Move Over "Bullseye," There's A New Dog At Target!

The two earliest wrestling names that I recall uttering (thanks to the magic of '80s Memorex cassette tapes) are King Kong Bundy and The Junkyard Dog. I still remember my family purchasing the LJN Stretch Wrestler JYD for a relative for Christmas 1987. As my mother was wrapping it, I asked if we could slide him out (the boxes were not taped) so that I could pull the chain. Pull it, I did! Knowing that relative, that figure is probably long gone (sadly even the Bundy and Hogan that I owned are, too) but Target is giving us all another chance to yank that silver chain and grab them cakes, too.

Target's exclusive WWE Legends Series 12 is another wave that's causing both excitement and frustration for collectors all over. I won't go into the distribution issues this time. I've done enough of that this year already. Plus, I have to say that I was personally pleasantly surprised as far as the chase figure in the wave goes. The lineup consists of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Kevin Nash, Billy Gunn and our man of the hour, The Junkyard Dog. The JYD also happens to be the chase figure for this set, with the version in blue tights said to be the chase as opposed to the more common red.

This is actually the first time that JYD has seen a figure release in blue. Both LJN and Jakks produced him in red while Jakks and Mattel have given us The Dog in his white design which is probably his most famous style. The blue is actually one of his lesser-used looks, so if we must have a chase it's the best version to set as such.

The pre-orders for the set were manic as usual. Those of us lucky enough to have folks in their lives with separate Target accounts can try for two, as the figures are limited to one per person. I would never try for more than two, I simply want a fair shot at receiving both versions. With this figure, as well as Brutus Beefcake in a previous series, I lucked out and did in fact receive one of each. For Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase and Greg Valentine I had to resort to reasonable secondary deals while the Jake "The Snake" Roberts chase seemed to be as abundant in stores as the regular version was. Once released the figures do occasionally pop-up with Target online giving another opportunity for the chase. If that doesn't work out for me it gives me a chance to hook friends up with the basic versions as generally even those are hit or miss in stores. It's a silver lining on the black cloud of poor distribution.

With this version of JYD we get his classic collar and chain as well as King Harley Race's crown. Initially I thought that the former accessory was longer than the one from the first JYD Mattel release from years ago. It isn't, though the links used are different. To me, the latter accessory just serves to anger collectors a bit. For one thing the company already re-used it with the RetroFest King Duggan figure. After all, it was his crown, too. However with the confirmation that Race is no longer signed for further figures to be made coupled with the frustrations and anger over the controversial release of his sole entry in the line, I don't think that we really need to revisit his accessories. Yes, JYD famously "stole" and put the crown on at WrestleMania III, but a much better accessory would've been a re-creation of that classic baby blue JYD t-shirt. Not to split hairs, but he was also wearing the white tights at Mania when he put the crown on. Well, at least it fits the figure snugly.

The only brand new part of the figure is the head. I'm not sure that it's better than the initial Mattel release, but it does have a totally different facial expression. It may have been fun to have bushier hair with this one. If they want to revisit JYD again down the line, it might not be a bad idea to re-release the white tights version with a thicker body. The Dog infamously bulked up as his years in the World Wrestling Federation moved along. Honestly, the legs could be a tad thicker too, though that's a common complaint with many figures in the Mattel line. 

Looking back on how big of a star The Junkyard Dog was and of course associating that with how much money he drew, in my opinion he would be the perfect candidate for a figure in the "Ultimate Edition" line. With Target having an upcoming separate line of Ultimate Edition Legends, why not add The Dog? Include the aforementioned shirt, a stockier body and multiple heads representing his various hairstyles. It would fly off of the shelves just like this figure is going to.

That being said, this is of course another one that you should grab immediately should you desire it. It isn't a Figure of the Year candidate, but it's damned cool. Both versions are a ton of fun and since there's never been a blue tights version released before, the chase is worth going out of your way for. As usual around this time of year, the figure reviews here on the blog will be coming in just a bit faster, including one reviewing a certain FOTY candidate, so keep an eye on all of the socials. You can also check out a shot of all three Mattel Elite JYD's on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, so follow the blog everywhere while you're at it!

And yes, I pulled both chains.

Book About JYD Missing One Thing....JYD

 I've come to find that the best books on the topic of pro wrestling are those written by the talent themselves or at least with their involvement.  Some of the stories may be stretched and facts a bit muddled by the passage of time, but that's part of wrestling's charm.  Sadly, many of wrestling's most colorful personalities and stories are forever lost to that same concept of time.  Occasionally an author will come along and be able to salvage some of these lost treasures.  That is exactly what I was hoping for when I opened up "The King of New Orleans" by Greg Klein.

The basis of the life of the late Sylvester Ritter is already known by many fans.  Ritter was, for all intents and purposes, your average territorial wrestler.  Once he was given the gimmick of "The Junkyard Dog," he became an undeniable superstar.  With average wrestling skills but an unreal amount of charisma and an amazing ability to connect with fans, JYD took Mid-South Wrestling, and later the WWF, by storm.

As has been the case with success in countless walks of life, the downward spiral came for Ritter just as fast as did the ascension to the top.  Drug abuse and other factors that come packaged with fame and the fast life took the Junkyard Dog from the bright lights of WrestleMania to the dimly lit armories much faster than should have been, ultimately contributing to his death just a decade after leaving the spotlight.

I'm not saying that the two paragraphs above summarize the entire story of Sylvester Ritter as told in "King of New Orleans," but it's not far off.  When I began the book, I kept waiting for the personal stories told by those who knew him.  I was expecting tales from Ritter's rise to fame and maybe even nuggets about how he handled going from the second banana behind Hulk Hogan in the mid-1980s to an almost forgotten undercarder just a few years later.  None of that was here.

Perhaps I was expecting too much, as the books subtitle is in fact "How The Junkyard Dog Became Professional Wrestling's First Black Superstar."  Maybe the author never intended to delve too far into the WWF's "Grab Them Cakes" version of JYD.  But even if the intention was just to chronicle his rise to fame in New Orleans, there just isn't enough about Junkyard to make an intimate account of his life.  I will say that a good history of Mid-South and UWF Wrestling is provided.  These segments seem to take up the majority of the book and, at times, rarely seem to mention Ritter at all.

Because of very little in the way of interviews done for the purpose of this book (many quotes are borrowed from publications by Bill Watts, Ted DiBiase, and other sources), the JYD story almost seems to become a backdrop.  I know for a fact that wrestlers love to talk.  They especially enjoy discussing the old days and their fallen brothers. As colorful a life as he led, I'm sure that Watts and DiBiase aren't the only two living wrestlers who knew JYD well.  And though LaToya Ritter, the daughter who accepted the Junkyard Dog's WWE 2004 Hall of Fame induction, passed away suddenly a few years ago, there have to be other family and friends who could have provided valuable insight.

A very casual fan with an interest in recalling the basic JYD story and various Mid-South Wrestling memories will get something from "The King of New Orleans." Most other types of fans will have already absorbed these facts from other media sources.  The story of an individual who lived an unstructured life as Ritter did is never an easy one to tell, but not impossible.  Unfortunately in the case of the Junkyard Dog, this isn't the book to do it.