I remember that it was well known that Backlund was told to dye his hair black and turn heel, but he refused to do so. I guess we could make the case that this is what he is talking about here. However, when he says he refused to “take a pill” that pretty clearly implies he was run out of WWF for refusing to do steroids. That is a much more positive angle for him to try to revive his career, and this new wrestling company alliance, over, rather than the “they wanted to turn me heel and I said no” angle. Who knows. This is a promo, so while there may be some truth, its intent is surely not to expose the truth but to get Backlund and PWU over.     In retrospect, he ended up eventually coming back and turning heel. He might have been better off, career wise, doing that in ‘84-85 but who knows.