Sure we all fondly remember the all-too brief flowery antics of "Adorable" Adrian Adonis. We will also never forget the name, or career, of Goldust. But going back in the history of men wearing makeup and long blonde locks into the ring, there's one guy who started it all. The original wrestling "gender bender" was Exotic Adrian Street. While he may never have had that classic WWF or WCW run that so many others did, there's no discounting his career and contributions to the business. Now, in somewhat of a surprise at this point in the game, The Exotic One has his own action figure.
In my several times meeting Exotic Adrian and his wife/valet Miss Linda, the two have been extremely kind and gracious. They're engaging, talkative, and seem to really enjoy meeting the fans. They've also always had an online presence, especially for their wrestling gear business. Though I had heard that the couple had returned to Wales, I did not know of their latest merchandising venture. Yes, an Exotic Adrian Street action figure had been born. Sold exclusively on eBay from the Streets themselves, I had to have one. Thankfully, they will ship to the United States.
For as much as having an action figure independently produced has to cost, this figure is very reasonably priced for us collectors. The first thing that's notable is that the packaging is truly collector friendly. The box closes nicely, but there isn't any tape or seal so that you can essentially remove and replace the figure as much as you'd like. The window box is nice, and as a bonus both Adrian and Linda sign the package on the back in a spot specially left for signatures. Three photos of the couple appear on the box, as does the title of Street's self-performed theme, "Imagine What I Could Do To You."
The figure itself is very reminiscent of the Japanese wrestling figures of
fifteen years ago or the Galoob WCW line. Similar to those lines, it isn't far off in scale from the Hasbro WWF or Mattel Retro WWE figures, either. Like the former two lines, there isn't much movement here. The arms look to have been produced as separate pieces, but they do not move. I would have preferred a more flamboyant pose seeing as there isn't arm movement, but hey, that only leaves room open for a sequel.
The detail and paint are amazing for a figure that had to have been produced on a small scale. Adrian's hair, makeup, and tattoos are all on point. A colorful pallet was chosen for his gear, with a wide variety of colors going from front to back. There's only one person in the world that this figure could be and that's Exotic Adrian Street.
There hasn't been a lot of fanfare surrounding this figure to my knowledge. I certainly hadn't heard of it until I stumbled upon it on eBay. This is the only licensed figure of Exotic Adrian. Every legend should have a figure as so many wrestlers do now who will never attain a similar status. Instead of going with the larger companies, the Streets did it this way and hit a home run. I must say that it was the collecting shocker of the year for me to even find out that it existed. I don't know how many were produced, but I would advise getting one now if you want one. How could you pass it up when it's coming directly to you from the star himself, autographed to boot? And if this "bizarre one" does well, I would love to see second and third entries into the "series": Miss Linda and Adrian in full entrance regalia.
Wrestling action figure collections worldwide have just been turned upside down!
No comments:
Post a Comment