At first glance, Bob Backlund may appear a strange choice, certainly considering there was a time when he was one of the top wrestlers under WWE contract. That was the late-1970's however, and we're discussing Backlund's second run with the Heavyweight gold almost 20 years later. The irony here is delicious - WWE were in the midst of promoting their product as 'The New WWF Generation', lambasting previous stars such as Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan as old hat. Vince McMahon was keen to stress than his younger models, including names such as Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, were the next big things. Younger, faster, more dynamic than their predecessors, the thought process was that the company could convince fans what WCW were doing (in essence promoting all of McMahon's old headliners) was passe. All well and good, until you book Bob Backlund to defeat Bret Hart at the 1994 Survivor Series and bag your top title. It's fair to say that few could have seen this one coming, and it didn't really fit into WWE's paradigms at the time.
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.
