Customer Reviews

Legends of Wrestling 2: Hulk Hogan & Bob Backlund

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For those who don't already know, the "Legends Of Wrestling" program is a program on WWE 24/7 On Demand channel that's a roundtable discussion featuring Dusty Rhodes, Jim Ross, Pat Patterson, Michael Hayes, and Mike Graham speaking on various subjects. Throughout each discussion, you'll hear various personal & behind the scenes stories of each individual mentioned along with rare video highlights & pictures to showcase the point being put across. On each disc, you'll get a set of bonus matches with most of them never released on DVD before & even rare ones never seen on national television either...with Jesse Ventura's commentry not removed from the matches.

The panel here covered the critism regarding Backlund's charisma & personality, his ability to work out & stay in shape...to this day at his age, the reasoning & setup behind his title reign, the role of his manager, why he left WWE after losing the title, and the reason why he's not in the WWE Hall Of Fame. Hulkster's discussion talked about his introduction to the wrestling business, charisma, time in AWA, effects of Hulkamania & impact of Rocky III, if he has overstayed his welcome, an interesting debate comparing him to Dusty Rhodes himself, and who made whom: WWE or Hogan.

Matches Include:

Hulk Hogan & High Flyers vs. Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura, Ken Patera - This was a nice six man tag that went back & forth between both teams at times with everyone have a chance to showcase their strengths.

AWA Aug. '81

Hulk Hogan & Andre The Giant vs. Bobby Heenan, Bobby Duncam, Nick Bockwinkel, Ken Patera - This was a unique handicap match as eventhough there was double the amount of people on the Heenan's team, they only outweighed Hogan & Andre by 300 lbs. and pay attention to the opening ring announcement as Andre kept having fun at Bobby's expense. Eventhough on paper this looks heavily lopsided, this was really good as Hogan & Andre were able to hold their own against all four men while Heenan's team took advantage of the numbers game various times. This was a better match than you would expect with just looking at how the match is shaped up.

AWA Nov. '82

Hulk Hogan vs. Harley Race - A nice match that went back & forth at times between both men with Harley at one point going through a table that would have him sidelined for almost a year.

"Saturday Night's Main Event" Mar. '88

("Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology - Bonus Disc")

WWE Champion Bob Backlund vs. Spiros Arion - It should be noted that this footage isn't as clear quality as the others. This was just your average match showcasing Backlund's amature wrestling skills.

Mar. '78

Steel Cage Match: WWE Champion Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka - A lost gem here as this was back when Jimmy Snuka was a heel & managed by Capt. Lou Albano. This match started off slow with both men wrestling each other before Backlund turned it up & started ramming Snuka into the cage causing him to bleed to the point where Backlund had it on his leg & fist. This match is most memorable for Snuka jumping off the top of the cage...and missing which would be overshadowed later by when it jumped off the cage & landed onto Don Muraco.

"MSG" June '82

WWE Champion Bob Backlund vs. Buddy Rose - It's interesting to note that at this time, "Playboy" Buddy Rose was managed by The Grand Wizard and had his future AWA manager in Sherri Martel as one of his valets as well. This was just another match where Backlund was able to show off his amature wrestling skills along with his underestimated strength at times.

Aug. '82

This is one of the disc where the discussion was the highlight with the bonus matches being exactly that, a bonus. While it was nice to give us some matches from Hogan's run in the AWA, I would have liked to see more famous Backlund matches besides the Snuka cage match. Overall, a good one to add to the collection.

As a long-time wrestling fan, it was like a homecoming listening to an extended discussion about Hulk Hogan and Bob Backlund. The panel was especially intense talking about the Hulkster. Hayes put forth some interesting scenarios such as "if Dusty was put in the same position as Hulk Hogan in WM1 with the machine(WWF) behind it, would he have had the same level of success?"

Of course for some the proposed question might seem absurd. But for others it might be cause to think. And that's what makes this show interesting. Wrestlers and wrestling events from the past re-examined with a more critical eye. Although the panel did do plenty of smooching towards the Hulkster by constantly singing his praises as if he was the "God" of wrestling.

It's funny how both Spiros Arion and "Playboy" Buddy Rose are like the polar opposites of Backlund(with Backlund being a workout machine and Rose/Arion looking like they enjoy pizza a lot). Arion's favorite move seems to be that big/arrogant foot-stomp forward followed by a semi-hop and smug laugh. Both matches feature plenty of old-school headlock stalling moves interspersed by Backlund doing an athletic move or two.

Backlund/Snuka cage match was plenty bloody. Seems like there were extra mics around the ring since every move seem to produce an extra loud "thump". Backlund always has this goofy and befuddled look on his face right at the moment the ref raises his hands in victory. The AWA matches both take place in the St Paul Civic Center where there's just one stationary camera covering the action from a long view. You'd think the AWA could afford a 2nd camera.

The Hulk Hogan/"King" Harley Race match was from Saturday Night's Main Event. I remember watching and recording this event when it originally aired. This was right before the Hulkster went up against Andre at WM4 in Atlantic City. Race did a nice high spot by falling onto a metal table stomach-first and bending it. Not all the matches were great but from a historical perspective it was nice to see some of these rare matches.

This DVD on Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan was originally part of a regular series on WWE 24/7 called "Legends Of Wrestling" which had a panel consisting of Jim Ross, "Freebird" Michael 'P.S.' Hayes, Championship Wrestling From Florida legend Mike Graham, 1st ever I-C champion Pat Patterson and "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes!

In this one, you can't get any more polar opposites than these two! On one side, you have Bob Backlund who was about as old school as you can get! A master technician who wasn't the best mic man but with his skill and ability to put on an entertaining match, he really didn't need it! In his prime, Backlund was one of those guys you could've put in any era (including today) and would've held his own.

On the other side, you have Hulk Hogan. 6'8", 302lbs. of mostly muscle and charisma to boot! Maybe not the most technical wrestler out there but he knew how to talk people into the arena and was responsible with Vince McMahon for the WWE being where it is now.

The first half hour is devoted to Backlund. Mainly how he had different charisma as opposed to a Hogan or "Superstar" Billy Graham. Also, his legendary workout ethic is discussed (particularly by Mike Graham and Pat Patterson) as well as other topics.

The second half hour is devoted to Hulk Hogan. There, they talk mainly about his impact on the sport as a whole and how he made it mainstream. They also talk about his ability in the ring as opposed to a Ric Flair or a Dory Funk, Jr. They even compare him to Dusty Rhodes during this discussion.

Here are the bonus matches:

Hulk Hogan & The High Flyers ("Jumping" Jim Brunzell/Greg Gange) vs. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Ken Patera - This was a nice six man tag team bout that saw all of these men get their moments. The crowd was definitely hot for this one!

Hulk Hogan & Andre The Giant vs. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Bobby Duncan, Sr., Nick Bockwinkel, Ken Patera - Though outnumbered 4 to 2, the opposing team only outweighed Hogan and Andre by around 300lbs.! Loopsided at times, this was actually a very good match with Heenan's team trying everything in the book to win but it wasn't to be as Andre and Hulk overcame the odds. Also watch the beginning to see Andre have some fun at Bobby Heenan's expense! LOL!

Hulk Hogan vs. "The King" Harley Race - This took place prior to WrestleMania IV in 1988. While past his prime, Race could still put on a good match and he did with Hogan! Watch for the table spot where he literally bent it almost in two trying to headbutt Hogan (long before putting people through tables was cool). This would put Race out of action for nearly a year.

Bob Backlund vs. Spiros Arion (WWF/WWE Title Match) - Just an average match showcasing the skills of Backlund as he took on former WWE United States Tag Team Champion in Spiros Arion.

Bob Backlund Vs. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka (WWF/WWE Title Cage Match) - This is a legendary but lost gem in the annals of WWE. One interesting note is that you could only win by going through the door as over the top of the cage to escape was barred for this contest. This features Snuka going to the top of the cage with his legendary "Superfly" splash but misses! Backlund managed to escape after that. A pretty brutal match.

Bob Backlund Vs. "Playboy" Buddy Rose (WWF/WWE Title Match) - Just another match to show off Backlund's skills. Interesting to note that one of the valet's for this bout is Rose's future AWA manager, the late "Sensational" Sherri Martel.

Overall, one of the better volumes of this series mostly for the roundtable. Bonus features aren't spectacular but they are interesting. I would recommend this volume.