Wrestling MarketWatch: Hype Then. Hype Now. Hype Forever.

“Then. Now. Forever.” Is more than just the name of the figure set we looked at here last week. It’s more than just the company motto, too. It’s hype and that’s definitely something that WWE was built on. Sure, it’s good business, but to their credit the company has always known how to do it well. Ever since the famous WWF logo debuted they’ve plastered it on absolutely everything – and it’s worked! Heck, look closely at the picture to the left. At one point they were printing card lineups on envelopes! I can’t count the number of times that I’ve referenced the WWF marketing machine over the years here in the blog, especially since merchandise is the name of the game. In this latest edition of Wrestling MarketWatch we’re looking at several items that reflect the never ending push of the brand, concepts and top stars of the WWF as we knew it.

*We’ll start in 1995. The World Wrestling Federation is no longer the mainstream entertainment choice that it had been just a few years earlier, though the diehards are still rabid for the product. I wouldn’t quite call it a transitional period, either, as honestly a lot of it felt quite stagnate. That being said, I personally prefer it to a lot of what happened in just a few years time. Nonetheless, the WWF was still looking to get their name out there. What way better to do that than to plaster the WWF logo on an airship? Gliding into cities across America, the WWF blimp was wrestling’s answer to the more widely known Goodyear counterpart. It may not have lasted more than a few years but it did yield an inflatable replica that was available through the catalog and likely at live events as well. Recently selling for $110 this is down from $190 back in 2020.

*The WWF was not only a pioneer in hype but a groundbreaker in pay-per-view television as well. After the success of WrestleMania III the company knew that it needed a follow-up in much less than twelve months. Thus, The Survivor Series was born. While teams of five may have strived to survive, all eyes were on Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant. Unlike their one-on-one bout at WrestleMania, the two epic gladiators would instead lead their own teams into battle. Hogan led Bam Bam Bigelow, Ken Patera, Paul Orndorff and Don Muraco (replacing Superstar Billy Graham) into the Thanksgiving night war against Andre and his team consisting of King Kong Bundy, The One Man Gang, Ravishing Rick Rude and Butch Reed. Several Survivor Series-branded promotional photos came out of the hype including one featuring a Hogan-Andre stare down in an image recycled from the WM III media blitz. This photo recently sold for $166.

*Andre may have been Hulk’s greatest rival but as we all know it didn’t end there. Perhaps no one, over the span of years, had more ups and downs with The Hulkster than Randy “Macho Man” Savage. While the two teamed for the first SummerSlam they led opposing duos for the second edition of the event in 1989. The show, emanating from East Rutherford, NJ, saw Hogan and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake managed by Miss Elizabeth take on Savage and “Human Wrecking Machine” Zeus led by Sensational Sherri. It was one of several tie-ins to the “No Holds Barred” motion picture starring Hogan and Zeus, a film now considered by many to be a cult classic. The artwork promoting the event is a lot of fun and is featured in several outlets including a post card which recently sold for $18.

*1997 was most assuredly a transitional time for the company. Although the event was held in Chicago, WrestleMania that year always felt small to me. Many fans love the matches, however, and have fond memories of the show which honestly acts as a bridge between the “cartoon era” of yore and the “Attitude Era” about to be ushered in. For better or for worse (you know which way I vote), the company and the industry as a whole was about to rake in a whole lot of money. It looks like some sellers are trying to take in similar amounts of money for the promotional Burger King WrestleMania cup that was exclusive to the Chicagoland area. As usual, folks should be aware that those are the ASKING prices. The actual recent selling price is $15. We all know that prices go up and down on a whim. Always get in there when demand is low.

*Cable companies got into the act in those early days of pay-per-view as well. If you weren’t around then you may not know the lengths that fans often had to go to in order to see these events. While it eventually became a single phone call, the early days called for special receiver boxes and other gimmicks just to watch the show that you’re already paying extra for. It was the technology of the time. I can remember difficulties with cable boxes as late as the early 2000s. I’ve long since cut the cable, thankfully, and now it’s as simple as pulling up Peacock. More often than not it’s more entertaining to then go and watch a classic event than what’s streaming live, but I digress. We’ve shown a lot of WrestleMania IV love this year due to it being the 35^th anniversary. One item promoting the show was in fact provided by the WWF for individual cable companies to distribute. It’s a WrestleMania IV branded Hulk Hogan promotional photo complete with facsimile signature. The name of the cable company was added to the top of the photo which is on a far thinner paper stock than the traditional promo. While sellers, again, try to get way more for this photo, it recently sold for $15.

Are you hyped? I am! For the days when the hype was worthwhile, that is…

My Favorite Events--WWF WrestleMania IV

 “So sit back and relax, or if you’re like me get on the edge of your seat, because WrestleMania IV is next!”

– Craig DeGeorge, Coliseum Video

It's been thirty-five years since the WWF invaded Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall which at the time was somewhat enveloped as part of the Trump Plaza complex. A polarizing event since the day it occurred, WrestleMania IV has always been one of my favorite editions of Mania. For this "coral" anniversary let's go back to "Atlantic City's Centerpiece" and see why I'm not the only fan with endless love and memories for the fourth installment of WrestleMania.

WrestleMania IV did huge business and it's easy to understand why. The company was riding high on its success at the Pontiac Silverdome with WrestleMania III one year earlier. Hulk Hogan was as recognizable as any sports star in the world and, while I feel the true "Rock 'n Wrestling era" saw its end at WrestleMania III, the mainstream inclusion was still there and thriving. It's part of why I'll never agree that Stone Cold Steve Austin eclipsed The Hulkster as the biggest star in wrestling history. Did Austin sell a few more shirts? It's possible. They were also a helluva lot easier to purchase. In the mid to late '80s almost anyone of any age knew who Hogan was. At the peak of Austin a decade later there were many people who still thought "Steve Austin" was "The Six Million Dollar Man." Trust me when I say that Austin was not the household name that Hogan was. There will never be anyone bigger in professional wrestling in the United States than Hulk Hogan.

Up front I will admit that I did not watch the event live. The first WrestleMania that I remember seeing from start to finish was WrestleMania III on VHS on my birthday in 1987. I do recall seeing highlights of IV on "The WWF Television Network." Despite being a child, I have more memories of wrestling in prime time than the traditional weekend morning slots. Therefore I likely saw highlights on Prime Time Wrestling. Another interesting memory is that, despite never being much of a boxing fan, for whatever reason my mind associated the look of WrestleMania IV with boxing. It makes sense, I'm just not sure how I picked up on it at the time. Personal memories for me also revolve around the build and the aftermath. My dad and I watched both the January 2nd, 1988 Saturday Nights Main Event (Andre's attack on Hogan) and The Main Event on February 4th as they happened. After WrestleMania, like legions and legions of other kids, I was fascinated by the VHS release. A pop-up box featuring The Hulkster? A double tape set? WWF marketing magic at its best.

Speaking of that VHS, this is one of the few Coliseum Video WrestleMania releases that completely trumps the original pay-per-view version. Very little is edited out (I do believe a bit is missing from the Rick Rude-Jake Roberts match which, as you know, is not a big loss) and a bunch of extra content is included. An extended intro, a brief rundown of "WrestleMania Weekend," and special backstage promos. It's a surprise to some that the legendary sequence of Bobby Heenan receiving his "special package" was a Coliseum Video exclusive. It's so memorable, and important to the event, that many figure it was part of the pay-per-view. Speaking of the "WrestleMania Weekend" footage, what you're seeing is actually what turned into what became known as WrestleMania Axxess years later. Look for Brian "Blue Meanie" Heffron in the sequence showing Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat signing autographs!

I know that I'm not a product of my own era and my tastes skew very differently from others around my age, but I never got the need for modern rock music in virtually any event from any wrestling promotion in the past twenty-five years. Other sports don't always go with it, yet wrestling inexplicably feels the need to be "edgy," or something, and shoves "modern rock" down our collective throats. That being said, I love the simple sax intros for Mania 2 and III and the extension of the classic "What The World Is Watching" music intro for IV. Remember, less is more. I recently uncovered info about what seems to be a last minute change in the opening minutes of WrestleMania IV. If you're a follower of the blog on Instagram, you already know what it is! If you don't have a clue, all that I can advise is to stay tuned for the next blog entry.

Back then everyone knew who the celebrity guest were, too. The world recognized Vanna White, Bob Uecker, Robin Leach and Gladys Knight. It isn't like today where people are actually labeled "racist" for not knowing certain WrestleMania celebrity guests. Yes, folks, it's happened. In watching the hype and at the event itself, it's interesting to note that Vanna is rarely mentioned without the full "Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White" title. It had to be something in her contract. There's even a match on a pre-Mania edition of Wrestling Challenge where Gorilla Monsoon corrects Heenan into saying "Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White." It continues many times throughout IV until Uecker suddenly decides that she's "some guy named Vance White."

Speaking of Gorilla, I've made it no secret over the years that I prefer his broadcast booth partnership with Jesse "The Body" Ventura. They tended to be brought together only for special events and to this day I find their commentary somewhat comforting. It felt real, unrehearsed and natural unlike anything you'd hear on WrestleMania today. I'm not putting down the modern product, I'm just pointing out things that even the staunchest of modern day supporters are forced to agree with.

The show itself is long and the crowd is admittedly not as responsive as a WrestleMania audience should be. The reasons for this have been discussed ad nauseam, but I will say that if this same exact show, tournament matches and all, had been held at the Pontiac Silverdome with that size crowd consisting of true wrestling fans, WrestleMania IV would be remembered far differently. I'm not saying that it was the most perfectly booked show ever put out by the World Wrestling Federation, but it definitely holds a reputation in some circles that it simply does not deserve.

I'll go as far as to say that WrestleMania IV frankly wasn't the place for the "five star matches" that many of the shows detractors wish would've happened. Yes, you occasionally did get your "mat classics" like Steamboat-Savage and British Bulldogs-Dream Team at the early WrestleMania shows, but that's not what the name nor the company were built on at the time. It was glitz and glamour, stars and spectacle. What I call the "What The World Was Watching" era began at WrestleMania IV and it was never more true of a motto than at this time.

As far as storytelling in wrestling, it's never been better than right here. One of the single most memorable storylines arguably took off at this very event and culminated one year later in the same arena. That, of course, is The Mega Powers exploding. In addition you had a cast of dozens who nearly all qualify for "legend" status all these years later. I find it very hard to believe that the same will be able to be said about many stars of the modern product. I word it that way as I don't believe it to be the fault of the current talent as much as it is the presentation that they're forced to deal with. Eh, the scripted promos could go, too.

Thankfully we're left with more than just memories three and a half decades later. The WrestleMania marketing machine seemed to really take off with IV, again building off of the success in 1987. Posters, apparel, press materials and other souvenirs are aplenty. The aforementioned VHS tape is arguably the most beloved and remembered release in the entire Coliseum Video WWF library. Back then and even now I also most associate the WrestleMania VCR game with WrestleMania IV, especially since it was released the same year and featured footage from the event.

Lost media has become a big deal in recent years. The definition of such being film, photographic or print content that was known to exist at one time but is no longer readily accessible. There are two forms of "lost media" pertaining to WrestleMania IV that seem to have disappeared. The first was an amazing photo gallery of fan-taken shots during the weekends of WrestleMania IV and V. Most of the pictures were of the wrestlers in and around Trump Plaza. They were truly fascinating photographs and I lament not saving them. The other was a video which was available on YouTube just a year or two ago. It was a press conference, held seemingly the day after IV, in a room likely somewhere in the Trump Plaza hotel. Mean Gene Okerlund interviewed The Macho Man, Elizabeth and The Hulkster in front of dozens of press members. 

As for additional content that is still out there to view, it's actually fairly plentiful. YouTube has collections of 1988 episodes of Wrestling Challenge surrounding Mania IV. The post-event shows feature promos in front of the "glittery globe" interview backdrop with not only the celebrities but also the wrestlers themselves highlighting upcoming feuds-some of which happened and others that didn't. Also on YouTube is a nearly nine minute radio segment off of New York's WFAN featuring early "smart mark" speculation and a call-in from someone in Atlantic Coty the night before. For those without a VCR, DailyMotion has the Coliseum Video extras currently uploaded in amazing quality. As I alluded above, I feel that those extras are essential for full WrestleMania IV enjoyment. Also readily available via Peacock/WWE Network is the last episode of Prime Time Wrestling before the show. Gorilla and Bobby bring the laughs from all areas of the Trump Plaza hotel and casino complete with great glimpses of some amazing Mania advertising.

Although there are a few gems hidden inside of it, I don't highly recommend Bruce Prichard's podcast review of the event. Despite the show being his first WrestleMania he doesn't have much good to say about it. He DOES offer a good reason as to why Savage-Steamboat II didn't happen at the show and it's reasoning that this fan agrees with. Lance Storm, who attended the show, offers a few fascinating photos that he took (including a GREAT WrestleMania IV billboard shot) however his written commentary and review of the show impress me about as much as Prichard's reflections. 

I don't know that anyone has written as much about this show as I have and next time, to celebrate the actual day of the event, we're giving you even more IV! How about an inside look at an actual artifact from the show? You've seen the press kit. Now we're going to go through the actual WrestleMania IV media guide which was only included in the press kit at the show itself. You saw a bit of it on Instagram a few weeks ago, now it's time to see What The World Was Watching just as if you were there covering the show yourself! Stay tuned...

Wrestling MarketWatch: More Of What The World Was Watching!

While not the very first edition of Wrestling MarketWatch, it was well over a decade ago that we looked at items that “The World Was Watching.” These were figures, magazines and other collectibles that emanated from the time period that many consider to be “the golden era” of the World Wrestling Federation. Seeing as that this year is the 35^th anniversary of one of the prime shows of the era, WrestleMania IV, I’m sure that we’ll be discussing this period more in the near future. As for now, let’s look at what classic items of the day recently sold for at auction. As always in Wrestling MarketWatch, prices are for unsigned items even if the photo shows otherwise.

*Seeing as that it is in fact the “coral jade” anniversary of WrestleMania IV, we may as well kick it off with an item from that show. I’ve been pleased to see that more and more people have admitted loving the show in recent years. For a long time, it felt as if I were the only one. I’m sure that I’ll rant more about that in the coming months. None the less, I would say that this show really has the most branded items of the first few WrestleMania events. With both the WWF and the Trump marketing machines behind it, it isn’t hard to understand why. One of the focal points of the show was “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and his somewhat underhanded quest to become WWF Champion. After all, he was the catalyst for the tournament happening to begin with. The WrestleMania IV branded promo photo of DiBiase, along with bodyguard Virgil, recently sold for $30.

*WrestleMania IV had the perfect follow-up with WrestleMania V. While you could throw a few other duos into the argument, I would say that no two WrestleMania events are better connected than these two. Not only does the title story begin and end between the two shows, but the overall look and feel of the shows are forever intertwined with both being held at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. The WrestleMania V program has a wide range of recent selling prices going anywhere from $20 to $75. Even the difference of the newsstand edition against the one sold at the event (the photo included illustrates) has zero effect on price. Condition is usually key, but even that seems to have gone by the wayside. I can recall a time when the early WrestleMania programs sold for little more than common magazine issues of the day. Not so much now.

*One item shown in the first MarketWatch under the “The World Was Watching” theme is the LJN WWF Wrestling Superstars Vince McMahon figure. Here he is again and boy has that price changed. At the time it was rather surprising that the figure was selling for nearly $100 carded. The price has now gone up to between $300-$600. I’m still grateful that, nearly thirty years ago, I picked one up for $25 as part of a “warehouse find.” Even loose examples are skyrocketing. The man who took wrestling to places it had never been, especially in this era, still holds clout. The huge shoulders and cleft chin remain a staple in anyone’s LJN collection.

*In the tag team ranks I’m not sure that any twosome is better remembered from this period than Demolition. Ax and Smash are my own favorite tag team and around these parts we don’t even entertain the notion that they’re some sort of ripoffs of the other guys. May they have started that way? Possibly. But the advantages of Demolition over the Road Warriors can be seen by any knowledgeable fan. Everyone should respect what the L.O.D. did, but Demolition did their own thing and didn’t overstay their welcome. One of their drinking glasses recently sold for an average of $25. The prices of wrestling cups and glasses are definitely on the rise. In this particular one you can fill it with your favorite fruit juice and get your daily act of…nutrition.

*You can’t talk “What The World Was Watching” without mentioning The Hulkster. In fact, one of the many ways that fans could watch him and the rest of the WWF Superstars was by laserdisc. For a short time, anyway. Coliseum Video released four of their titles on the long defunct platform and one of which was the first released titled “Hulkamania.” Many of you will be familiar with it from its VHS release, but the laserdiscs are so much cooler to collect. It’s both a blessing and a curse that only four saw print. The Hulkster recently sold for $50 in this format. This is a nice set of early home media relics that can be quickly completely.

Monday Night Raw may be coming up on its thirtieth anniversary, but that just doesn’t hold the nostalgia for me that the ‘80s stuff does. I know many of you are the same way. It isn’t even our ages. There was just simply a magic in that Hulk Hogan – Randy Savage – Andre the Giant era that could never be duplicated. Even watching the shows back now, it’s evident that perhaps the world had become two cynical for magic like that. The grandeur was replaced by grit, or at least a manufactured version of grit. The company evolved as the tastes of the world changed. I’ll stay back when life was fun, thank you…

Wrestling MarketWatch: Totally '80s!

Did nostalgia for the ‘80s ever really die? I remember myself and people that I knew being nostalgic for the “decade of excess” midway through the 1990s! I guess we knew that it was never going to get any better, and it hasn’t! But enough veiled statements on the sad state of the world, we’re here to talk about when life was FUN! Wrestling in the 1980’s certainly resembles that statement with the big “boom” of the Rock ‘n Wrestling era, some epic in-ring action and more stars than you could fill a sky with. Considering the amount of merchandise that was done for wrestling in the ‘80s, a MarketWatch entry on the topic could actually be a weekly feature. As usual we’ve whittled it down to five items at random. As always the prices listed are for unsigned examples unless otherwise noted. My own photos are used for reference which is why you’ll see a signature or two pop up. Grab your Members Only jacket, a can of New Coke and let’s get to it!

*Although there were examples earlier, it was in the ‘80s when wrestlers truly began to sing. On MTV, no less! One of the biggest singles off of 1985’s WWF The Wrestling Album was the classic number by The Junk Yard Dog, “Grab Them Cakes.” The song, co-sung by “Turn The Beat Around” songstress Vicki Sue Robinson, became the anthem for JYD once the era of licensed “real” music died off. Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” was out and people were grabbing cakes worldwide. The album itself had plenty of single releases, many of which have been seen over the years in this very blog. While the three 45 inch singles are best known (GTC, Land of a Thousand Dances?!!? & Don’t Go Messin’ With A Country Boy) there were other releases including both promotional and foreign. The 12 inch “Dance Mix” of everyone’s favorite song where you just go for your partner’s you-know-what recently sold for $20. 

*Though not affiliated with any major U.S. promotion in the ‘80s for any length of time, you can’t deny that the star power of Mil Mascaras carried over from the ‘70s into the 1980’s. His mask was made for merchandising and while he’s been grossly underrepresented in the action figure world (especially with modern day versions), his mysterious mug has made it onto countless other items over the years. In 1983 Bernie Lopez Enterprises and The Mil Mascaras Corporation released the aptly named “Mil Mascaras Pro Wrestling Game.” It doesn’t get more straight forward than that, does it? The game features an iconic George Napolitano shot of Mascaras in mid-air and the promise of the game allowing you to promote matches in major cities across the world. I’m not sure that anyone’s ever actually played it (I own it and haven’t…) but it certainly is fun to have. A copy just sold for a bargain price of $30.

 

*You knew we couldn’t talk ‘80s wrestling without talking LJN. The famous Wrestling Superstars figure line is what many collectors cut their teeth on. Proof? “Big Rubber Wrestlers” is one of the most searched phrases that has led to this blog over the years. That’s how they’re remembered by casual fans and it proves what an impact they had. You were hard pressed to find a kid who didn’t own at least one back then, even if he or she was not a wrestling fan. But while the carded versions seemed to be everywhere, the tag team two packs were not. Much more limited in distribution, the two packs included Hulk Hogan and Hillbilly Jim, Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, The Dream Team and Strike Force. All of those figures were released individually as well, but there’s something really cool about the tag team boxes. The Hillbilly and The Hulkster recently sold for $600!

 

*The WWF wasn’t the only game in town. Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA were producing a high-impact in-ring product born out of the classic southern style. Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, The Rock n Roll Express and The Midnight Express were just some of their top names that remain beloved to this day. Do I need to remind you of that? Nah, but who doesn’t love those great memories? Starrcade, “The Granddaddy of Em All” was the prime event in that wrestling world and even predated WrestleMania. While the world may not be as fun as it used to be, it is pretty nifty that, on a whim, we can go from watching WrestleMania to Starrcade with just a few clicks. If you do surf on over to a Starrcade, especially since we’re in that season, you may want to pick up some of the classic programs. The Starrcade ’87 program (Chi-Town Heat!) recently sold for $100.

 

*Let’s wrap it up by seeing stars. Superstars. Wrestling Superstars. But not by LJN. This time the 1985 stars of the World Wrestling Federation are coming to us via View-Master. As ubiquitous as LJN figures were in the ‘80s toy box, so were View-Master reels. If by some chance you’ve never owned some, you slide the thin reel into the viewer (there were plenty of viewers dating back decades and were all virtually universal) and magically you could flip through three-dimensional pictures of your favorite television, movie and cartoon characters, places around the world, wildlife and of course WWF Superstars. The Hulkster and Hillbilly are once again prominent here and are joined by Andre the Giant and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. There is a scarcer “gift set” where the reels are packaged in a window box with the viewer but the package of reels itself sells for around $20.

 

We still love the ‘80s and always will. It was magic, fun and just felt like a friendlier place. Admittedly I was but a child then, but many who were older in that day feel the same. The world has gone sour, especially in the last few years, but I recently saw a quote that brought me some comfort: “Nostalgia is one of the few rewards we get when getting old.” That’s why we have to hold onto it…

Dueling Machos

Action figure photography is all the rage these days. I’ve summed it up here on the blog before: it’s the accepted way for adults to continue to play with their toys. I love it and I’ve often said on my own wrestling figure photography social (Instagram: The_Figure_Arena) that you could literally start an account just for “Macho Man” Randy Savage figure pictures. Is it any wonder? He has countless looks from his colorful years in the business and it seems as if we’re getting several new figures of him each year. Well, now we’ve got two more to add to the lineup. Two new looks just hit, ironically both black and white, and what better way to look at both than in a combined blog review? Dig it? 

Both of these “Macho Men” are entries into the Mattel WWE Ultimate Edition line. Undoubtedly one of the hottest series out right now, the Ultimate Editions are purportedly the “ultimate” in accessories, articulation and likeness. Originally I took the name to imply that they were the “ultimate” edition of each character, meaning that no other version of this particular individual could ever measure up. Seeing as that we now have three “Ultimate” Savage’s and four “Ultimate” Hulk Hogan’s, with more of both on the way, I think that we can resign that way of thinking. At least I can. Instead I believe that we are to think that any figure in this line is automatically the “best of the best.” Does that really ring true? 

The 1993-1994 era Macho Man was the “early bird backer” incentive for collectors to back the Mattel WWE Ultimate New Generation Arena set. The set, along with the other “Ultimate” incentive figures (Diesel and Doink The Clown) have already been reviewed on this blog. Savage, due to being added to the program later, shipped separately. The nWo era “Mach” was a Target exclusive and the second in their “Ultimate Legends” figure lineup. There was an earlier Elite version of this figure that was exclusive to an online retailer, but I passed on that one as I generally do with “Attitude Era” online exclusives due to lack of personal interest. For reasons that we’ll get into when we look deeper into the figure, this one grabbed my attention for sure. 

Both figures are packaged in the standard, large “Ultimate” packaging. The “announcer/WrestleMania X” Macho also has an outer cardboard box which will undoubtedly be considered necessary to be present if one wants a “complete” figure. To me it’s just a box, albeit with the “New Generation” WWE logo on one side and the Ultimate logo on the other. As usual with the Ultimate figures there are plenty of accessories floating around. It’s (sadly) a non-factor when it comes to Randy Savage, but I’ve never entertained the notion of getting any Ultimate figures signed due to this. It just isn’t appealing to me in that respect. It should be noted that additional accessories are unseen yet included with “announcer” Macho. 

Before I really took a good investigative look, I actually thought that I would like the nWo Macho Man more. Considering that the announcer figure is closer to my favorite era, that thought was a bit of a shock even to myself. I’d heard some things that turned out to be false about the announcer figure. Appealing in the favor of the nWo Macho was that we finally get a “tongue sticking out” head for Savage. So, who’s better? 

Both include a plethora of accessories. Announcer Macho, as noted above, even comes with some that aren’t immediately visible. While you do see vintage-styled microphones, monitors, a headset and extra Macho Man cowboy hat with attached headset right in the window, hidden behind some cardboard is the “classic” announce table with blue soft goods table cloth and blue folding chairs. It should be noted that all of these accessories wouldn’t have made it into a standard Ultimate release. Again, they are part of the New Generation Arena theme. For those wondering, beneath the table cloth is your standard Mattel breakaway table. The extra headset (presumably for Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon or Bobby “The Brain” Heenan) is too pliable and doesn’t look as good as its Jakks counterpart from years ago. This Macho also includes “pointing hands,” an entrance jacket and shirt. A fallacy that I’d heard about this figure was that the jacket and shirt couldn’t be worn simultaneously as they were in real life. I had them on the figure together in seconds, so obviously it’s meant to be done. Considering how thin both are (a blessing in this case), there’s no reason that it shouldn’t work. 

nWo Macho also features two thin shirts. In the past few years I think that most of us have gotten used to the thin fabric being used by Mattel. It may actually look a bit better as it’s more form fitting, but I do wonder about it holding up over the years. What I love about the nWo Macho shirts is that they fit on just like real shirts. No velcro! Mattel really needs to take note of how great this is for future Hogan releases. We’ve had more than enough “tearable” shirts with The Hulkster. It’s time to give us some solid ones. Going back to Macho, “The Savage One” also includes a pair of what I call “Freak out! Freak out!” hands, his white sash belt and bandana. It’s a solid figure that can be customized with other already released Savage accessories. All five heads included between these two figures are interchangeable although the “tongue” head is the only one not included twice. 

I do feel that each figure was missing fairly important hands. Seeing as that nWo Macho is gloved, I think that we should’ve received pointing gloved hands. As far as the announcer version, I feel that leaving out “taped thumbs up” hands was a glaring omission. He did this all the time as an announcer. Mattel has been strangely stingy with “thumbs up” hands. Is it some sort of evil, canceled hand sign that I’m blissfully unaware of? I honestly wonder if an updated Hacksaw Jim Duggan were to be released (he hasn’t had a new figure since alternate hands were added to the line) that perhaps they would not be included with him, either. We have gotten them with Scott Hall and in an upcoming Razor Ramon release, but that doesn’t help with Macho seeing as that he wore hand tape. 

The good thing is that The Macho Man has endless looks to choose from, thus there’s really no limit to more releases. Where do these two rank? They’re both very good but I wouldn’t deem either the best. If I had to choose I would probably say that the best Macho release was the first Ultimate figure clad in the white and neon outfit. It wasn’t his most recognizable outfit (despite being made in Hasbro form) but it certainly felt the most complete. Had the recently released WrestleMania VI version of The Macho King included his entrance jacket, I feel that that one would be hard to beat. Alas, it does not include the jacket. Neither of these figures ultimately makes my mental ballot for “Figure Of The Year,” but they’re still solid. nWo Macho is still available through Target while the other, due to it being part of the Mattel Creations set, will have to be obtained through the secondary market if you were not a backer. 

With upgrades in production methods and the ever-increasing demands of collectors, these figures should only be getting better and better. Randy Savage is one of the most visually varied and striking individuals to ever exist in the world of professional wrestling. As long as the rights are continually granted to make figures, we should continue to see him be well-represented. Both of these figures were necessary entries into the Savage collection, but the colors keep them from becoming truly the best of his figures out there. No one was more colorful in or out of the ring. Now that we have figures of just about every “darker” side of Savage (even late WCW which was produced a few years back), let’s get back into his colorful side. How about some of the 1988 robes? More of the “neon cowboy” era? The sky is the limit…although watch for flying elbows.

Let's Talk WrestleMania...

I really didn’t think that I’d ever see the day where I had zero interest in WrestleMania, but that day has come. This isn’t going to be a giant putdown of the show nor the current WWE product, it just isn’t for me. Plenty of people still enjoy it. Instead, I want to celebrate what brought us to this point of WrestleMania 38. Personally, I feel that there were moments of brilliance in the show through WrestleMania 31. The spectacle is unmatched and that’s only enhanced when combined with a great match, a great story, or even both. The hype of the show has, for the most part, always been very real. There’s a reason that fans travel from around the globe to the event. As much as some fans would like you to think that it’s the piggyback shows and events that go on that weekend that draws those fans, it isn’t. It’s purely the name WrestleMania. 

As I admitted above, I could point to entertaining editions of the show even within the last decade. That being said, the true spirit of WrestleMania lives within the first six. When I first started encountering wrestling discussion on the internet nearly thirty years ago, I was shocked as to the little regard that those “fans” held these shows in. They would take whatever “five star” match from each show that they could and disregard the rest. Honestly, it’s the same kind of toxicity that’s killed wrestling fandom today. Nonetheless, if this is your mindset, stop reading now. My kind of wrestling fan is the type that appreciates The Big Boss Man versus Akeem as much as Steamboat – Savage. This is the fan that loves every second from the opening announcements to the final three count. The look and feel of the arena is as important and defining to you as the individual superstars. That’s you, isn’t it? 

Everything starts somewhere. For the World Wrestling Federation there was no better launching pad for their signature event than Madison Square Garden. While watching today you can sense that even the stars themselves know that something big is happening. When you can still get often-jaded wrestlers to admit that nearly forty years later, it was obviously a big deal even then. The fact that major mainstream stars of the time were involved and that others came out just to watch showed that the boom had begun. This is the “Rock ‘N Wrestling” WrestleMania for sure. While the look may be underwhelming to some, it captures the birth of a phenomenon coupled with the gritty “New York wrestling” feel that the WWF was built on.

WrestleMania 2 is when the “super show” aspect started to appear with the never-again-duplicated factor of having the show emanate from three different venues. The celebrities were tripled to ensure that each location (New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively) would each have their share. Many have doubted the impact of the true main event, Hulk Hogan versus King Kong Bundy, in hindsight. I think it was perfectly adequate for the time, with this being the first “Hogan against a monster” main event to be seen on this grand of a scale. While Roddy Piper was certainly one of, if not Hogan’s greatest villain, the grotesque Bundy brought a different sort of menace to Hulkamania that year. Throwing the company’s biggest villain in Piper against their biggest available celebrity in Mr. T into a boxing match certainly shows that even from the beginning, the spectacle could at times triumph over any other booking decision. The “What The World Has Come To” tag line from the show was a memorable prototype for a similar slogan which would arrive just about two years later and define a generation. 

So much has been said about WrestleMania III, but it truly was the peak of the ‘80s wrestling boom. The surge of a decade later was certainly as big, but it didn’t have anything near the heart and charm of the ‘80s. By this time everyone knew that WrestleMania was something special. I often point to a fun, but often overlooked, little Coliseum Video segment featuring Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes. It’s a simple little scene discussing the advantages of home video, but the two veterans talking about the first two WrestleMania’s and the one about to begin is a lot of fun. It’s small, every day banter like that which is missing from today’s presentation and commentating. Monsoon and Jesse Ventura peppered their commentary with that very flavor, thus cementing them as my favorite WWF team for life.

I’ve often said that if you’re a fan of WrestleMania IV, we’re automatically friends. I still mean that. Of all of the classic WrestleMania events and WWF content that saw hate in the early days of the Internet, it was the 1988 edition that seemed to garner the most hate. It ranks as my second favorite of them all. While I’m not a boxing aficionado, that sport truly knows how to make an event feel special; it’s where “big fight feel” comes from. Maybe it was the Atlantic City setting, but WrestleMania IV had that feel. To this day there are those who are bitter that Savage – Steamboat didn’t happen again here. It’s time to move beyond that. Are some of the matches short? Sure. It’s a tournament. It’s no stretch to think that timed matches in a tournament where the biggest title in the game is up for grabs would cause frantic action. The whole presentation feels different from anything else the WWF has ever done and is honestly refreshing. It also feels like the most “eighties” WrestleMania to me. I don’t know that I can quite put that feeling into words, although this is the show that can be summed up in the company’s slogan at the time, “What The World Is Watching.” In a company that’s had countless catchphrases over the years, to me this was the best. Epic yet simple. Though we were a bit past the peak of the ‘80s wrestling boom, you DID know a ton of people who were watching the World Wrestling Federation at the time. Adding to the fun, I should mention that this is really when the extracurricular activities of WrestleMania truly kicked in, thanks in part to the show being held at Trump Plaza. Superstar appearances, meals and the 5K race were all created to make a big wrestling show into a family event. 

WrestleMania V does have a lot of the uniqueness that it’s predecessor had the year before, but I’ve never been quite as attracted to it for whatever reason. Still, “The Mega Powers Explode!” was enough to excite the many fans who were still fervently following. I will admit that the crowd does seem a bit more into this show than the previous year, but there’s just something missing that keeps V from being as memorable to me as IV. Nevertheless, both of these Atlantic City WrestleMania shows are chalk full of the legends that so many of us grew up with. I've eaten up the many fan recollections of attending these shows that have popped up over the years. There was even a gallery of photos that showed amazing candid shots of many of the stars in and around Trump Plaza on both of the weekends. Sadly, they seem to have vanished. (If anyone has saved those photos or knows where I can view them, please reach out to me.) Accounts from The Blue Meanie and Lance Storm can also be found on their respective sites and social media. While I disagree on a lot of wrestling philosophy with the latter ECW original (though we both loved the Gorilla and Jesse team), his photos from WrestleMania IV are an absolute joy if you love the event as much as I do. 

Finally, we get to what is and will always be my favorite WrestleMania. It has a main event that was an absolute clash of titans. It has Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire. It has ring carts. It even has Mary Tyler Moore. WrestleMania VI flows like fine wine. The transition from the crowd cheering Robert Goulet's rendition of “Oh, Canada” to the opening strains of “Do The Bird” as the opening match commences is impeccable. Can I be so bold as to insert a chef’s kiss here? The WWF production was absolutely on fire and this show honestly looked even more polished and glossy than many standard sporting events of the day. It also feels like a transition of the times. Of course Hogan losing was a big deal in that sense, but the list of stars featured spanning from Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, Rhodes and Piper but also including the likes of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels is really amazing to think about.

The photos accompanying these Mania memories are what tie this whole thing into the theme of this blog, each picture being a mix of promotional materials. Some of the most inquired about items in my entire collection are the WrestleMania press kits. They are not easy to come by and, like most of my favorite items, are rather undocumented. Keep all the bland prototype figures that you want, give me these pieces of history any day. 

As for this year, I will not watch. I didn’t watch last year and sought out just a few matches in the years prior. Still, I’m very happy that the tradition lives on. Perhaps some day the product will veer back around to the presentation that I enjoy. Again, there is plenty of talent to go around and probably always will be. For those of you who still faithfully watch, I do hope it's an amazing event full of great matches and moments.

And remember, The Iron Sheik is scheduled to make it to the ring this year. If you know, you know.

Have Yourself An "Ultimate" Macho-Flair Affair

Can you think of two flashier wrestlers than "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and "Macho Man" Randy Savage? I can't. Their styles meshed well both in and out of the ring thus leading to fun feuds and matches in both the WWF and WCW. Robes, jackets, sunglasses and plenty of catchphrases between the two. What more do you need? While we've seen countless figures of both Flair and Savage over the past three decades, Mattel has allegedly brought us the "Ultimate" versions of both. Let's see if they live up to the hype.

The two figures are in separate series (Savage released with Edge and Flair with Stone Cold Steve Austin, respectively), but I felt that it would be fun to tackle them both at once. As I said above the two just meshed so well. While both had arguably bigger feuds with Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan, no one has ever forgotten the "Macho-Flair Affair." Each figure is the first entry into the Mattel WWE Ultimate series for both stars, however I can't imagine either being the last. We already know that stars can repeat in the line.

The boxes in the Ultimate line are big, thick and sturdy. It probably contributes to the higher price point and is a bit of a waste. Despite the size and the large "window" room, I doubt that I would ever get an Ultimate figure signed. The figures almost seem secondary to the accessories in how they are packaged and I simply don't feel that such designs lead to something that I personally would want an autograph on. I do appreciate the "figure photography" on the back showing the figures in period-authentic scenes.

Where to begin on what is included? Flair gets his classic pink robe last seen in the Jakks WWE Classic Superstars "WWE 24/7" exclusive figure. It's beautifully done and I love the way that the arms of the robe drape down. Savage's design is from 1992 and is best remembered for being the style used in his fourth Hasbro WWF figure release. The jacket is flawless and I had no trouble putting it on or removing it even with the shoulders of the ring gear underneath. The interchangeable hands are usually a big deal with the Ultimate figures and this is no exception. Brand new "Four Horsemen" hands are included with Flair and it's a shame that these did not arrive to the Mattel line sooner. Quite simply, they're awesome. I also appreciate the ubiquitous taped fingers on the Flair hands. I like the open hands included with Savage, but where are the pointing fingers? Did anyone point more than Savage? Sure they were released with the last Macho King release, but why not with the Ultimate figure? I'm sure it would be chalked up to budget if Mattel were to be asked, but I personally feel it's a large omission.

Both bodies use the new "butterfly" shoulders which are to increase posability. I'm still not sure how I feel about these extra joints. If you're a long time reader you know that it took me forever to warm up to torso joints, too. Speaking of which, these figures continue to have the alternate style torso joint that has become standard in the Ultimate figures. I see both these and the standard torso joints each having their own advantages. The faces on both are good, but I'm not going crazy over them as I've seen others do. Neither are one-hundred percent spot on, though the serve the purpose very well. The "Woooo" face of Flair is great and absolutely needed but I feel that a third match-intense face should be included as well.

I'm still not crazy about the higher price point as I don't feel that the difference is big enough between these and Elites to warrant it. Take away the butterfly shoulders and toe movement and we're good to go with these in the Elite line. Nonetheless, if you're collecting legends in the Mattel line it's going to be hard to pass either of these up. Just do yourself a favor and open them. I will never see the appeal in keeping these boxed and staring at floating accessories.

Wooooooo...