Bob Backlund’s story includes more than championship matches: his memories of the road reveal punishingly lean beginnings, a disciplined approach to wrestling, and the personal reasons behind major character choices. These ten accounts range from backstage habits to road stories and career moments; the distinction matters because not every story happened backstage.
1. A call to Stu Hart that ran out of money
Backlund recalled calling Bret Hart’s father, promoter Stu Hart, from a Minnesota payphone to ask for a chance to wrestle. Hart spoke so slowly, Backlund said, that the money ran out before he could finish making his request. It is a small, vivid road story about how uncertain the early steps into wrestling could be. WWE’s retrospective recounts Backlund’s memory.
2. Two different accounts of a five-dollar payday
Backlund’s early-road hardship appears in two accounts, but their details do not match exactly. They may describe separate trips; the available sources do not resolve that question, so the versions should not be combined into one itinerary.
| Account | Details reported |
|---|---|
| WWE retrospective | Backlund set out for Oklahoma City in a 1968 Chevrolet Impala with $20, booked a room at a Sheraton, earned $5 for wrestling, and slept in the trunk of his car. WWE’s retrospective; publication date not stated. |
| Backlund’s 2015 interview | He described a 1973 trip in a green 1967 Impala to Baton Rouge, where he said he arrived with 29 cents. After a $5 payday, he bought tuna and a can opener and slept in the trunk while waiting five days for another match. Backlund, in a 2015 interview with F4W/WON. |
Both are personal recollections, not independently verified expense records. The different years, cars, and destinations are part of what each source says.
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3. Tuna, a can opener, and the YMCA
In the 2015 interview, Backlund said he was broke, far from home, and knew no one nearby. He recalled buying tuna and a can opener after the match, and said daily workouts at the YMCA helped him stay positive through hunger and loneliness. He summed up the experience this way: “I was broke, homeless, and didn’t know a soul in the area.” That account comes from Backlund’s 2015 interview.
4. Telling a match story with basic moves
Backlund described early wrestling as a craft of making a match compelling within limits. “At that point, you started at the bottom and had to learn how to tell a story in the match,” he said. His example of restrained offense was blunt: “You didn’t use a chair – you did an armdrag.” More spectacular material, he explained, belonged higher on the card, especially in the main event. WWE’s retrospective includes these remarks.
5. The workout he did after getting dressed
Backlund said he disliked the activity in the dressing room, so he would put on his gear, leave, and exercise for an hour. He recalled doing the Harvard step test and “the wheel.” The interview does not explain what “the wheel” meant, so it is best left as his own phrase rather than assigned a specific exercise. Backlund described the routine in his 2015 interview.
6. Why he said he would not turn heel in the 1980s
Backlund connected his refusal to turn heel to his family and promises he had made to children through amateur-wrestling promotions and youth tournaments. His daughter was six and about to start school, he said, and he did not want her to face trouble from classmates because he had turned bad on television. This is Backlund’s stated personal reason, not evidence of what promoters had planned. He explained his thinking in the 2015 interview.
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7. How “Mr. Backlund” became bad by being good
When Backlund returned in the 1990s, he felt audiences no longer wanted the wholesome, “Mom-and-Dad, apple-pie” hero. He built Mr. Backlund around earnest lectures on responsibility, littering, and vocabulary, and challenged fans to recite the U.S. presidents before he would sign autographs. The values were sincere; presenting them as a provocation made the character an antagonist. “So I thought, let me be bad by being good,” Backlund recalled. He also said, “I built up a luminous vocabulary so I could educate the masses.” WWE’s retrospective and Backlund’s interview support the broad account.
8. Arnold Skaaland’s towel ended Backlund’s first reign
WWE’s account says Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel during Backlund’s title match with The Iron Sheik on Dec. 26, 1983, ending a championship reign that had lasted more than five years. Backlund did not submit; the towel stopped the match while he was caught in the Camel Clutch. WWE’s profile and WWE’s retrospective document the title history and match account.
9. Bret Hart’s mother returned the favor
At Survivor Series 1994, Backlund regained the championship from Bret Hart in a “Throw in the Towel” match. According to WWE, Bret’s mother threw in the towel while Bret was held in the Chickenwing for more than eight minutes. The match echoed the towel ending of Backlund’s first reign, but reversed the outcome: this time, the towel accompanied his return to the title. WWE’s profile covers the 1994 title change.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.10. A long Japan match and a message from Roddy Piper
Backlund recalled being asked to wrestle a young Roddy Piper for 59 minutes and 30 seconds in Japan, with the goal of making Piper look like a champion. He said Piper later credited him with helping launch his career. Backlund also recounted that Piper left a phone message approving the use of his foreword for Backlund’s book; Backlund deleted it the following day, and Piper died the next day. This poignant sequence is Backlund’s memory as told in the interview. F4W/WON published the interview in 2015.
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Backlund’s autobiography, Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling’s World Champion, was co-written with Rob Miller. A 2023 review describes the book and its subject matter; its characterization of the book’s length is the reviewer’s description and may vary by edition. Read the Pro Wrestling Stories review.
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