Wrestling MarketWatch: Back To The ‘80s!

I remember my early days of going to toy shows. You know, that great time before every single event labeled itself a “con.” When you could pull a loose “black card” LJN from a 75 cent box. The good old days, as it were. Anyway, I’d often see the same guy in those peaceful morning shopping moments. Physically he wasn’t always the same person, though sometimes he was. It was more of his style, if you can call it that. It was men in their 60s or 70s. Always hunting items from old sci-fi entities like “Forbidden Planet” and discussing the nuances of “Robbie the Robot.” Loudly, for everyone to hear. Always slicked back silver hair, drenched in a half bottle of Aqua Velva and, sadly, just the picture of loneliness from top to bottom. I didn’t pity these men. I guess, in my mind, I sort of applauded them for putting themselves out there and thinking nothing of it. Those types don’t show up much anymore. They’re either, sadly, gone, or are just no longer interested. Have us fans of ‘80s entertainment and pop culture replaced them? In a sense, I guess. But I’m not lonely, I don’t use Aqua Velva and I cannot stand hair product. I guess I have those three things going for me.

In any case, this blog is certainly a place where we celebrate those who love the past, so this time in MarketWatch we’re goin’ “Back to the ‘80s!” It’s been a year since we last tackled the topic in MarketWatch and we’ll even check in on an item that we looked at back then, too. Did the price go up? Did the price go down? My lips are sealed. Well, until we look at that item, that is. As always, prices listed are for non-autographed examples unless noted.

*You might say that the ‘80s were beyond the heyday of Bob Roop, but he was still tearing up rings in Florida and Kentucky among other places. Long known for his legitimate wrestling skills (find the film of him “stretching” wrestling hopefuls under the watch of Eddie Graham), Roop is an excellent story teller as well if you engage him on social media or have the chance to meet him at an event. He’s particularly proud of his tours of Japan and has quite the memory of his career. He was included in one of the coveted Wrestling All-Stars trading card sets that have gotten a lot of attention over the past decade. His card has been recently selling at auction for an average of $40.

*One man who definitely had his best moments in the 1980s, despite starting the decade prior, was Don Muraco. The Magnificent One was a headliner virtually everywhere he went and owes his immortality to being a memorable face during the early WWF “expansion” years. While he ended his WWF career as a babyface in late 1988, Muraco was a pure heel. His antics with Mr. Fuji are the stuff of legend but I still think that eating a sandwich while demolishing a hapless enhancement talent sums up Magnificent Muraco just perfectly. He didn’t have too many magazine covers, oddly enough, but the May 1983 issue of Sports Review Wrestling, featuring Muraco with the classic WWF Intercontinental Belt, has long been considered a favorite by many. The issue recently sold for the very attractive price of just $12.

*Back in the ‘80s you had VHS, BETA and Laserdisc to preserve wrestling viewing for the future. Amazingly, the lesser of the three as far as quality, VHS, ultimately won out and would reign supreme until the late ‘90s. In the past nearly fifteen years of this blog we’ve talked about the Coliseum Video WWF Laserdisc collection a few times. There are only four titles and it’s a really fun set to have. The large covers/sleeves offer that same feel that records do. It’s why digital media will never truly replace physical for a lot of people. It’s sort of interesting that, when the autograph business (and if you don’t think it’s a business, check out the prices) is at a record high, some of the best items to be signed are on the downturn as far as being produced – that, again, being physical media. You can’t get the movie star to sign a digital copy of their latest film. Regardless, we have all the classic stuff and that’s what we’re celebrating here. The Laserdisc of the first WrestleMania recently sold for $75.

*One man who was a star in the ‘80s, but also the ‘70s and every decade since is Jerry “The King” Lawler. Whether it be as the absolute King of Memphis Wrestling, the cowardly heel wrestling/announcer in the WWF or as one of the most recognizable true legends of wrestling, The King reigns supreme no matter what he does. He even released music as you’ve no doubt seen on this very blog before. He likes to joke that his albums weren’t released, they escaped, but we know that The King has the talent for anything that he does. Though there was some sort of reprinting of his albums in recent years, nothing beats the originals. A copy of Jerry Lawler & The Nunnery Brothers Band recently sold for $40. Memphis music never sounded better. Well…

*Ah yes, the item we looked at one year ago! Who was bigger than The Hulk and The Hillbilly? Hillbilly Jim gets a lot of meaningless criticism from those who don’t realize that wrestling is a show. There’s a reason why he’s so remembered. He’s a mountain of a man, had a great character and a load of charisma. Don’t tell me “oh, but Jim Crockett wouldn’t have had him.” No, they had Hepatitis-plagued Boogie Woogie Man and crowds of 1,000 while Hillbilly Jim was “stinking up the joint” to electric audiences of 20,000. You know I’m kidding. You all know that I love JCP as much as anyone else. I’m just pointing out how silly it is to say one was better than the other. Anyway, I’m feeling as if the prices that surged in 2020 on most collectibles are finally coming down. They have to…who has any money? One year ago the LJN WWF Wrestling Superstars Hulk and Hillbilly tag set sold for $600. It’s now averaging half of that at $300.

And there you have another trip back to the ‘80s and maybe even a little social and wrestling commentary thrown in. Are us ‘80s fans REALLY replacing the previous nostalgia hunters? Eh. I think that some of us know how to keep it on a better level. Even still, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to be like them after all. What were they doing? Being themselves. If we had more people who weren’t afraid to be themselves perhaps the world would look a bit less clownish that it currently does. There you go. Some food for thought and reflection, as well.

Who says that you don’t get it all in the wrestling memorabilia blog?

From The Musty Yellowed Pages--UWF Beach Brawl 1991 Program

Maybe Herbie did have a use for all of that baby oil three decades ago. No, it wasn't another late night at the office. It was UWF Beach Brawl! We've all heard the stories of Herb Abrams and his ill-fated venture into the sport of kings. He didn't want to just be competition for the World Wrestling Federation, he wanted to be bigger than the Stamford-based company had ever been! TV shows! Pay-per-view! Andre the Giant! Cookies! While some of that did actually happen (do we have evidence that any cookies were ever produced/sold?), three decades later we know the ultimate fate of the man and the company. But one tangible product still exists and today we're looking at it: the UWF Beach Brawl 1991 program!

While there are hats, video tapes and a few other programs floating around (does ANYONE have evidence of those damned cookies?), the Beach Brawl program is my favorite bit of Herbie's UWF memorabilia that is out there. It isn't so much what it looks like, though it does boast a colorful cover and plenty of photos inside. It isn't even that I am an avid collector of programs like many of you reading this. I never sought it out. I believe I picked it up relatively cheap in the last decade. What's really been a blast about owning this thing are the reactions that it gets from the wrestlers signing it.

"I didn't even show up," recalled Don "Magnificent" Muraco as he became the first to sign it. He was correct, he did not show up for his match with Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy, but he is featured in the publication. The infamous Johnny Ace ended up subbing for The Magnificent One. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell got a great chuckle when recalling working for Herb Abrams as "Masked Confusion" as opposed to their WWF "Killer Bees" personas. Even Mick Foley, the most recent to sign it, marveled at it and recalled Muraco not actually working the event.

The program itself isn't too remarkable and certainly nothing compared to what the WWF was doing with programs or even WCW when they would manage to squeak one out. It certainly isn't cheaply made like a mimeographed independent show program of the era, but color on the inside definitely could've made it stand out a bit more.

Despite not winning on this particular show, Candi Devine still has the UWF Women's Championship belt in her possession and gladly brings it to autograph signings and appearances. The still-popular Rockin' Robin was the winner here and has her original WWF Women's Championship. Where's the fanfest promoter who will book these two ladies with Alundra "Madusa" Blayze (who, of course, still has the 1993-1995 WWF Women's Championship) and brings them all together for a special photo op? 

Speaking of things for wrestling fans to spend money on, Herb of course loaded the program with opportunities to order UWF apparel and other merchandise. Again, we know that hats and videotapes exist. The "Bruno book" offered would be the first printing of his autobiography that was released around that time. It is interesting to think that a man who built himself on honesty such as Bruno Sammartino would be taken in by a guy like Herb. It's my feeling that Bruno was so anxious to stick it to the WWF at that point that he was willing to go with whoever was trying to create opposition.

Speaking of Herb, one of the last pages in the book is fully dedicated to him and offers a bio that he most-assuredly penned himself. Perhaps the one truism on the page is the feeling that Bruno and Captain Lou Albano being part of the UWF lent credibility. While the promotion ultimately ended up with zero credibility to speak of, it is reasonable to think that some at the time may have thought that the inclusion of such names would in fact mean that there was promise in the company and that would attract both sponsors and fans. 

There's really little joy in rewatching anything that was produced by the company. It isn't like a WWF or WCW show from the era where nostalgia hits you at every corner. You can tell by the performances that much of the talent was there for a payday and nothing more. Still, others worked hard and tried to make something of it. I'll leave it to you to decide which names fall under which category. It is worth seeking out at least some of the footage for the sake of history, especially if you watched the Herb Abrams documentary produced awhile back. It's also interesting to see Andre the Giant in his brief appearance. I'm sure he just wanted to hang out with his old friends.

If anything it can serve as a warning. You don't want to end up like Herb Abrams. He tried to warn you right in this very program...

The Saga of Scott Schwartz & The LJN Don Muraco

It's happened to most autograph collectors at least once.  Every so often you get an autograph that just doesn't come out quite right.  You don't get mad about it.  It becomes a "happy accident."  It's another story, another experience, another conversation piece.

At a recent signing I had the iconic Magnificent Don Muraco LJN WWF figure to be autographed.  The man who was known as "The Rock," long before Dwayne Johnson came along, is a very nice guy.  For whatever reason, Mr. Muraco decided to sign the figure on the plastic bubble in blue Sharpie over the figure's black shirt.  I didn't stop him and it didn't bother me.  I have a lot of signatures from the legend and if I can see the autograph, that's what matters in the long run.

Fast forward a few hours to later the same day when my friends and I caught up with actor Scott Schwartz.  Everyone knows Scott from roles like Jackie Gleason's son in "The Toy" and as Flick ("Stick my tongue to that stupid pole?  That's dumb!") from "A Christmas Story."  What many fans do not know is that Scott was actually a part of the WWF in the mid-1980s.  From being part of the ring crew to playing Roddy Piper's "son" in an in-ring skit, Scott is full of great stories about the Rock 'n Wrestling era.

Scott attends these shows both as a fan and as a vendor with a table full of great shots from his film career.  He even has photos of his time with the WWF.  The first time that I met him at one of these shows, Scott had in his possession one of the aforementioned Don Muraco LJN figures to be signed.  I, myself, did not own a carded version of the figure at the time, but it was something on the back of the card that particularly intrigued me.  In the photo on the back of the card which shows Muraco entering the ring, Scott Schwartz himself is shown talking to a fellow WWF employee named Pat.  The photo was taken at the Capital Centre in Washington D.C. which as many fans know was a WWF hotbed at the time.

At this more recent show, I told Scott how much I enjoyed knowing this cool little factoid and that I had indeed brought my own Muraco LJN this time around.  Scott asked me to see it so that he could once again tell the story and even offered to autograph the back of the card.  It turns out that this was the first one that he had ever autographed and even marked it as such. 

Knowing little stories and trivia like this can make collecting all the more fun.  This one certainly made the somewhat disappointing Muraco signature all the better.  You may just run into Scott at a wrestling convention, celebrity autograph show, or even at his memorabilia store in California.  If you do, be sure to ask him about his wrestling days (I recommend the WrestleMania 2 story) and he may even sign your LJN Muraco.  Remember though, yours will not be the first!

To see more figures, autographs, and fun items like these, don't forget to "Like" our Facebook Fanpage!  We recently passed the amazing milestone of 1,000 "Likes" and trust me when I say that the best is yet to come!

From The Musty Yellowed Pages--Wrestling Revue, May 1972

Anyone who collects old wrestling publications knows that there's usually a plethora of gems in the pages of each issue.  Fun old articles, dated (and sometimes very politically incorrect) advertisements, spectacular photos, and a few surprises usually comprise just a single magazine.  These nuggets of interest compelled me to start doing "bonus" features at the end of unrelated entries that I like to call "From The Musty Yellowed Pages."

Met with a great response, it hit me that some of these issues could fill up an entire entry themselves.  Until about a decade ago, there were tons of different wrestling titles to choose from on the newsstand.  From those that treated the sport seriously to others that tried that either built upon or ignored kayfabe, they're all interesting and veritable time capsules of eras gone by.

I hope to present a wide variety of magazines and programs in entries such as this, but we will begin with a look back to forty years ago this month.  Wrestling Revue claimed right in the title on the cover that they were "The World's Largest Selling Wrestling Magazine."  This may very well have been true.  While the ubiquitous Weston magazines like Inside Wrestling and The Wrestler were going strong, Wrestling Revue was widely known for worldwide wrestling coverage and excellent photography.  The magazine also seemed to steer clear from stories that created angles and instead tried to cover wrestling as an actual sport.

The May 1972 issue of Wrestling Revue features two Hall of Fame legends, Cowboy Bill Watts and the late Chief Jay Strongbow, right on the cover.  Wrestling Revue seemed to often alternate between action shots or portraits like these for their covers.

The editorial inside discusses an absence that many fans probably noted as soon as they opened the issue--wrestler rankings.  A staple of most wrestling magazines to this day, editor Norm Kietzer explains that rankings or ratings lists were simply inaccurate and making it worse was the matter of which titles deserved "World" status.  Many fans will remember when the latter became an issue regarding the WWF Championship in the Weston magazines of the 1980's.  Across from the editorial is a full-page ad for the DynaPower bodybuilding supplements that Verne Gagne endorsed for years, complete with an iconic shot of the champ himself.

Page 15 features an article covering British grappler Billy Robinson's arrival in the United States.  A great photo of Robinson with AWA announcer Marty O'Neill and "Miss Minnesota Universe" is prominently featured.  In those days it looks as if Robinson was as styling as he was dangerous.  As one of the true toughmen of the sport utilizing the infamous British style, Robinson to this day teaches that style as well as MMA to young students.The article goes on to note that Robinson had a variety of tag team partners in the U.S. including Gagne and Wilbur Snyder.  Another is a very young and lean Don Muraco who appears remarkably different than he would a decade later in his NWA and WWF runs.

 

The next article features a blow-by-blow account of a match held in the world famous Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.  The match pitted Bull Ramos against Sicodelico who wore an awesome and somewhat psychadelic mask.  It should be noted that Sicodelico is the brother of Dos Caras and Mil Mascaras.  In the photos accompanying the article, the famous phone number R.I. 9-5171 appears in the background.  This was the phone number to the Olympic Auditorium's box office and was once one of the most famous phone numbers in the world.

The cover feature on Cowboy Bill Watts is quite extensive and again features some amazing photography.  It begins with a photo of Watts delivering his famous "Oklahoma Stampede" as well as one featuring Watts with fellow Oklahoma wrestling legends LeRoy McGuirk (father of former WWF ring announcer Mike McGuirk) and Danny Hodge.

Another name of note on the article is that of the author, Lil Al Vavasseur.  You'd be hard pressed to find a wrestling magazine of the era that didn't feature Vavasseur's name.  "Lil Al" was a well-known wrestling photographer of the day who created many of the most famous shots of wrestling's greatest legends.  To this day, Al's photography is circulated among collectors, still with the unique "Lil Al" name stamp in the corner.

Another place that "Lil Al" appears in not only this issue but most others of the time is in the "Fan Club Chatter" section.  Fan club's for wrestlers were all the rage at the time and you'll often be surprised as to the familiar names you will see listed as fan club presidents.  Mike Tenay, AWA/AWF Announcer Mick Karch, Ken "Lord Zoltan" Jugan, and PWI Editor Stu Saks are all listed in this issue back when they were just fans and before they went on to make their own names in the business.

Losing your hair?  Interested in girl wrestling pictures and movies?  Wrestling Revue has the answers for you!  These ads appeared in nearly every wrestling magazine of the day and are somewhat tame by standards of the day.  Other wrestling titles, sold to all ages, featured ads of much more risqué products that would have no chance of being sold to anyone under 18 today.  Even with ads like these for tamer fare, you'd probably have just as good of a chance of actually receiving these products today as you would've back then.  Caveat emptor, indeed!

One feature that I really enjoy each time that I pick up one of these old magazines is a section called "Fans' Candid Corner."  This section showcases shots taken by fans from all over the world and provides a fans-eye-view of the wrestling territories.  In this issue not only do we get to see a great shot of a pre-Mr. Wrestling II Johnny Walker, but also a bloodied Bobby Heenan being led to the back by police.  The latter photo fully illustrates a scene that we've heard described by so many stars from the era either in interviews or books: the hated heel relying on the local law enforcement to get them safely out of the arena before the angered fans are able to unleash their rage.  If this photo doesn't make you sit back and realize how great the territorial wrestling days were, nothing will!

While it would be great if more footage from these days existed, it's comforting to know that we have so many publications like this so that the era will never truly be gone.  The truth is that many of these magazines can still be purchased for under $10 per issue.  Remarkable bargains for the amount of treasures that are hidden in each one.  To see many more great wrestling magazines from the 1950's to now, be sure to "Like" our Facebook page which can be found here.