Ranking Every Transitional WWE World Champion From Worst To Best

6. Bob Backlund

Transitional WWE World Champions
WWE.com

A tale of two different babyfaces but surprise heel package Bob Backlund back in touch with the WWE Championship a full decade after he'd been synonymous with it.

Vince McMahon was ready to roll the dice on Diesel, but wanted to save a clash between 'Big Daddy Cool' and Bret Hart for 1995's Royal Rumble, and ensure the seven-footer started life as a saviour for the New Generation.

It didn't work, but none of that was psycho Bob's fault - he was as excellent in a shocking (if laboured) victory over 'The Hitman' as he was in an eight-second defeat to Diesel days later.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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