Ranking All 50 WWE World Heavyweight Champions - From Worst To Best

9. Bob Backlund

WWE Champions
WWE.com

Rather callously phased out by Vince McMahon Jr once he clapped eyes on the babyface megastar potential of Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund's remarkable staying power with the New York audience ensured regular sellouts at WWE's Madison Square Garden home base.

The formula was fiercely successful in wrestling's territorial p*ssing contest. His 1978-83 run was truly remarkable - Backlund routinely showed just enough weakness in near-miss title clashes to draw fans right back for payoffs in which he'd gallantly retain.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett