10 WWE Champions Who Wouldn't Make It In Today's Developmental System

3. Bob Backlund

Bob Backlund, All-American Boy!

Despite being a two-time WWE champion with the third-longest reign in company history, Backlund didn't really zero in on anything approaching a "character" until middle age. Until he went crazy and started antagonizing the kid from Home Improvement, Backlund was really just a better-than-average amateur wrestler. And it's not as if Bob Backlund hailed from some antediluvian age before wrestlers were allowed to be colorful;  Backlund's aw-shucks athleticism was a throwback in the 70's, a pointed alternative to his predecessor, "Superstar" Billy Graham.

The thing is, NXT is currently lousy with great amateur wrestlers, and they have no idea what to do with any of them. If a young Mr. Backlund found himself in today's developmental system, he'd be Guy # 8 in Shoot Nation, one of the ones that gets pinned on the house show circuit.