The 2014 J\/\/ Awards

How unimaginable is it that another year has passed?  Even more unreal is that this year is the fifth annual installment of The J\/\/ Awards, celebrating the best in wrestling memorabilia over the past twelve months. Each year the design of "The Joshie" changes, but it is always "based" upon a classic wrestling figure or collectible.  This year, the award could go flying through the air with a 747 splash or even magically transform into a dancing, yellow and blue clad, African Dream!  The design isn't the only change in 2014, with one award being retired and another one born.  The wrestling world as a whole has seen a lot of change this year, from the way that some of the product is presented to losing some of its most memorable names.  Without further ado, let the awards begin!

2014 Best Figure

Mattel's WWE Wyatt Family win "The Joshie" for 2014 Best Figure(s).  For the second year in a row, a trio of figures take this one home.  In contrast to last years winners, each figure here is very different in appearance.  Though the Elite versions of the boys were chosen due to their accessories, each release of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan have been great efforts by Mattel.  That being said, the accessories are almost as great as the figures themselves.  With all three members of the family embarking on their own paths, it will be interesting to see where they go, both in WWE and on store shelves, in 2015.

2014 Best Buy (Non-Figure)

WWE Network wins "The Joshie" for 2014 Best Buy.  For whatever reason that you may have subscribed, you automatically got the best deal of 2014.  If you haven't yet subscribed, we may have to bring back the "Turnbuckle Turkey" award for you.  Sure there are deserved criticisms, but that comes with the territory. You can pick just about any one thing from the Network and justify $9.99 per month.  The current pay-per-view live?  Yep, that's worth $9.99.  Four or five NXT episodes a month?  Yep, that's worth $9.99.  On-Demand access to the WWE, WCW, and ECW pay-per-view libraries?  Yep, that's worth...ok...enough of the commercial.  But it's true.  It's a Helluva deal and should only get bigger and better as time goes on.

2014 Best Product Line

Mattel wins "The Joshie" for 2014 Best Product Line.  Longtime readers know that when Mattel first started churning out WWE product, I was less than impressed.  Poor lineups, poor distribution, poor creativity, and that God-awful red packaging design. Things have changed for the better and for the third time, Mattel takes home the gold.  Although there's always room for improvement (could we get that Magnum TA?), 2015 already looks like a very good year.  Come on, we're getting Bayley!  What could be better than that?  A Bayley hug, perhaps, but the figure will be almost as cool.

2014 Future Holy Grail

NECA's The Simpsons Bret Hart Figure wins "The Joshie" for 2014 Future Holy Grail.  I've already said a lot about this figure, but I really can't say enough.  It combines The Simpsons and wrestling into one great collectible.  It captures a moment when a wrestler, who despite having a huge fanbase never truly crossed over into the mainstream, became a part of animated pop culture.  Thanks to that crossover appeal, the figure flew off of shelves as soon as it hit.  A New York Comic Con version has proven to be equally as popular.  Bret Hart.  The Simpsons.  Action figures.  It's a great recipe that should stand the test of time.

Normally our awards end with the "Future Holy Grail."  You may have noticed the absence of the "Best Publication" award which usually went to books or magazines.  As of 2015, Pro Wrestling Illustrated will be the only remaining U.S. wrestling magazine and although there are some great authors churning out amazing wrestling books, I just do not have the time and resources to be objective and read them all.  Thus, "Best Publication" has been retired.  However, in the spirit of PWI's year-end "Editors Award," this year we introduce our "Thanks For The Memories" honor.  Since this blog celebrates "The Best in Wrestling Memorabilia & Memories" on a weekly basis, this award will focus on the latter.  The winner can be a person (living or dead) or concept that somehow made all of us fondly recall wrestling's past in the last twelve months.

 2014 Thanks For The Memories Award

2014 Thanks For The Memories Honoree:  The Ultimate Warrior.  Electrifying.  Entertaining. Controversial.  Just three words that could be used to describe the man known as The Ultimate Warrior.  A generation of kids grew up mystified by him.  While Hulk Hogan was the clean cut hero, the Warrior brought a bit of an edge and a whole lot of mystery.  Just where did he run off to every night after beating Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, or Randy Savage?  Where was Parts Unknown?  Who were these skeletons and why did they make a sacrifice?  Sure, we could all envision the other WWF "good guys" going to hang out after the matches, but Warrior seemed different.  He was.  We had never seen anything like him before, nor will we ever again.  Thanks for the memories, Warrior.

And thanks to all of you for once again keeping with the blog throughout the year.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  Whether you come up and say hi at a show or simply shoot me an e-mail, those are my awards. Those people and moments remind me why I've loved wrestling for all of these years.  Thank you!

The Hitman Goes Yellow

Everyone loves when their interests crossover.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, but you always end up with something that you never thought you would have seen.  Being the popular phenomenon that it is, wrestling usually ends up appearing with every other form of entertainment in one way or another, even with television's favorite family, The Simpsons.  But it wasn't Springfield's own grapplers such as The Shrieking Sheik, El Bombastico, or even Dr. Hillbilly that appeared on the cover of WWF Magazine with Bart Simpson, it was Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

I think everyone my age watched at least the first several seasons of The Simpsons.  It was on every kind of item marketed to kids despite having adult humor, yet was just tame enough not to elicit any objections from parents.  Some viewers stayed on as the show moved forward, while others moved on.  I'm in the latter group, as aside from catching an episode here or there, my viewing habits were elsewhere.  Around 2001, this changed.  Playmates Toys picked up The Simpsons license to produce an action figure line known as "The World of Springfield."  The figures were not only great looking, but also spoke lines from the show when plugged into playsets of various Springfield locales.

In all, over two-hundred "World of Springfield" figures were produced.  Fairly early into the run, I found myself drawn to them despite not being a regular watcher of The Simpsons for years.  I couldn't believe that so many random, goofy characters of an animated sitcom were being produced. This also led me back into the show itself where I remain a fan to this day.  Unfortunately, the toy line would only last a fraction of the years that the sitcom has, leaving many collectors yearning for more.

In 2014, a company called NECA picked up licensing rights for The Simpsons, most notably more action figures. Other figures of Bart, Homer, Krusty, and the gang have been produced since the Playmates line ended, but you can't top greatness.  Nothing aside from adding figures to the Playmates line was going to appease longtime collectors, so that is exactly what NECA did.  Calling their line "25 of the Greatest Guest Stars," NECA began producing figures of some of the most memorable stars who have appeared as themselves on the show.  NECA has rounded out the line by throwing in some regular characters such as Homer and Milhouse in designs not produced by Playmates.

The topic of this entry, Bret Hart, arrived in Series 3 of the line.  So far, Hart is a true standout as many of the guest stars chosen have been musicians.  For those of you who don't remember, Hart appeared in the episode "The Old Man and the Lisa."  Springfield's power plant owner and evil billionaire Montgomery Burns suddenly learns that his fortune has dwindled.  Before receiving help from little Lisa Simpson, Burns is forced to sell off his infamous mansion.  One of the potential buyers is Bret Hart.

The figure appears exactly as Hart did on the show.  In fact, a picture of the scene in which Hart appears in the same pose as the figure is shown on the back of the card.  All of the NECA figures so far have been released on a slim cardback with a large image of Homer applauding the star.  On the back is a great synopsis of the celebrity's appearance on the show as well as several images.

The figure does not have much articulation, nor should it.  These figures are intended to fit right in with the older Playmates figures which had neck, shoulder, and waist movement.  If you want a wrestling figure of Hart, you have countless other options.  This figure is all about Bret joining the denizens of Springfield, and it does a great job.  From the hot pink color to the hair to the shades, NECA did "The Hitman" right.  Hart himself has allegedly spoken of an exclusive version to come down the pike in the future, but nothing else is known nor can I think of how it would differ and remain true to the show.  Fox is very particular about toys from The Simpsons appearing just as they did on screen.

I already know fans who do not normally buy figures that have picked this one up.  It's the perfect example of a crossover collectible, as many in this line have become.  Many fans are already hoping that this line continues after the first twenty-five celebrities (bands count as one) have been produced.  My votes?  Barry White, Betty White, Adam West, and Linda Ronstadt.  And, in case NECA is watching, how about Maude Flanders?  Please?  Longtime collectors will understand.  When it comes to The Simpsons, the possibilities have proven to be endless for over a quarter of a century!

Ay caramba!