[7.0] "Backlund is undoubtedly a very good worker, but I think he suffered from being a "tweener" in a sense. For instance, I think he had too much of a technical style for the WWF, even during a (slightly) more workrate heavy late 70s and early 80s, which led itself more to a brawling style, that while he wasn't terrible at, didn't reflect his strengths. Conversely, I think in companies like UWF, he was probably a little past his prime physically and maybe too "pro-wrestler" for a full blown shoot promotion. For what he was however, it's hard not to argue that Backlund doesn't rank lower than a top 5 face of the WWE, with only Hart and Austin being comfortably ahead of him. I think he would've been best utilized in a company like NJPW, especially during Inoki's MMA hyperfixation era (or the times it becomes more prevalent at least :p). I don't know if Backlund is the number one guy you'd want to be a world champion for you nowadays, he'd likely be the type of guy NJPW would give the IC or US title too, which isn't a bad spot at all, but he was legit enough to fill the role back in the 80s. Backlund is undoubtedly iconic for his role as a white-meat babyface with a surprising amount of fire, and a crazed heel in the 90s, but despite his considerable run with the WWF title, it often felt like he never reached his true peak."
[9.0] "Backlund was a great technical wrestler and pound for pound one of the strongest guys in the history of wrestling. It's definitely nice to see people giving him his flowers these days."
[8.0] "Underrated legend in the industry. Had a lot of success in his career initially as a white meat babyface. His wrestling was great, and he wrestled some of the greats of the industry in memorable matches. When the times changed, he was able to change his character to a crazier and more with the times character, showed how he understood the business. Just forget about his time managing Darren Young"
[10.0] "Dude was WWF Champion twice, holding it in three different decades. He held it once concurrently with the WWF Tag Team Championship. Also had success in Japan and the US territories. Title fights (as challenger and champion) included Hulk Hogan, Stan Hansen, Jesse Ventura, Bret Hart, Diesel, Don Muraco, Big John Studd, Ivan Koloff, Superstar Billy Graham, Ric Flair, Harley Race, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Shawn Michaels. Also a travelling champion, taking the WWF title to NJPW, CWF, MLW (Canada), GCW (Georgia), and others. He has his critics, but this alone would give him an 8 in my opinion. Add to it all that I just love the guy, whether he's a squeaky clean or utterly insane, and I give him a 10. Thank you, Mr. Bob Backlund."
"Backlund doesn't get the credit he deserves. His initial WWWF/WWF title run (not counting Sheiky Baby as a transitional champ) was sandwiched between two of the most flamboyant, charismatic, entertaining characters in wrestling history -- Superstar Graham and Hogan. Compared to them, Backlund originally looked like a boring charisma vacuum during his first run in his prime, though his wrestling was lightyears ahead of either Graham or Hogan. Fantastic technical matches executed flawlessly. The style of the time was a little slower and less flashy, but he was essentially the Bret Hart of his era during his first run: not the most charismatic guy ever, but an absolute technical genius in the ring. Then, by the time his second run happened, he had somehow found loads of charisma (his Mr. Backlund character was hilariously weird and his promos from the time were unhinged, manic, creepy and disturbing in all the right ways), but he was past the absolute zenith of his prime at that point. In short, I don't think we ever got to see all of what Backlund was capable of, all at once. I would be remiss if I didn't mention what an absolute FREAK ATHLETE Bob is. Dude's in his mid-70's and is still in insanely good shape and conditioning. He does like 3000 reps of the Harvard Step Test daily. He lives clean, he eats clean, he doesn't have any bad habits, he exercises a freakish amount and as a result, he is still strong, athletic and can go at a level much higher than workers 2-3 decades younger than him. His most recent match (in 2018 when he was 68) saw Bob having a great catch wrestling-style exchange with Jinsei Shinzaki, taking bumps, pulling off a backwards roll and then participate in a wild brawl later in the match. Prior to that, the most recent match I saw was Bob vs. Shelley in TNA about a decade before that, and he hasn't lost a step. Absolutely phenomenal conditioning."
[10.0] "I'm not sure where the general negativity around Backlund came from, perhaps his heel run in '94 sticks in fans' minds compared to his peak run as champion which is virtually ancient at this point, but Bob Backlund is legitimately one of the best wrestlers who ever lived in-ring. In addition to the greatness at his peak, he had a long and varied career doing all kinds of cool and unexpected matches that his contemporaries couldn't hope to match. This man had the match of the year in 1980 vs. Ken Patera in a bloody brawl and then was still great all the way to his time in BattlArts in the late 90s. If that isn't a 10/10 wrestler I don't know."
[9.0] "So underrated which is crazy to say about someone who was champion for six years, dude had great matches with Rose, Hansen, Muraco, Slaughter, Rodz, Valentine, Zbysko, Venture and a ton more from that era, only to go to the UWF-i and have kickass work shoot matches, and a comeback in 1993 wrestling HBK, and others, until his awesome mental heel run and turn on Bret Hart, having really good matches(not WM 11) and still after this run being a constant figure in wrestling in some sort of way, his promos werent flashy just like him but they were straight forward and what they needed to be as the serious no nonsense Babyface, his heel promos were amazing! And Ill end on that, great wrestler who deserves to be seen as an amazing worker, wrestler, and later on character."
[10.0] "There are very few who were better than Backlund in the ring. His WWF run and the way they treated him were an insult to his talents, but at least he had a great match with Bret Hart. Before then, he was a fantastic worker and was one of the best "ring generals" of all time with his technical ability. He had a gift for working the crowd and keeping matches hot with a great sense of timing and expressiveness. His work in the 80s is really underrated and he constantly put on great matches."
[10.0] "One of the most disrespected legends in WWF history. And make no mistake, he is a legend of the promotion, headlining for years but never got any true credit because of the bitterness of some of his peers who couldn't get over a white meat babyface being the top draw of the New York territory known for its ethnic faces and crazy gimmicks. But ignoring all that and focusing on the man itself, Backlund's accomplishments are backed up by a sensational resume of work where he was apart of some of the greatest ever WWF title matches. Backlund despite not having "charisma" had the crowd in the palm of his hands for his submission heavy style for most of his run in the WWF and that's something that's overlooked. Backlund's return look gave Backlund more appereciated in some form, but it gave him a comedic image which is far from Backlund's greatest form. A world class wrestler and one of the best wrestlers of all time."
[9.0] "Severely underrated on Cagematch. He is one of the best WWE/F Champions, lengthy reign, and high quality defences, his matches are some of my favourite of the era, particularly in North America. In his later years, he showed off more of his charisma, and fit in well. Its a shame he left wrestling for some time in the 80s, he showed he could have been a good character, or have gone to another territory."
[6.0] "One of the best of the late 70's/early 80's WWF where kicking and stomping ruled the day, but he wasn't what the larger than life WWF of the mid 80's needed to be successful. Came back about 9 years later and aside from a breakout performance at the 93 Rumble, he was just "there" on the card, not doing much of note until they turned him heel and he was actually becoming interesting. Until Diesel squashed him and Bret beat him in a crappy submission match at Mania 11 and then it was back to background character for him."
[10.0] "Backlund is one of the greats WWF Champions. He has classics bouts against a ton of varied opponents and was even good at shoot wrestling. Great character in the 90's."
[10.0] "I know he looks and acts like weirdo but goddamn this man is a fantastic professional wrestler. Excellent on the mat and his promos in the 90s with his crazy Mr. Backlund gimmick is fantastic."
"Great technician, so/so on the mic. Vince kept him on top waaaaaaay too long. Matches were highly technical, but slow paced. In the history of the WWF, he is dwarfed in between Bruno and Hogan. I used to run into him frequently at my son's High School matches. He is a tremendous supporter of high school and college wrestling. Removing my rating for personal bias."
[10.0] "A very straight laced, what you see is what you get, loyal, devoted, blue collar, hard working, good guy who done everything the right way. He didn't do steroids, he didn't take short cuts, he didn't cheat, he didn't take pain pills (not even an aspirin), and he never gave up at anything he ever did. He's also a cardio machine, he always stays in phenomenal shape, has a strong work ethic (sometimes to the point of being a workaholic), physically strong as an ox, lives his life by a very strong set of principles, commands respect, and he's very motivational/inspirational with what he says/does."
[9.0] "It might come off as a surprise to most, but prime Bob Backlund is actually an incredibly versatile performer, capable of putting on violent, bloody brawls (Patera 05/19), technical mat classics (the Inoki series), literal wars inside a cage (Slaughter '81, Snuka '82), and storytelling masterpieces (Patterson '79, Valentine '79) against a variety of opponents. His WWF Title reign(s) from 1978 to 1983 is one of the best of its kind, which is unfortunate because it's barely mentioned when discussing said subject. His '94 resurgence as the crazy old man Mr. Backlund was one of the only highlights of a rough period for the company, with him absolutely carrying the TV when Bret was busy defending the title around the country. Although, as impressive as his longevity was, the blank period that was his semi-retirement years forced me to deduct a point off (as great as a few gems he made during those times were)."
[9.0] "Backlund was really good, and I think these low ratings of yesteryear is from a look at only his work in the mid-1990s WWF, or in the very early 1980s. He was a pretty solid draw for the WWWF, and when Vince Jr. took over you get less Backlund's and more Hogans. Backlund had crazy longevity, truly one of the last true grapplers in wrestling."
[9.0] "Backlund rules and only gets shit on because of how he was presented prior to the Vince Sr. -> Vince Jr. switch. The Howdy Doody championship run is what it is, but man I LOVE psycho 90's Bob Backlund and I LOVE Bob Backlund in Japan. Backlund is a dude who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his twilight years and his international travels. Y'know how people always lament the lack of early Nick Bockwinkel footage? Maybe Backlund is the opposite. We have too much of his early footage - but he was the MAN as after he dropped the belt to Iron Sheik and became your crazy uncle with giant hands and megaton farm muscles."
[8.0] "Bob is harder to rate, he was a talented wrestler and everything, but he was allways lacking in my eyes. The man had no charisma but was pushed to the moon, i understood the idea of giving him the world title for a shorter time, but when it comes down to how long he held it, thats when things dont add up for me. Bobs return during the new gen era when the made him world champ again was over the top for a man of his stature in my eyes, if it were only for a few matches and maybe an oppertunity at the title it wouldve been a lot better in my eyes."
[9.0] "Pro wrestling fans don't rate him much! His early career and early years as a champion are a must-see because it matters! Bob is a very technical and gifted wrestler from the golden age of wrestling! His people give low ratings because his late gimmick of the madman was awkward then you're wrong, it gave freshness to his character and his feud with Bret Hart was great in 1994! + he was already old by those years!"
[10.0] "The ratings are so low just because his last appearances in WWE as Darren Young's mentor? Very funny. Backlund is one of a kind talent and very good character during whole career. I really like his match against The Hitman in 1994, great stuff."
[5.0] "After watching more of his material I finally have concluded a number rating, you will see me attempt to do math throughout this paragraph. Ratings are based upon my basic criteria of how watchable the wrestler is: A large part of me wants to give him a 2 because there is an over whelming excess of cringe worthy groan inducing BOREDOM during his WWWWWWF world title reign, also he was the most unlikable face ever and even the commentary team would bury him. However seeing him get pulverized sometimes gave us perverse pleasure pushing him to a 6 or 7. His technical levels though were rather dazzling at times and could pop a crowd out of nowhere thus giving him an air of "what WILL he do to get past this physically superior foe? you have to watch the whole match to find out! ", which would put him at a 9 or 10. Then there was his return after the lengthy absence. At first you were compelled by this middle aged man competing against a whole new generation and crop of stars from the bottom up - only to quickly dismiss him as some goofy looking baby boomer who had no business out there, that there starts with a 7 but ends in a 1. Even at his best underdog moments, he wasn't the best underdog. THEN! The heel turn, which again yielded mixed results from "this might be the best heel in the last XX years" to "oh sweet baby jesus, just get the heck off of my television already" (10/0), So what did I finally settle on for the guy? A 5 for somewhere in the middle, thus doing no justice to his best nor worst. Lukewarm Bob Backlund."
[9.0] "How is Bob Backlund so low? ! The only explanation is that people here haven't seen his work. He was a phenomenal technical wrestler, a great babyface world champion, and a true character brimming with charisma."
[10.0] "Legendary Babyface WWE World Heavyweight Champion that bridged the gap between the Bruno Sammartino era & the Hulk Hogan era. He also had memorable matches with Bret "The Hitman" Hart between 1993-1994. He had tremendous matches in the 1970's, 1980's, & 1990's between North America & Japan."
[8.0] "As legit an all-American face as ever there was one. Hogan only talked about saying your prayers and taking your vitamins, Bob actually did it. Considering how he's in his 70's now and can still move around like crazy and stays in good shape. Nevermind the fact that Bob was a legit shooter, who could stretch his opponents for hours if he really felt like it. His transition from the Boy Scout face of the 70's and early 80's, into the crazed maniac of the 90's is an underrated gimmick as far as I'm concerned."
[10.0] "Bob Backlund is a monster, people don't like him because he bitches out his opponents every match but that's precisely why he's good, he dominates people and he relishes his domination."
[6.0] "A placeholder for a number of years for the WWF Championship. There's a good reason why Backlund held the title for 5+ years, but no one can actually point out a single great match that he had out of those years: it's because he didn't really have any. He wasn't bad or anything in the ring (hell, he looked pretty good against Bret in his comeback later on) but his style lacked any of the charisma or gravitas that the likes of Hogan or Bruno had, and the company progressed no further with him as champ. His amateur wrestling style (slow and of minimal bumps) as well as his boring generic babyface persona meant that he quickly got stale with crowds towards the latter end of his run. People say Cena was boring in his title runs, but at least there was intrigue and Cena could cut a good promo. Backlund had neither."
[8.0] "His first run predates me as a wrestling fan. I have certainly gone back & watched a bunch of it, but nothing can compare to living it live. Backlund was a great technician and though I can't speak too much on his babyface character during his first run, I was around for his crazy Bob phase & that was quite entertaining. He made the crossface chicken wing seem like the most deadly hold in all of wrestling. As time went on the comedy aspect of the character ramped up & that's when I feel like things fell off the rails."
[7.0] "Great wrestler very well skilled. I like dhis reversed moves. But he was at times boring to watch. Got too much hype. Overrated for sure. WHy was he WWF champion for enarly 6 years? He was a college wrestler in Greco-Roman but couldn't wrestle as well in the WWF. But he tired to be very technical."
[7.0] "Bob Backlund ist eine technisch höchst versierte Legende. Im Ring gehörte er zu den großen Könnern und wusste gute und spannende Matches zu gestalten. Leider hat mir seine comedyhafte Überzeichnung in verschiedenen Momenten die Stimmung zerstört. Charismatisch war er nur im Ansatz, seine Gimmicks haben mich eher nicht überzeugt (das Überzeichnete, später gar der Psycho). Bleibt ein sehr fähiger (Submission-) Wrestler, der zeitweise an der Spitze der Company stand."
[5.0] "Kann hier nur den Bob Backlund Anfang bis Mitte der 90er bewerten. Anfangs ein freundlicher, respektvoller Wrestler, der aber auch gut austeilen konnte. Eher im Oldschool-Wrestling zuhause. Der Heelturn und die Fehde gegen Bret Hart fand ich ziemlich lächerlich."
[6.0] "Technisch gesehen gehörte Backlund zu den besten In-Ring-Workern seiner Zeit, gleichzeitig war er in meinen Augen aber auch der einzige charismafreie World Champ der Company."
[9.0] "Bob Backlund was a world champ for over 5 years! He was the transitional champ between Bruno and Hogan. He returned to WWE in 1993 and started a memorable feud the following year with champ Bret Hart. Backlund revolutionized his character and became one of the oldest champs ever by beating Bret at Survivor Series 94. I believe Backlund is vastly underrated and deserves a ranking more in line with his real life legacy: top 20-25 ever."
[7.0] "Also Bob backlund hatte einen unglaublichen Run als World Champ. Er war bestimmt kein guter Entertainer damals aber er konnte sein Handwerk und war ein grundsolider Techniker. Anfang der neunziger seine Rückkehr bei wwe und dann noch ein letzten Run als Champ. Vom unterhaltungsfaktor war er da als psychopathischer Heel am stärksten."
[10.0] "One of the most technically gifted sound wrestlers of all time. Bob Backlund had a squeaky clean persona that elevated to fan favorite status and doomed him to eventual failure in some fans eyes, his training regiment to a Karl Gotch-inspired a ok physique and Second he cut his hair to a crewcut, which emphasized the negative Howdy Doody labeling that he had received, now what I didn't like most was the dumb facial looks he made. I was all right with him being bland charisma boring at times had had little personality. with out mic skills, sometimes his matches some fans might think slow but it was built up on in ring psychology, he had fantastic amateur skills was freakishly strong and had crazy endurance. however he was athletic possessed a speed quickness and Ring intelligence that enhanced his technical abilities and outclassed his adversaries what was rare in a WWF champ in those era and that and Backlund was a worldwide traveling champion but his title up vs tons of wrestlers and over in Japan Tatsumi Fujinami, Antonio Inoki, Stan Hansen, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes and vs champions from other promotions Harley Race, Nick Bockwinkel, Ric Flair, also had ton of title matches vs large array wrestlers. Don Muraco, Ken Patera, Larry Zbyszko, Sgt. Slaughter, Killer Khan, Greg Valentine Ivan Koloff, Adrian Adonis, Blackjack Mulligan, Jimmy Snuka juhst to name a few, he was really great wrestler and champ who had great matches, In an industry based on gimmicks, perhaps his best gimmick was no gimmick at all."
[2.0] "So ein nerviger Wrestler und weit davon entfernt ein Entertainer zu sein. Weder Championship noch Hall of Fame Material. Seine Rückkehr an der Seite von Darren Young ruft nur schlechte Erinnerungen hervor."
[8.0] "Der Typ ist einfach Legende. Wieso stellt man ihm neben Darren Young. Dieser Young ist stink langweilig und die Fehde gegen Titus OäNeal ist einfach eine Frechheit."
[8.0] "Fand ihn in den 90ern als Heel echt schräg und unangenehm... und das ist positiv gemeint. Wrestlerisch war das zwar nicht sonderlich spektakulär, aber doch technisch einwandfrei. Im Gegensatz zu den meisten anderen Kommentaren hier finde ich in auch als Manager von Darren Young gut eingesetzt. Der Typ hat doch eine sehr eigene Ausstrahlung, ein bißchen wie der alte wunderliche Mann, der Kindern die Fussbälle klaut, wenn sie ausversehen auf seinem Grundstück landen oder den Nachbarn anzeigt, wenn er seine Hecke nicht schneidet. Wahnsinnig uncool und damit besonders individuell."
[3.0] "Normalerweise 6 Punkte für seine Karriere, da er ein zwar absolut langweiliger, aber technisch guter Wrestler war. 3 Punkte ziehe ich dann aber ab, einen dafür, dass er sich selbst völlig überschätzt und mir völlig unsymphatisch ist, und 2 für seine Zeit ab den 90ern bis heute. Peinlich."
[2.0] "Ich muss ihm jetzt echt mal diese Wertung geben für den Mist den er gerade mit dem langweiligsten Charakter der WWE nach Ryback, Darren Young, abzieht. Das zieht sein Rating so massiv runter, wieso lässt er sich auf so einen Mist ein? Bekommt noch 2 Punkte für die eigene Karriere. Ich habe mir einiges von ihm angesehn aber gar nicht mein Fall."
[4.0] "Backlund ist schwierig zu bewerten. Ringen kann er-aber sein Wrestlingstil ist sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig. Ich persönlich kann mit selbigem auch herzlich wenig anfangen. Als Face war er mmn EXTREM langweilig und eintönig. Seine Matches waren auch eher ermattend als aufregend. Als Heel dann zwar ein Charismaschub bekommen aber das ändert nichts daran dass er mit diesem Stil nicht in die WWF der 90er gepasst hat. Zudem hat er außerhalb der wichtigen Kämpfe furchtbar gesellt. Auch mit viel gutem Willen kann ich nicht mehr als 4 Punkte für Backlund rausrücken-auch weil der Unterhaltungswert nie wirklich gegeben war. :)"
[4.0] "Fand ihn immer schon sehr langweilig und austauschbar. Er mag ja mal einen großen Namen gehabt haben, aber bis auf seinen 8 Sekunden Niederlage gegen Diesel ist er mir überhaupt nicht in erinnerung geblieben."
[10.0] "One of the greatest of all time, an enormous regional star just before Vince Jr tried to eat the wrestling world whole, and had a phenomenal post prime run that should have lasted longer. Love me some Backlund, his technique is unreal and he can show a lot of personality when he wants to. Amazing athlete too, I honestly believe he could still rejoin the WWE main roster today if he really wanted to."
[9.0] "A throw back to an era before tv. If backlund never had to do promos or entertainment skits he might be one of the top 10 wrestlers of all time. Sadly his prime was right at the time hollywood hogan was taking over the sport and backlund stood out like a sore thumb in that context"
[4.0] "Ansich ist Bob Backlund garkein schlechter aber irgendwie komme ich auf seine Art und Weise, wie er wrestlet nicht klar. Man muss aber zugeben, dass er ein großer Teil der nordamerikanischen Wrestlinggeschichte ist."
[7.0] "Hmm, Bobby Backlund is a weird part of North American wrestling's history. As bland as he was, he must have been popular as he held the WWF title for 4-5 years and maintained the territory's momentum. His return to the WWF in 1993 featured one great performance in that year's Royal Rumble match but was overall very disappointing and his recent returns have been wacky and unnecessary. A product of his time like so many others that will be remembered fondly by those that were there with him."
[9.0] "Wrestlerisch hatte er es sowieso drauf und ich behaupte, ein gewisses Charisma hat er auch, auch wenn mans nicht mit den knallbunten WWF-Gimmicks der 80er vergleichen kann."
[9.0] "Ich kann ihn einfach nie vergessen. Ein richtig durchgeknallter Wrestler, und sein Chickenwing Crossface ist der beste! Manchmal kämpfte er nicht gut, und doch ich habe seine Kämpfe immer genossen. Seine schnellste Niederlage war gegen Diesel. Nur Jackknife Powerbomb gemacht, und schon hat Diesel den Match für sich entschieden. Ich fand das so schade, weil ich mich auf einen Kampf zwischen den beiden gefreut habe. Das auch mit dem Handtuch werfen von Helen Hart, und so verlor Bret den Kampf gegen Bob Backlund. Dieser Match war auch spannend!"
[9.0] "Technisch sehr wertvoll und tolle Einstellung. Körperbau war zu seinen besten Zeit auch sehr gut. Ich habe zudem noch nie etwas so inspirierendes wie seine Rede zur Hall of Fame Aufnahme gesehen. Eine echte Größe im Wrestling!"
[8.0] "Bob Backlund. Ich kann verstehen das man ihn nicht mag aber ich finde ihn großartig. Damals als er Champion habe ich natürlich nichts von ihm gesehen aber sein Charakter Ende 1994 anfang 1995 ist Gold wert. Hätte ihn gerne länger als WWE Champion gehabt."
[8.0] "Mr Bob Backlund is a wrestlers wrestler, and was tremendous in the ring. He made one of the best turns from face to heel in the early to mid nineties in my estimation. A great wrestler who exhibited great feats of streangth and endurance."
[7.0] "Bei Backlund war die Tagesform entscheidend - nie schlecht, aber nicht immer hervorragend. Seine comic-artigen Herumtorkeleien hat er manchmal übertrieben und dadurch leider oft seinen Matches, die sonst sehr glaubwürdig waren, einiges an Wirkung genommen. Aber: Wirklich ein hervorragender Techniker auf der Matte (siehe z. B seine Kämpfe in Japan gegen Takada und Funaki), ausserdem verstand Backlund auch die Psychologie eines Matches sehr gut (man achte bei seinen Kämpfen mal auf die Publikumsreaktionen). In den Siebzigern und Achzigern also zu Recht ganz oben. In den Neunzigern fand ich sein Wahnsinnigen - Gimmick nervig, das reißt aber die Gesamtwertung nicht allzu weit runter."
[6.0] "Ein hervoragender Wrestler, ein typischer all-american. Micwork besitzt er keines aber das kann ich verschmerzen den er hat sowieso nur .... zu erzählen."
[7.0] "Guter Old-School-Techniker, der seine Heelrolle in den 90ern perfekt ausgefüllt hat. Den WWF Title hätte man ihm nicht unbedingt geben müssen, aber ansonsten ein guter Run Backlunds."
[9.0] "In den 70er und 80er Jahren im Ring einer der Besten überhaupt. Seine fast "6 jährige" Titelregentschaft sind heute wahrscheinlich mit 8 oder 9 Titelgewinnen vergleichbar. Und hätte er zwischendurch seinen Titel auch mal verlieren dürfen währe er am Ende sicherlich nicht mehr so langweilig gewesen, da es so einfacher gewesen währe seinem Charakter mal eine Pause zu gönnen oder das Gimmick mal grundlegend zu ändern. In den 90ern als durchgeknallter Heel einfach genial. Hätte er das in den 80ern auch zeigen dürfen währe er wohl als einer der Besten in die Geschichte eingegangen."
[7.0] "Klasse Mattenwrestler mit schlechten Gimmicks, wofür er aber nichts kann. Seine Matches basierten natürlich alle darauf, dass er seine Gegner mit Submissions auf den Boden zwang. Das Gimmick des total verrückten hat er dazu auch genial rüber gebracht. Und seine Glanzzeiten sind natürlich unvergesslich, wenn auch zu früh um viel davon zu sehen.. 7 Punkte."
[6.0] "Ich kapiere heute immer noch nicht warum man Backlund den wertvollsten Wrestling Titel der Welt für ganze 5 Jahre gegeben hat. Ein Rätsel das ich wohl auch nie verstehen werde. Natürlich war er ein großartiger Techniker, dass möchte ich nicht abstreiten, doch war er immer etwas langweilig und farblos. Deshalb wie ich finde viel zu überpusht. Die 6 Punkte gibt es, dafür das er ein großartiger Techniker gewesen ist und für das Gimmick 1994, dass ich ihm damals ohne lange nach zudenken abkaufte."
[6.0] "Verdienter 80er Star, dessen Comeback als Irrer selbst auch noch einigermaßen gelungen war. Ein klassischer Athlet der älteren Zunft, dessen Gesamterscheinung jedoch viel zu weichgespült für einen Superstar daher kam. Und das schon damals."
[7.0] "Niemand kann Backlund seinen hervorragenden sportlichen Hintergrund nehmen; aber er gehörte ganz klar in die Zeit vor Wrestlemania, als Pro-Wrestling noch irgendwo als halbwegs ernsthafter Sport anerkannt war und sich Kostüme und Show auf ein Minimum beschränkten. Er hat es ja später nochmal mit seinem Mr-Bob Backlund-Gimmick versucht, und auch den Irren gut gespielt; aber trotzdem wirkte er wie ein Fremdkörper zwischen den großen, athletischen Kerlen; zumal Baklund körperlich schon deutlich abgebaut hatte."
[8.0] "Ein klasse Ringer, der eigentlich immer eine tolle Leistung zeigte. Allerdings tacke bis zum Boden; der spielte den Durchgeknallten nicht nur. Irgendwie wirkte er bei seinem Comeback fehl am Platz. Aber wie einer hier bereits sagte, ein Match zwischen ihm und Angle zu ihren jeweiligen Bestzeiten wäre interessant gewesen."
[5.0] "Ein guter Techniker, aber als Babyface stinklangweilig. Als verrückter Mr. Backlund hatte sein Charakter dann eine merkwürdige Anziehungskraft - wie ein Formel 1-Crash, bei dem man nicht wegschauen kann. Es war so schräg, dass es einen interessierte, was als nächstes kommen würde, auch wenn der eigentliche Mann hinter dem Gimmick nicht wirklich interessanter wurde."
[7.0] "Sehr guter, jedoch etwas blasser Matt-Wrestling Techniker. Sein früheres Saubermann-Image passte nicht in die anbrechende Entertainment-Welt der WWF (1983). Kam zu Beginn der 90er als lower MicCarder ebenso farblos zurück und wurde für angehende Superstars verjobbt (wie bspw. gegen Ramon bei WMIX erging es ihm nur allzu oft). Mit seinem Psycho-Gimmick ab Mitte '94 schaffte er es dann noch einmal bis in den MainEvent der Series und konnte sich sogar den Titel gegen den Hitman holen - nur um ihn am Folgetag gegen Diesel in knapp acht (! ) Sekunden wieder zu verlieren. Somit schliesst sich der Kreis. Fazit - gut genug um den Titel zu halten, aber halt kein Zugpferd. Ich fand ihn besonders 1994 unterhaltsam. Davor und auch danach war ein einfach nur ein Baustein."
[6.0] "War eigentlich immer recht gut... Doch wer ständig seine Jacketjacke auszieht um mit den Chickenwing Crossface an jedem Wrestler im TNAW-Rooster, der ihn nur ein bisschen böse ansieht, rumzufummeln, der muss diese Punktabzüge bekommen..."
[5.0] "Guter Wrestler und als Psycho Heel in der WWF sehr stark. Allerdings (in seiner späteren Karriere) absolut lächerliche Erscheinung und als Champion deswegen auch eine Fehlbesetzung."
[7.0] "Viel von ihm gehoert, einiges gesehen, Live nur, als er Anfang der 90iger in die WWF zurueckkam und dann durchknallte. Hab das damals voll geschluckt und war geschockt als er den Cross-Face bei Bret Hart nicht loesen wollte. Auf Grund seiner Verdienste und seines bodenstaendigen Wrestlings gebe ich hier 7 Punkte."
[8.0] "Früher einer der ganz Großen Ringer mit wirklich guten Inring-Skills, Mic-Skill waren damals ja kaum nötig. Auch als Heel in der WWF sehr unterhaltsam und jetzt auch am Mic gut! Hat leider nicht gemerkt, wann Schluss ist, daher nur die 2!"
[2.0] "Der Typ ist einfach nur nervtötend und lächerlich. Nein Danke! Hätte er seine Karriere rechtzeitig beendet wäre vielleicht noch eine 4 drinnen gewesen. Aber allein das Gimmick ist schon schädlich."
[6.0] "Gehörte während seiner WWE Zeit in den 80ern zu den Verdienten Main Eventern aber mit dem was er momentan bei TNA abzieht macht er sich und andere lächerlich und schadet nur seinem guten Ruf."
[8.0] "Ein verdienter Wrestler, der aber seinerzeit doch bis zu einem gewissen Grad das war, was man heute überpusht nennt. Als Psychopath in den Neunzigern dann aber pures Gold. Bei TNAW als Face aber völlig fehlbesetzt."
[8.0] "Er hat als komplett Durchgeknallter in der WWF einen riesigen Unterhaltungswert erreicht und damit bewiesen, dass er auch komplett anders auftreten kann als bei seinen ersten Runs als Champion."
[10.0] "Einer meiner Lieblingswrestler der 70er und 80er Jahre, in denen er auch oben auf war! Hat ein supergeiles Gimmick und ist ein genialer und zugleich wahnsinniger Heel!"
