Ted DiBiase on Bob Backlund Becoming WWF Champion in 1994
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- 'The Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase looks back at his Hall of Fame career, from Mid-South, to Japan, to WCW, to WWF, and everywhere in-between! Join Ted and Marcus every Friday at 6am ET on all podcast platforms!
He was a transitional champion. It’s not like they were going to make him the face of the company. Psycho heel Bob Backlund was brilliant.
Sort of like taker in ss91 so flair would win RR92 and title.
This.
Randy couldn't be the 'transitional' champ only - he would have refused.
Bob on the other hand was a) legit enough, b) over enough and c) old enough that Diesel squashing him would mean a lot. You also have to remember, they wanted the belt off of Bret and using Owen to get it means Bret is protected whilst it goes to a weak champion. It couldn't be any other heel as none were world champion material *and* squashable legitimately - which Backlund was. He probably was the only guy.
@@Arayig1982Yeah, Taker got the belt only so the belt would be in limbo for it to land on Flair so Hogan had a heel to chase with legitimate heat behind it.
That's not what WWF went with unfortunately but I suppose since we got Randy vs. Flair rather than Hogan doing the same tired shtick he did at Mania 8 and 9, maybe we were lucky as Savage / Flair was great.
Yeah if u notice Vince tried to recreate Backlund, Shiek, and Hogan in 1984 with Hart Backlund and Diesel in 1994. Guys like Diesel and Luger weren’t gonna be more popular than Hart. Hart was the top guy from 92-96. They didn’t have a guy to take the torch from Hart until Shawn in 96.
@bobbyjohnson9409 Taker.
So, yes, they did.
Bob Backlund didn't turn heel on the fans, wrestling turned heel on Bob Backlund.
Same with Bret in 1997
We're not ready for this conversation
Nope Bob turn heel on fans n Florida wrestling 85 😂 after watching the iron sheik beat him n Arnold slakurr threw n towel
Exactly.
@@kingsports1113 that was 1983 and in Madison Square Garden
In his prime, Bob Backlund was the best pound-for-pound wrestler. NCAA champion. Freakishly strong. Great technical wrestler and brawler. Look at his highlights from late 70s and early 80s. Ted should respect his history, the same as an aging star like Randy Savage at the time.
I loved the fact that Backlund at 45 in 1994 was bonkers and out of his mind as champion, it was so much fun and we all knew he was gonna be just a transitional champion anyways !!
Backlund was a veteran and knew how to get over. He was 5'10" and 45-years-old but made that character into a monster heel. I legit thought he was nuts and the promos still hold up.
The funny part was Vince wanted him to turn heel and eventually drop the title to Hogan but Bob refused to turn heel so they put the belt on Iron Sheik. Then 10 years later Bob turns heel and showed he was masterful at it. In fact I liked heel Backlund a hell of a lot more than babyface Backlund. When he was the top babyface he made me a hell mark.
During interviews when Bob Backlund screamed accusing people of "eating marijuana", I would laugh so hard my chest hurt.😂
The Mr. Backlund character was by far....by far....the most entertaining thing about the WWF in that time. The fact that they built him up like they did just to cut his legs out from under him immediately was a HUGE mistake. Especially when you consider what a poor draw Diesel ended up being as champion.
For me he was just annoying back then… sorry to say this but yeah, for me as a kid he was boring and wrestler from the decade before
Just only talking about him as a wrestler figure of course.
Diesel was white hot but when they made him a good guy it just didn't work. The business was the shits in wwf at that time it was cartooney and diesel was a 7 foot beast. 😊
@ my impression is a complete opposite cause as babyface he had the possibility to stand for him self - before it was always Shawn and then the rest (including diesel)
Nash was forced into a friendly role that didn't suit the Diesel character that was built on him being badass & anti-heroic in his matches and promos. Rather have Ted Dibiase or Owen Hart hook Bret and then drop the belt to Nash since that's the only thing missing from both men's careers.
It's funny how different the memory of 94 Backlund is for you than for me lol
"Wait a minute, young man. First of all it's Mr. Bob Backland...and you are incorrect. I've been the champion since 1978. I never lost the championship. Tonight, I just regained the belt, and I beat the man that represents your society...."
“That’s Mister Bob Backlund…You Plebeians!”
Bob could also be a hell of a shooter when he needed to be . I think bob is definitely in the top ten of all time
I think Backlund could have legitimately take out anyone on the 1994 roster. Solid amateur wrestler with ridiculous strength. He was Kurt Angle before Kurt Angle. Vince should have done the crazy heel Backlund angle against Hogan post Wrestlemania 3 after Hogan spent three years fighting monsters.
@@hainesy I don't know if he was the top tough guy in the locker room in 1994.
Backlund was a legend even then and that's why it makes sense he became Champion again. For twenty years, the Championship has meant nothing since it changes hands almost weekly. I liked the Mr. Backlund character, and I'm glad he managed to get the title again before it became absolutely meaningless.
I donated 1 million dollars to Bob Backlund's presidential campaign.
He was getting great heat! Should have given him a longer title run!
Backline was definitely a top ten wc..wasn't flashy but could wresyle
I loved backlund as a heel. He acted certifiably insane and it was great.
He was a heel by being a face . He was polite , dud his homework before going out to play , he said the Pledge if Allegiance …etc…he would wig out but he knew that old school goodiness is a heat getter then and today
I dont know why Ted goes after Bob like this. Bob was one of the most solid athletic champions of that era. He could work with anyone and he was able to put over heels for years in the WWWF as champion. Bob's role as champion was to make the show, not be the show. And he put over a lot of guys in his time who were not great in the ring. He made them look good when often they were not.
That's MR. BOB BACKLUND, to you, Theodore!
As a kid, that was so wild. Backlund wasnt't a former star to me. He was a jobber who made weird sounds when he wrestled. Snapping on Hart and then beating him was crazy then, and even more so thinking about it now. Love it.
2:31 Whether you recognize it or not. Ted was the WWF champion from 2/5/1988 -2/13/1988. He had several matches where he was introduced as champion.
Thanks for pointing this out. Him not getting a recognized run really tamed the story. Also, Andre should have laid down so Ted could pin him and the win was legit.
At house Shows but true! :)
@@oriondx72 Boston Garden and Philadelphia were televised and are uploaded on you tube
no one was more over as a heel that year than mr. b and they realized later having him squashed so soon after he beat Brett was a financial mistake - the glasses and bowtie gave him the look for any poster - so few wrestlers have reinvented themselves in such a 180 degree way.as he did - his promos as mr b were epic - the promo when he 'regained' the belt is criminally underrated and one of the all time greats (check it out) - add to it he was almost unstoppable in a shoot with a scary degree of legit crazy that enhanced the chracter. no offense to any of the old timers or those too young to appreciate him at the time but they too often miss the boat on Backlund. I'm glad that over time, fans have grown more savvy to rightfully appreciate his genius.
In his book Bob wrote that Vince's original plan was to have him run with the belt as a heel for about a year. That would have been gold, shame it didn't happen. Also a shame Mr. Backlund didn't stick around a bit longer for the dawn of the Attitude Era - he would have fit right in IMO.
Bret was told a few years, Vince seems to lie to everyone.
I don’t buy that story there’s no way Bob Backlund would’ve ever held the title that long I think the more likely scenario was to hold onto it until Wrestlemania and then lose it to Bret Hart. But of course Vince scrap that and had him lose it in 3 days which was the dumber route.
That sounds like a Vince thing to say but like others have mentioned, he said the same thing to Bret when he first won the title. The only one he actually gave the title to for a year was Nash
Bob Backlund teaming with Kurt Angle would have been great
@@morrisvalentneflatlander4784 He DID very briefly in early 2000, before Kurt ditched him. Appeared as a surprise entrant in Rumble that year too.
This is my favorite long term storyline. Bob Backlund was my favorite from 92-94
Bob was a great amateur wrestler and strong as hell. Bob was over as the WWF champ before Hogan. He was a good successor to Bruno.
He’s done something Ted has never done…… TWICE!
And still not better than Ted.
No way Backlund was one the greatest champs of all time, with ali,flair,etc,,,greatest worker, great shape, a shooter as well, could talk, Backlund is the goat my brother
@@wrericdog Ali? You mix entertainment sports with real fighting? Uhm, no - definitely not.
Backlund wrestled NCAA Division II at 190 pounds. He got 3rd nationally Freshman year, then 2nd and then 1st in his third year. Then he moved up in weight and was still in the top 5 at heavyweight. He was a legit great athlete.
His 90's was so brilliant. Deconstruction oh his all American boy character. I loved it
My friend Jimmy would stare at both his hands intensely and say "Why Bob? Why?" after he chickenwinged Brett Hart and wouldn't let go.
me too..I used to chicken wing people in school..lol
Bob was the only reason to watch WWF at that time.
He looked 60 in the 80's.
In case anyone missed it Ted like Bob Backlund as a person.
I think everyone in the industry does. Very rare.
"I never had a problem with Backlund"
Cross face chicken wing (when i was a kid i had a crawl space in my house so i assumed that was how it was pronounced) was legit one of the best submission moves ever
Yes, by that point maybe he wasn’t WWF championship material, but his nut-job character was amazing. that’s why it worked at Survivor Series. He got good heat.
He held it for a couple of days before losing it to Diesel in a house show.
he had one of the longest runs ever and regularly sold out MSG. He is indeed an all time world champion.
Psyco Bob seemed like a prototype Kurt Angle. Imagine Psyco Bob working with Kurt Angle in the attitude era.
Bob was one of the great villians
Ted did hold the WWF title. Ted was also presented as WWF Champ when he teamed up with Andre to face Hogan and Bam Bam.
I enjoyed Backlunds in ring work.
Mr. Bob Backlund was awesome.
BB was like champ for 5 years in WWWF days when Vinnie Mac Sr. ran the place. Prob a call back to his previous run.
I thought dude was a jobber cause in early 2000's he had a 4 second RR appearance.
The Mr. Backlund heel character was amazing. I think he should have had a longer World Title reign. Yes he was 45 but in phenomenal shape and a very entertaining character. He was over. These guys are hating on him for no reason, especially the host who kept trying to get Ted to bury him. Ted mostly took the high road. And of course we all know he was used as a transitional champion to get the belt from Bret to Diseal who went on to hold the belt for a year.
Basically five minutes of the interviewer trying and failing to get Ted to come out with a really critical sound bite slagging Backlund’s 94 run.
Psycho Bob was great. Remember this was just off the heels of George Foreman winning the championship at 50.
Foreman was also 45.
Certainly where Vince got the idea to go this route. Wish he would have gotten just a little longer run with the title though. Maybe a month or two at least.
Both Bob and George were 45.
George was 45. Both he and Backlund seemed so old then. I'm older now than both were at the time when they won their championships. I'm 47.
Except Foreman won a real championship
Backlund was pound for pound one of the greatest athletes ever to wrestle. Granted, it’s not an athletic contest. His later run was hilarious, and a nice tip of the cap from Vince.
Why is everyone so hard on Bob. He was great, and as a heal he was even better.
I loved crazy Backlund, really suited him
If they wanted a transitional champion, it should've been Owen. 1994 was his year.
No, because I don't think it would have done anything for Owen to be just a "transitional" champion. If he loses the belt so soon after winning it the first time, you risk making him look weak.
They handled this about as well as they could. You keep the Bret and Owen feud going, with the added element of Owen being the reason Bret is no longer champion. You put the belt on Diesel, one of the most over talents at the time. And Backlund isn't really harmed. He already had a long title run and his unhinged character wouldn't really care about the loss. Not to mention, in kayfabe, just looking at Diesel and Bob standing opposite each other, you would know what was about to happen, no matter how smart Mr. Backlund was.
You're both crazy Bob was the best thing in WWF at the time
Bob Backlund was WWF champion for 6 years. So disrespectful and to be honest I think Ted was a great worker especially in the mid south days. That being said Bob Backlund in a shoot would out wrestle Dibiase or Savage any day of the week. As a technical wrestler Backlund was one of the best ever and competed against guys back when amature wrestling backgrounds was the norm and "Texas catch can" was used by most of the talent of that era. Now by the more cartoonish wrestler that Vince McMahon would introduce starting around the rock n wrestling era Backlund's style didn't fit in. Although Bret Hart used a similar style I think that is why Bob's match against Diesel was so short. Because Vince knew Diesel was dropping the belt back to Bret and that Backlund would wrestle a similar match against Diesel as Bret would in a longer match. So he did the squash match to protect Bret's match later on down the line. Speaking of which Bob was such a pro he sold the jacknife the entire time even crawled all the way back to the dressing room. If only more guys on todays roster could actually sell like that.
He should’ve kept the belt until Wrestlemania
technically ted held the title for 8 days even was announced as the new wwf champion and even defended it against bam bam.
Ted was WWF champion till they stripped him of it
Should of let Backlund run longer, preaching about that generation on and on could of been great tv.
Bob Backlund seemed sonold back then, but he was only 45, Im 47 now. It's crazy to think I'm older now than he was then.
I thought I was the only one who made that Terminator comparison.
Bob Backlund was one of the best scientific wrestlers of all time. As a face he was a great role model for wrestling fans. I hated to see him turn heel. Although he was funny. He made himself look foolish. As a scientific wrestler he was great, you could watch his matches and pick up on different wrestling manuvers. Scientific wrestling was professional wrestling. It meant something to be a pro wrestler. The name of the game is wrestling give us real wrestlers like Bob Backlund.
Ted Dibiase was also a great scientific wrestler. He played a great heel. Ted Dibiase should've been a champion as well.
I always felt like they gave the belt to Backlund as a make-up for the way they took the belt off of him the first time. It was obviously supposed to mirror it.
The joke wasn't putting the belt on Backlund. The joke was having Nash squash him at a house show then having Nash hold the title for what a year?
Bob must have walked in on Vince doing something pretty naughty.
backlund also broke ted's record for lasting in the royal rumble i think
You’re making it seem like Vince put the title on Backlund and he was gonna run with Backlund as the champion for a long period of time , well that didn’t happen. It was only for a brief moment. In other words Bob was a transitional champion.
But the original plan, according to Bob, was to have him run with the belt for a year. In hindsight it couldn't have been any worse than the disastrous title run of Diesel
Plans changed when Randy Savage left tge WWF a few weeks before Backlund won the title. With Savage gone and Hart taking time off they needed a new good guy. Thus the switch to Diesel and putting the strap on him immediately.
@lenwennerberg1631 Thing is, Bret also says in his book that Vince told him he wanted Bret to have the title for a year or two run. It just sounds like something Vince says to guys when he decides to put the strap on them 😂 Diesel was the only one who actually did get that
@@lenwennerberg1631 it doesn’t matter what the original plan was the point is he was only a transitional champion which I think was a mistake because the Mr Backlund Gimmick was brought to life as a heel and they should’ve let him keep the title all the way into wrestlemania drop it to bret hart ,in the meantime, start getting diesel ready because diesel was really green and they should’ve kept diesel a heel, not a baby face, so even though he didn’t draw as a champion in 1995 in theory it wasn’t his fault. It was the Office that dropped the ball.
@@Youdidnthearme I'm with you. Totally agree.
The problem with putting Savage into Bob's role was that Savage was over with fans, and the company was trying to push the New Generation. Would have been harder to get fans on the New Generation side if they were going agaisnt favorites from the old generation. That's the exact issue WCW ran into when they ran their New Blood VS Millionaires angle in 2000.
It is a shame he could not have put Randy in that spot. Him v Bret at Mania would have been incredible.
Ted has very low energy in all these clips I've watched.
Ted, Flair and Backlund. The same bracket. Especially in the 90s. Middle aged looking uncle brigade
Psycho bob had some of the best promos ever.
Bob got a pretty good pop when he showed up for the 03 RR. I think it was 03 anyways !!
Backlund was the last legitimate WWF champion!
Winning the belt and jobbing to Diesel was the perfect job fir a guy in Bob Backlund's position. It would have hurt most other wrestlers, but they weren't trying to plan for the future with Bob, Who could take the L and keep his spot on the card.
Can we get Ted a decent microphone setup? These amateur podcast producers hook themselves up with fancy equipment, then leave the star of the podcast to use ambient mics from the phone or laptop?
Bob was so entertaining as a heel...I mean Mr Backlund
Bob Backlund was a tremendous talent...a true in-ring grappling great..I always enjoyed his feuds with Sgt.Slaughter ...He was a general in the ring... agree to disagree 👍...
Name me a heel in 1994 who had more heat than Bob Backlund? Maybe Owen Hart. Point is, he was a transitional champion for 24 hours and I think the right guy for it
BOB HAD NO BUSINESS EVER BEING A CHAMPION, THANK YOU TED FOR YOUR HONESTY, BOB HAD NO GIMMICK JUST A VARSITY JACKET HE COULDN'T INTERVIEW AT ALL , THANK GOD FOR VINCES VISION AND TAKING HOGAN TO THE TOP, AND YOU DEFINITELY NAILED HOWDYDUDY YES MAN TO THE COMPANY HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE AWA
I detect sone jealousy from Ted about Backlund's 94 run to becoming Champion. Just think in July of that year Backlund was basically a jobber and 4 months later he's WWF Champion. It was a hell of a run. He should've been given some TV time as WWF Champion. Vince could've had Diesel beat him at Royal Rumble 95 instead of 3 days later which was b.s.
Hey Ted,your not better than Bob Backland.
Backlund would had been a great addition to the Million Dollar Corporation.. can you imagine Psycho Bob and Psycho Sid on the same side?.. 🤯💥
This in itself shows that this world is all about “Dog eat dog, rat eat rat”.😂😂😂 Wished I learned that a long time ago knowing, “Aww Shucks, Howdy doody don’t cut it.
Bob went crazy with the cross face chicken wing to hurt his opponents.
Transitional champion. Vince just needed to get the belt off bret to diesel
Jeez Ted, STRAIGHTEN YOUR PICTURES!
Backlund in 1994 was ace.
These two would probably consider Cena and Ultimate great champions.
Ted so proud he met TRump. That picture with Trump is right behind him as he speaks.
backlund becoming WWF Champion in 1994....and deserving because he became the hottest heel with his " crazy " gimmick at the time ....bob was looking at no WWF contract renew and forgotten has been status forevermore ...BUT ...he embraced the gimmick and was a star forevermore ....they should have kept the title on him leading into wrestlemania that year with bret winning it back in classic tech match not a boring sub match
If you’re Mexican, Bob Backlund looks like Chabelo
New Generation WWF champ Bob Backlund
The whole reason he got the belt was to get it off Bret and get it on Diesel.
I remember actually hating Backlund because of that chicken-wing, partially because my favorite wrestler who I touted as the best technician ever, Bret Hart, couldn't even escape it. I remember being mad and concerned when he beat Bret Hart at Survivor Series 94, and hardly slept at night, and my friends and I only found solace and thinking that perhaps Undertaker could beat him.
Don't forget. Davey Boy Smith fell into the stairs and was unconscious. That was not mentioned.
it worked in the storyline with Bret and Owen in that match I didn't hate Bob becoming champion and Vince probably did it because his dad liked Bob and was his baby face champ it was more of a respect thing
Obviously the title going on Backland then was short term. Diesel was going to get it but not off Brett Hart. Backland was involved in a switch like that when Hulkamania was started. The Iron Shiek got the belt off Backland himself and transitioned it to Hogan. Unfortunately for Dibiase, he came along at a time where there were just too many actual better alternatives to put the belt on. Now, had Ted come along perhaps 5-7 years later they would have tried the belt on him. But having Hogan there, granted he wanted to go make movies, but Savage with his IC Champ runs along with how well his program with Honky Tonk and having Elizabeth, the attention his Wrestlemania 3 match with Steamboat got, Dibiase just wasn't the best choice and fans were just not cooked up into a frenzy enough to have a heel champion then. Dibiase had that great Million Dollar Man gimmick and he played that exceptionally well. Made Virgil a star, kept Andre in the mix after Wrestlemania 3, but putting the actual belt on Ted is like wasting to successful props on one guy, the Million Dollar gimmick and that top belt. I think Ted thinks he would have made a great champion then and I don't blame him. Guys like Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Razor Ramone, even former world champs like Harley Race, and Ric Rude who got his title run when going to WCW, so many guys and some really good heels too, Bundy, Studd, Earthquake, Bossman, Orndorff, I know they put the belt on Slaughter to capitalize on that Gulf War heat that involved the Iron Shiek too. There were issues with the Warrior obviously, sales were declining, financial stuff, later even Sid Vicious came on board. Guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels came later, a young Undertaker too who later went over Hogan. I feel Dibiase was as good to put the belt on as Triple H or certainly Dave Bautista but it was all in the timing of when he came along and then he left to go to WCW and by then he no longer was wrestling in that short NWO stint he was involved in. In the case of Owen Hart it was too soon to put the belt on him and unfortunately that tragedy happened. He was certainly just as worthy as a guy like CM Punk or even Jericho. Vince was a very shrewd businessman.
Even back then I felt that title wins should have gone to Owen, not Backlund. Then drop it do Diesel.
Backlund was a better character in terms of seriousness than DiBiase, who never had the viciousness necessary to realistically best Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage.
Everybody’s got a price for the million dollar man. Ha ha ha ha. Money money money money money😃
In this interview they put too much thought into Bob Backlund not looking like a champion and already being 45 years old.
He was champion for a few days.
In 1984 Backlund was angry at Skaaland for throwing the towel and losing the championship, which then went from Iron Sheil to Hogan shortly after.
Now a crazy Backlund becomes champion because of a thrown towel, only to lose the belt shortly after to Diesel who should have been the leader of the new generation. It didnt work that well for Diesel, but thats not the point.
The thing it was about was Backlund himself becoming what he fought against during his prime and history repeated itself.
4:28 - Not at all unless Backlund had been given a long run with the belt in '94. You don't turn Randy heel just to stick the belt on him and job him out in a squash match 6 days later to the guy who's factored in as the next top babyface. That would've been a waste of Randy's talent and degrading to his worth. Backlund was the perfect guy for the transition at that stage of his career. Savage's idea for putting over Shawn Michaels would've been the money move, albeit cutting Randy's original program idea of 2 years down to 6 months to one year tops. No one feuded exclusively with one person for two years beyond the Golden Era.
I don't get how and why they would ever push Backlund as champion in any era. Very boring guy with no charisma. It wasn't like he was super good looking or had a great physique or anything either. I am sure he was a nice guy and all but even as a little kid watching wrestling I thought he was a complete bore.
I am not sure what demographic he would appeal to. He just looked like an average middle aged dad.
No charisma? Did you ever see his work as a heel?
@@lenwennerberg1631 Yes, I did. I guess we define charisma differently.
You obviously never saw his matches in his first run as champion when it was about wrestling not sports entertainment.
@@darkestknight4159 I did and still thought he was pretty boring. Good technical wrestler though. I didn't say there wasn't a place for him, just wouldn't put the belt on him. Maybe in a grittier, smaller wrestling promotion he could be champ. Why WWF would push him is beyond me.
@@STONESGAM Dude it only made sense for him to win the belt because of the story of how he lost the title 11 years prior. It’s called long-term storytelling. And Bob Backlund was tremendously great as a wrestler and also his character in 1994 was tremendous and got extremely over as a heel. Jim Cornette acknowledged himself acknowledged that he was surprised how Bob Backlund was able to pull it off and had the charisma to make that character.
To me was not a true heel in 1994. Backlund was an angry man who felt society lost their way and Bob being an old school values resented that.
Hmm.. interesting point: 10 greatest champions in WWWF/ WWF/ WWE? Sammartino, Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena, Triple H, Hart, Reigns, Angle, Michaels