Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages… RF VIDEO has once again made history by putting together two of the biggest names in professional wrestling history in one incredible DVD. Not since chocolate met peanut butter has a combination been better and more enjoyable to the human condition. Two world heavyweight champions whose names transcend the sport. Who rise above the WWF/NWA civil war-like mentality of wrestling fandom. Bob Backlund. Terry Funk. Face Off Vol 7: Old School 101.
It has taken the braintrust of RF VIDEO over a full decade to get Backlund to sit down for a shoot interview. We were told by everyone that he would never, under any circumstances, do a shoot style interview for anyone. Backlund is as old school as you can get and a true legend in the wrestling business. We just knew that if we could get into that brain of his we could unlock so many wonderful stories and get the answers to some long asked questions. Persistent as a Mississippi blood hound hot on the scent, we continued faithfully in our attempt to score the interview coup of 2009. Finally, we broke through…
Our 15 years of unrelenting badgering, Bob Backlund agreed to sit down with us. However, there was one condition. Bob wanted to share the spotlight with a man he considered his mentor in the wrestling business. Enter the one and only Terry Funk. You could have picked our jaws off the floor as not only were we getting the exclusive first interview with Bob Backlund, but he would be walking down memory lane with the incomparable Terry Funk. And to put the cherry on top of the sundae, this would be the first time the two had seen each other since Backlund’s days in Japan!
The interview/reunion starts off with a bang as we cover Bob’s days working the Texas territory before moving up to New York to work with Vince Sr. The boys discuss the territory system and debate whether or not it could exist in today’s environment. It was exhilarating being in the middle of a conversation with two of the smartest men in wrestling as they talk about the pros and cons of the WWF and NWA formulas.
We know our fans want to get into the Way Back Machine, and we had Backlund and Funk talk about all the big names of the past including Bruiser Brody, Dusty Rhodes, Eddy Graham and Florida, Verne Gagne, Sam Mushnick, Bruno Sammartino, John Studd BlackJack Mulligan, Andre the Giant, Don Muraco, Sgt Slaughter, George Steele, and Greg Valentine. That’s just a sampler of the many superstars they reminisce about. For the first time ever, Bob talks openly about his legendary title loss to the Iron Sheik and the decision to put the strap on Hogan. This led into a wild discussion by both men on Hogan, as well as the steroid and drug problem in wrestling, that is worth the price of the DVD itself.
We talked to Bob about his infamous heel turn and what it was like to work with Bret Hart. Terry Funk also talked about Bret as well, and his famous retirement show with the Hitman that was shown in the movie Beyond the Mat. We asked Bob about Superstar Billy Graham’s comments about him being paranoid and not selling in his matches with Backlund and wait until you hear what Terry Funk has to say about that topic. Talk about opening up a can of worms! We talk about how Backlund went to Vince and why he wanted to turn heel. What happened with Kevin Nash and Bob behind the scenes in the WWE and why did Bob lose respect for Big Sexy? Anything and everything is covered in this once in a lifetime shoot. We even got Terry Funk to talk about his induction into the Hall of Fame!