Kurt Angle says WWE legend was fired after he forgot his lines during live segment
Kurt Angle feels WWE pulled Hall of Famer Bob Backlund off the air after he didn't adhere to what was originally in the script.
Legendary pro wrestler Bob Backlund made a return to WWE in 2000 at the Royal Rumble. He had a short stint during that run before returning seven years later in 2007 on RAW.
While speaking on his The Kurt Angle Show podcast, the Olympic gold medalist said that Backlund was instructed to put Chris Benoit in a Crippler Crossface. He was told to do the move while sitting, an instruction he didn't follow.
"[Bob] was supposed to put the crippler crossface on [Chris Benoit] while he was sitting, and Bob didn't want to do it because he wasn't standing up. I looked back [at the writer] like, 'Holy sh*t."
Backlund also forgot his lines during a backstage segment, and asked the crew to re-do it while not realizing that the segment was being shot live. Angle feels that that could've been the reason why WWE fired Backlund.
"I think that was the deciding factor. When Bob went and did that, they just went, 'We've had enough of Bob Backlund, we're gonna move on,'" said Angle [H/T WrestlingInc]
A backstage skit goes awry. Bob Backlund says "Let's start over." Kurt Angle knows you can't start over when you're live. #RetroRaw https://t.co/63G4DkA4Da
Backlund was Angle's on-screen manager during his brief stint in 2000 and the former Olympian stated that he had fun working with Backlund in WWE.
Kurt Angle would've loved to face Bob Backlund at WWE's WrestleMania
Angle shared the ring with Backlund on just one occasion, which came back in 2000 when the two teamed together to face Tazz and Chris Jericho. The Olympic gold medalist has said that he would've liked to have faced Backlund in a match at WrestleMania.
"I would say Bob Backlund. Because he was a former amateur wrestler, national champion," said Angle.
bob backlund shows kurt angle how to murder a man https://t.co/fSGveFST3r
Backlund, like Angle, was an amateur wrestler and represented North Dakota State University before embarking on a legendary career in pro wrestling.
What are your favorite memories of the Angle-Backlund storyline? Drop a comment below.