Bob Backlund Has Harsh Words For Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Snuka

Chad and John of the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling recently did an interview with WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund. The former WWE Champion had some very harsh words for both Hulk Hogan and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. Backlund discussed a lot more on the episode of the podcast, so there is more than just those topics.

Below are some of the highlights but you can listen to the full interview right here.

Backlund on his rivalry with Jimmy Snuka and how Snuka carried himself outside the ring:

“In the ring, he was a genius. But out of the ring he was an embarrassment to society. I didn’t know him outside of the ring at all, I just knew him in the ring. I didn’t hang around and wasn’t out there with him but I know he was very good in the ring and as good as it gets. If he would have been a decent person then he would have been the WWF Champion but he didn’t have the qualifications and didn’t meet the standards or else he would have been. Vince McMahon Sr. would have made him the WWF Champion if he would have been an honorable person. I didn’t hang around the guys and I didn’t ride in the cars with him. I had an instance riding in a car with him in Georgia and I never rode with him again. I don’t know what was going on at all and I didn’t want to know. My business was wrestling and I wanted to be ready to go in the ring and do my best and I didn’t have time to worry about what was going on behind the scenes and I didn’t want to know.”

Being asked to turn heel by Vince McMahon Jr. in 1984:

“I said no. I said no because I had a daughter that was six years old at the time and I didn’t want to have her have problems in school. I’ve heard a lot from the Savoldi’s. Mario Savoldi said that they had a lot of problems when his Dad was a bad guy and I didn’t want to do the same thing to our daughter and also I sponsored Bob Backlund’s kids tournaments and I made a lot of promises to kids that I wasn’t going to be doing this and that and would be doing good things they could be proud of and I didn’t want to let them down either.”

Thoughts on Bruno Sammartino and Wrestling Era and Hulk Hogan:

“I thought that he didn’t meet the standards and I know Bruno would have thought if I had been doing all that goofy stuff he was doing he wouldn’t have liked me being champion and I’m sure that Bruno feels the same way. He (Hulk) didn’t meet the standards outside the ring to be able to represent the WWF. Did the WWE fire him recently? Because, I would have fired him thirty years ago. He was saying one thing and doing another.”