Scott's Mailbag
Rants

Wrestling is Cyclical

By Scott Keith on 2 December 2024

Scott,

Bob Backlund made his return at Royal Rumble 1993 and lasted over an hour to little or no fanfare. Where were the Backlund chants from 1983-1993 until his return? It's not like he was some scrub in the pre-Hulkamania landscape having been champion for almost 6 years. I, myself, had no idea who he was as an 8 year old. I just thought Backlund was old, even though he is the same age as Flair and not much older than Hogan.

Similarly, I remember Lord Tensai returning to WWE to chants of “Albert” after a nearly 10 year absence. Could you imagine fans chanting “Barry” at Repo Man in 1991? He was Smash at WrestleMania VII and Repo Man by Survivor Series. Although he got a haircut, the voice and tattoo were a dead giveaway.

I don't watch much anymore but I guess the answer is obvious. Hulk Hogan roped in a generation of selfish children that never left, don't forget, and don't let anything slide. Also, the Internets.

P.S. In the middle of watching Survivor Series 1995 and Undertaker giving pre-Kane, Dr. Issac Yankem DDS a tombstone to easily eliminate him. Amazing how much the landscape of the company changed by 1997. Would have thought Fatu's career was over at that point and Ahmed Johnson was a future world champion.

Nick


Backlund absolutely could have remained around the business for that whole time but chose to step aside and let himself fade from memory. Probably ended up better for him that way. But as for the rest, I've always said that wrestling is the snake that consumes its own tail. Instead of going the route of most sports leagues and recruiting new stars from outside sources year after year, wrestling often finds the biggest successes by regurgitating the former jobbers and castoffs of the sport and repackaging them into something “new”. It'd be like if a football team cut a mediocre placekicker and then some other team signed him and made him into a star quarterback. I'm sure something similar might have happened in the past but it's incredibly rare outside of pro wrestling.