There’s one WWE Hall of Famer that even the legendary Jake Roberts is scared of.
During his decades-long career, Roberts earned a reputation as one of the toughest men in pro wrestling. Despite this, there are still some stars even The Snake is wary of.
One of those men is former WWE Champion Bob Backlund. Despite his reserved appearance, Backlund was known to be able to go wild when the situation calls for it, or even when it doesn’t.
Speaking on the latest edition of his Snake Pit podcast, Roberts was asked about Backlund and said “he’s a f*****g maniac” before saying he still grabs people at signings and “screams like crazy.”
“He’s a f*****g maniac. Are you kidding? That guy is legit psycho. He’s just … that guy is so strong, it’s incredible. He’s a freak of nature. He’ll f*****g lose it man, and start screaming and s**t.
“He scares the f**k out of me. He does it at signings. He’ll grab someone in a f*****g hold and just scream like crazy.”
Despite this, Roberts has a lot of respect for Backlund, and told a story demonstrating his strength and skill.
Jake Roberts recalls Bob Backlund forcing a challenger to pass out
The tale took place in the 1970s when Roberts and Backlund worked in Mid South Wrestling and someone was brought in to “challenge a wrestler.”
“I remember back in the late-70s, he came to Mid South. They brought a kid from LSU, who was like 6’8, 350 f*****g pounds to challenge a wrestler. And nobody wanted to get in there. Because if you get in there and you lose, your f*****g s**t’s over.
“Backlund raises his hand and says I’ll track you. And everybody’s like ‘Oh, f**k no man.” But he went out there, and all he did was grab the guy in the f*****g headlock.
“He grabbed that guy in that headlock, and squeezed so f*****g hard, the guy passed out. That was f*****g incredible man. And it didn’t take long either.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the above transcription.