Every WWE Gimmick Match And The Wrestlers That Defined Them
19. Stretcher/Ambulance Match - Bob Backlund
An old-fashioned pick for an old-fashioned stip, WWE has dusted off the gimmick in recent years, but not to an extent that it has become a signature of a despicable heel or a never-say-die babyface. It's a stipulation from the past because it belongs there; incompatible with the modern in-ring style, the aim necessitates aimless brawling and inhibits build beyond boring, methodical incapacitation.
Backlund starred or at least wrestled in three matches, enough to make it a trademark sorts, back in the old WWWF, but the matches have aged as badly as his act had by 1993. It's unfair to judge something from 1978 by modern standards, and there's a buzz and a fire about it, and crackling crowd heat, but it is what it is, and it is not great nor timeless.