Bob Backlund, A champion of six years, if the brief "hold-up" of his title is ignored, was going to face The Iron Sheik. After being the ever smiling nice guy for that long, the fans got tired (Sounds familiar?) and he was voted the most overrated wrestler of 1983. Vince Mcmahon woke up (wonder when he will wake up in today's time) having bought WWWF and decided to put the title on someone else; that someone else being Hogan.

Backlund refused a heel turn and decided to drop the title to a transitional champion, someone who can wrestle. The angle started when Iron Sheik challenged Backlund for a persian club challenge where he was assaulted and injured. Sheik challenged him for the title. The set up was Arnold Skaaland was his manager. The match between two good amateur wrestlers went to and fro and when Sheik finally applied the dreaded camel clutch on Backlund, Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel resulting in title change. This was later used in Backlund storyline upon his return. As he was already injured, Hogan got the title shot in his place and the rest is history.

Backlund left WWF and did not come back for 8 years. This transition signaled the end of an era and what followed was the birth of Hulk-a-mania. The precedence of wrestling skill was diminished and charisma/look picked up after this point making this a very important and a classic match.

The Persian Club Challenge


The Match