WWF '80s Cover Boys (& Girl)

What were you doing a decade ago this week? If you were a reader of this blog back then, and I hope that you were, you may have been reading about Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It was ten years ago here on the blog that I chose my five favorite covers of everyone’s favorite then-33 year old (now 43!) wrestling magazine. A magazine that’s slightly less aged yet just as classic is the official WWF Magazine. I can proudly say that I’ve long chronicled the history of the now defunct publication, even garnering the attention of WWE itself. No matter what their official take is, the first in-house publication was the WWWF Wrestling Action Magazine. All five issues have been displayed and discussed here on the blog and probably will be again. The two issues of WWF Victory Magazine from 1984 are what WWE considers to be their first and those two editions certainly hold a value similar to that of the earlier Wrestling Action titles. No matter how you look it at, the publication that eventually became WWF Magazine in its longest incarnation was bound for success. I’m sure you have some favorite issues and often that’s determined by the cover. So just as I did with PWI ten years ago, here are my top five favorite covers from the 1980s… 

*Who personified the ‘80s wrestling boom better than Hulk Hogan and Wendi Richter? Certainly had the latter stayed with the company longer she would be even better remembered, but don’t discount the impact of Miss Richter. Managed by Cyndi Lauper, Wendi Richter was a household name around the time of the first WrestleMania. Her cover appearance on the October/November 1984 WWF Magazine, teamed with The Hulkster himself, reflects just how popular women’s wrestling had grown. Was it the first women’s wrestling revolution? It absolutely was. Nearly forty years later and we’re actually able to recreate this cover in action figure form. Hmm… 

*He’s cool, he’s cocky and he’s bad. You know he’s The Honky Tonk Man and in September 1987 he proudly displayed his newly-won Intercontinental Championship on the cover of the WWF Magazine. This isn’t just a nice cover, it’s a striking cover. Between Honky’s expression, the hair and of course that legendary championship belt (complete with the beloved red WWF logo), this photo is a work of art in my opinion. This is the type of photo that would be featured if some hoity toity magazine were doing a fluff article on pro wrestling. Instead it’s here in a magazine for wrestling fans as opposed to putting down wrestling fans. 

*I’m a Christmas guy. There have been several great Christmas wrestling magazine covers over the years but the one that makes my list is the December 1984/January 1985 WWF Magazine featuring Sgt. Slaughter. The Rowdy Roddy Piper cover of a year later comes ever so close, but something about the Christmas card-quality of the Slaughter design just wins out for me. It’s also interesting to think that Slaughter was gone from the company by the time that the cover date came around with his last recorded match being in early December. I miss when holidays were celebrated more publicly like this. 

*Flying up to March 1989 we’ve got a purely 1980’s cover featuring my all-time favorite tag team, Demolition. It may also be notable that three of my five favorite covers shown here feature championship belts in addition to the stars that held them. Demolition was in the midst of their first of three WWF Tag Team Championship reigns and were undoubtedly the hottest tag team going. I respect The Road Warriors, but Demolition carved out a legacy all their own. In addition to being able to have great, entertaining matches with any style of team, the boys also didn’t overstay their welcome. Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow are also two of the nicest guys in the business. Let’s just say that with Demolition the best part of the match wasn’t limited to their ring entrance. 

*The early years of the magazine certainly produced a lot of memorable covers. October/November 1985 featured an absolutely dramatic scene with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Though the exciting superstar had torn through the NWA over the years, Steamboat was still relatively new to the WWF and “The Dragon” persona. Evoking thoughts of Bruce Lee was always a goal during Steamboat’s time in the WWF and that is certainly evident here. Though he would get a few program covers, including a very memorable one featuring the Intercontinental Championship belt, this would prove to be his only solo appearance. 

Well, that was certainly a bit of a “who’s who” of ‘80s WWF talent. I guess in another decade we’ll go with a different magazine. The Wrestler? Wrestling Revue? Championship Wrestling Magazine from Memphis? For the latter we’d only have six issues to pick the five from so it certainly wouldn’t be too difficult. In the meantime, keep flipping those pages of the past!

Topps Enters The Divas Revolution

Is it the "Divas Revolution" or "Women's Revolution?" Either way, the ladies are back with their own trading card collection thanks to Topps. Though I'd definitely consider this a new line for a new year, these cards actually started hitting shelves late last year. The set was initially thought to be a Wal Mart exclusive, but the blaster boxes have also been spotted at Toys "R" Us. Speaking of which, if you aren't a fan of blaster boxes you're out of luck. Thus far the 51-card boxes are the only way to get these cards at retail and it seems as if it will remain that way.

Opening a box will yield you a mix of fifty cards from the base and subsets as well as one relic or autograph. The cards are wrapped all together in one foil wrapper and, to be honest, look like a Chunky bar. You know..."what a chunk of chocolate!" But inside isn't candy of that sort. Instead it's Topps first set solely devoted to the female WWE superstars. Fleer did several "Divas" sets over a decade ago, but those focused only on the then-current females. Although there were some diamonds in the rough then, the stars were more for show than athleticism back then.

The base set contains the odd number of 43 cards. Perhaps Topps was looking to secure more names from the past? We see new WWE cards for Wendi Richter, Torrie Wilson, Ivory, and Kelly Kelly among others, but I must admit that I'm biased as far as my favorite. For the first time since 1986 there is a new WWE-licensed product of my friend Leilani Kai. The picture used is exactly the same as one of her cards from thirty years ago in the WWF O-Pee-Chee set, but it's still a cool thing to see.

There are also numerous subsets that largely mirror those in the regular Topps WWE subsets. Power Couples, Rivalries, and Champions are just several featured. It's never a bad thing when Miss Elizabeth and Sensational Sherri show up. I particularly like the Champions cards, showing the stars with the various incarnations of the title. Charlotte receives two cards in this subset, one featuring the Divas Championship and the other showing the current WWE Women's Championship. It's interesting that this set was still in development when the "Divas" tag was dropped, yet the term is still used as the title.

My pull? As usual, Alicia Fox. I love "Foxy" and feel that she's one of the more underutilized female stars. Still, I wish it had been an autograph rather than a boring relic. Interestingly, the mat relic is said to be from WrestleMania XXX back in 2014. I guess they have more pieces of mat lying around than they know what to do with. It's really time to update the most humdrum of relics, mat pieces. How about some ring rope tape? Locks of hair? Sweat on a paper towel? Anything!

What we have in Divas Revolution is a unique set that almost feels like a test. If the blaster boxes sell well this time around, will we see a wide-release sequel with packs and hobby boxes? There are enough female stars of the past and present to warrant it. Is the demand there? I would think so. No WWE trading card product, no matter how repetitive, ever seems to hang around long. If you see a blaster of Divas, pick it up and show your support! Even if you suffer, I mean, "luck out" and pull a mat relic, you'll get fifty other cards from a unique set filled with some great talent.

AWA Meets The Press

Thanksgiving was a wrestling tradition long before the advent of Starrcade or Survivor Series.  Nearly every territory had a huge "Turkey Day" card, or sometimes multiple cards, each year.  What would be better than to finish up your feast and head on over to the matches?  One of those territories was Verne Gagne's AWA.  With its roots in the early days of television, by the 1980's the AWA's reach still spanned far and wide.  Although a few years away from its big tv deal with then-upstart ESPN, the AWA produced a press kit in 1982 to try and further its audience and maybe even go national before the WWF.

I'm a huge fan of the various press kits that have come out of the wrestling business over the years.  They're a largely untapped type of memorabilia as far as wrestling goes.  They could be described as almost a time capsule of wrestling in that you never know when you'll discover one and just exactly what you'll find inside.  Vince McMahon obviously had the marketing vision to produce various press kits for WrestleMania and other ventures, but who would've thought that Verne did the same a few years earlier?

Red, white, and blue were the standard pattern of colors on the well-remembered American Wrestling Association logo, and those hues carry over throughout this tri-fold folder.  To say that this AWA press kit rivaled the later WWF press kits in style wouldn't be a stretch of a statement.  The folder is handsomely printed and, in appearance, would make anyone think that AWA All-Star Wrestling was the top wrestling company in the world.  Some of the verbiage inside, however, might make help convince them otherwise.

On the inside is a mix of information obviously designed to sell the AWA to television stations.  The list of biggest wrestling crowds of all-time shows the top two most-attended cards as being at Shea Stadium and Madison Square Garden.  With the press kit listing elsewhere where AWA matches were promoted, it wouldn't be hard for a station manager to figure out that these two top cards had nothing to do with the American Wrestling Association.  Elsewhere, a "quote" attributed to a tv station manager claims that "The wrestling crowd is a spending crowd.  But then, any sports crowd is a spending crowd."  The AWA couldn't come up with a more positive sounding quote than that?

In other areas the company did a better job of self-promotion.  Of course, Mr. Gagne is pictured as are other familiar AWA office faces of the time such as Stanley Blackburn, Wally Karbo, Al DeRusha, Rodger Kent, and our own close, personal, longtime friend, Gene Okerlund.  There's even a small and interesting "ad" of sorts promoting wrestling magazines.  Shown are titles from Stanley Weston (The Wrestler), Norman Kietzer (Wrestling News), and Japan.  For some unknown reason, Sports Illustrated is pictured in the collage as well.

In the middle of the folder are several pull-out sheets.  The first is a list of "Consistent advertisers on TV wrestling."  Every type of business from wines and dog food to ice rinks and loan companies are listed.  It seems as if someone in the AWA offices grabbed a Minneapolis phone book and picked out any type of business that could be found.  Behind this list are some great photo sheets titled "Star Power in the AWA."  Most feature several wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan (in a shot as Thunderlips), Billy Robinson, Jesse Ventura, Tito Santana, The Crusher, and Baron Von Raschke.  Being the "Eighth Wonder of the World," Andre the Giant gets his own sheet all to himself.

Two other photo sheets are included, titled "When The Little People Come To Town" and "Equal Opportunity Wrestling."  These showcase midget wrestlers and female wrestlers, respectively.  The women's sheet features a great shot of Wendi Richter and Joyce Grable with the famous Fabulous Moolah-owned Ladies Tag Team Championship belts.  Wendi looks a tad heavier than in her well-remembered WWF days just a few short years later.

As mentioned above, you never quite know what you're going to find when you unearth a wrestling press kit.  Behind the pullout sheets in this one lay an original AWA one-of-a-kind.  On a folded piece of yellow legal sized paper is what appears to be the 1984, 1985, and 1986 payoff sheet for the ring announcer at the St. Paul Civic Center.  June through October of 1984 is typed out while the rest is hand written.  It is interesting to see how the payoffs went up for large shows such as holiday events and WrestleRock.  It's always cool when something that was never meant to be saved ends up materializing after being literally stuffed away.

Items like these are why I love the world of wrestling memorabilia.  Being a sort of "wild west" industry as it was even sometime after the WWF went national, you just never know what you're going to stumble upon.  No one has a complete listing of everything that's out there, and who would really want one?  It would kill the fun of collectors coming together to show what they have, and what has yet to be discovered in an old attic or basement.

Hulkamania Turns 30

Thirty years to the night of press time, Hulkamania was born.  Yes, the term was used before January 23, 1984, but that was simply the seed being planted.  That night in MSG was when the term, concept, and phenomenon burst upon not just New York City, but the world.  Despite what any historian may want you to believe, nothing so immense had ever happened to the wrestling world.  Despite what some revisionist history may tell you, Austin 3:16 is but a close second.  Hulkamania is immortal.

Three decades later, Hulk Hogan is still as relevant in both wrestling and pop culture as ever.  He has adapted with the times, and despite negative press here and there, he is still the ultimate iconic American hero.  In my mind, I used to measure Hogan's mainstream visibility with one phrase: "Even grandmothers know who Hulk Hogan is!"  Take a poll.  I'd venture to guess that's still the case even opposed against wrestling megastars that have come and gone since. 

What exactly makes Hulkamania so irresistible?  It's a larger-than-life superhero who captivated an industry and the world watching it.  It's a character that stood for ideals that, thirty years ago especially, were still held in reverence by the public at large.  It's a brand that just goes on and on.  Wrestling, television, film, the toy store...both then and now, Hulkamania is omnipresent.

What child of the 1980's did not own the legendary Hulk Hogan LJN?  Though two later versions in the line were a tad more lifelike, the original shirtless, belt-wearing LJN of the Hulkster was owned by children who weren't even necessarily wrestling fans.  After all, here was eight inches of rubbery wrestler to bend, fling, and slam all over the house, playground, and lunch room.  Full cases of just Hogan figures shipped to stores to meet demand.  Sure, there were a plethora of heroes and villains for kids to choose from, but you absolutely needed Hulk to make your '80s "figure federation" complete.

WWE may be branching back into cartoons in the next few months, but their original animated adventure saw the Hulkster at the helm.  Hulk Hogan's "Rock n Wrestling" burst onto CBS just a bit under two years after the birth of Hulkamania.  Hogan, along with Andre the Giant, Wendi Richter, Roddy Piper, and Mean Gene Okerlund, among others, appeared in standard cartoon plot lines each week.  Slam City, what?  "Rock n Wrestling" is still as beloved to fans in their 30s today as it was during it's original run.

Naturally, film followed television fame for the Hulkster.  Although his acting and choice of projects may not have always been top quality, they're still remembered today.  After a pre-Hulkamania taste of celluloid in Rocky III, Hogan starred in 1989's No Holds Barred.  Battling Zeus just as he would on WWF shows during the release of the film, the Hulkster stars as "Rip."  The movie, which features cameos by Bill "Masked Superstar/Demolition Ax" Eadie and Stan Hansen, is set to be released on Blu-Ray in 2014.

Hulkamania knows no bounds and of course has also spilled over into WCW and TNA.  Though the Hulkster had a few memorable moments in both promotions, he has never really seemed "at home" as he does in WWE.  The Hulkster's transformation into the villainous "Hollywood" Hogan and leader of the nWo can easily be pointed to as the legend's biggest non-WWF/WWE moment.  When that character was attempted in the WWF, it failed.  The red and yellow Hulkster is synonymous with WWF/WWE.

What does the future hold for Hulkamania?  It's all but guaranteed that Hulk Hogan will be back in WWE at any time.  What role will he play?  Time will tell, but count me in with the group of fans that is all for one last match in the ring.  This is professional wrestling.  Anything can, and will, happen.  This form of sport does not hold the limitations that others do.  Instead of complaining that a "young talent" wouldn't have a spot on a show such as WrestleMania XXX because the Hulkster does should not even be an argument.  He's more than earned his spot on any wrestling show that he pleases.  Thirty years of Hulkamania.  Thirty years of WrestleMania.  Seems like a no-brainer to me, brother.

The Marketing of March 31, 1985

Since 1985, marketing the biggest wrestling/sports entertainment show of the year has been an integral part of its success.  Sure, it's always been the wrestling promoters job to market their respective show, but there's a reason that WrestleMania has always been a cut above the rest.  It didn't become the known brand name of wrestling events without plenty of advertising, hard work, and, of course, the almighty dollar.

I've always wondered if some fans of today don't quite grasp that WrestleMania was huge from the get go.  While the crowd from the first event is perhaps more maniacal than any audience of today and the card is definitely star packed, the look of the event doesn't give a hint as to how the WrestleMania's of today are presented.  The inaugural WrestleMania has the appearance of a standard Madison Square Garden show of the day.  With the low lighting, lack of screens, and curtain entrance, it's the kind of setup that many old school fans still yearn for today.

Most wrestlers and anyone in the production and/or promotion of that 1985 event will tell you that they knew it would be something different.  Celebrities from other walks of life were in attendance both as part of the show and as fans.  The event was going out live on closed circuit television as well as through an extremely limited newer technology called pay-per-view.  Merchandise bearing the name was produced as was an elegant silver and gold logo that was classier than anything professional wrestling had seen before.  This was WrestleMania.

Part of the promotion involved a company named Bozell & Jacobs Public Relations.  This firm created a rarely seen WrestleMania item known as a press kit.  Press kits are very common in the movie industry, often including photos, press releases, and other forms of media that can be used by other media agencies to promote the event. 

The WrestleMania press kit is a handsome yet basic black covered folder that features what is likely one of the first printings of the original WrestleMania logo.  It's hard to say exactly what all was included, if it didn't vary from folder to folder.  The example shown here was found with various press releases about the event, its stars, and the history of the WWF as well as the WrestleMania program.  It is likely that several 8x10 promotional photos labeled with both the WrestleMania logo and the Bozell & Jacobs name and address were included in at least some of these kits.

The press releases include a full card rundown, a history of the World Wrestling Federation, a release dated 3/14/1985 regarding the celebrities involvement, a history of the WWF Championship to that point, and bios of several of the stars involved.  It's no surprise that the releases seem to place the outside celebrities above the wrestlers.  This PR firm as well as the WWF knew how to get the mainstream attention just as WWE does today.

The program itself is much more familiar to collectors.  Full color with shots of most of the members of the card as well as a heavy dose of Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper, the program was similar to the event it promoted: it was something that professional wrestling had never seen before.  I can still remember looking at the "lighted" card rundown that is featured both here and on the back of the Coliseum Video release.  Even the fonts were carefully chosen to make the wrestlers appear to be the biggest stars you ever will have witnessed.  The term "name in lights" has never been more appropriate.

Just as Mr. T and Lauper are prominently featured, the matches in which they were involved dominate most of the publication.  These matches were, after all, the core of the "Rock n' Wrestling" connection.  The WWF was also in a unique position to have high profile feuds that could appeal to both the male and female demographic.  As much as the country was enthralled with the on-going saga of Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and friends, fans also wanted to see just how Lauper and Wendi Richter would get their revenge on The Fabulous Moolah and her charge Leilani Kai.  The female twosomes both get ample coverage in the program, with the infamous Moolah-Kai "horror lighting" shot getting a full page.  In a random bit of trivia, the jewelry worn by Kai in the photo was actually given to her at the shoot by Lauper.

There's no doubt that the #1 wrestler in the world at the time was Hulk Hogan.  He captivated a nation and is exactly who the people wanted to see.  To paraphrase Gorilla Monsoon, "he gave the people what they wanted."  We've come close, but there will never be a bigger star to grow out of wrestling in the United States than Hogan.  Having been champion a little more than a year at the time of this publication and event, it's truly a look at The Hulkster when he was not only on top of the world, but when he owned it.

There are other WWF and WrestleMania press kits out there including examples from the past decade or so, but none capture the greatest wrestling extravaganza of all-time in its infancy like this one does.  It's artifacts like this that show exactly why in a number of days we will be celebrating the 29th edition of this great event, and why it still grows and thrives today.

From The Musty Yellowed Pages--WWF Magazine August/September 1985

This month we've explored the era of the "Rock 'n Wrestling Connection" quite a bit.  From the 1985 Topps WWF cards to the Rock 'n Wrestling cartoon, I think that we've covered the fun and "mania" that surrounded this time period in professional wrestling.  Although the mid-'80s "boom" period for wrestling seems to be universally accepted as stretching from Hulk Hogan's title win to just about early 1988, the Rock 'n Wrestling Connection itself was only about a year long.  The time when Cyndi Lauper seemed to disappear from the WWF, Wendi Richter herself vanished for obvious reasons, and WWF programming stopped appearing on MTV seems to be the cutoff point.  The WWF Magazine cover dated August/September 1985 is probably a good cutoff merchandise-wise, and that is what we're exploring today to top off the month of '80s glory.

Probably due to their own licensing deals, Lauper and Mr. T didn't appear on all that much WWF merchandise.  The cover of WWF Magazine is an exception for both.  Lauper appears here in a picture from the shoot for her "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" music video along with Rowdy Roddy Piper, Nikolai Volkoff, and The Iron Sheik.  With a bright orange background inserted behind the "fearsome" foursome, you can't miss the cover.  The first actual page (the inside cover is the letters page) starts right off with the WWF marketing machine.  Coliseum Video Presents WWF WrestleMania--The Greatest Wrestling Event Of All Time!  $39.95!  $39.95?  Yes, kids.  Videos were not usually "priced to own" until a few years later, but forty bucks was actually affordable compared to the normal price of WWF videos of the era, a fact that we will revisit in a bit.

Feature articles cover such stars as Hillbilly Jim, wrestlers such as Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat who hail from "The Islands" as well as Jesse "The Body" Ventura.  Ventura had just begun his transition from wrestler to commentator and the article does a good job of putting it over.  You notice in this and other articles that the photos used are much less polished than ones used in the future of the publication.  The photos are good, but ones such as a photo taken of Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon commentating ringside at the first WrestleMania are almost candid and not the "slick" style of photo used as the company got bigger and bigger.  Two WrestleMania programs sitting on the table probably make the picture even more appealing to me.

In his nearly decade long WWF-stint, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan was always a large part of WWF Magazine.  From having his own column to many articles about the Heenan family and his other devious antics, Heenan was as much a heat machine on the newsstand as he was at ringside.  Although he would get his own cover two years later, Heenan shines in an article examining his connection to his fan-given nickname of "Weasel" as well as the animal itself.

Keeping with the trend of profiling managers, another article focuses on one who had been with the company for quite awhile--Captain Lou Albano.  The Captain was appearing in the feature film "Wise Guys" with Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo and the article includes behind-the-scenes photos.  A one-page article about WWF and Coliseum Video, a fluff piece discussing the latest releases, follows the Albano feature.

The cover article is next, with the photo-packed feature on Lauper's "Goonies" video that featured a plethora of WWF stars.  In addition to noting how massive the pirate ship set used in the video was, a particular photo of Freddie Blassie always stuck out to me.  This absolutely had to be one of the reference photos used by LJN when they created his figure.  The pose is identical down to the placement of the rings on his fingers.  The "Hollywood Fashion Plate" never looked better!

The marketing machine is back again with a page full of items that would command a high dollar today--early posters.  These would be even scarcer than the ones shown in the later merchandise catalogs which themselves are in high demand these days.  Posters of Hogan in three of his color combinations (blue and white, all white, and red and yellow) and Richter from her bikini shoot are particularly memorable.  The following pages feature early WWF logoed apparel.

$59.95!  There's the Coliseum Video price that most of us remember.  The "Andre the Giant," "Most Unusual Matches," and "Best of the WWF Vol. 2" tapes are showcased in a full page ad urging fans to order.  Although there were even some budget WWF videos released at the time, until WWF Home Video took over in late 1997, this was the price for most tapes.  Of course there were ways around this for fans to "bring home the action," but that's another story for another time.  The opposing page is the beginning of an article chronicling the feud between Freddie Blassie and The Sheik.  The Sheik, not the Iron Sheik.  This is a fact that the article points out.  Many of the early WWF Magazines not only feature stories on wrestling history, but also stars who were not in the organization of the time.  Jeff Walton, a name familiar to many wrestling fans, is the author of this article which is accompanied by several classic photos.

While the back cover is an advertisement for Tuesday Night Titans, it's the inside back cover that is memorable to so many fans.  "How Do You Get A Wrestler In A Mailbox?"  This is the ad to order the first five LJN WWF figures directly from the WWF Merchandise Department.  At only $10 each, how could anyone pass it up? 

This was the 1985 WWF.  These pages lavishly illustrate just how far this company was coming in both the fields of professional wrestling and entertainment.  An all-color, all-slick magazine was just the kind of publication that the progress of the rest of the company demanded.  I think the voice of the WWF at the time, Gorilla Monsoon, would've summed it up something like this...

"This magazine would be a best seller at any newsstand anywhere in the world!"

As usual where Gorilla is concerned, I would have to agree.

Whatcha Gonna Do When Cartoons Run Wild On You?

About a week ago the wrestling news community was abuzz about WWE's latest venture.  No, not the delayed WWE Network, next Marine film, or even 2013 Hall of Fame rumors.  The news that had everyone talking was the announcement that the next Scooby-Doo animated film would be set at WrestleMania!  Not only that, but WWE names such as Vince McMahon, John Cena, Brodus Clay, and (of course) A.J. would be providing their own voices for the show.  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited over this news.  For all of the silliness in wrestling these days, this is the type of thing that works.  On our fanpage I went as far as to promise a review of the movie right here on the blog once it is released.

This isn't wrestling's first foray into Toon Town.  In 1985 the WWF was snatching up licensing partnerships left and right.  It was the dawn of Hulkamania and there was no better way to market that to children than partnering with DIC Entertainment and creating the "Hulk Hogan's Rock n' Wrestling" cartoon series.

Featuring a cast of top WWF stars like Hogan, Andre the Giant, Wendi Richter, Lou Albano, Junkyard Dog, Tito Santana, Hillbilly Jim, Roddy Piper, Big John Studd, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Mr. Fuji, Fabulous Moolah, Mean Gene Okerlund, and Bobby Heenan, one would think that the cartoon centered around wrestling.  Not really.  Instead, the "good" wrestlers were pitted against the "bad" wrestlers in traditional cartoon situations.  Robots, Amazonians, and cruise ships were just some of the tough topics tackled by the crazy cast from the squared circle.

Seeing as that each character was based on a real life persona, one would also think that the wrestlers would voice their respective 'toon.  Not quite.  The WWF's schedule at the time most likely prevented this from occuring.  Voice actors were instead used to provide the familiar tones of the WWF elite.  While some like Albano and JYD sounded very close to the real deal, others like Piper and Fuji weren't even close.  Giving life to the voice of the Hulkster was non other than Brad Garrett, who went on to play Robert on "Everybody Loves Raymond."  Other notables included Lewis Arquette (father of the many current Arquette actors) as Snuka and James Avery (Uncle Phil on "Fresh Prince" and the voice of Shredder in the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoons) as JYD.  The visual look of the wrestlers was what you'd expect from an '80s cartoon, although a peek at their early designs in the September/October 1985 issue of WWF Magazine shows that the characters were originally more realistic looking than the final product.

Probably one of the most attractive upsides to doing this cartoon was that a whole new line of merchandise was produced off of the show itself.  Games, coloring books, puzzles, bed sheets, backpacks, stickers, pins, and home videos were all produced under the banner of the cartoon. 

While no action figures, or "dolls" as they were frequently labeled then, were produced for the show there was a line of erasers which, in recent years, have become the most popular item to come from the cartoon show.  Regular figures were most likely not allowed due to WWF's agreement with LJN, but a company called Winston Toys nearly got around that.  Hogan, Piper, Snuka, Sheik, JYD, and Richter were the six characters used by Winston for their line of erasers.  Around 3 1/2 inches tall, the erasers were just a tad shorter than the LJN Bendies and are often mistaken as such.

Curiously, Sheik and both versions of Hogan and Snuka are almost shrunken down versions of their familiar LJN counterparts.  Piper and JYD are the only pieces in the line that actually look like their cartoon counterparts.  While both of them are very difficult to come by, it's actually the Richter eraser which seems to be the rarest of them all.  Not only is it the only figural representative of Richter ever produced, it is my speculation that had Richter stayed with the WWF and been produced as an LJN figure, the eraser is an example of what the finished product would have looked like.

The Richter eraser isn't the only female controversy to arise from the cartoon.  The infamous Mad Maxine was originally scheduled to be on the show as the "evil" opposition for Richter.  Although the fact that her run in the WWF was so short is probably the real reason for her omission, speculation has always been that Fabulous Moolah somehow had her removed from both the show and the promotion so that she herself could be featured on the cartoon.  Moolah did indeed end up appearing in the show, but her merchandising was relegated to a pin and an appearance in the card game.

The cartoon lasted two seasons for a total of twenty-six episodes.  Many of those episodes were released on VHS video over a period of many years.  Some were distributed by DIC during the cartoon's original run while WWE re-released many around a decade ago in new packaging.  With the release of Hogan's "No Holds Barred" film to DVD just weeks ago, it may be only a matter of time before WWE decides to once again revisit their original cartoon venture in the current media formats as well.

Although a cartoon show is exactly what many wrestling purists say is what was wrong with the WWF's national expansion, it's also what brought many, many fans into wrestling in the first place.  Who is to say that promoters from decades earlier wouldn't have jumped on producing a cartoon show given the opportunity?  Certainly the wrestlers involved in Rock 'n Wrestling cut their teeth in the territories.  Fans of those wrestlers, as well as the cartoon, can take comfort in the fact that their favorite stars received much more merchandising money from ventures like these.  Wrestling was, and still is, a business.  The Rock 'n Wrestling cartoon is something, like the new Scooby-Doo/WWE team-up, that we should just sit back and enjoy rather than bash.

While I cannot say that Rock 'n Wrestling started me on pro wrestling, the first wrestling collectible that I ever owned was spawned from the series.  The coloring book shown here in this entry holds the honor of being the first ever item in my collection.  I can still recall sitting in restaurants and coloring in my vast collection of coloring books based on various kid-friendly properties of the '70s and '80s.  My artistic skills?  Impeccable!  Did you know that Andre the Giant had green hair?

You do now!

Fresh 1985 Cardboard...Hulkster Style!

I think it's un-American for a child to grow up without owning at least a few trading cards.  Baseball cards immediately come to mind (especially to this Pittsburgher who finally has a team to root for again) but wrestling cards will suffice just as well.  There are plenty of examples from the last three decades to choose from, produced by various companies for several promotions and featuring virtually every major (and not so major) wrestling star.

I've discussed before the fact that any card produced before the "glossy" era took over automatically ranks high in my book.  Not only do they have higher aesthetic appeal with that classic "cardboardy" look, but they're also a Helluva lot easier to get autographed!  No worries of bubbling or much smudging.  While there are occasionally new entries in the realm of cards with matte finish such as Topps Heritage, the oldies are still the best.

But how about some "new" oldies?  How about breathing that glorious mid-'80s air just once more?  How about procuring some 1985 Topps WWF cards that weren't stuffed away in some basement for years?  It has been achieved.

The 1985 Topps WWF Pro Wrestling Stars set isn't particularly rare.  Although occasionally a card or sticker will sell for a couple bucks to a collector who needs one or two to complete a set, the #1 card (Hulk Hogan) is the only one that will grab $10-$15.  A whole set, albeit of varying condition, will usually get $35 or so.  It was a set released during a huge boom period with millions of kids as the consumer so there are obviously plenty out there.  As with all aspects of collecting, fun and enjoyment should always prevail over "rare."

Though unopened packs are fairly common to come by, the cellophane-packaged "rack packs" are a bit tougher to find.  I can remember buying baseball rack packs in my youth since the packaging allowed you to know, in advance, a few of the cards that you were getting.  Here in 2012 I had several different WWF rack packs to choose from, but I decided to "go with the gold" and pick one with the Hulkster showing up twice in plain view.  Thumbing my nose at profit, I opened the 27-year-old relic with full knowledge that a rack pack with a Hulkster card "showing" recent sold for over $30.

I carefully cut open the first of three sections and pulled out the "fresh" cards.  1985 scents?  You bet.  MTV.  New Coke.  Blair Warner.  It was all captured in that cardboard-filled plastic package.  Did I sniff?  Of course.

13 fresh cards that, depending on Topps manufacturing practices at the time, had never before been touched.  No gum stains, either, thanks to it being a gum-devoid rack pack.  Some of my favorite cards of the 1985 set which simply featured a large individual photo of the star and their name poured out, as did some of the action shot cards.  Jesse "The Body" Ventura!  Chief Jay Strongbow!  The Iron Sheik!  A card which I had not previously owned, a shot of Captain Lou Albano dressed as Santa Claus (used in 1983 as a WWF Program cover), was my personal favorite.

The middle section of each rack pack contains three sticker cards.  As with many sticker subsets of the day, the cardboard backer of each sticker contained a piece to a puzzle that formed a larger photo.  While the Albano and Brutus Beefcake sticker backers were each a piece, the back of the Hulkster sticker actually shows what the puzzle looks like completed.  While they were not in this pack, my own favorite stickers from this set are an action shot of "The Flying Frenchman" Rene Goulet and one of Wendi Richter from Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" video.

As an aside, Topps 1985 Cyndi Lauper card series is actually a relatively unknown entry in the world of wrestling memorabilia.  Thanks to her contributions to the Rock 'n Wrestling Connection, several cards in the set feature wrestlers and wrestling shots.  My favorite from that set is a card showing Richter, Lauper, and manager David Wolff in the ring at Madison Square Garden.

Back to the opening of the rack pack, it was finally time to get a third "shot" of '80s air and more classic cards.  Another variety of portrait cards and action shots was overshadowed by what any fan, past or present, would want to find in a pack like this: a fresh and pristine example of Hulk Hogan #1.  While T206 Honus Wagner it ain't, a fresh and new version of an iconic card such as this is welcome in any collection.  After all it isn't his rookie card, but it is his WWF licensed rookie card and an image that many fans will always remember.  Another card found in this pocket, Wendi Richter's bikini shot, is another image that fans have never forgotten.

Topps WWF 1985 Pro Wrestling Stars may not hold the value of other cards, but other factors make it a must for any collection.  From various cards of some of the all-time greats to action shots like Hogan vs Antonio Inoki in Japan and Snuka leaping from Andre the Giant's shoulders to comedic "The Superstars Speak" cards, there's a lot to collect and enjoy. 

Collectors should note that there was an identical set produced in Canada by O-Pee-Chee who also released a second series.  Series 2 features shots from WrestleMania 2 as well as the only cards of one of my favorite wrestlers, Leilani Kai.  The Hogan #1 card was produced with both a beige and aqua green background however both are of equal value.

With the popularity of Topps Heritage sets in all sports, it saddens me that their WWE Heritage line halted at series IV aside from a few subsets in recent years.  With the relatively tired look of the company's recent WWE product, it would be refreshing to see a new Heritage set with past and present stars.  How about mimicking the look of '85?  "Topps Pro Entertainment Stars 2013." 

Make it happen!