Let’s have a look at Backlund now. The parallels with Dory are interesting: he couldn’t really talk on the mic either, he was quiet, and worked a technical style. He also looked like a total gimp and stuck his arse out when he punched, but that’s by the by. But – for reasons that will perhaps never be clear – Vince Sr had made a promise and he was going to stick to that promise no matter what anyone said, nor matter how many salty years Billy Graham shed. These results come courtesy of the late, great Clawmaster:
2/23 Jacksonville, FL @ Coliseum NWA Champion Harley Race drew WWWF Champion Bob Backlund
Straight off the bat, Backlund is established as being the equal of NWA champ Harley Race, and on the “neutral” ground of Florida (if you consider that Kansas was Harley’s backyard).
3/6 Boston, MA @ Garden WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Ken Patera COR guest referee Andre the Giant
5/22/78 NY NY MSG WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Ken Patera
If you have a spare … three hours, ask Dylan Hales one time about how big of a star the former Olympian Ken Patera was in 1978 … (one time too many? Ha ha)
3/258 Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum WWWF Champion Bob Backlund ddq Spiros Arion
3/27 Boston, MA @ Garden WWWF Champion Bob Backlund ddq Spiros Arion
4/20 Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Spiros Arion dq, Special Referee Gorilla Monsoon
5/1 Boston, MA @ Garden WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Spiros Arion COR
Arion was one of Sammatino’s big-time rivals and a very well established heel in the area.
2/27 Middle Village, NY @ Christ the King High School WWWF Champion Bob Backlund vs Toru Tanaka
3/11/78 Randolph WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Toru Tanaka
Tanaka was a long-time Sammartino challenger and an over heel, partner of Mr. Fuji, of course.
3/20 NY NY MSG Superstar Billy Graham beat WWWF Champion Bob Backlund via blood stoppage
4/24 NY NY MSG Steel Cage Match WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Superstar Billy Graham
5/15 Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Maple Leaf Gardens WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Superstar Billy Graham COR
8/5 Boston, MA @ Garden Steel Cage Match WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Superstar Billy Graham
Several of many return matches with the former champ. Steel cage win at MSG. Doesn’t come much bigger.
4/7 Jamesburg WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Stan Stasiak
Another win over another former champ.
4/29 St. Petersburg, FL @ Bayfront Center WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Ivan Koloff dq
This is on an Eddie Graham show. Koloff is another former WWWF champ. And a big-time heel in Florida.
5/20 Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat George Steele
7/24 NY NY MSG WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat George Steele
Another major heel for the WWWF, Steele had also been a Bruno challenger.
5/26 Takamatsu, Japan WWWF Champion Bob Backlund & Tony Garea beat Antonio Inoki & Osamu Kido 2/3
Kido almost certainly took the fall here, but never underestimate the value of a win over Inoki in Japan
5/29 Okayama, Japan WWWF Champion Bob Backlund & Baron Mikel Scicluna beat Antonio Inoki & Riki Choshu 2/3
Fall #1: Backlund pinned Choshu
Fall #2: Inoki pinned Scicluna
Fall #3: Backlund pinned Choshu
One of the funnier things for Titans of Wrestling fans, Baron Scicluna has a win over Inoki and Choshu to his name!
6/1 Tokyo, Japan @ Nihon Budokan NWF World Champion Antonio Inoki beat WWWF Champion Bob Backlund when the time limit expired in the 2nd fall
Fall #1 – Inoki beat Backlund COR at 40:08
Fall #2 – the 61-minute time-limit expired at 20:52 into the fall; both titles were on the line but Backlund retained his belt.
Naturally, Inoki wasn’t going to lose to this gimpy kid. But still, he couldn’t put him away.
7/28 Los Angeles, CA @ Olympic Auditorium WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Roddy Piper
Roddy was already a big star in LA, despite being so young. If you ever pick up Backlund’s book Piper tells a GREAT and heart-warming story about this encounter in his forward.
9/10 Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Maple Leaf Gardens WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Gorilla Monsoon at 20:20
Monsoon still had name value in 1978.
8/28 NY NY MSG Ivan Koloff beat WWWF Champion Bob Backlund via referee’s decision at 30:29 when the match was stopped due to blood loss
9/25/78 NY NY MSG WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Ivan Koloff
A clean win over the former champ at MSG.
10/23 NY NY MSG WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Ernie Ladd
Another big-time heel of the 1970s, Ernie Ladd was national star.
11/18 Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum WWWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Crusher Blackwell bullrope match
Bob’s challengers came in all shapes and sizes. Blackwell was one-of-a-kind. And a big heel, literally.
Let’s stop here. The point is well made. After 10 months, Backlund had gone over three former champions – Superstar Graham, Stan Stasiak and Ivan Koloff – and another six of Bruno’s biggest challengers: George Steele, Ernie Ladd, Gorilla Monsoon, Ken Patera, Professor Tanaka, and Spiros Arion. He’d also gone the distance with Harley Race and Antonio Inoki and beaten the hot up-and-coming star Roddy Piper in his own backyard. Imagine if Roman Reigns had beaten Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and The Rock cleanly?
