10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Were NOTHING Like The Wrestlers Who Portrayed Them
4. Bob Backlund
A sensational worker, Bob Backlund has spent the last two decades admirably portraying himself as an unhinged savant thanks to a remarkable second life as a psychopathic heel during WWE's financial nadir.
The longstanding former WWE Champion had returned to the company in late-1992 as an even more reserved version of the man Vince McMahon deemed not fit to be the face of his aggressive national expansion a decade earlier.
The differences between Bob and chosen one Hulk Hogan were stark then, but substantially less so when 'Mr. Backlund' began wailing down the lens after snapping on Bret Hart after a WWE Title match defeat. The 44-year-old was still in incredible physical shape at the time, enough at least to pull off an extended programme (and brief final reign with the belt as a transitional champion) despite presuming the autumn of his career would be relaxed than his heady New York heyday.
From psychopath to presidential candidate in 1995 (not that those things are mutually exclusive...), Bob effortlessly morphed once more. He'd never play someone not unhinged again, despite it clearly not marrying up with the man behind the mayhem.