out 15,500 standing room only Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. Canadian Promoter Frank Tunney put the match together and it was a 39:10 double countout. There is magazine coverage available through a bunch of Bill Apter magazines. Check it out. MLG was Canada's version of NYC's MSG.
So did Bruno, who liked Graham, and wanted Vince Sr, to turn Graham face. But Backlund established himself, as a all time great, like both Bruno and superstar did.
Wasn't his product. Vince Sr. had a great working relationship with the NWA...Backlund wrestled Race and Flair and Superstar Billy Graham wrestled Harley Race in title vs. title matches.
@YankeesFlair What's interesting, is that when the WWF acquired WCW and ECW, after they unified the WWF and WCW world titles, they called their championship the undisputed world title, despite the fact that there was one other world title--the NWA World Heavyweight Championship--out there. Vince went 180, from matching his champion against the world champion of other promotions, to totally denying the existence of the very championship that the WWE Championship traces its roots from.
@Sanguiluna , Vince JR was not in charge of WWE at the time of this video clip. His Dad was in charge and hi Vince SR. reconized other champions in other promotion something Vince JR. didn't do when he took over.
@YankeesFlair Yeah. However, the WWF was briefly an NWA member until Vince Jr. decided to go national. Also, in a lot of interviews, Flair will often bring up the fact that Vince Sr. was the one who made the deciding vote to put the NWA championship on him in 1981.
@YankeesFlair This was prior to his actually owning the WWF. His father was the owner. The WWF was actually a part of the NWA. Wrestling magazines at that time only listed the NWA championship as a World Title. It was only after Graham became champion was the title defended outside of the WWF.. It was the best time in Pro Wrestling IMO..
@YankeesFlair Hah, that's bc he had no choice.. it was on the orders of his father as his father was still a old 'friend' of the NWA and old school ways.
@YankeesFlair Vince's father - Vince Sr. was very tight with the other promoters at the time (Geigel, Crockett etc...) and they would trade talent and hold unification matches. When Vince Sr. passed, that all changed of course.
@meekrob Yep. In fact, Vince Sr. was the one who cast the deciding vote to put the NWA belt on Flair. Also, I wonder what would have happned if Wrestlemania had flopped and Vince lost the company, which he was close to doing. Would the WWF have rejoined the NWA?
@meekrob Yep. In fact, Vince Sr. was the one who cast the deciding vote to put the NWA belt on Flair. Also, I wonder what would have happned if Wrestlemania had flopped and Vince lost the company, which he was close to doing. Would the WWF have rejoined the NWA?
@Sargebri Bill Watts and Kevin Sullivan have said in interviews that the reason Vince Jr. left the NWA in late 83 is because he wanted to be NWA President but because he was the youngest promoter in the NWA, he wasn't taken seriously. If Wrestlemania would have folded, it would have been a possibility but the company would have gone back to the people that Vince borrowed the money from to buy the company from his dad like Gorilla Monsoon.
@RSXemperor Yep. You definitely have a point there. In fact, the company would have gone to not just Monsoon, but Arnold Skaaland and Lou Albano, who were also partners with Vince Sr. Skaaland stayed with the company until his passing a few years ago and Albano and Vince Jr. got into a heated argument which led to his leaving the company for a few years.
@YankeesFlair At the time, the WWF had a working arrangement with the NWA. A number of NWA wrestlers competed in MSG back in the late 70's and early 80's, such as Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood and Harley Race.
@YankeesFlair , His Dad was in charge of WWF and he was old school and would reconize other champions and their promotion so Vince had no choise but to reconize a Rival Federation. When Vince JR. took over as you know he never mentioned other promotions for yrs and wanted to pretend he was the only Wrestling promotion in town.
Believe it or not Harley Race was a mere 37 years old in this promo....that is the OLDEST looking 37 year old Ive ever seen! What did he do to himself???
Ya know, Bob Backlund was rather boring to me but, Sam Muchnic & Vince Sr. preferred great technical wrestlers over gimmick guys. Also, Bob Backlund defended his Title in several NWA Territories in the early 80's. God,I miss The Territory Days :-(
Bob Backlund's style cutting promos and doing interviews at this time was very non gimmicky and made his character believable. Compaired to his comeback in the mid 90's as a heal when he seemed to have lost his mind both in and out of the ring.
Vince McMahon Sr Wanted To Shape Bob Backlund Into A Bruno Sammartino Type
Of Wrestler , The Big Difference With Sammartino Is That He Had Charisma , Backlund Didn't Have Any Charisma , Just Technical Wrestling Skill
therehastobeme 2 days ago
Bob Backlund was in incredible shape in his heyday. He had he ideal physique to be a pro wrestler; small, stocky, powerful, thick necked and muscular. Later adopted by such technical greats as Dynamite kid, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle etc
bpatrice49 3 weeks ago
So strange to see Vince acknowledge the NWA champion but this was back when he was just an announcer and his father was a member of the NWA.
jwill5587 1 month ago
Comment removed
crr463 1 month ago
Bob Backlund had the personality of a turnip-YAWN!!!!
traviedawg 2 months ago
I never understood why WWF gave backlund such a push and a title run. He had no mike skills and was not an exciting wrestler. Until ofcourse he turned bad guy in the 90s
Kane6676 2 months ago
@mrach198 Bruno was good but all he did was punch-kick-punch-kick-repeat. Race was the better performer and a legit tough guy. Backlund was a pure wrestler. Very strong but dull on promos.
yardlet6 3 months ago 4
@yardlet6 He made up for the promo work in his 90's promos when he was playing MR. BOB BACKLUND. Oh man the promo he gives after he defeated Bret Hart at SS '93 was awesome.
AirplaneRadio 2 months ago
@AirplaneRadio That's true.
yardlet6 2 months ago
that was the written story to have a new WWF and to turn HOGAN from the most hated wrestler to the most LOVED one .
ALL this is business and tell US that Wrestling is FAKE
Simple question if the REF watch the matches on TV he would know about all the (from behind) moves that each wrestler do .
its FAKE but i still enjoy the scenario the do to get people attention and give the action they want
MrF999sa 3 months ago
Its all FAKE
Hogan was the wrestler that people hate at WWF and he moved to California and made rocky 3 movie and played in AWA as the good guy , then WWF got him back and made a stupid story by letting Backlund loose at 24 of Dec to Hussein Arab , at that time there are big problem between USA and IRAN , so Hussein and his RUSSIAN friend spit to the Americans FLAG and said bad word about USA , and the scheduled math at the new year day was with HOGAN ,
MrF999sa 3 months ago
Best vs Best in ring technicians.
astronato 4 months ago
lol look how much time Backlund gets vs Race.... Vince you suck !!... actually per Backlund interviews.. this one is pretty good.... he is usually very boring...
mdhotstuff 5 months ago
@mdhotstuff I thought he was so cool when I was kid. Now I see why Hogan replaced him. It's almost like he's reading from cur cards.
Ramonesaehs 4 months ago
@Ramonesaehs he is bland and boring but a great athlete
oldschool6804 4 months ago
@111knucklehead Yes he was
SovietTelevision 5 months ago
Wow, Backlund was boring. No wonder they made him drop to Sheik. He was a lot more awesome in the 90s with his Crazy Bob character.
SovietTelevision 6 months ago
I know some black men who would have given years off their lives to grow an Afro like Harley Race.
darrinbaker00 7 months ago 17
@darrinbaker00 HILARIOUS!!
bacardilvr 4 months ago
@darrinbaker00
yeah right,you're full of shit
kcin713 4 months ago
@darrinbaker00 Race looked real bad ass with the afro!!
MrCarl220 3 months ago
@darrinbaker00
lul
Desstrik 1 month ago
Backlund was a great technical wrestler but he was awful at doing promos. The iron sheik and hogan were both 1000x better at generating excitement with their off the wall comments, bob just stuttered and stammered like a nervous child.
thorn35 7 months ago
Harley Race doesn't have any guts
DefsoundsKingz 7 months ago
Backlund had no mic skills but had that belt 6 years why only Vince Sr knew. The NWA had the better talent back then but the Mcmahon`s always had the SUPER SIZED media markets of Philly,DC, and NY all Top Ten TV markets during this era as well as at that time Baltimore which was a Top 15 TV market during all of the 1970`s.
dontabaltimore1974 8 months ago 4
Backlund is a Howdy Dudy clone!
jesseroman3 8 months ago
Vince had the Capt. Kirk speak going there
tappakeggaday1 8 months ago
Listening to Bob Backlund is like watching paint dry. BORING!
TheBlock0786 8 months ago
And all those years later when The King Harley Race went to WWF, Vince clowned him just like he did all the other greats.
don417 8 months ago 2
Bob Backlund (minus the lame promosand howdy doody thing) would have f'd up most guys in a shoot. He was a stong bastard and master amateur.
aitraining 8 months ago
meet harley halling acab after this event outside msg he was cool
NasNYG567 9 months ago
@NasNYG567 I met him walking through the airport in Las Vegas. I told him I loved his book, and he put his hand out for me to shake. Awesome guy.
crwnikeboy 7 months ago 2
LOVE the old NWA belt!
aitraining 9 months ago 2
What's odd is that today, Backlund has a hell of a lot more energy when he speaks. Maybe it's a long-delayed reaction to adrenaline, but imagine if he had shown that kind of energy back then.
josephD32 10 months ago 3
@mrach198 Well, thats a stretch. But yeah. he was definitely popular. Still not sure why though. He was such a bore in pretty much every way.
Rayla840 10 months ago
Man... Bob Backlund was just full of charisma!!!!
Rayla840 10 months ago
Harley Race = John C Reilly in 10 years LOL
darksideon 10 months ago
Harley Race was a bad-ass for real.
aitraining 10 months ago 2
Bob Backlund was a punk. When the Iron Sheik whipped his ass, he tucked his tail between his legs and went to the AWA where he got his ass kicked in by Sgt Slaughter, Larry Zybysko and Dino Bravo. He held the America's title in the AWA briefly, but buckled under the competition. That showed how crappy a wrestler Bob Backlund was.
adidaslou 10 months ago
@adidaslou "When the Iron Sheik whipped his ass, he tucked his tail between his legs and went to the AWA"
You know wrestling is a "work" right? or are you 10 yrs old? Bob Backlund gave the title to Shiek knowingly.
aitraining 10 months ago
@adidaslou Backlund was a great worker & it was a different era. Iron Sheik did not "whip his ass". Are you a 10 year old? The match was pre-determined as Vince McMahon hand-picked Hogan to launch pro wrestling from a territorial industry to nationwide. Backlund never even really lost - the angle was that his manager threw in the towel. Backlund wouldn't do the job to Hogan and Shiek was a transitional champ. Don't make a fool of yourself by acting like who wins/loses is not predetermined
bwashinski 10 months ago 13
@bwashinski Amen, both guys were awesome amateur wrestlers, Iron Sheik, was an Olympic medalist for Iran in Mexico City 1969, Backlund 2x NCAA Div. 2 national champ, Univ. of Minnesota. I had the pleasure/honor of meeting both these guys , Bob was always eager to answer a small kid's (me) questions and to sign autographs, Met the Iron Sheik @ my local high school in the weight oom b4 a card the school lined up, those clubs he twirled weighed like 75# each, no easy task to pick up those.
orioleman5 8 months ago
@bwashinski shiek double crossed him you're wrong asshole!
oldschool6804 4 months ago
@oldschool6804 And with your vast knowledge, how did he double cross him? The Shiek was offered a cash incentive to injure Hulk Hogan by Verne Gagne & didn't do it. You're a knuckle-head who knows nothing about the business.
bwashinski 4 months ago
@bwashinski it's not all predetermined now it is but back then not entirely!
oldschool6804 4 months ago
@oldschool6804 It's all predetermined - even back then. The only time it wasn't was when the promoters wanted to get the belt off Buddy Rogers, who wouldn't tour southern territories. They selected Lou Thesz - because Thesz could legit beat Rogers if Rogers refused to job. Thus - that led to the WWE as we know it today. Sammartino was selected to represent the WWWF title - and he could physically "win" the match if he had to as well. But make no mistake, promoters chose winners.
bwashinski 4 months ago
@bwashinski no they didn't always cooperate with each other.
oldschool6804 4 months ago
@oldschool6804 It wasn't the wrestlers not cooperating with each other - it was the promoters. Harley Race's loss to Tommy Rich was a loss that was not approved by the board of promoters as the GA promoter wanted to increase gate revenue. But the wrestlers were not going at it legit - matches were pre-determined. Wrestling's legit days were in the early part of the century and were considered too boring, and lost popularity fast.
bwashinski 4 months ago
@bwashinski thre were always matches where one guy didn't wan't to lose and tried to change the finish it happens if you don't think so you don't know the history of the business
oldschool6804 4 months ago
@bwashinski I would have liked to see Iron Shiek keep the title for maybe a few more months to build up heat and then have Hogan win the belt. Backlund was a good worker and ALWAYS made the heels look good! It was nice to see NWA and WWF wrestlers on each others shows, not making a big competitve to do about things!
MrCarl220 3 months ago
Damn! Who won?
piercdbruh 10 months ago
These were real champions,not a bunch of black wannabe whiteboy crap music lover bullshit!
bigroy38 10 months ago
Vince Sr. wanted a "serious champion" along with the NWA. It was no accident that Race and Backlund were world champions. Non flamboyant - serious dudes. It was just the era. Promoters were SO kay-faybe then. They wanted serious dudes. Why else would Backlund be champion for over 5 yrs!
aitraining 11 months ago 2
That was when Wrestling was REAL!!!!!!
johnhrobiii 11 months ago
@Reg197844 Of course, most fans never said that Bob Backlund or whomever didn't have any "mic skills" then because wrestling was presented as genuine in terms of being a pure sport.
landrykkb 11 months ago
Bob Backlund is to me , pretty boring. Race is king for sure.
foxterrier65 11 months ago
nobody cuts a promo like bob backlund.
TheBigBadWoIf 11 months ago
harley Race was a muthafucka, man. I loved him. Thats the Harley Race i remember. Not that bullshit "king" gimmick he had in the mid to late 80s in the wwf.
michaeljackson1978 11 months ago 3
Harley Race was the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion on January 26, 1978.
mkl62 1 year ago
I don't know what happened in the match, but Race absolutely destroyed Backlund on the mic.
joepod 1 year ago
oh be still my heart, I might have a Fred Sanford type heart attack. Vince Jr. actually talking about another wrestling promotion and their Champion. who is this guy what happen to Vince JR.? LOL. strange hearing him talk about another promotion.
Astraldragon1 1 year ago
today vince owns both titles
MIZIKE69 1 year ago
@MIZIKE69 no he doesn't. you see in 1987 Ted turner bought JCP to create WCW, then in 1991 he made his own WCW World championship. He experienced some troubles with the NWA and in 1993 the NWA withdrew WCW from their membership. After that WCW keep using the Big gold belt (first as their international world before unifing it w/the WCW title). The NWA reused harley's title belt here and today Adam Pierce is the world champ, while Edge is just the WCW Champ.
MartinGiacomo 1 year ago
@MartinGiacomo what are you talking about? today it's the wwe title and the world title the same world title that been around over 60 years.
MIZIKE69 1 year ago
@MIZIKE69 I have no question about the WWE title but I'm just stating fact there is still an NWA and it is not a recreation, It is the same NWA that gave Harley Race the title and this promotion recognizes Adam Pierce as their champion. As for WWE's world title. their statement or WCW's statement that the world title replaced the NWA championship is a bunch of crap. I know my facts and the world title that vince has at the least is a continuation of the WCW title that was created in 1991...
MartinGiacomo 1 year ago
@MIZIKE69 I'm not going to lie. the physical title belt was once consider the NWA title but that started at around the mid to late 1980's but the NWA World heavyweight title is not owned by the WWE. That is all i'm saying.
MartinGiacomo 1 year ago
@MartinGiacomo ok so after vince bought out wcw in 2000 what happen to the world title is it sitting somewhere in a museum come on dude that world you see today is the same nwa world title vince bought out everything nwa/wcw all past matches get a wrestling almanac vince just kept the world title alive after he bought it. that is all i'm saying.
MIZIKE69 1 year ago
@MIZIKE69 all he bought was Jim Crockett Promotions and that wasn't the entire NWA. You are correct about WCW though. Now quite honestly I don't need to get an almanac cause I lived through the time that this happened and I know the facts. If you want to put some more two cents in, feel free but I've made my statement with legitimate facts and I'm done talking.
MartinGiacomo 1 year ago
@MartinGiacomo i make a comment i'm sticking too 1000% that i'm right. i lived though it too and i could give a rats ass you're done talking good. stop texting me false bullshit. thank you very much and have a nice day
MIZIKE69 1 year ago
@MIZIKE69 same to you my friend.
MartinGiacomo 1 year ago
The match ended in a draw but Harley Race was the true world heavyweight champion.
Irishfanism 1 year ago
Race never went after Bockwinkel,since they were both bad guy champs.
bigroy38 1 year ago
Backlund is very underrated!! greatest champion in that meantime.
StanKingston420 1 year ago
check out Vince in the tiny chair. he's at least Backlund's height if not weight at this point. very obvious
90038jhon 1 year ago
I luv old school!!
tommy2chips 1 year ago
This is Vince when he was still a human being; it did not last long.
RPenta 1 year ago
Wow, can you imagine if WCW & WWF did this back in the 90's? wow, Austin vs Goldberg would blow the roof off the building!
TheMadStork83 1 year ago
amazing to see Vince acknowledge another promotion
okrabay 1 year ago
I find it interesting that the men that came after Backlund and Race eclipsed them.
donn409 1 year ago
.......KABUKI!
NJPlayer79 1 year ago
Good thing Backlund's career wasn't judged on his mic skills. lol. He would have never got off the ground.
TheGhostToMost 1 year ago
he looks like conway twitty
talibanexpress 1 year ago
That's some interesting grey hair that Race has..
NWpowerhouse85 1 year ago
The NWA title was the best ever in the history of wrestling back then what people forget is the the NWA belt was a belt defended in Territories and, The wwf belt was only defended in the wwf territory
jackson5781 1 year ago
Backlund also wrestled Flair with a NWA title vs WWF title
jackson5781 1 year ago
Bob Backlund and Harley race wrestled 3 times. The first occurred on 2-23-78 in Jacksonville, Florida. The second was in Orlando on October 29, 1979. Big surprise that both ended as time limit (6o minute) draws. the final encounter was this one- Sept 22, 1979 at MSG in New york. A double DQ. The idea of unification matches was novel, but neither group dared to lose their top title the other- ever.
tommy15958 1 year ago
@tommy15958 Also, Backlund was in the final title unification match when he took on Flair in the Omni on July 4, 1982. That match also ended in a double-dq and that would be the final NWA/WWF unification match.
Also, getting back to Race, Vince tried to sabotage Starrcade 83 by trying to get him to no show the card and bringing the NWA belt with him to the WWF. However, Race honored his committment to the Crocketts and put Flair over that night.
Sargebri 1 year ago
nothing but CLASSIC! =0]
tornmask 1 year ago
Skizz is right WWWF title was only a reginal title and at that time they were part of the NWA and till this day Vince thinks he now has the World Championship because of the big gold I don't care what any one says about the NWA they died a long time ago or they are just full of Indy promotions It don't matter they still exists and until they fold as a organization or Vince wrestles it a way from them all the lineage and history still belongs to the NWA.
pacjamT1 1 year ago
My god,look at Backlunds face during Vince' intro. It's like he has NO idea where he is or what is going on. Geez,at least try a LITTLE. Show SOME signs of life. Then when he's talking he's falling all over himself. The epitome of awkwardness.
Chrisdrumz 1 year ago
Bob Backlund wasn't very good on the microphone, but was great in the ring.
JIMMYLINE 1 year ago
a pure scientific wrestler
20bdl00 1 year ago
Race would have beat the dog shit out of Backlund in real life. Race is a certified badass!
Rightsideup 1 year ago
@Rightsideup Ah so was Backlund. He won an NCAA championship in wrestling and was a pretty tough dude. Ask people like Superstar Graham and Tony Atlas. They said Backlund was was strong person and knew how to wrestle. Would have been a good fight.
Dietpepsivanilla 1 year ago
@Dietpepsivanilla I have heard that he was a strong dude, and could wrestle like a mofo. Who knows, you just hear more about Harley being a bad SOB than any other wrestler, except maybe the iron shiek or Sammartino.
Rightsideup 1 year ago
@Rightsideup race is my all time favorite and a legit tough guy but i'd put my money on backlund in a shoot. stronger, faster, younger and with a solid amateur background. it would be a good fight though. well, it would have been [past tense]
TheBigBadWoIf 11 months ago
Back then the NWA title was recognized as the only world title, they were global and the WWWF was a regional, just like the AWA. McMahon Sr liked it that way. The Push for title vs title had to be Juniors idea when he started smelling dollars from such matches.
skizz624 1 year ago
Bob is a great pure wrestler one of the best of all time, but horrible mike skills!
Augustus212 1 year ago
Race sucked. Punch, kick, knee drop, suplex. Who did he blow to get his push?
keithjfro 1 year ago
@keithjfro you kidding right.the man was top 10 of all-time.even if you blow someone you couldnt get to where he got. there is no one that good in todays wrestling.
melbz1266 1 year ago
@Reg197844 Not sure that Bockwinkel - Flair was title v title. I think Nick was in between title runs. Baklund and Race wrestled Race twice. I just think that it is interesting that the WWWF was a regional title in the NWA but did not have unification matches until the late 70's.
deuceoo 1 year ago
@APaulA222 Bruno never wrestled a unification bout. I'm sure it was because he did not want to lose or draw. I'll bet there were opportunities to wrestle Kiniski or Funk Jr. in the 60's.
deuceoo 1 year ago
Oh My God Young Vince K McMahon Haha!
Alana235 1 year ago
This match is now available.
DoctorDelaware 1 year ago
It's 2 bad that when Vince didnt keep WCW a secret when he bought it and tried 2 secretly keep it a legit competition. And once a year the 2 champs coulda faced off just like this old school stuff.
whyteboy5150 1 year ago
@whyteboy5150 I think he would've if Eric didn't try to put him out of business.
mike584 1 year ago
Baklund won by DQ when Race headbutted the ref. This was Vince's one and only unification match. NWA had Graham wrestle Race and Backlund wrestle Race in FL. Flair wreslted Backlund in Atlanta. Bockwinkle wrestled Backlund in Toronto for the only AWA vs. WWWF title match.
deuceoo 1 year ago
back when the title meant something. After 1999 every champ was a paper champ
Bookman 1 year ago
Backlund won by DQ
DoctorDelaware 1 year ago
What was the outcome of this match? A draw?
Towncrier123 1 year ago
Vince is trying to copy Howard Cosell with the ABC jacket and speech delivery. I don't know what's worse, the "Stand Back" video or Vince as the lame announcer. At least his change to cutthroat promoter he made right his earlier wrongs.
VolumedMusicMan 1 year ago
When wrestlers (and athletes in general) still carried themselves with dignity instead of trying to show how cool, hip, or anti-establishment they can be.
DaveInOCNJ 1 year ago 4
@Reg197844
Exactly. Neither was Hogan. What you CAN do and what makes money is the dividing line between why the WWF continued to flourish and why JCP ended up going under. Hogan, while not a great wrestler by any stretch, was more than serviceable in Japan where they have a different view of wrestling. So my point stands...Hogan was no worse than Graham or Sammartino. Terry Bollea may be a scumbag, but there's no denying that Hulk Hogan is the biggest name/draw/idol in pro wrestling history
cbaldwinjr 1 year ago
@Reg197844
Ummm...Bruno Sammartino? Billy Graham? Hogan was no worse of a wrestler than any of those two
cbaldwinjr 1 year ago
This is classic. Boy, do I miss good ole Joe McHugh. He was the greatest announcer everrr.
philaman1972 2 years ago 5
@philaman1972 I always thought his name was JIM McHugh.
johnhrobiii 11 months ago
Just strange to hear Vince with that opening commentary
Mp25DIII 2 years ago
Bryan Danielson really is like a new version of Bob Backlund but with more charisma.
RSXemperor 2 years ago
Isn't there footage with commentary of this match? I just saw on WWE Classics that the match is on there.
phi1166 2 years ago
Bob Backlund faced AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkle at a sold out 15,500 standing room only Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. Canadian Promoter Frank Tunney put the match together and it was a 39:10 double countout. There is magazine coverage available through a bunch of Bill Apter magazines. Check it out. MLG was Canada's version of NYC's MSG.
trainalways 2 years ago
So did Bruno, who liked Graham, and wanted Vince Sr, to turn Graham face. But Backlund established himself, as a all time great, like both Bruno and superstar did.
lettersfromaboy 2 years ago 2
when did this happen?
phi1166 2 years ago
@phi1166 Seeptember 1980.
86lenny 1 year ago
shocking to see an "old-school" Vince recognizing a rival federation !!
Good stuff..
YankeesFlair 2 years ago 11
@YankeesFlair
Wasn't his product. Vince Sr. had a great working relationship with the NWA...Backlund wrestled Race and Flair and Superstar Billy Graham wrestled Harley Race in title vs. title matches.
cbaldwinjr 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair What's interesting, is that when the WWF acquired WCW and ECW, after they unified the WWF and WCW world titles, they called their championship the undisputed world title, despite the fact that there was one other world title--the NWA World Heavyweight Championship--out there. Vince went 180, from matching his champion against the world champion of other promotions, to totally denying the existence of the very championship that the WWE Championship traces its roots from.
Sanguiluna 1 year ago
@Sanguiluna In some ways you can even say the Ring of Honor title is a "world championship" since it has been defended in Japan.
Sargebri 1 year ago
@Sanguiluna , Vince JR was not in charge of WWE at the time of this video clip. His Dad was in charge and hi Vince SR. reconized other champions in other promotion something Vince JR. didn't do when he took over.
Astraldragon1 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair Yeah. However, the WWF was briefly an NWA member until Vince Jr. decided to go national. Also, in a lot of interviews, Flair will often bring up the fact that Vince Sr. was the one who made the deciding vote to put the NWA championship on him in 1981.
Sargebri 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair This was prior to his actually owning the WWF. His father was the owner. The WWF was actually a part of the NWA. Wrestling magazines at that time only listed the NWA championship as a World Title. It was only after Graham became champion was the title defended outside of the WWF.. It was the best time in Pro Wrestling IMO..
HardrockGX 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair Hah, that's bc he had no choice.. it was on the orders of his father as his father was still a old 'friend' of the NWA and old school ways.
at1212b 1 year ago
@at1212b i think vince sr. was on the nwa board of directors, will running wwwf.
melbz1266 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair Vince's father - Vince Sr. was very tight with the other promoters at the time (Geigel, Crockett etc...) and they would trade talent and hold unification matches. When Vince Sr. passed, that all changed of course.
stevedrums 1 year ago
@stevedrums Yes, and WWF had good wrestling talent talent back in those days...I wish things were still the same in wrestling
BadLilNinja 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair Not really. After all, the WWF was a member of the NWA until '83.
meekrob 1 year ago
@meekrob Yep. In fact, Vince Sr. was the one who cast the deciding vote to put the NWA belt on Flair. Also, I wonder what would have happned if Wrestlemania had flopped and Vince lost the company, which he was close to doing. Would the WWF have rejoined the NWA?
Sargebri 1 year ago
@meekrob Yep. In fact, Vince Sr. was the one who cast the deciding vote to put the NWA belt on Flair. Also, I wonder what would have happned if Wrestlemania had flopped and Vince lost the company, which he was close to doing. Would the WWF have rejoined the NWA?
Sargebri 1 year ago
@Sargebri Bill Watts and Kevin Sullivan have said in interviews that the reason Vince Jr. left the NWA in late 83 is because he wanted to be NWA President but because he was the youngest promoter in the NWA, he wasn't taken seriously. If Wrestlemania would have folded, it would have been a possibility but the company would have gone back to the people that Vince borrowed the money from to buy the company from his dad like Gorilla Monsoon.
RSXemperor 1 year ago
@RSXemperor Yep. You definitely have a point there. In fact, the company would have gone to not just Monsoon, but Arnold Skaaland and Lou Albano, who were also partners with Vince Sr. Skaaland stayed with the company until his passing a few years ago and Albano and Vince Jr. got into a heated argument which led to his leaving the company for a few years.
Sargebri 1 year ago
@Sargebri I remember Albano said in a interview that his drinking was out of control during that period and he alienated a lot of his friends.
RSXemperor 1 year ago
@RSXemperor Wow. Never knew that part. Thanks for the info.
Sargebri 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair That's cause Vince Jr. wasn't in charge of WWF yet, his dad was. He was just an announcer at this point.
81carlos 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair At the time, the WWF had a working arrangement with the NWA. A number of NWA wrestlers competed in MSG back in the late 70's and early 80's, such as Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood and Harley Race.
ajb0215 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair Yes he had to recognize the National Wrestling Alliance because the World Wrestling Federation was a member of the N.W.A.
bigpoppanard 1 year ago
@YankeesFlair , His Dad was in charge of WWF and he was old school and would reconize other champions and their promotion so Vince had no choise but to reconize a Rival Federation. When Vince JR. took over as you know he never mentioned other promotions for yrs and wanted to pretend he was the only Wrestling promotion in town.
Astraldragon1 1 year ago
I ran into Bob Backland at my local Walmart. Upon my request, he Cross Face Chicken Winged my ass in the middle of the Laundry detergant aisle.
aelias55 2 years ago 23
lol
TheBigBadWoIf 2 years ago
@aelias55 You're a clown. You made me spit my drink reading t his.
BourgeoisBuffoon 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@aelias55 I bet he didn't let go until you recited all of the US Presidents - in order!
ccie12933 1 year ago
@aelias55 is he a millionaire?
okrabay 1 year ago
@aelias55 If the paramedics were called and showed up. "Cleanup on Aisle 3 was announced in the loudspeaker, when the paramedics arrived. lol
popcur 11 months ago
@popcur the paremedcs are there and wrestlers get hurt severely at times you idiot!
oldschool6804 4 months ago
Believe it or not Harley Race was a mere 37 years old in this promo....that is the OLDEST looking 37 year old Ive ever seen! What did he do to himself???
shupe1907 2 years ago
@shupe1907, Race didn't win the N.W.A. World Heavyweight Championship until 1973.
vividwatch47 2 years ago
Interesting to hear Vince talk about rival leagues. Maybe he should have played this clip before creating the XFL.
zaius316 2 years ago 3
Ya know, Bob Backlund was rather boring to me but, Sam Muchnic & Vince Sr. preferred great technical wrestlers over gimmick guys. Also, Bob Backlund defended his Title in several NWA Territories in the early 80's. God,I miss The Territory Days :-(
rowdyronn 2 years ago 3
Bob Backlund's style cutting promos and doing interviews at this time was very non gimmicky and made his character believable. Compaired to his comeback in the mid 90's as a heal when he seemed to have lost his mind both in and out of the ring.
georgyfontaine28 2 years ago 2
Is Vince trying to emulate Howard Cosell there?
gregr2 2 years ago 2
no that was the real vince before he became greedy and goofy
if you lived this back then you know it was the best
tubewrestler 1 year ago
what year did this happen?
phi1166 2 years ago
1980
adigovora 2 years ago
Thank you!!!!!!
dikmsk 2 years ago