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The Towel That Ended an Era: How Backlund Was Forced Out for Hogan

Havah's Wrestling Documentary

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Most wrestling fans think Hulkamania started when Hogan slammed the Iron Sheik. But the real story began one month earlier, with a white towel and a champion who refused to quit.
In this documentary, we investigate the pivotal night of December 26, 1983. Bob Backlund had been the WWF Champion for nearly six years, representing the "scientific" era of wrestling. But Vince McMahon Jr. had a new vision involving a certain Hulk Hogan, and Backlund stood in the way.
We break down the politics, the phantom injuries, and the controversial finish involving Arnold Skaaland that forced the "All-American Boy" out of the picture to make room for the era of entertainment.

⏱ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intro
01:57 – Section 1: The Champion of a Bygone Era
04:49 – Section 2: The Unmovable Object vs. The Irresistible Force
07:49 – Section 3: The Conspiracy and The Towel
11:12 – Section 4: The King is Dead, Long Live the King
13:24 – Conclusion

#BobBacklund #oldschoolwrestling #wwehistory #hulkamania #wrestlingdocumentary

20 Comments

@Havahwrestling Creator 7 months ago Pinned

Do you think Bob Backlund could have survived in the Hulkamania era if he had turned heel in '84, or was he destined to be replaced? 👇

@philfrank5601 4 months ago

Bringing Bob back in WWF years later with the whole crazy ass, staring at his hands, was genius.

@Euriprides 7 months ago

In one of his last declarations, Mad Dog Vachon said : "Today, wrestling has turned into a cartoon". This shows that he was right.

@Vlabar 7 months ago

I started watching wrestling when Hogan won the belt. As a kid I always wondered what happened to Backlund.

@JStanley-b5d 7 months ago

Bret Hart mentions in his book that Backlund was always in the locker room doing hundreds of squats and crunches.

@marshann 7 months ago

The irony that Bob Backlund lost the title to a transitional champ on a towel being thrown in and a decade later he regained the title as a transitional champ himself by beating Brett Hart when Owen convinced their mom to throw in the towel.

@77heimdal 3 months ago

Funny thing about the Backland old man return is he had a match with Ric Flair who is actually older than Backland but the whole match they kept going on about Backlands age.

@Xpunkpro 7 months ago

This is the era I was introduced to by my Late Mother. She was a huge Pro Wrestling Fan. The classic Heavy Weight Title Belt is a bygone era. The one hour time limit of classic wrestling you will never see this again.

@flashinthepan3273 7 months ago

5:08 'Rocky the third" 😂 ..some folks calls it Rocky 3

@NovellBlade 7 months ago

I'm 61 and Bob Backlud was one of my favorites!

@ateE6forT7 7 months ago

Vince McMahon was going over 100mph, in his Bentley,, on a dangerous Parkway, while HAMMERED, and wrecked himself and three other cars.

@tonyjones1560 7 months ago (edited)

One of the ironies here is that Vince Jr wanted the exact champion persona that Vince Sr rejected. Hulk Hogan was once described by Triple H, in public, as "a cheap Superstar Billy Graham knockoff." While he may have had issues with the "cheap" part, there's a good chance that Hogan himself would not have argued otherwise.
BTW, Backlund was not the first WWWF champion to wrestle in an inter-promotional title match. Superstar Graham wrestled Harley Race while he was WWWF champ while Race held the NWA title.

@PatDurkinMusic 7 months ago

What’s wild is that Backlund’s “Crazy Old Man” character is younger than Cena is now

@sg-zd8eb 7 months ago

After winning it back at 1994 Survivor Series he said he never really lost the title and in his mind he’s been the champion since 1978.

@samsneadd 7 months ago

Ngl as a child that worshipped hulk amania, thought the bob background guy was some weird old nobody in the 90's, and boring when I finally learned who he was. I must say as an older gentleman myself, I respect the hell out of his integrity and honor his character and wrestling skill. This was the first Montreal screw job. I am glad that a channel like this gave him his flowers.

@shiningphantasy1393 7 months ago

Before Hulkamania could exist you commented; I'd disagree as it already did exist in AWA with the feedback and massive reactions that he was getting. Vince McMahon simply and wisely brought it over to his federation, and in order to do so he had to give assurances that Hulk Hogan would be the headliner to persuade him to return. If Hogan stays in AWA then the playing field among federations is a lot more level, as other WWF talents would have likely remained in AWA as well. Verne Gagne would have some of the blame for that. WWF had to make Iron Sheik look formidable, and the fact that Backlund didn't give up and somebody else made that determination out of his control should reflect well if anything.

@buddyrogers1353 7 months ago

In those months after being relieved of the title until he disappeared in mid 1984, Backlund came up with a new motto to save face: "Be a Champion within yourself," he would tell all those young kids in Glastonbury CT, who looked up to him for years.
Another tidbit? Of all the years he lived in Glastonbury, a suburb of Hartford, Bob had exactly 2 wrestlers over for dinner. Andre the Giant, with whom Bob liked to drink beer. ( I know. The all American Boy was a big beer drinker? LOL. Yep. ) And the other was none other than his old pal from when he was just starting out and went to work for Verne Gagne in the early 1970s, Khosrow Vaziri, aka, the Iron Sheik.

@GeorgeD1965 7 months ago

My dad stopped watching wrestling around 1988, 1989. Said it wasn't wrestling anymore.

@whyjnot420 7 months ago (edited)

Backlund had a ton of raw strength too. Like when he ran Billy Graham across the ring before delivering the atomic drop that secured him the win & title, it looked like he could have run him across a football field with no trouble. He kept that strength too. Like when The Iron Sheik showed up at his place with those bowling pin looking weights of his (when was this, maybe a decade ago now?). Old man Backlund was doing things people in their 20s had trouble with. He really was something else.