Return to WWF (1992–1996)[edit]
In 1992, Backlund returned to the WWF.
[26] During his absence, the WWF had expanded into an international wrestling promotion, due in part to the colorful characters of the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection Era", which Hulk Hogan helped to kickstart eight years prior. Backlund, whose persona remained the same as it was in his heyday, seemed to be out of step with the evolution of the WWF. Many fans did not remember him, as he had left just prior to Vince McMahon's national expansion. His initial return to the WWF was largely uneventful and he mainly wrestled mid-card matches. However, at the
1993 Royal Rumble, Backlund, the number two entrant lasted sixty-one minutes and ten seconds,
[27] a duration record that stood until 2004, when
Chris Benoit broke it. Backlund's first appearance at
WrestleMania was the
IX edition, where he was quickly pinned by
Razor Ramon.
[28] Backlund also received several shots at the Intercontinental Championship, then held by
Shawn Michaels.
On the July 30, 1994, episode of
Superstars, Backlund wrestled what was billed as an "Old Generation vs. New Generation" match with
Bret Hart, with Hart's WWF World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Over the preceding weeks, the WWF aired vignettes of Backlund training for this match. Hart won the match, capitalizing after Backlund mistakenly believed he had won and helped Hart to his feet. Backlund "snapped" after Hart repeatedly tried to offer a sportsmanlike handshake following the match. He slapped Hart in the face and locked him in the
crossface chickenwing submission hold, while screaming hysterically. After finally releasing the hold, Backlund stared at his hands in apparent shock. Backlund then started to regularly "snap" in similar fashion during his matches, viciously attacking his opponent with the crossface chickenwing and refusing to release it after the opponent submitted. He would then seemingly snap back to normal and appear horrified by what he had done.
[1]
On an episode of
Monday Night Raw, shortly after his match with Hart, Backlund claimed that he should still be considered the legitimate WWF World Heavyweight Champion, as he had not been pinned by The Iron Sheik, nor
submitted to the camel clutch. Backlund continued wrestling under the new
gimmick of an out of touch and highly volatile eccentric, out to teach "The New Generation" a lesson.
[1] He dressed in business suits (complete with a bow tie), had a hyperactive personality and used (and often misused, for comic effect) large words during his interviews. He demanded that he be addressed as Mr. Backlund, and he would only sign autographs for wrestling fans if they could recite the names of all of the
United States Presidents in
chronological order. On several instances, he assaulted wrestlers and other WWF employees and placed them in the crossface chickenwing. These victims include
Jim Ross,
Duke "The Dumpster" Droese,
WWF Magazine writer Lou Gianfriddo, and his former manager Arnold Skaaland, who he blamed for costing him the WWF Heavyweight Championship in 1983.
On November 23, 1994, at the
Survivor Series pay-per-view in
San Antonio,
Texas, Backlund faced Bret Hart in a special
submission match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship where the only way for a wrestler to win was to have the opponent's valet, like Arnold Skaaland did for Backlund over a decade earlier, stop the match by throwing a towel into the ring. Backlund began displaying a white towel that he claimed was the same one that was thrown into the ring the night he lost to The Iron Sheik. To serve as his second for the match, Backlund paired up with
Owen Hart, the brother and chief rival of the reigning champion who had tried and failed multiple times that year to wrest the belt from Bret.
Late in the match, as Backlund was locked in Hart's trademark Sharpshooter submission, Owen entered the ring and attacked Bret from behind to cause him to break the hold. Bret's cornerman for the match,
Davey Boy Smith, chased Owen around the ring only to collide head first with the ring stairs. When Bret turned around to argue with his brother, Backlund took advantage and locked the crossface chickenwing on the champion. Hart fought the hold for an unprecedented eight-and-a-half minutes, but refused to give up.
Since Smith was unconscious on the floor, he was unable to save Hart. Owen took advantage by picking up the pink and black towel Smith carried and, feigning concern for the well being of his brother, approached his father
Stu and his mother Helen who were seated at ringside. As Backlund continued to cinch in the crossface chickenwing in the ring, Owen pleaded for his parents to stop the match. Stu refused, not trusting Owen's motives. Helen, however, did not want to see Bret risk further injury and she grabbed the towel and threw it into the ring. Backlund was awarded the championship and celebrated in the ring while Owen rejoiced in finally having cost his brother the championship. After the match, Backlund conducted a brief interview which he concluded by screaming how he felt "like
God".
[1][7]
Backlund's second reign as WWF World Heavyweight Champion was brief, as he lost the title three days later to
Diesel at a non-televised show in Madison Square Garden,
[7] the site of many of Backlund's victories in the 1970s and 1980s. Diesel kicked Backlund in the stomach, hit him with a
Jackknife Powerbomb and pinned him in eight seconds.
[1] For weeks afterwards, fans jeered Backlund with chants of "Eight seconds! Eight seconds!". In a 2005 interview for the
Pro Wrestling Torch, Kevin Nash (a.k.a. Diesel) recalled how Backlund
sold his
Jackknife Powerbomb by crawling up the aisleway, back to the dressing room area of the Garden. Nash said, "He couldn't have put me over any stronger". This match was the last time the WWF World Heavyweight Championship changed hands at a non-televised event, and aside from
Money in the Bank cash-ins, this match remains the shortest WWF title match ever; in fact, it would be tied by
Randy Orton cashing in his
Money in the Bank contract on
Daniel Bryan at the
2013 SummerSlam.
After the title loss, Backlund wrestled progressively less often, never again reaching main event status. One of his final WWF matches was an
"I Quit" match against Bret Hart at
WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995 which Backlund lost, even though he never actually said "I quit", instead screaming unintelligibly into the microphone, which
special guest referee Roddy Piper seemed to interpret as "I quit".
[29]
Following WrestleMania, the WWF ran an
angle in which Backlund declared his candidacy for President of the United States. Several vignettes aired, featuring Backlund preaching
socially conservative values, and one showed him campaigning at a beach. Backlund also confronted a
Bill Clinton impersonator who was seated at ringside at the
1995 Survivor Series. This angle was quietly dropped before it reached a conclusion.
From 1995 to 1996, Backlund went to mid to low card status. He lost to Bret Hart by disqualification on
Monday Night Raw on November 21. That would be his last TV appearance.
[30] He continued to appear in
house shows. He lost to
Savio Vega in a dark match at
In Your House 5 and competed in the
Royal Rumble getting eliminated by
Yokozuna. This would be his last Pay-Per-View appearance. His last match was a lost to Savio Vega on May 19 at
Madison Square Garden.
[31]
