Constructing Cole

"I got plenty of action figures, sucka!"--Booker T

Indeed he does, and such was his response when the ever-annoying Michael Cole recently bragged about his new action figure on commentary. Not being a fan of Cole or his poorly-executed character, I didn't care if I ever acquired his figure or not. It's not like you can walk into a store and buy it...in one piece.

Nevertheless, I've always been a sucker (sucka?) for non-wrestler wrestling figures. From LJN's managers and announcers to Jakks Ringside Collection, I've loved each and every release. After all, you need wrestlers to put on matches, but who is there to call, ref, and interfere?

Aside from a mail-away Mr. McMahon this is Mattel's first real venture into non-wrestler territory. As I mentioned above, you can't exactly go into a store and buy Michael Cole, either. Instead, this is the first ever wrestling Build-A-Figure.

It's a relatively simple concept. Buy four figures each containing a piece of another figure. Open the figures and assemble the fifth. Not difficult, but somewhat frustrating for collectors who don't need to have every single figure out there. Although the idea has been used in Marvel Superhero and Star Wars figure lines, Mattel almost wasn't the first company to bring it to the wrestling ring. The Marvel/Toybiz TNA figure series was slated to include pieces of a Traci Brooks Build-A-Figure in their never released final series. The figure was a great likeness of Ms. Brooks and she still has to yet to see a plastic representation.

Mattel seems to want to make the accomplishment of building Michael Cole extra special. Not only is this Elite series exclusive to Toys "R" Us, but the Bret Hart figure in the set (containing Cole's legs) has been particularly hard to find due to it not shipping with the others initially. The figures are clad in all new attires with John Cena and Triple H in their WrestleMania XXVII attire while Hart and Daniel Bryan represent SummerSlam 2010.

Mattel did a nice job capturing the looks from these respective pay-per-view events. Although I, as always, would've preferred new characters, I can see Mattel's business decision. We're "building" a new character so it may as well take buying four old characters to do it.

I will say that Mattel's "old" Bret blows Jakks representation out of the water. That isn't something that you'll hear often from me, but the proper "current" Bret face does wonders for the figure. Cena's likeness is fairly remarkable as well.

As with most Elite figures, these four all include removable attire. Triple H was in this particular costume for probably under a minute, while the designs for Cena, Hart, and Bryan are much more common. A U.S. title for Bryan or Hart would've been a nice addition, but Mattel realizes that they don't need to add much with the Cole "pieces" already included.

Assembling the Cole figure is very easy. All of the limbs and parts simply push on without much real effort. My dreaded "Elite" mid-section joint is included, but since his jacket slides over his torso it becomes a null point.

Assembled, the figure screams "manager" to me. If wrestling manager wasn't an all but extinct art, I would suggest that Mattel release those figures this way. I could definitely appreciate a referee or ring announcer released in this manner, although I'd prefer it done with fresher characters. The facial likeness is superb and he is shorter than the rest of the figures.

When it comes down to it, Cole isn't a cheap figure at all. The four figures will cost nearly $90 at retail after tax. Fortunately, I found the set while on sale making it a reasonable price for a total of five Elite figures when factoring in Cole. Due to Mattel's continual fight to release non-male wrestler figures in any sort of rational number, I can't see Cole being released in any other manner. If you're a "Cole Miner," this is how you'll have to add him to your collection.

Cole will most certainly be a part of this Sunday's WrestleMania XXVIII, and hopefully much less of a distraction than last year. In any case, enjoy the twenty-eighth edition of "The Greatest Sports Entertainment Spectacular of All-Time."

Super Sunday, indeed.

The Cure For A Hangover (II)? Classic WWF Cards!

It's very hard to believe that December 2011 is upon us. It seems like only yesterday that spring was in bloom and summer was on the horizon. That would be just about the time that "The Hangover II" was hitting theaters and funny bones alike.

The comedy blockbuster, which is set to hit DVD and Blu-Ray this coming Tuesday, caught the eyes of wrestling fans and collectors the world over. In the opening moments of the film viewers delve into the bedroom of arguably the film series' most popular character, Alan (portrayed by Zach Galifianakis). Despite the scene probably clocking in under five minutes, the prop department went to great lengths (and expense) to illustrate Alan's love of '80s WWF wrestling. Not only does his room include shelves featuring nearly the entire LJN WWF action figure line (including the Hasbro-released LJN-sized Sgt. Slaughter) but the walls are adorned with posters of Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Hillbilly Jim, and Mr. Perfect among others. The interesting thing about these posters is that they are not commercially released posters but are instead extremely large blowups of cards from the 1990 WWF trading card series produced by Classic.

It's interesting to speculate just why these cards were blown up instead of using existing posters. While I'm no expert in the field of photo development, it seems that the price of enlarging these small cards would far outweigh the price of obtaining a few posters. Similarly, it's surprising that the prop department even obtained the rarer figures from the WWF LJN line rather than just using the more common (and remembered) earlier characters.

As far as the Classic WWF cards, movie prop use or not, the series can be considered rather iconic. The set is a beautiful time capsule of 1989 WWF featuring a wide variety of names from main eventers such as Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Dusty Rhodes, and Rick Rude to lower card talent like Brooklyn Brawler, Red Rooster, and Barry Horowitz. Even managers, announcers, and officials found their way into the set.

The card set is not at all rare and was mass produced to be released several different ways. Cards were released in packs (packs often contained the same cards in the same order), boxed complete sets, and as a complete set packaged with a blue album and five exclusive purple border cards.

While the set was released and dated 1990, the photos reflect the 1989 roster as mentioned above. There is a rare earlier version of the set dated 1989 that includes cards of the Twin Towers (Akeem & Big Boss Man) together as a team. Many of the same photos were used on another 1989 card set released exclusively in New Zealand from a company called Market Scene Limited. These cards feature pink, blue, and purple backgrounds behind the wrestlers.

The Classic Company released another set later in 1990 featuring action shots from the first six WrestleMania events. These cards are very similar in style, production, and release. A complete set was released with this series as well, with the album being red instead of blue.

Most of these cards will likely never be worth much monetarily but are easily obtained and would make a great gift for any fan of '80s and '90s wrestling. The cards are also fun to get signed, especially the sharp studio shots.

Who knew that the set would be immortalized on celluloid over twenty years after their original release? Classic indeed!

****"From The Musty, Yellowed Pages..."****

WOW Magazine, December 1999, Page 131

It looks like Bryan Danielson, aka Daniel Bryan, may finally be getting his shot at the top of the ladder. Although his fans have been calling him "the best wrestler in the world" for years now, to the mainstream wrestling fan it isn't until a star reaches the top of the WWE that one can make that claim.

With his star brighter than ever, it's worth checking out one of Danielson's earliest appearances in wrestling media. Going back twelve years, World of Wrestling (WOW) Magazine did a multi-page story on Shawn Michaels in his first retirement. Pictures of his home life with wife Rebecca (Nitro Girl Whisper) as well as shots at his wrestling school were included.

One group shot of his students and trainers stands out above the rest. Sharp-eyed fans will spot the late Lance Cade as well as Brian "Spanky" Kendrick. To the left of Kendrick, almost obscured by his fellow pupils, is the future Daniel Bryan at age 18. Who else can you name in the photo?

The Internet Darling Hits Retail

It's very hard to fathom that a year has passed since the angle introducing Nexus began. The amazing momentum that got fans (including myself) talking may have fizzled out before the end of summer, but the fact that something as fun and relatively unique could still be done in this era of wrestling is reason enough to savor the memory.

One year later and figures of the original Nexus members are making their way into collections worldwide. Heath Slater (reviewed here) may have been the first, but the figure highlighted here today has the potential to be the most desired.

Although never a diehard indy wrestling fan, I know quality product when I see it. The closest I came to living and dying by the indy scene was following the IWC promotion here in Pittsburgh. For the better part of the last decade, IWC featured not only the biggest names available on the indy scene, but also hosted the hottest regional action to be found anywhere.

IWC allowed me to see stars such as CM Punk, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe live, in person, and in the beginning days of their careers. Seeing these wrestlers now getting magazine covers, trading cards, and action figures almost gives me my own sense of pride for them. Knowing how these stars earned their way into the proverbial "big time" makes watching them today just that much more exciting.

Where do the Nexus and the indy scene of the 2000s collide? Right at the feet of "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. Or Daniel Bryan. Whichever name you prefer, the man has been deemed by many to be the greatest wrestler in the world. Finally, that man has an action figure.

Released as part of Mattel's WWE Basic Series 11, this figure will no doubt be one to grab as soon as you see it. Bryan's independent fans will want this figure just as much as his current fans floating in the orbit of the WWE Universe do.

Bryan has always been known for letting his wrestling do the talking. Basic tights, boots, and pads. If you ask me, a wrestler like this would be harder to capture in figure form. There's less to work with and therefore far less to screw up. Mattel, by and large, hits the mark.

I've long been a Jakks apologist. I still feel that their reign with the WWF/WWE license will be hard to ever beat. Had a Bryan figure been produced by both companies I do believe that I would be choosing the Mattel version. Being a relatively slight individual, Bryan is perfect for the slimmer design of the Mattel figures.

Although the torso does not appear to be original, it fits Bryan as do the arms and legs. While the facial likeness is extremely close, there's just something that's ever so slightly off. This could possibly be due to the hairstyle used. Coloring and design seems spot on. As I said earlier, there was much less to work with for Bryan to get the look down pat. Mattel has succeeded.

As I have in the past few Mattel reviews, I will again point out that the recent releases feel much less stiff in the joints than earlier offerings. Danielson, known for a wide array of holds and maneuvers, is ready to battle any monster, past or present, that the WWE is ready to throw at him.

Mattel is on a nice and steady roll with releases. Product is full of quality and hitting shelves quickly. While the future of their Legends line still concerns me, Mattel's coverage of the current WWE scene has been top notch as of late. I once again give the highest recommendation to pick up this figure. It's the rookie figure of a competitor who has already guaranteed his inclusion in the wrestling history books. He will always be remembered as the number one icon of the "Internet" era of wrestling fandom. If his WWE career goes through the roof (or the glass ceiling?) it will only build upon his previous accomplishments.

Cue "Ride of the Valkyries"...