10 Genius Ways WWE Stars Recovered From Absolute Disaster

10. Bob Backlund

Bob Backlund
WWE.com

Disaster: Was there a more dorky sight in 1992 than Bob Backlund? Complete with Math teacher haircut, goofy smile, pasty white skin, functional red trunks and one of those iron-print 'Headlock On Hunger' t-shirts, the guy looked like the quasi-proverbial square peg in a squared circle.

Compared to cooler babyfaces like Bret Hart and The Legion Of Doom, poor Bob was out of date and was destined to fade away after boring everyone senseless.

How He Recovered: Backlund, likely spotting that he was about as hip as a Tony Garea comeback would've been, used the fact he was outdated as a selling point. He became a ranting, raving old-timer who was proud of being everything the WWF's 'New Generation' wasn't.

It was bloody genius, and it led to the most unlikely of WWF Title reigns in 1994. What a turnaround from one of wrestling's relics; Bob deserves another God-awful batch of company shirts as a reward for self-deprecation.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.