The 2011 J\/\/ Awards

So you sat through that Slammy Awards deal a few weeks ago, eh? Here on the blog we give out a different type of honor this time of year, that being The J\/\/ Awards. The honors began in 2010 and each year the design of the "Joshie" award has a bit of a different flavor. While in the inaugural year the award had a "classy" flare to it, this year we've said our prayers and taken our vitamins thus bringing you somewhat of an "immortal" look.

In 2011 not only does the look of the award itself change, but so do some of the categories. While Best Product Line, Best Figure, and Future Holy Grail all remain intact, two of our other awards will go under a bit of a makeover. The Best Magazine and Best Cards awards have been changed to Best Publication and Best Buy (Non-Figure/Publication) respectively. Since fewer and fewer wrestling cards and magazines are being produced each year this greatly widens the span of products under consideration. Now any book, magazine, or similar material will go up against each other for Best Publication while virtually anything that a fan can purchase will vie for Best Buy (Non-Figure/Publication).

Enough with the rules, explanations, and other nonsense...let the ceremony begin!

2011 Best Figure

Although both Mattel and Jakks put forth solid efforts in 2011, it's actually a figure released in the final days of 2010 that gets the 2011 award. Due to its very late release and my own inability to review it until 2011, the figure was notably disqualified in 2010.

Mattel's WWE Defining Moments "Macho Man" Randy Savage wins "The Joshie" for 2011 Best Figure. I predicted in both the 2010 awards entry and in the review in January that this figure would be the 2011 winner. Sadly, another prediction of mine regarding this figure did not come true. That prediction was that Savage himself would finally make the convention rounds to sign this beautiful piece. As the world knows by now, Savage passed away in May. The Macho Man did in fact do a promo piece for Mattel with the figure and seemed to like it very much. His fans the world over echoed those sentiments. While other Savage figures were released this year and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, none match the detail of this wonderful commemorative.

Dig it.

2011 Best Publication

2011 seemed to be a slightly slower year for wrestling related publications than in years past. That being said, the winner of this years award would've had more than a fighting chance against even the highest rated wrestling books.

The Last Outlaw By Stan Hansen wins "The Joshie" for 2011 Best Publication. In his long awaited autobiography, Stan "The Lariat" Hansen gets the chance to pull back the curtain on one of wrestling's most legendary characters. Fabled tales are confirmed or denied regarding the rugged Texan, but the book is most notable for an intimate look at the world of Japanese wrestling. Stories from the inner workings of pro wrestling in the land of the rising sun were few and far between until Hansen, a key player in Japan for years, wrote this barn burner with co-author Scott Teal.

2011 Best Buy (Non-Figure/Publication)

A new category that virtually anything other than an action figure or book/magazine can win. This award will highlight just exactly what gave the wrestling fan the most bang for his/her buck. At times, including this year, the award may be given to something just a bit outside the box.

The 2011 NWA Legends Fanfest wins "The Joshie" for 2011 Best Buy. I would go as far as to say that each year this particular award is given out, NWA Fanfest will take it home. There isn't a better value for your wrestling dollar than Fanfest. This is a fact that I've driven home in many previous entries. It's more than just a meet and greet, it's the single best experience that a fan of classic pro wrestling can have. 2012 is being talked about as the final edition of Fanfest, but I can almost guarantee that the final event will go out with a bang...and "The Joshie" for 2012 Best Buy as well.

2011 Best Product Line

This is another award where many different items and companies can be considered. Although Mattel took it home last year, various distribution problems plagued both wrestling action figure companies so much in 2011 that it nearly took them out of the running.

WWE Home Video wins "The Joshie" for 2011 Best Product Line. Although the offerings in 2011 were just a tad less interesting than previous years, WWE Home Video still takes the cake in this category. The company took a deeper plunge into Blu-Ray in 2011 by first offering DVD/Blu-Ray combo packs starting with the Royal Rumble and subsequently producing each and every pay-per-view event on Blu-Ray. This practice ended before Money In The Bank 2011 could reach the shelves on Blu-Ray much to the disappointment of many fans.

With the upcoming demise of WWE Classics On-Demand due to the 2012 launching of the WWE Network, the home video department may have their hands full. At this point it seems that very little classic content will be offered on the network. If this is so, WWE would be wise to feed classic fans with more vintage DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

2011 Future Holy Grail

Another category in which the winner can come from virtually anywhere, this year the winner could be considered a subset of sorts.

Jakks TNA Knockouts Figures win "The Joshie" for 2011 Future Holy Grail. Although there have only been three such figures so far (Madison Rayne hit online stores right before press time) this terrific trio have been the crown jewel among Jakks 2011 offerings. Filled with detail and relatively difficult to find right off the bat, these figures are already fan favorites. While Velvet Sky and Angelina Love were short packed per shipping case, I'm not sure that Daffney (released in a 2-pack with Dr. Stevie) ever made it to store shelves.

Amazing likenesses, popular never-before-released characters, and automatic "rarity" upon release all add up to be a "Holy Grail" in any collection. Hopefully Jakks will continue to expand upon their Knockouts releases as figures of ODB, Gail Kim, Traci Brooks, and So Cal Val are long overdue in my book.

Congratulations to all of the 2011 J\/\/ Award winners! Once again "The Joshie" bodyslams Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Espy, and even the Slammy right to the mat. Agree? Disagree? Let us know here on the blog or on our Facebook Fanpage where a gallery of both the 2010 and 2011 winners will soon be going live.

And of course...

It Figures!--The 2011 Wrestling Action Figure Scene

Action figures used to be the prime toy that "Little Johnny" (Little Jimmy is someone else...) could talk mom or dad into buying on a whim. There were tons to choose from, beginning in the mid-1970's nearly every property had them, and they were relatively cheap.

There are still tons to choose from and every property be it cartoon, movie, or comic book character still have them, but action figures really aren't cheap anymore. Like trading cards and comic books, figures are no longer the cheap item that will quiet a kid during a trip to the department store.

Although the prices no longer favor kids, in 2011 there are still several different wrestling action figure brand representing the current wrestling organizations. What are they doing right and what are they doing wrong?

Jakks Pacific is a toy company that truly built its name thanks to pro wrestling. Joining up with the WWF in 1996, Jakks still holds the record for the longest company to hold that toy license. Evolving as the product did, Jakks produced countless memorable figures over their decade and a half with the WWF/WWE. Although they had their faults (including countless repaints and releases of top stars) they cemented their legacy with the creation of what is perhaps the greatest wrestling figure collection of all-time, the WWE Classic Superstars.

Starting in 2010, toy giant Mattel took over the WWE toy line. Known for Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Masters of the Universe, Mattel is a well-known toy juggernaut going back decades. Around the same time that Mattel announced their new partnership, WWE's former toy producer Jakks announced that they would be assuming the TNA Wrestling toy line.

TNA Wrestling had previously struck a deal with Marvel Comics-owned ToyBiz for production of action figures and accessories. While that line had a large following and produced many nice pieces, inconsistency with releases and distribution plagued the line eventually resulting in an early demise.

Nearly two years into the current licensees runs for both companies we've seen a mixed bag of results. Both companies have brought figures to the table that have been desired by collectors for many years. Both companies have also failed in ways that have once again alienated some collectors.

One victory that the WWE Classic Superstars line brought to the table was the return of collectors long gone. Fans who were no longer interested in the current product were suddenly able to obtain quality action figures of stars from years gone by. I've touted this fact before, but these gains to the genre have largely been ignored by both of the current companies. Jakks, who should know of this fact already, was the first to drop their "Legends of the Ring" TNA subset after the first series. While figures are still being released under this banner in other forms, series releases are no longer being produced. This all but guarantees that middle and under card names from wrestling's past will no longer be made into figures. This was a key factor in the popularity of the Classic Superstars line.

Mattel recently followed suit with their WWE Legends line by announcing that future figures will only be available on their collectors store website. Although other stars of the past will be featured elsewhere in their offerings, it is not the same as being able to obtain these figures at brick and mortar retail stores.

I fully understand that numbers both monetary and logistically are main factors, but it's crucial for the companies to know that there is a market for these figures. Mattel is currently basing their numbers on the failure of the WWE Legends Series 3 and Tag Team figure collections. These figures were clearly overproduced and, in the case of the tag teams, overpriced. Not to mention that most of the figures in both of these series were produced by Jakks a short time long ago. There is a reason that figures of Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat have sold as well as they have. Neither man had a figure in years. This is also the reason that the Classic Superstars figures of such men as Lanny "The Genius" Poffo, Ron Bass, and The Barbarian sold briskly and are popular to this day. Fans want new characters...not rehashes of figures that didn't sell very well in the first place.

One complaint of many fans that Jakks seems to be handling better than Mattel at this time is the inclusion of female figures. Fans have requested female figures in toy lines going back decades. The excuse the companies gave has always been the same--female figures "don't sell" in "boys" toy lines. I've never known this to be the case and have always viewed it as a very flimsy excuse.

In the past twelve months Jakks has released their first three Knockout figures with several more planned. The likenesses on all three (Velvet Sky, Daffney, and Angelina Love) have been nothing short of amazing and are true highlights of the Jakks TNA, now Impact Wrestling, figure line.

Mattel, while releasing Diva figures, have taken more of the traditional approach and hesitated to release females. Although several have been released, they are short packed in the shipping cases. The company has cited both the "female figures don't sell" myth and the failure of their first Diva offering, Mickie James, as reasons to shortchange the ladies. The Mickie James figure was not only released after her departure from the company, but it also barely resembled the ladies champion.

On the positive side we have seen some very nice releases on both sides. Mattel is steadily introducing new characters into the line. Figures of the original Nexus, Internet sensation Zack Ryder, and continual new figures of Randy Savage have all graced collections. Alberto Del Rio already has several releases and Sin Cara is said to be fast on the horizon for 2012. Heavy hinting and rumors of a long awaited Miss Elizabeth figure may also be available from Mattel within the next twelve months.

Jakks has also delivered some nice TNA/Impact product, but the continuous production and distribution problems which I've chronicled before are still an issue. Series release dates continue to be pushed back as the list of vendors carrying the product dwindles. Figures such as the aforementioned Knockouts, Sting figures of various designs, and online retailer exclusives have kept fans happy but not exactly satisfied. With the amazing crop of talent under contract to the company, Jakks is not even scratching the surface of what they could do with the license. This company knows how to utilize it as they showed for nearly fifteen years with WWE. They can't let us down now.

What would you like to see these companies do with the WWE and TNA licenses? I know that you all have ideas and I'm sure that Jakks and Mattel would love feedback from the most intelligent wrestling collectors on the planet. Feel free to share your thoughts either here or on our Facebook Fanpage and I will pass them along! You, the consumer, should be their most important decision maker.