Wrestling MarketWatch: Totally '80s!

Did nostalgia for the ‘80s ever really die? I remember myself and people that I knew being nostalgic for the “decade of excess” midway through the 1990s! I guess we knew that it was never going to get any better, and it hasn’t! But enough veiled statements on the sad state of the world, we’re here to talk about when life was FUN! Wrestling in the 1980’s certainly resembles that statement with the big “boom” of the Rock ‘n Wrestling era, some epic in-ring action and more stars than you could fill a sky with. Considering the amount of merchandise that was done for wrestling in the ‘80s, a MarketWatch entry on the topic could actually be a weekly feature. As usual we’ve whittled it down to five items at random. As always the prices listed are for unsigned examples unless otherwise noted. My own photos are used for reference which is why you’ll see a signature or two pop up. Grab your Members Only jacket, a can of New Coke and let’s get to it!

*Although there were examples earlier, it was in the ‘80s when wrestlers truly began to sing. On MTV, no less! One of the biggest singles off of 1985’s WWF The Wrestling Album was the classic number by The Junk Yard Dog, “Grab Them Cakes.” The song, co-sung by “Turn The Beat Around” songstress Vicki Sue Robinson, became the anthem for JYD once the era of licensed “real” music died off. Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” was out and people were grabbing cakes worldwide. The album itself had plenty of single releases, many of which have been seen over the years in this very blog. While the three 45 inch singles are best known (GTC, Land of a Thousand Dances?!!? & Don’t Go Messin’ With A Country Boy) there were other releases including both promotional and foreign. The 12 inch “Dance Mix” of everyone’s favorite song where you just go for your partner’s you-know-what recently sold for $20. 

*Though not affiliated with any major U.S. promotion in the ‘80s for any length of time, you can’t deny that the star power of Mil Mascaras carried over from the ‘70s into the 1980’s. His mask was made for merchandising and while he’s been grossly underrepresented in the action figure world (especially with modern day versions), his mysterious mug has made it onto countless other items over the years. In 1983 Bernie Lopez Enterprises and The Mil Mascaras Corporation released the aptly named “Mil Mascaras Pro Wrestling Game.” It doesn’t get more straight forward than that, does it? The game features an iconic George Napolitano shot of Mascaras in mid-air and the promise of the game allowing you to promote matches in major cities across the world. I’m not sure that anyone’s ever actually played it (I own it and haven’t…) but it certainly is fun to have. A copy just sold for a bargain price of $30.

 

*You knew we couldn’t talk ‘80s wrestling without talking LJN. The famous Wrestling Superstars figure line is what many collectors cut their teeth on. Proof? “Big Rubber Wrestlers” is one of the most searched phrases that has led to this blog over the years. That’s how they’re remembered by casual fans and it proves what an impact they had. You were hard pressed to find a kid who didn’t own at least one back then, even if he or she was not a wrestling fan. But while the carded versions seemed to be everywhere, the tag team two packs were not. Much more limited in distribution, the two packs included Hulk Hogan and Hillbilly Jim, Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, The Dream Team and Strike Force. All of those figures were released individually as well, but there’s something really cool about the tag team boxes. The Hillbilly and The Hulkster recently sold for $600!

 

*The WWF wasn’t the only game in town. Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA were producing a high-impact in-ring product born out of the classic southern style. Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, The Rock n Roll Express and The Midnight Express were just some of their top names that remain beloved to this day. Do I need to remind you of that? Nah, but who doesn’t love those great memories? Starrcade, “The Granddaddy of Em All” was the prime event in that wrestling world and even predated WrestleMania. While the world may not be as fun as it used to be, it is pretty nifty that, on a whim, we can go from watching WrestleMania to Starrcade with just a few clicks. If you do surf on over to a Starrcade, especially since we’re in that season, you may want to pick up some of the classic programs. The Starrcade ’87 program (Chi-Town Heat!) recently sold for $100.

 

*Let’s wrap it up by seeing stars. Superstars. Wrestling Superstars. But not by LJN. This time the 1985 stars of the World Wrestling Federation are coming to us via View-Master. As ubiquitous as LJN figures were in the ‘80s toy box, so were View-Master reels. If by some chance you’ve never owned some, you slide the thin reel into the viewer (there were plenty of viewers dating back decades and were all virtually universal) and magically you could flip through three-dimensional pictures of your favorite television, movie and cartoon characters, places around the world, wildlife and of course WWF Superstars. The Hulkster and Hillbilly are once again prominent here and are joined by Andre the Giant and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. There is a scarcer “gift set” where the reels are packaged in a window box with the viewer but the package of reels itself sells for around $20.

 

We still love the ‘80s and always will. It was magic, fun and just felt like a friendlier place. Admittedly I was but a child then, but many who were older in that day feel the same. The world has gone sour, especially in the last few years, but I recently saw a quote that brought me some comfort: “Nostalgia is one of the few rewards we get when getting old.” That’s why we have to hold onto it…