Thanksgiving Came A Little Early This Year…

They gave us The Bunny. They almost gave us Santa. We have Hacksaw to cover any holiday that involves the good ol’ red, white and blue. What else is there? Oh yeah. Just my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving! You mean to tell me that The Gobbledy Gooker still didn’t have a figure after nearly 33 years of life? He didn’t, but he does now! Of course, it takes buying the ten millionth release of someone that I haven’t given much of a care about in three decades, but due to the ideas that were hatched in the creation of this set you’ll see that it’s actually worth it.

In the latest Amazon exclusive entry in the Mattel WWE Ultimate Edition collection we get a two-pack that celebrates the 1990 Survivor Series. It’s a show that’s fairly historical for several reasons and has always been a favorite of mine. I can’t say that those aforementioned historical reasons are why it’s always been special to me, though. I’ve always just loved the absolute multitude of stars on one card, as was the case with the first four editions of the Survivor Series. It’s also a rather transitional show. Some debuts. Some departures. Three impactful names over the previous years in Rick Rude, Bad News Brown and Akeem were even slated for the show but, due to various reasons, ultimately didn’t appear.

Even the packaging for this set reflects the show. Once you open the WWE Ultimate Edition logoed brown box you pull out a graphically intense inner box housing the figures. This box is designed to resemble the Coliseum Video box for the 1990 Survivor Series since both of these figures, the Gooker and The Undertaker, debuted on that show. But why is it so big? There are only two Ultimate Edition figures in there, right? Think again. Also included in its own box is the Gobbledy Gooker’s egg, complete with removable “hatching” lid. If that’s not enough, the box housing the egg is actually the black Survivor Series question mark stage that the egg sat upon. But wait, Ron Popeil, there’s more! You get not one but two double sided sheets of cardboard. One side is a small Survivor Series 1990 crowd background while the other is the brick wall backdrop used for the promo photos taken before the event (likely at SummerSlam). As much as I give it to Mattel for the frustrations that they often pass along to collectors, this is the kind of detail that is greatly appreciated.

Both of the figures themselves are in the standard Ultimate Edition boxes and, unlike some of the figures included with The New Generation arena set, are sealed just like figures you’d buy at retail. As usual the plentiful accessories are displayed accordingly which, in my opinion, doesn’t make for a great “keep in the box” visual. Still, aside from autographing purposes, who would keep these in the box anyway? Toys are meant to be played with and if ever there was a toy made to be played with it’s The Gobbledy Gooker. I like that Mattel included Mean Gene and Brother Love in shots on the boxes to further commemorate the event being recognized.

We’ll get The Undertaker out of the way first. I know that I’m in the minority but I’ve never made it a secret that I’m no big fan. As my friend Chris so correctly stated, “Guy was cool for three years and sucked for thirty.” I couldn’t have said it better. For me, he’s always had an air of self-importance that’s very off-putting. He lucked into a character that resonated with a lot of fans in an era where such characters were championed. The whole “locker room leader” stuff that we began to hear a lot about in the late 1990s really went to his head. That being said, I’ve always been able to separate the person from the character, so if I liked the character beyond 1992ish I guess I’d be good, but I didn’t. Regardless, we’re here to talk the figure and I’m sure that this is one that many of his fans have been clamoring for. I, myself, would rather have had the person who he ended up replacing on The Million Dollar Team, Bad News Brown.

What’s cool about the figure is that you do get the black gloves (and multiple hand positions at that) which he debuted in at the event in addition to the more common gray. He also comes with his trademark hat, ubiquitous duster coat, tie and an additional head with alternate expression. The faces are perfect and really run the gamut since, at that time anyway, he was fairly limited in his facials. The duster is soft goods which, as in most cases, I appreciate. It’s a bit stiff coming out of the box and I just didn’t feel inclined to straighten it out much before the photography was done so if he looks a bit rumpled that would be why. The tie fits on when you remove the head. There feels like something’s a bit off when it’s on but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe I’m just not covering it well enough. The body of the figure seems very poseable and should please any Taker fan looking to play, display or do some photography.

Now onto the main event, the Thanksgiving icon himself. I don’t know if this is exactly the figure that Mattel showed a prototype of many years ago and stated would never be released, but from my recollection it’s just as good if not better. Not counting the egg you get two heads and an extra set of hands. Two heads for a costumed character? Yes. In the eleven years between his birth at Survivor Series and his WrestleMania debut in 2001 his appearance differed greatly! We’ll have more on that in a bit. The design on the costume captures those feathers perfectly. The arms are removable like the head and you can remove the “torso feather” piece, too, though I’m not sure that it’s really supposed to be taken off. When you put the big bird inside of his egg for a “popping out” effect I actually feel like this is some sort of Disney set around piece rather than a wrestling figure. It has that “cartoon-character-becomes-three-dimensional” look to it. It’s just fun all around and should have been done years ago.

How about that egg? The “cracked lid” lifts right off to put The Gooker or any figure inside. You could even have certain figures “hide” inside. Maybe “The Eggman,” Andre the Giant or King Kong Bundy (as were all rumored at the time) could finally emerge from it? No, Mean Gene, we’re not having Miss November pop out. This is a family blog.

So after three decades we finally have the big guy. You could argue that it’s a one off and, especially in this style, I’d be inclined to agree. However, knowing Mattel’s penchant for scheming as to how they can reuse tooling, I do have a thought about yet another Gooker that could be done. Remember when we talked of how our favorite wrestling bird was a bit different in 2001’s Gimmick Battle Royal? I could definitely see the alternate head being reused, possibly in a Basic (or whatever they’re calling them now) two pack with another GBR entrant? The costume in that match was MUCH smaller and had far less detail. The legs here would likely be reusable, too. For the Taker fans, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a much more basic version of this look down the line, either. 

Until next time…or Thanksgiving…gobble gobble!