Bob Backlund on Backlund Energy, Darren Young and the Royal Rumble

Fred: What’s up, everybody? This is Fred Richani of TSC News, standing alongside the legend, WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund. We’re here at the Action Martial Arts Hall of Fame Expo in Atlantic City. Mr. Backlund, how’s it going?

Bob Backlund: It’s going great. I’ve been having fun ever since I got to Atlantic City, and all these people here are great. They’re wonderful and interesting.

Fred: You’re looking great. Before we get to everything that’s going on with you, how do you maintain your looks? You haven’t aged a day.

Bob Backlund: I live every day to the fullest. I have fun every day, I’m interested every day and I have energy every day, and I stay that way. I go, go, go, and then I have to go to bed.

Fred: Your most recent run in WWE was with Darren Young, who a lot of people, myself included, feel was underrated. He was recently released, but he seems like a really nice guy. Talk about the time you spent with him, making him great again.

Bob Backlund: It was a pleasure. He’s a nice man and a good person, and he can climb the ladder of success if he buckles down and does what he’s told. I wanted him to change his routine in the ring and do more wrestling, and I think he would have done a lot better, but he didn’t really agree with that. But he’s out there, and you’re going to hear about him later in his life.

Fred: Was there anybody other than Darren Young, back in your day, who caught your eye, where you said, “This guy is going to be a big star”?

Bob Backlund: In my wrestling career, I was here, and the other wrestlers were out there. I wasn’t in the group. I was an individual. I learned something from high school wrestling that kept me in line: I had a goal, and I had to do what I had to do to get to that spot. I didn’t want to listen to all the garbage on the sidelines. I didn’t need to know what was going on. I wanted to be the champion.

Fred: With all due respect to the current roster, do you feel some of them may be a little too friendly, and that someone should be more aggressive when gunning for a top spot?

Bob Backlund: When you’ve got a mission, you don’t get sidetracked. You don’t pay any attention to it. I learned from “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill to keep all negative things out of my body and out of my mind. I have a no-stress zone right around here. It’s not very big, but nothing negative comes into it. That’s why I’m happy every single minute of the day. You got that, Fred?

Fred: I got that. At the time of this recording, the Royal Rumble is just 24 hours away, and you’ve competed in the Royal Rumble during your decorated career. What are your Rumble memories, and what advice would you give any superstar in the match?

Bob Backlund: Don’t let anybody take you down. The Royal Rumble is an amazing thing, and I had a lot of fun there years ago. It’s very tense, and with all those people in there, you can’t predict anything. Wrestling is unpredictable, but the Royal Rumble is even more unpredictable than the wrestling business.

Fred: I see you’re holding your autobiography. Tell us a little about it.

Bob Backlund: This is my book. It’s a book about my life, and you can order it at BobBacklundNow.com, along with suspenders or a poster. With this book, I’m on more of a mission than I’ve ever been on in my life. We call it Backlund energy. “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill helped me a lot, and I want this book to help you become more successful and more energized. Backlund energy is going to come to your house through this book. The principles in it are what I used to conquer two colleges and leave a mark that’s still there at both Waldorf Junior College and North Dakota State University. After I realized how valuable those principles were, I got into the wrestling business. I left home in 1973, and in 1978 I walked out of the ring at Madison Square Garden with the WWWF belt around my waist. That’s what these principles did for me. I conquered it, I took it over, and I was hated by the other wrestlers because I was an individual, a person with a goal in his mind who wasn’t going to deviate. You got that, young man?

Fred: Yes, sir. Backlund energy all over the country.

Bob Backlund: I’m done. Thank you. BobBacklundNow.com. Get it now.

Fred: Thank you, Mr. Backlund.