Lawrence whistler born december 5, 1951, better known by the ring name larry zbyszko, is an american professional wrestler and author perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend bruno sammartino during the early 1980s. He debuted professionally in 1973 and performed for nearly every major wrestling promotion. Pat patterson 6231979 wwf world tag team champions. From very humble beginnings, to turbulent teenage years, to finding a passion that spurred years of hard work, to eventual unprecedented success, the book truly encapsulates how. Robert lee bob backlund born august 14, 1949 is an american professional wrestler. Nick bockwinkel faced wwwf champion bob backlund in a classic match ending in a 1hour draw. Nick bockwinkel also made history by putting his title on the line in the firstever awa vs. Im sure a lot of fans have fond memories of him because he was associated with a sizzling time period for wcw nitro as an announcer. Bockwinkel was trained by his father a pro wrestler and lou thesz.
Among other accolades, he is a twotime awa world heavyweight champion, and the final titleholder zbyszko was inducted into the wwe hall of fame on march 28, 2015. The bruno sammartino years zbyszko feud this essay is the 8th on the wrestling career of hall of fame great bruno sammartino. Madison square garden september 24, 1979 new york city, ny madison square garden your current wwf champions are as follows. When larry zbyszko turned his back on his mentor bruno sammartino, it incited one of the greatest rivalries and heel turns in wrestling history. Besides the claims that bob as champion put the territory on its ass a quick. Miller, includes interviews with roddy piper, ric flair. Bob backlund defeated bret hart by disqualification. Two major things happened that changed the landscape for larry. Lessons and stories on life from wrestling legend bob backlund, was released on september 18, 2015. Verne gagne defeated nick bockwinkel to recapture the awa world heavyweight title.
He is currently appearing on the independent circuit, and is also contracted to wwe under a legends contract. Wrestling ii in the tournament final on may 6, 1983 in atlanta, georgia to regain the title. Heavyweight champion tatsumi fujinami beat tony russo. Lawrence whistler born december 5, 1951, better known by the ring name larry zbyszko. Backlund results the clawmasters archives sports and. Tito santana lumberjack match msg 31785 i saw this in some 247 shows i. Backlund was being groomed for his world title run which would begin just a little over three weeks from this airing. Bob backlund began life as a poor farm boy in the little village of princeton, minnesota, with a population of just over 2,000 people. Tna victory road 06 july 16 zbyszko lost a hair vs. The book discusses the 30year career of zbyszko starting in 1974, and includes legendary matches with bruno sammartino and japans masa saito.
Bob backlund 2201978 wwf intercontinental champion. Madison square garden october 22, 1979 new york city, ny madison square garden your current wwf champions are as follows. Eb2815 backlund zbyszko mascaras signed historical wrestling magazine wcoa. Life in professional wrestling is now available from ecw press. He is best known for working for the world wide wrestling federationworld wrestling federation from 1977 to 1984. Lawrence whistler born december 5, 1951, better known by the ring name larry zbyszko, is an american retired professional wrestler and author perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, bruno sammartino, during the early 1980s. To be the man, he had a lot of respect for backlund because of his dedication to fitness. Lawrence whistler december 5, 1953, better known by the ring name larry zbyszko, is an american professional wrestler and author perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend bruno sammartino during the early 1980s. As a matter of fact, wrestling magazines and commentators were still referring to larry zbyszko as brunos protege despite being a wrestler for over seven years. Yet that was pretty much the end of zbyszkos career in the company, that was by this time now known as the world wrestling federation. Pre match and post match interviews with larry zbyszko included. Hussein arab msg 12180 early sheik gets praised alot. In several interviews backlund shared the same admiration for flair.
Larry zbyszko defeated bruno sammartino via disqualification at 18. Among other accolades, he is a twotime awa world heavyweight champion, and the final titleholder. The very worst of pro wrestling tna, 2003 the year 2016 was a momentous occasion in that it was the first time in history a wrestlemania was able to take home the coveted gooker award. The heel turn in question, was larry zbyszko turning on bruno. Bob backlund simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
From allamerican boy to professional wrestlings world champion is a fascinating and inspiring journey into the life of pro wrestling legend, bob backlund. Though, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, his reduced ring schedule featured him more as commentator than regular grappler, a memorable feud. Larry zbyszko record book the clawmasters archives. Tna bound for glory 06 october 22 zbyszko lost a loser gets fired match to eric young. Voted rookie of the year in 1974, zbyszko enjoyed 30 glorious years as a top draw in the wild and wacky world of professional wrestling. Chris jericho in his new book called larry zbyszko one of the worst or maybe the absolute worst wrestling announcer ever. Kevin nash larry zbyszko randy savage rikishi tatsumi fujinami. Robert louis backlund born august 14, 1949 is an american retired professional wrestler with. Miller, includes interviews with roddy piper, ric flair, the iron sheik and vince mcmahon. Eb2815 backlund zbyszko mascaras signed historical. Voted rookie of the year in 1974, zbyszko enjoyed 30 glorious years as a top draw in the wild and wacky world of wrestlings selfproclaimed living legend may never wear a championship belt again, but hes. He trained under wrestler bruno sammartino, before making his debut as a 21year old trivia. Superstar of the month larry zbyszko twm wrestling. Larry zbyszko loser gets fired tna victory road 06 jul 16th 2006.
Bob backlund nearly bankrupted the wwf as champion. As reported on may 7, larry zbyszkos autobiography titled adventures in larryland. On the same disc as the backlundpatera match i am putting on the backlund set. Baron had less offense than usual here, but that was probably for the better. He is known for holding the record for the second longest reign as wwe champion in history which is ahead of hulk hogans first reign and behind bruno sammartinos first. Backlund was a great amateur wrestler, winning championships, including at the ncaa level. In 1974 pro wrestling illustrated named him the rookie of the year. The problem with matches of these types, according to flair. Pro wrestling magazine signed by some of the greatest wrestlers of all time former wwwf world heavyweight champion bob backlund vs larry zbyszko on the front cover and the sensational mil mascaras on the. Larry zbyszkos book, adventures in larryland, was released on june 1, 2008. Photo courtesy of pro wrestling illustrated the feud started to simmer until reaching a boil when zbyszko would avoid answering sammartinos questions during an interview attempt on television.
Backlund spent most of his career wrestling the amateur style and didnt care much. The greatest wrestling angle time forgot ring the damn bell. Match joined in progress from the philadelphia spectrum as bob backlund defends the wwf title against larry zbyszko. Later on, zbyszko fought to a nocontest with bruno sammartino. He also talks about being the colorcommentator for wcw in the late 90s. Larry zbyszko and bruno sammartino would have the fans coming out in droves to watch their grudge matches leading to the showdown at shea. According to the book the heels by greg oliver and steven johnson, bruno told pro.
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