Mattel Declares For The Royal Rumble

Do they really do that? My joke in that title, that is. My modern viewing has been limited to putting the Rumble and parts of Mania on my iPad while I watch entertaining stuff on the real tv, but all I ever see in headlines is that such-and-such “declared” for the Royal Rumble. Do they come out and say “Well, I declare!”? It just seems so absurd to me.

So, anyway, Mattel has decided to attempt to make some thirty-plus-year-old dreams come true in their latest venture into the retro wrestling figure universe. A Hasbro-sized Royal Rumble ring? Brother Love? Sherri and Liz? All here. Shortly after I took it I texted several folks the “glamour shot” of the entire set that you see above. As a kid I truly had dreams of finding a lot of those items in stores. The Brother Love card back, in particular, is exactly how I’d always envisioned it using the same image. If we look at that picture and not much further, it truly is a dream come true. It’s also a company banking on nostalgia. I have no problem with that if it’s done right. Was it? Well, some of it.

Both sets are available at Mattel Creations. Brother Love and the ring clock in at $40 while the four-pack of Hulk Hogan as Rip, Zeus, Miss Elizabeth and Sensational Queen Sherri is priced at $60. There’s also a bundle option that saves you. Priced at $100 the bundle saves you from having to click twice to add both items to your cart. Yeah, that’s all that it saves you. Not even $5. I’ll tell you a pretty likely way to save more, if you don’t feel the need to jump the gun as I did, at the end of the entry. Are the bootlicker reviewers who are all the rage giving you tips like that? Of course they aren’t. That’s why their “influencing” is coveted by the companies and my true reviews are ignored in this day and age. Ah well, I had my moment. All of fifteen minutes.

Let’s take a look Brucie and the ring first. These are the items that mostly came out as closely as I imagined them had they existed in the Hasbro line. The ring is another reuse of the standard Mattel retro ring, but you know what you’re getting into here. Like last year’s WrestleMania ring release you can choose which sticker is in the middle of the mat the WWF logo (without the F, of course) or the Royal Rumble logo. Of course you’re choosing the latter. Unlike with the Mania ring, I don’t really understand the inclusion of the basic logo sticker. Because of the color the ring stands out and will like great with a “Rumble” going on, but there was a major change here from previous retro ring releases. The ropes are the “gummy” rubbery style that I last remember being included with the Mattel War Games set. They can, and will, snap. They’re absolutely terrible. If you’re going to display this thing for any amount of time I would recommend going to eBay and finding one of the various sellers who produce “replica” ring ropes for a retro ring. Not only do they look and feel better, but they won’t snap.

Brother Love himself, like the ring, is pretty much how we all imagined. The microphone (we’ve all seen plenty of jokes about its shape since its original release) and The Book of Love are reused from the Mattel Legends figure. Brucie boy doesn’t stand too well with the book in hand which is why he’s picture here without it. I was able to get him to stand elsewhere with it, so your mileage may vary. I’d read some early complaints about the face being too red. He looks fine to me but I will say with the way that I tint my photography it may appear darker here than it actually is.

Going into the four pack you have to start with the champ. This time we get Hulk Hogan as Rip from “No Holds Barred.” It’s pretty much a repaint of the earlier red and yellow Hulkster retro, but I think that it looks great. Would No Holds Barred figures have been at the top of my list? Not necessarily, but in my view they’re the best figures to be released from the movie as this is how I would’ve envisioned them. We finally have a retro stylized belt to go onto the belt holders that have been on every ring. I never liked using the modern belts with the retros as Mattel seemed to earlier suggest. I’m hoping to see this one reused and remolded in different colors and for other classic belts to be given the same treatment.

Zeus is by far the worst item in this “bundle,” largely because of his height. Because of the mold used he looks tiny (Lister?) compared to Hogan. He’s supposed to be imposing. A completely different mold should have been used for him. It’s honestly a waste of a slot with this decision being made. All-in-all, if they wanted to keep to the ’89 theme and aren’t able to use Savage, I’d have been fine with a Hulk Rules era Hogan and a new Beefcake to join Liz and Sherri. It even baffles me, but despite being a No Holds Barred collector (owning many rare promotional materials and even a screen used prop), it’s never been one of my favorite movies. I like the memorabilia due to the connection with the golden era.

The Sensational Queen is next and this is the second retro of Sherri in this gimmick that’s been released in the past several months. One of the boutique retro wrestling figure producers released their own version which is in more of a statuesque design. Honestly, there’s room for both in my view. There’s never been any talk of intentions by Hasbro to release anything but wrestlers in their original line. We haven’t even ever seen design concepts. That being said, we have no idea what Hasbro females, managers and announcers would have looked like. Therefore, any produced today to reflect what they could’ve looked like can’t be wrong. This version, complete with what would’ve been a “Real Wrestling Action,” is definitely the “wrestler” version of Queen Sherri.

Devoid of any previous retro releases from any company I would have to say that Miss Elizabeth was the most anticipated from this set. The likeness is great and I wouldn’t mind seeing it on a new full sized figure. The hair is spot on and I think that the facial likeness is close to how Hasbro would’ve captured her. For non-wrestler Liz the stance is odd, but who’s to say that Hasbro wouldn’t have done the same? The stance hurts the skirt and, honestly, it looks like she’s taking a squat. Still, I think we all have to agree that this is probably what Hasbro would’ve given us.

For me, buying this “bundle” was worth pulling the trigger on. There are items that I wanted and, while I was fairly certain that nothing would immediately sell out, I didn’t want to wait. My feelings on the previous retro set were different. The only figure that I wanted out of that one was Alundra Blayze. I waited and ended up getting that entire set off of Amazon for $40. I’ve also waited on the nWo and DX retro sets and ended up getting them on Black Friday sales. The advice I promised earlier? I highly doubt you’ll miss out if you wait for these. Mattel, as of yet, seems to have no intention of limiting their exclusives as they used to. They know where the money is at for them and it certainly isn’t in making a limited product for scalpers to scoop up.

Now where else do you get advice like that? From a kowtowing “influencer?” I think not. I thank all ten of you who read this, you loyal readers, you.

JW’s Wrestling Memorabilia Vlog Vol. 1

Not a true entry here but a bit of a “digest” of sorts for a few recent vlog entries that I’ve made as a supplement to the blog. You’ve wanted to dive a bit deeper into the classic press kits of wrestling? Look no further!

Enjoy and thanks for watching!

"Prime" Memorabilia Memories from Prime Time Wrestling

If you are a subscriber to WWE Network, you may have noticed an influx of classic content in the past few months. No one can seem to figure out just what causes the company to suddenly go on an uploading binge for the "Vault" section, but very few are complaining either. While the company may want you to believe that "Holy Foley" and "Camp WWE" are two of its most popular shows, I rarely hear from anyone that admits to watching those. Instead, it's the vintage shows and matches that I see the most feedback on. One of those shows suddenly saw its uploads stop just around two years ago, only to pick up in the last few weeks. That show? WWF Prime Time Wrestling.

Interestingly, Prime Time Wrestling is the show that I saw the most of as a kid, especially in my years as a casual fan. I was out with family during the day on weekends, so I really didn't partake too much in the classic "Saturday morning wrestling." Instead, I most recall catching Saturday Night's Main Event (after all, it was an event) and Prime Time. And even though the show went through a variety of hosts and formats, my brightest memories revolve around the Gorilla Monsoon-Bobby Heenan version.

I still prefer Monsoon with Jesse "The Body" Ventura as a commentary team, but the two didn't do too much hosting of Prime Time beyond some early episodes. The majority of the run featured "The Gorilla" and "The Brain" providing an often hilarious look at the goings on in the World Wrestling Federation. The chemistry between the two has never been matched in wrestling, obviously aided by their real-life friendship that was completely hidden on television. Okay, maybe a few times you got the feeling that Gorilla didn't completely hate "The Brain," but this was still the era of kayfabe.

Most wrestling television shows at the time didn't yield much memorabilia themselves. Heenan and Monsoon did have a few promotional photos together, but the merchandise of the time more or less centered around the wrestlers themselves. That being said, Prime Time Wrestling featured an absolute plethora of WWF items available in the era.

As with WWF Tuesday Night Titans, the LJN Wrestling Superstars figures were often present on the set of Prime Time. Monsoon and Heenan would utilize them to help illustrate the latest feuds between superstars, and would sometimes set them up to reflect the matches featured on that particular episode. On one segment, Monsoon laments that there wasn't a "Gorilla doll" available. You very much get the idea that he would have appreciated it happening, as it absolutely should have. One has to wonder if there was ever any consideration to the idea, considering how associated he was with the company.

The late, legendary WWF Magazine was also prominently featured. If Gorilla wasn't egging Heenan on about his men not being featured, the two would often cite photos and articles from the latest issue. And who could forget..."From the pages of the World Wrestling Federation Magazine, here's 'Update!'" That segment, which always displayed the latest magazine cover ("...on newsstands now!") was usually hosted by Craig DeGeorge, Lord Alfred Hayes, or Mean Gene Okerlund and spotlighted a recent major happening. And when Bobby finally made the cover in 1987? I'm sure "Miss Betty" was never happier!

As the WWF marketing machine grew and grew, so did the merchandise shown on Prime Time. When George "The Animal" Steele's buddy "Mine" started showing up, Gorilla informs us that we can in fact own it ourselves. We all know how few took the company up on that offer. The musical albums produced by the company were pushed heavily, as was the movie "No Holds Barred" upon its release. Posters, banners, and even Hasbro figures and Tonka Wrestling Buddies would eventually show up as set decor as the years went by. When the show changed formats in 1991 and started to feature a live audience, the merchandise faded away almost overnight. Advertisements were still there, but it just wasn't as fun without the camera focusing in on an LJN or Hasbro as the commercial break ended. And it certainly wasn't as entertaining without the Monsoon-Heenan pairing.

By 1993, Prime Time Wrestling was replaced with Monday Night Raw. No one can deny that Raw has had hundreds of memorable moments as the flagship show of the company and changed the way that wrestling was presented on television. Prime Time rarely advanced angles, as it was mainly a magazine/recap style show. Nonetheless, that was part of the magic. Prime Time featured matches that really didn't fit in anywhere else in the WWF lineup at that point. Some were good, some were bad, but Gorilla and Bobby always made it entertaining. Now that we know how much fun they were really having, it makes it just all the sweeter. And speaking of sweet, I'm sure that somewhere, in a place far greater than we know, our late, beloved Prime Time host knows that we did eventually get a "Gorilla doll"...

Hulkamania Turns 30

Thirty years to the night of press time, Hulkamania was born.  Yes, the term was used before January 23, 1984, but that was simply the seed being planted.  That night in MSG was when the term, concept, and phenomenon burst upon not just New York City, but the world.  Despite what any historian may want you to believe, nothing so immense had ever happened to the wrestling world.  Despite what some revisionist history may tell you, Austin 3:16 is but a close second.  Hulkamania is immortal.

Three decades later, Hulk Hogan is still as relevant in both wrestling and pop culture as ever.  He has adapted with the times, and despite negative press here and there, he is still the ultimate iconic American hero.  In my mind, I used to measure Hogan's mainstream visibility with one phrase: "Even grandmothers know who Hulk Hogan is!"  Take a poll.  I'd venture to guess that's still the case even opposed against wrestling megastars that have come and gone since. 

What exactly makes Hulkamania so irresistible?  It's a larger-than-life superhero who captivated an industry and the world watching it.  It's a character that stood for ideals that, thirty years ago especially, were still held in reverence by the public at large.  It's a brand that just goes on and on.  Wrestling, television, film, the toy store...both then and now, Hulkamania is omnipresent.

What child of the 1980's did not own the legendary Hulk Hogan LJN?  Though two later versions in the line were a tad more lifelike, the original shirtless, belt-wearing LJN of the Hulkster was owned by children who weren't even necessarily wrestling fans.  After all, here was eight inches of rubbery wrestler to bend, fling, and slam all over the house, playground, and lunch room.  Full cases of just Hogan figures shipped to stores to meet demand.  Sure, there were a plethora of heroes and villains for kids to choose from, but you absolutely needed Hulk to make your '80s "figure federation" complete.

WWE may be branching back into cartoons in the next few months, but their original animated adventure saw the Hulkster at the helm.  Hulk Hogan's "Rock n Wrestling" burst onto CBS just a bit under two years after the birth of Hulkamania.  Hogan, along with Andre the Giant, Wendi Richter, Roddy Piper, and Mean Gene Okerlund, among others, appeared in standard cartoon plot lines each week.  Slam City, what?  "Rock n Wrestling" is still as beloved to fans in their 30s today as it was during it's original run.

Naturally, film followed television fame for the Hulkster.  Although his acting and choice of projects may not have always been top quality, they're still remembered today.  After a pre-Hulkamania taste of celluloid in Rocky III, Hogan starred in 1989's No Holds Barred.  Battling Zeus just as he would on WWF shows during the release of the film, the Hulkster stars as "Rip."  The movie, which features cameos by Bill "Masked Superstar/Demolition Ax" Eadie and Stan Hansen, is set to be released on Blu-Ray in 2014.

Hulkamania knows no bounds and of course has also spilled over into WCW and TNA.  Though the Hulkster had a few memorable moments in both promotions, he has never really seemed "at home" as he does in WWE.  The Hulkster's transformation into the villainous "Hollywood" Hogan and leader of the nWo can easily be pointed to as the legend's biggest non-WWF/WWE moment.  When that character was attempted in the WWF, it failed.  The red and yellow Hulkster is synonymous with WWF/WWE.

What does the future hold for Hulkamania?  It's all but guaranteed that Hulk Hogan will be back in WWE at any time.  What role will he play?  Time will tell, but count me in with the group of fans that is all for one last match in the ring.  This is professional wrestling.  Anything can, and will, happen.  This form of sport does not hold the limitations that others do.  Instead of complaining that a "young talent" wouldn't have a spot on a show such as WrestleMania XXX because the Hulkster does should not even be an argument.  He's more than earned his spot on any wrestling show that he pleases.  Thirty years of Hulkamania.  Thirty years of WrestleMania.  Seems like a no-brainer to me, brother.

Wrestling MarketWatch: USA! USA! USA!

American patriotism is a gimmick that has stood the test of time in the wrestling world like no other.  Put Hacksaw Jim Duggan into a wrestling ring in the year 2012 and suddenly it's 1988 again.  What gets your blood pumping more than the patriot battling the evil foreigner with flags waving and the security of the nation hanging in the balance?  It doesn't get more basic, yet engrossing, than that when it comes to losing yourself in a pro wrestling match.

I've said it before..."Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, & Wrestling."  Wrestlers such as Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan and events like SummerSlam and The Great American Bash can take a normal summer wrestling card and turn it into a patriotic spectacular.  It's no mistake that memories of those stars and shows often stand out proudly in the minds of many a wrestling fan from the '80s and '90s.

In this latest edition of MarketWatch, we'll take a look at some items that were derived from these icons of wrestling Americana and examine what they've recently sold for on the secondary market.  Put down the sparkler, take a sip of Diet Pepsi, and remember what wrestling, in many minds, is truly all about.  Although some examples shown are autographed, the prices noted were for unsigned items.

*Even with all the patriots in wrestling, there's only one Real American Hero--Sgt. Slaughter!  His involvement in Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise cemented him as an icon of the 1980's.  Although Hasbro produced dozens of Slaughter figures over the years, his 1992 figure was the only one done for the WWF license.  All of the other Hasbro-produced Slaughter's, including the 8-inch figure often included with the LJN line, were made for G.I. Joe.  The figure is actually not in a wrestling outfit at all, but rather garb that he wore in promotional photos and a vignette or two.  For twenty years that's been quite alright with wrestling fans.  The figure is beloved for an incredible facial sculpt and "Sgt.'s Salute" action.  The figure has recently been selling for between $30 and $60 as has his tag team partner, the 1991 Hasbro WWF Hacksaw Jim Duggan.  The Sarge was not only the first wrestler that I ever had the pleasure of meeting, but Slaughter and Duggan were the first "good guy" tag team that I ever saw wrestle live.

*Like Slaughter and Duggan, SummerSlam holds personal memories for me as well.  The 1995 edition was the first pay-per-view event that I attended live.  It was two years earlier in 1993 that the event was patriotism at full-tilt.  SummerSlam 1993 saw "The Narcissist" Lex Luger go "All-American" in his "Call To Action" campaign against then-WWF Champion Yokozuna.  Even if the event fell a bit flat up against the amazing build, it's still a fun time to look back on.  The program for the event, featuring a photo of Luger still in his Narcissist days, recently sold for $30.  All WWF pay-per-view programs have seemingly been on a monetary upswing, but true collectors know that they have always been items to treasure.

*SummerSlam, as big as it has become, was the not the first patriotic wrestling spectacular.  That honor would go to The Great American Bash.  From tour to NWA, WCW, and WWE pay-per-view event to being celebrated as an episode of Smackdown, the Bash remains a staple in many fans summer wrestling diet.  In 1991 this particular meal was regurgitated.  WCW was in shambles as bad management and the departure of Ric Flair ripped the company apart.  The event was a disaster from top to bottom with chants of "We Want Flair!" echoing throughout the Baltimore Arena and a makeshift championship belt used in lieu of the "Big Gold" belt which had left WCW with Flair.  Despite the mess, the Turner Home Video VHS release of the event was always one of the higher valued tapes.  Selling recently for just $40, maybe fans have finally gotten their fill of the Bash that was more of a gash...in WCW history, that is.

*WCW would go on to recover, and in a few short years a "Real American" would enter the company.  That would be, as if it needed to be said, Hulk Hogan.  While patriotism is included in any number of "Hulkster" products, my favorite Hogan action figure of them all simply screams, "USA!"  This would be the Jakks WWE Classic Superstars "Real American" Hulk Hogan figure.  This figure was only available through a ticket redemption program.  Replica WrestleMania tickets were included with various other Classic Superstars figures.  When a full set was obtained they could be redeemed, via mail, for this amazing figure.  Hulk is clad in his white "American Made" shirt, "Hulkamania" bandanna, and blue workout pants.  Also included were his workout belt and alternate "Hulk Machine" gear from his 1986 appearances as part of The Machines tag team.  Secondary market value of the figure has differed greatly since it was first available.  Most recently the "Real American" sold for $75.  In my opinion, value will only go up as more and more collectors decide that this is one they want to keep.

*Speaking of Hulk Hogan, there is one item that may not have too much to do with patriotism but absolutely needs to end this entry.  At long last, WWE has released the 1989 movie "No Holds Barred" on DVD and Blu-Ray.  Panned by some and enjoyed by many, the movie starred Hogan and Tiny "Zeus" Lister and was produced by Vince McMahon.  The movie did not do as well at the box office as was hoped which probably led to having relatively few merchandise tie-ins.  Although Zeus did get a figure in the Jakks WWE Classic Superstars line, it was probably more due to his brief wrestling career than the movie itself.  One item that is still available on the secondary market is the No Holds Barred program magazine.  Including full-sized posters and a ton of film hype, the program has recently sold for just $20.  A bargain price for a nice item that certainly isn't a piece of...dookie.