Real name: Robert Backlund
Home: Princeton, MN
Membership: Superstars
A.K.A.: Mr. Backlund
Finisher: Crossface Chickenwing
Background: If Bruno Sammartino was the face of the Superstars in the 60's and Pedro Morales was the face of the 70's, then Bob Backlund would surely have been considered the face of the 80's if not for a few factors.
Bob was simply following in the footsteps of his idols. He trained himself mentally and physically and sought out Superstars leader Pedro Morales. Morales was impressed with the young man and hired him on the spot. Bob soon became a junior mascot of sorts for the Superstars. When Pedro opted to retire, it seemed natural that Bob would be replace him,
And he did; and if Vince McMahon Sr. had stayed in charge of Titan, odds are Bob would have stayed the leader probably well into the 90's...but that's not what happened.
Vince Senior gave way to Vince Junior and Jr. didn't care for the way his daddy ran things or Bob personally. Obviously he couldn't let Bob in on the way he intended to do things and he couldn't just fire him.
So, on a call to fight the rampaging Iron Sheik, Vince got ahold of Bob's friend Arnold Skaaland. When the Sheik tried to break Bob's back, Arnold threw in the towel and begged for his friend not to be hurt. As far as the public was concerned, Bob was now a has-been and a loser. He stayed in the game for a bit, trying to act as a mentor to the new group of Superstars but he found himself out of place when compared to the more colorful characters.
He quietly quit and became a teacher. He'd return later in the 90's but that's a story for another day.
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