>>13451687>>13451723Howdy Doody Bob didn't appear until 1983, the final year of his world title reign. Bob was very over as an All American babyface. In 1983 he cut his hair into the short version we remember, started wrestling in singlets, and wore the bowtie. That was when he started to get mocked by heels for looking like Howdy Doody and the crowd started to turn. I believe this was an intentional means to kill off as much of his fan support as possible, since Vince's plan was for Hogan to win the title and he wanted Backlund to turn heel afterward too. It didn't quite work as planned but the crowd was ready for a new babyface hero even before the Iron Sheik won the belt, and that was by design.
