Heads, Belts...And More Pancakes!

As I revealed a few months back, I went on a kick of pre-ordering the Elite sets. It just feels easier than searching the stores anymore. If you're pre-ordering from Ringside, it's a lot faster, too. I believe I have one more set pre-ordered as of press time and then a smattering after that. If you know me, my reasons for pre-ordering Elite 79 may be a bit baffling to you. There isn't a Legend or "Flashback" to be had and there are a few names who've had countless re-releases. There are, however, two who should be relatively difficult to find in stores and some quality re-releases. Plus, wallet permitting, who isn't spending to keep happy and sane these days? Well, I'm certainly not rich but I do like sanity and fun, so here we are.

In this lineup we've got Io Shirai, Bobby Fish, Big E, Xavier Woods, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns. Elite 79 brings us exactly one "First Time In The Line" figure and another who really hasn't seen a wide release. I'm also a big fan of what I deem "definitive" or "ultimate" versions of a star. No, not the overpriced "Ultimate" line which has seen some nice releases, but rather a regular released figure that usually includes some sort of accessories or maybe even just decor that gives you the feeling that you don't need another release of this star. I'd say that we get three of those here, as well.

The packaging is your standard release for this year and probably into next. I'm still not crazy about it and I still preferred the previous boxes, but it is what it is. I have bought very few extras to keep carded lately for a few reasons, but this is assuredly one of them. One plus point is that there are very few "signs" cluttering up the window. The "True FX" logo has been moved to the top cardboard. Another plus is that most of the figures fit the packaging well, so there isn't much "floating." We've still got the issue of all the heads and hands scattered about which is a double-edged sword. I love the inclusion of these and completely understand why they're boldly on display, but it's definitely one of the factors as to why I have little desire to keep any of these in the package.

Kicking it off, the latest version of The New Day is complete. Yes it is. Joining the Kofi Kingston from Elite 78 brings us Big E and Xavier Woods, the latter of which easily sees his "definitive" release here. Woods comes with Francesca II as well as his "UpUpDownDown" championship belt and alternate head. The latter, after some research, appears to have been inspired by a promo at SummerSlam 2019. His sunglasses and hair are meant to resemble Stevie Wonder and they indeed do. The belt, from his popular YouTube show of the same name, is made of molded rubber similar to the Mattel Hardcore Championship, but looks very nice nonetheless. Big E is lacking wrist tape (did he stop wearing it at some point?) but has a welcomed new expression and another plate of pancakes. Combined with Kofi the trio does look great. I think I'm finally done with the boys in figure form, but I've said that multiple times.

I remember when Daniel Bryan having an action figure was a true novelty. If you're a longtime reader you'll remember it, too, as I recall reviewing it a decade ago. Here we are again in what I also feel could be a "definitive" figure. This is one that, had I not ordered the set, I probably wouldn't have picked up right away until I learned of how cool it really is. Not only does it come with two distinctively different hairstyles for the popular former indy darling, but something about the inclusion of the "grappling" hands really puts it over the top for me. The "shaggy haired" head is also another example of how scary good this True FX stuff is. As I do with the Survivor Series Jeff Hardy released last year, I feel as if I'm looking at a real human face here instead of just an action figure.

Bobby Fish is one that will be heavily hunted and fly off of the shelves. He's in a popular faction in a popular brand and was yet another indy darling, albeit to a lesser degree than D-Bry. While it isn't a "First Time In The Line," the only previous way to get a Mattel figure of him was in the Undisputed Era boxed set along with Adam Cole (not going to do it...) and Kyle O'Reilly. O'Reilly is coming back with a matching figure in Elite 80 and will include the second half of the new NXT Tag Team Championships that is started here with Fish. Of the "new" NXT championship designs, the tag team belts are the only ones that I prefer over the old ones. These figure-sized versions look great, but the strap itself is a bit too big for the figure and "hangs" a bit at its tightest. As for Fish himself, I think I do prefer the first release, but we'll see when O'Reilly hits my hands and this blog.

Roman Reigns has recently stated that he's going to start wrestling with his shirt off. As with most figures of the Samoan superstar, this is already possible. This figure is no exception, but what I most appreciate is the inclusion of the "smiling" head with pulled back hair. I believe that this is the first time that this head has been used for an Elite figure. It also includes the "Hang Loose" hand sculpt which we've already seen with Samoa Joe and Matt Riddle. For some reason I'm a sucker for it. Look out, Instagram, for a grouping of those three figures on my account.

Rounding out the group we have the figure that will be the most popular of the bunch, Io Shirai. The Japanese star joins Asuka and Kairi Sane in Mattel's WWE group of joshi. She comes with an amazing soft goods jacket complete with "furry" hood and some alternate hands. I'm not big on the alternate hands with the female figures as for whatever reason they feel as if they could break easily, but I'm not saying to get rid of them, either. The figure is insanely short in stature which is true to life yet still a bit jarring when compared to others. That's how "wrestling figure wave budgets" are made and how lineups are decided: for big figure like Roman you sneak in a shorter star like Io.

This is the happiest you'll ever see me with a wave of nearly all re-releases and current stars, but I am. I cannot see myself ever needing another Bryan, Reigns, or Fish. It's questionable that Shirai will ever get another figure, but I'm not sure that I would need it, either. You simply cannot say "never" with The New Day with their variety of looks, but I wouldn't wait on Woods if you're interested in the belt or "Stevie Wonder" head. Another word of caution is that this set will likely be hitting stores just as the Christmas buying season begins. Between that and everything under the sun being wonky this year, I'd either pre-order this bunch or grab them the minute you see them.

Oh yeah. Right. This is Mattel. You have to do either no matter what time of year...

Retro Continues To Be Nowtro: Part II

Picking up where we left off last week, we look at four more new Mattel WWE Retro action figures. As promised, we're also going to dive into some issues that I have with this line as well as some of the others under the Mattel WWE umbrella. That isn't to say that the company has stopped cranking out some amazing product. Quite the contrary with a seeming continuation of these Retro figures as well as the regular sized products. How we're expected to be getting these figures into our collections is the problem.

Again in this series we have three new characters and a repaint. Included are Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sting. As with last week, the latter is a re-release although this one is striking. We have Sting in his red and black nWo Wolfpac attire. Aside from the obvious economics, I question why classic WCW "surfer" Sting wasn't done in this style. Needless to say, a long-haired "Crow" era Sting Retro figure was already produced, so this is the far easier repaint for Mattel to release. The red and black look admittedly grew on me with the "Elite" figure released in this attire by Mattel several years ago. The style is still striking here with the deep red.

Also repeated are the same issues here with the packaging as last week. The stands aren't too bad with Nakamura's actually looking fairly cool, but I still don't see the use for them. The figures don't benefit much from them and they eliminate an important part of the retro packaging. I'd rather see an accessory included with one or two figure per wave. The photo choices for the packaging are very Hasbro-esque, as well. Mattel does do their homework when it comes to detail like this, but sadly other issues creep up and subsequently the figure line suffers.

Wyatt, Bryan, and Nakamura are all hindered greatly in the facial likenesses. These do not look like Hasbro product at all. Those facial likenesses were cartoony, somewhat exaggerated, yet ultimately left you recognizing who the figure represented. These three look like bad customs with regular Mattel figure heads plopped onto Hasbro style bodies. If you want to see the correct style, take a look at Brock Lesnar from back in the first wave. You could tell it was "The Beast," yet it retained enough of the Hasbro look to fit right in.

The "Real Wrestling Action" continues with another "jolt" move for Wyatt, another "Jannetty" move for Bryan, another new kick for Nakamura, and the "jumping" mechanism for the repainted Sting. I would have liked Bryan to have been given a different mechanism, though I honestly don't know which I would have chosen. Nakamura's arms seem too big for him and would probably match up with those of The Warlord from the Hasbro run. This obviously should not be the case considering the varying physiques of those two men.

The true problem here is distribution. These figures have been out for months, yet these two series reviewed here in the past two weeks as well as a third haven't seen store shelves much at all. If a company doesn't make its product available, how do they expect the lines to continue? Further souring me in the Mattel WWE universe are upcoming Elite releases that will be "chase" figures. This would be fine if it were a special umpteenth release of John Cena or Roman Reigns, but instead these are brand new characters. I'm sure that I will touch upon this again in the future, but it doesn't please me in the slightest. Collecting should be a joy, not more work. Everyone should have equal access to any figure produced without turning a hobby into a chore. Keep in mind, this is a collector of over three decades saying this.

The Retro line is coming along nicely, though the concerns are clear and not limited to my voice on this blog. I wouldn't want to see bad distribution of future Retro figures like Kurt Angle and The Iron Sheik, neither of whom seem to suffer from the "custom head syndrome" mentioned above. It's a proven fact, poor distribution and choices have killed action figure lines dead in their tracks. Let's not see the last shining beacon in modern day wrestling memorabilia go down. Examples like Ric Flair from last week have what it takes to be the best figure release of the year. It would be a shame to see a blast from the past that appeals to all ages end with an unheard whimper.

Solving A Pre-Packaged Mystery

Buying a "mystery" is a big part of modern day collecting. Blind bag/box items are huge. In case you're late to the party, this is when you're trying to "Collect 'Em All," but instead of choosing which style you want at the store, you're purchasing a completely sealed box or bag with the contents inside sight unseen. Trading cards have always been this way, but how about a box of cards actually labeled as a "Wrestling Mystery Box?"

To be fair, a box full of resold wrestling trading card packs isn't exactly new, either. Various incarnations have popped up at retailers, most notably Wal Mart and Target, over the years with varying results. From my own experience, usually you're left feeling rather ripped off if you made the purchase yourself. This time, despite really scaling down my trading card purchasing aside from the WWE Heritage hobby boxes, I thought the plunge may be worth it.

Here we have the "Wrestling Mystery Box." It's sold by MJ Holdings (formerly Beckett) and retails for $20. I picked up my box at Wal Mart, although it would not be unheard of for these to show up at Target as well. The box advertises five factory sealed fat packs and four factory sealed regular packs per box. The former, also known as jumbo packs, usually retail for around $5 each. That right there brings you over the $20 price point. The other four packs seem to be remainder from blaster boxes and don't look to have a chance to include any "hits." The box DOES, however, advertise that 1:4 boxes will have hits seeded. Sounds good to me.

Upon opening the box, a "hit" is staring right at me. It's a Santino Marella WrestleMania mat relic from the 2012 Heritage set. While mat relics usually aren't too exciting to me, this one pleased me as the 2012 Heritage set has always been a personal favorite. In addition to this and the nine advertised packs, yet another silver pack, seemingly from a Then, Now, Forever blaster box, was also included. This promised one relic card and a Daniel Bryan tribute card. This relic ended up being a Sasha Banks shirt relic. Not my favorite individual in the business, but a hit is a hit.

Ultimately there were packs from Road to WrestleMania 2017 and 2018, Then, Now, Forever, Heritage 2017, and WWE 2017. A nice and rather current variety. Seeing as that I had approximately zero cards from at least one of these sets, many were brand new to me. Even with the Heritage cards, which are my yearly favorite sets, I rarely buy much beyond my traditional hobby box. Although I'd like to complete the sets, I simply don't have the time, patience, or will to do it anymore. Here I pulled some great subset cards that I previously did not have, as well as many with signing potential.

Am I glad that I took the risk? Absolutely. No one is trying to pull one over on anyone here. The jumbo packs make the price point worth it alone, and I pulled two relics when you're truly not even guaranteed one. Would I give it another try? I do believe that I might. It was fun and interesting to see exactly what I would pull as it's even more of a mystery than a hobby box. These also make great gifts. Hint, hint. Why not surprise your favorite blogger today?

WWE Eraseez Are Here To Build...& Erase!

When a new WWE licensed product hits stores, I will usually always take a look. You never know when some company will come up with an item that just begs to be added to the collection. When the item is fully enclosed in the packaging to the point where the consumer isn't fully sure what they're getting, my interest is piqued. When something is "blind bagged" (the industry term), it usually means that there is a collectibility aspect to the product. The manufacturer wants you to buy more and more packages until you "collect them all." Or until you get so many of the same ones that you give up.

Such was the case in a recent jaunt through Target. Near the trading card section was a peghook full of an interesting new bagged WWE product. The bag, illustrated with John Cena, The Big Show, and The Rock proclaimed that inside was a WWE Eraseez Collectible Puzzle Eraser. Nine different WWE Superstars were depicted on the back. The price, $3.99, seemed a bit steep for what appeared to be a disassembled eraser, but I had to see what these things looked like. Nowhere on the outer package is a description truly given.

Upon opening the bag, I pulled out a fold-out brochure depicting all nine wrestlers. Next out was a clear plastic baggie containing the pieces of everyone's favorite "Yes" man, Daniel Bryan. But wait, there was more to come. The final "lump" in the baggie was the disassembled body of "The Viper," Randy Orton. Now it made sense! Two of these eraser figures for $4. Not a bad deal in today's market.

Apparently I'm late to the party, but a quick Google search reveals that Eraseez puzzle erasers from Bulls-i-toy (sound it out) are made for licenses ranging from Angry Birds to My Little Pony. It's not shocking that WWE got in on such a collectible during a prime era for kids to be watching. Nonetheless, the kid in me was thrilled as soon as I caught a glimpse of these figures and realized, once again, that it was essentially a "Two For $4" type deal in each package.

The erasers are easy to assemble. The parts pop on fairly easily, although I don't think that I would take them apart very often. After all, these are made of eraser rubber. The likenesses themselves are realistic, but have just a tad of a cartoonish quality to them. Although the scale isn't quite the same, they remind me very much of the figures from the sorely-missed Mattel WWE Rumblers line.

Nine WWE Superstars can be "discovered" in the packages including Bryan, Orton, The Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Ryback, Sheamus, The Miz, and The Rock. With two per package, collectors are ideally going to end up with one duplicate when trying to complete the set, but likely will see far more. Surprisingly enough, eBay has not yet been inundated with buyers attempting to sell off their seconds. Either the product is too new or has been largely confined to childrens interests.

Longtime collectors may be reminded of a similar line of wrestling eraser figures from three decades ago. In 1985, Winston Toys produced a line of eraser figures from the Hulk Hogan's Rock N Wrestling cartoon show. This was essentially the only figure line to come from the show, likely due to the WWF's deal for regular figures with LJN. Interestingly enough, the erasers were a blend of designs from the cartoon itself and "shrunken," slightly modified versions of the larger, LJN counterparts. The erasers of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Junkyard Dog, and Wendi Richter have become holy grails.

Will the WWE Eraseez reach that level of collectibility? Most likely not, but you never know. Should sales prove to be poor and the line ends up fading into obscurity, collectors may be paying big bucks for that elusive "unscuffed" Daniel Bryan eraser somewhere down the line. If not, it's no biggie. We have a line of nine WWE Superstars Eraseez to add to the ever-growing lineup of figural wrestlers. No matter the size or intended use, they're fun pieces of wrestling memorabilia, through and through.

WrestleMania XXIX: The Figures

 If you're a fan of Mattel's WWE product or even just slightly interested, the next two months here on the blog will be a real treat for you.  A surge of items are already hitting shelves, many of which just happen to find their release during the holiday shopping season.  The figures here today are, for the most part, being released in conjunction with the hysteria.  Although Mattel releases exclusive WWE items for several retailers, Toys "R" Us often has the most interesting of the bunch.

Though I never intended to get them all, I've become quite a fan of Mattel's Build-A-Figure collections.  Always exclusive to Toys "R" Us, so far we have seen Michael Cole, Ricardo Rodriguez, John Laurinaitis, and Teddy Long released in this manner.  The concept is simple: a set of four figures is released each containing portions of a fifth figure.  When all four figures are opened, you are able to build the fifth.  The fifth figures have, so far, been stars who were non-wrestling personalities in the company.  These are usually characters that Mattel feels will not sell well on their own, although a Rodriguez single release figure is forthcoming.

This holiday season we are treated to two Build-A-Figure sets released simultaneously.  Both sets are completely made up of superstars in the attires that they wore at WrestleMania XXIX.  Booker T, dressed as either GM or Hall of Famer (take your pick) is included in a series of Basic figures while Paul Heyman is in an Elite collection.  The Elite figures are, as usual, at a higher price point and include more accessories.  Seeing as that these figures do include the Build-A-Figure pieces, they are priced higher than their normal Basic and Elite counterparts.  Thankfully, many Toys "R" Us stores received these figures as a "Buy 1 Get 1 40% Off" sale was occurring.  That, coupled with my well-documented love of WrestleMania XXIX, I couldn't find a reason to pass the sets up.

It should be said that many collectors are sometimes less than happy with the figures chosen to be in these sets.  Obviously a new character isn't going to be debuted among the four figures needed to build the fifth (Fandango would've been ideal here), as the selling point is already in the Build-A-Figure.  Personally, I refrain from buying any figure repaints (and sometimes even figures that Jakks produced en masse) so that when these sets are released I'm not totally disappointed in the lineups.

Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, The Rock, and The Undertaker are in the Basic set that builds Booker T.  I've always been a fan of figures wearing their countries colors, so this is actually a welcome Del Rio repaint.  There also have not been too many releases of The Undertaker with his mohawk.  His WrestleMania attire complete with "RIP PB" (Paul Bearer) design is a nice touch.  These figures do not include accessories other than the pieces of Booker.

Can you dig it?  Booker T is impressive.  He's accurately a taller figure and seems to have the same legs as the Laurinaitis figure.  Booker's glasses seem a bit "cloudy" in the lenses but are removable.  They fit nice and snug into his hair.  Perhaps the only thing missing is a hand in his trademark "Five Time" pose, but nonetheless this figure is ready to perform a Spinaroonie...perhaps next to the Hall of Fame podium that is included with the upcoming Bruno Sammartino figure.

The Paul Heyman set gets a few extra points because of the Elite accessories included.  Although it was previously included with an Elite figure of The Rock, this set features the new WWE Championship Belt with John Cena.  It's a very nice accessory and perfectly compliments the metallic-painted WWE Tag Team Championship Belts that are included with Daniel Bryan.  It's interesting that the "Heyman guys" of the set are both the best and the worst.  Punk is rather bland but does include a perfect replica of the urn.  Lesnar is the sleeper of all of these.  I'm not the biggest Lesnar fan and was originally disappointed that I would have to purchase another (a Basic Lesnar was in the Teddy Long Build-A-Figure set), but upon closer examination it became my favorite among these sets.  The amazingly detailed and lifelike figure includes Lesnar's skull cap and the steel ring steps that became almost the third star of his match against Triple H at WrestleMania.  These steps fit onto the various rings that Mattel has released and even have the side "handles" used by the stars in brawls.

Heyman scores a few less points with me than Booker, but not too much.  It's a great figure of the "Walrus" complete with "mad scientist" scowl and ever-receding hairline.  A microphone would've been a fun accessory considering that the figures hand could hold one and it's the item that allows him to be one of the main reasons to watch Monday Night Raw.  In the spirit of WrestleMania, the urn can be positioned in Heyman's arms.  It should be noted that, like Rodriguez, Heyman will also be released outside of the Build-A-Figure series in the future.

There's also what could be described as an "unofficial official" bonus figure to this set.  Many who purchased these series were treated to the Toys "R" Us holiday exclusive Elite Triple H figure for free.  Though it can be purchased separately, this figure is free to consumers who spent over $30 on Mattel WWE items.  Seeing as that the figure is also based upon WrestleMania XXIX, it fits right in with the ten other figures shown here.  It is one of the very first figures of Helmsley to feature his new shorter hair style, and includes a cloth t-shirt and the same sturdy sledgehammer that was packaged with last year's exclusive of The Undertaker.  Jakks was never able to produce a proper looking sledge hammer thanks to the company using very bendable plastic on the accessory.  Mattel gets it right, and it looks perfect when placed into the hands of "The Game."

The Build-A-Figure collection continues to grow.  Although I'm not particularly happy that Rodriguez and Heyman will now be placed into regular lines, I doubt that we'll ever see Cole, Long, and Laurinaitis redone.  Recent announcements from Mattel suggest that we will be seeing Build-A-Figures of both Paul Bearer and Jim Ross.  Both will be welcome additions to the lineup.  My beloved WrestleMania XXIX will also live on in 2014, as my most long-awaited figure of the year, Zeb Colter, will be released under that banner in an upcoming WrestleMania Heritage series.  Welcome to a "Very Mattel Holiday Season!"

The Road To WrestleMania XXIX Begins...Here!

The Royal Rumble?  That's a few weeks away!  With all of the 'Mania match and Hall of Fame speculation, advanced ticket sales, and general scuttlebutt (especially here in the northeast), The Road to WrestleMania begins here and now! 

Although WrestleMania has had a large share of celebrities, glitz, and glamour since its inception in 1985, the prime importance should always be the matches.  It is said that many of those matches are still decided upon well in advance of the event.  Such planning goes a long way in building the anticipation and the stories themselves.  This year, WWE has several intriguing superstars and situations to position for "the grandaddy of 'em all."

Off the top, the one that interests me the least is the inclusion of The Rock.  Although I was an "early adopter" of Rocky fandom dating back to his Nation of Domination days, placing him at the center of attention isn't where I would go.  Needless to say, I'm likely in the minority on this one.  Many are looking forward to seeing just where Dwayne Johnson takes The Rock from upcoming episodes of Raw, to the Rumble, and further into the big event.  Will CM Punk's long standing WWE Championship reign come to an end thanks to the part-time wrestler, full-time actor?  Will John Cena get his win back?  Or how about that other guy?  The one that has about one match a year?  The Undertaker.  How would "The Streak" fare against "The Great One?"

If we have to witness another 'Mania with The Rock, my choice would be a one-night-only return from a retired superstar in a match that, due to personal politics, never occurred.  It is said that Shawn Michaels and The Rock have cleared up their differences, making it the perfect time, and the perfect event, to have a never-before-seen blockbuster.

My gut feeling is that a non-wrestler will actually have the biggest impact in the coming months.  Not only is the site of Mania, the NYC/NJ area, his home, but he is involved with several major players.  The man?  Paul Heyman.  Between his current involvement with Punk, unanswered questions regarding Brock Lesnar, and any number of possibilities with The Shield, it's anyone's guess as to who will be in a "dangerous" alliance with Heyman come WrestleMania.

Speculation is not only key regarding "Super Sunday," but the night before as well.  It's once again time for the often-controversial WWE Hall of Fame induction announcements.  Being held this year at the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden, "who's in?" is being discussed and debated on a seemingly hourly basis among fans.  I've never bought into the "controversy" regarding the Hall of Fame.  It is an entertaining night to honor talent from the past and give many of them one last time to shine. 

It would be the fitting that the man many feel that the Hall of Fame is incomplete without, Bruno Sammartino, be inducted at MSG.  Sammartino has wanted nothing to do with the company for two decades for various reasons.  It has been said that Triple H has been in touch with Sammartino regarding an induction, although my feeling is that The Living Legend should be inducted regardless of his involvement.  Being the fan that I am of Mr. Sammartino, he just simply needs to be in.

A heavily rumored name that is very much in the realm of possibility is Mick Foley.  The man who brought Cactus Jack, Dude Love, and Mankind to the wrestling world is deserving and also has his own ties to MSG and the NYC area, himself being a native.  Being back in the WWE's good graces doesn't hurt the cause, either.

Some choices that I would like to see?  Bob Backlund is said to have previously declined feeling that his career is not yet over.  The Fabulous Freebirds should have been in long before Michael Hayes was the sole original Freebird left to accept.  Demolition was rumored last year and it would be refreshing to see Mr. Eadie and Mr. Darsow appear under the WWE banner.  Leilani Kai would be a welcome addition not only being a former holder of both the singles and tag team women's titles but also an alumni of WrestleMania I and X held at MSG.

And yes...we cannot forget the controversial "Celebrity Wing."  Last year, a celebrity who had perhaps the biggest impact on the growth of the WWF/WWE made her first appearance in a wrestling ring in over twenty-five years.  That lady is Cyndi Lauper.  Her contributions to the company have been long overlooked.  Being a hometown girl in the arena she appeared with WWF the most in, it's a no-brainer.

I often look down upon the current scene both privately and publicly, but I'd be a liar if I said that I wasn't excited for the next few months.  I have a feeling that many memories will be made surrounding WrestleMania, and I don't see how next year's 30th year of the event will be able to top the excitement of XXIX.  I think we all need to show the world that the northeast is the home of WrestleMania.  Can we do it...?

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?