5 Great technicians with zero showmanship skills
Despite originating the hugely popular Yes! Movement, Daniel Bryan’s mastery on the microphone is a shadow of his in-ring excellenceConsidering wrestlers like Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, The Rock and The Undertaker, all of whom bristled with a certain auric “X-factor” and had the audience eagerly clinging on to each aspect of their performance, the WWE has also presented its equal share of charisma vacuums, if you will, who were just unable to inspire the same degree of gravitation in fans. Now, that is not to contend by any stretch of an imagination that these Superstars were not successful; far from it actually, as a dearth of glitz and showboating was often replaced by a greater impetus placed on in-ring competence and technicality.Through the evolution of the pro-wrestling industry, there have been many Superstars that have had their names inscribed in WWE lore but the varying means that they employed to cement their legacies are often anything but formulaic.While certain Superstars relied heavily on their gift of gab to get “over” with the audience, others who were lacking quite the same conviction or edge in speech made amends by displaying greater ingenuity between the ropes.On that vein, this slideshow runs through a list of 5 such Superstars that were quite clueless when it came to marketing themselves outside of the ring, but were nothing short of wizards inside of it.
#1 Bob Backlund
Holding the record for having the second longest WWE Championship reign after the great Bruno Sammartino, one would expect Bob Backlund to be mentioned more frequently in WWE programming for his achievements or perhaps even in an off-hand manner by one of the commentators, given their penchant for making historical references all too lightly.
However, Bob Backlund, or Mr.Backlund as he was referred to in his second stint in the WWE, was quite an oddity who only thrived thanks to his sound technical skills in the ring and that too primarily during Vince McMahon Senior’s era.
His rigid ways and convictions in reality often clashed with the pliability and showmanship aspects that became interwoven with kayfabe by the time of his second coming, leaving Bob Backlund to be perceived by most as an out-of-touch and a rather erratic character.
Without a proper handle on how to market himself with the changing landscape of the WWE, Backlund’s refusal to turn heel and drop the title to Hulk Hogan in 1983 led to the advent of the first transitional champion and his eventual release from a company whose motives and ethos had inexorably passed him by.