The 1983 Era

What a great year! No, not 2023. I don’t know anyone who had a great 2023. Forty years ago, however, I bet the sentiment was a lot different. It was 1983. What was not to like? We were just coming out of that “the first few years of a decade are part of the previous decade” time period and we were going headfirst right into the ‘80s! But in between listening to “Thriller,” going to see “Return of the Jedi” and spending time with me in my first full-calendar year on earth (now you know how old I am), you needed some great wrestling reading. As was the norm in the ‘80s, Pro Wrestling Illustrated was your answer.

Why 1983? A few reasons. First off, it was forty years ago. Not quite a half-century but a definite nice chunk of time regardless. Again, it’s just a smidge shorter than I’ve been alive. It’s a scary thought. Secondly, look at all the cool covers we got from PWI in ’83. We have a total of ten true blue Hall of Famers spread over twelve covers. A “Who’s Who” of wrestling and definitely some of the most recognizable visages ever to grace the squared circle. Not to mention that three of my top five all-time favorite wrestlers are here. Lastly is that one day, probably around a decade ago, I suddenly noticed something regarding these covers in my own collection.

I’m honestly not sure if I’d just gotten one of them signed or was just enjoying my collection, but I noticed that I was very close to having a complete signed run of the 1983 PWI lineup. At the time all ten “cover boys” were still alive and I’m thinking that I was down to three autographs necessary in order to “complete the set.” Looking at them all my best guess is that two were February (Dusty Rhodes) and July (Rick Martel). I remember specifically getting the February issue signed in one of the final times that I saw “The Dream” and it’s been quite a long time since Martel has made an appearance. Since then I’ve thought about how, while it isn’t my favorite Martel magazine cover (he has two other PWI covers that are much better), I’m glad that I ended up getting this one signed for the sake of the lineup. While he has done a private signing or two in recent years, I have not personally run into him since I had the issue signed.

I will always remember the last autograph needed for the set being Mil Mascaras on the April issue. While I’d met “The Man of 1,000 Masks” many times, for whatever reason this magazine never ended up signed. With an absolute plethora of covers from the ‘70s to choose from and loads of other merchandise, there are always plenty of autograph options when it comes to Mil. Somewhere around 2018 I finally ended up getting the issue signed and “completing the set,” as it were. I will also note that Mascaras has never been anything but gracious with me and I’ve always enjoyed my interactions with him. He’s actually a lot more personable than the self-proclaimed “world’s friendliest wrestler” who likes to complain about the match he had with Mil on TBS, but that’s another rant for another time.

In addition to the aforementioned three we’ve got another Rhodes cover as well as appearances by Ricky Steamboat, Bob Backlund, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Tommy Rich (twice), Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bruno Sammartino and Harley Race. We get great representation of both the WWF and the NWA as well as their respective championship belts at the time. Someone was obviously pretty fond of armbars as the move is shown in all three of the “action shot” covers featuring Rhodes, Martel and Rich, respectively. I wonder if this choice was made on purpose? I know most will agree that the studio shot covers are the ones that really stand out here. The only thing that could make the collection even better would be if the Jerry “The King” Lawler cover from the following year had been done here instead. 

The issues themselves are still plentiful but sadly it’s no longer possible to get the set autographed yourself. With the amount that all of these men signed I’m sure that there are other copies of each signed, but who knows how many. I’d venture to guess that the studio portrait covers are more likely to be out there signed with how nice they look autograph-adorned. I’m never usually a completist on anything myself as I prefer a bit of this and a bit of that, but once I saw how close I’d gotten with this set, how could I stop then? And hey, maybe I looked into the future a bit. Maybe I knew that 2023 just wasn’t going to be all that great and that we’d need a nice, pleasant fortieth anniversary to look back on. It worked.

Wrestling MarketWatch: The Road Warriors

Longtime readers know that when it comes down to tag teams with face paint, I'm pretty biased. In fact with tag teams in general I'm beyond biased. I am a Demolition guy. Aside from paint and the era in which they came, I honestly never saw much similarities between Demolition and The Road Warriors. Are Sting and The Ultimate Warrior the same just because they both wore face paint in the '80s and '90s? Not at all. That being said, as much of a Demolition fan as I am, I have always been thoroughly entertained by the LOD, as well, and greatly respect what they did for the business.

As of press time we have just recently mourned the passing of Road Warrior Animal. It's time to look back on a small sampling of the merchandise created in the images of Animal, Hawk, and manager Paul Ellering. While a few items may have seen a slight inflation over their regular market value, I think that you'll notice relative stability seeing as that merchandise of "the boys" is usually in high demand regardless.

*For many fans their love affair with the team began with their first action figures. They, of course, came courtesy of Remco and the American Wrestling Association in 1985. Originally Hawk and Animal came sold in a two-pack. It was later expanded to a three-pack by including Paul Ellering. The trio has great accessories and are still the best figure representations of the early days of the Legion of Doom. Although Mattel has promised us that this will change next year, this is still the only released figure of Ellering. The figure was later re-released singly as part of the infamous "Mat Mania" line. The threesome is averaging $100 loose and complete, which isn't too far out of the ordinary for figures that many consider to be highlights of the series.

*Sticking with early LOD we've got what is probably their best remembered magazine cover appearance. The Pro Wrestling Illustrated issue from March 1984 was not only the "year end" issue for 1983, but also a true iconic moment for Hawk and Animal. The cover may proclaim them "Tag Team of the Year" but the combination of their unique look and the incredible photography (horror lighting, anyone?) made sure that no one would forget them even thirty-six years after hitting the newsstands. In what may be a record for the issue it recently sold for $70. This could be the one price listed in this entry that is higher solely from Animal's passing.

*The Road Warriors competed nearly everywhere, but many fond memories stem from their time with the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions. The underrated memorabilia produced by JCP has long been celebrated in this blog and you may recall seeing many of those southern stars plastered on bandanas. The first one that I owned featured none other than Hawk and Animal. There are actually several designs featuring the tag team, but the one shown here has been selling for an average of $50. Considering how high these bandanas can go, it's actually a fair price.

*Even after Road Warrior Hawk's passing, Animal continued to venture in pro wrestling. He returned to the big time in the mid-2000's with another run in WWE. He still looked good and I was always pleased to see him continue to take part in the business. The company tried to utilize him in several different ways, though he was ultimately released in 2006. Several action figures were born out of this run as were trading cards and promotional photos. His solo promotional photo from this run, complete with the classic face paint and spiked shoulder pads, recently sold autographed for $20. 

*Ending as we started with action figures, we now look at what are probably their best remembered pair. In the ever popular Hasbro line The Legion of Doom was represented in what turned out to be the second and final series of tag team two-packs. The other set, The Nasty Boys, saw manufacturing problems thus causing Hasbro to send LOD-only cases to retailers early on. The Nasty Boys pack was the single Hasbro WWF item that I never saw at retail. Many other fans encountered the same issue. Due to this, many of the over-shipped LOD two packs sat on clearance. This has done nothing to hurt their value or take away from the fact that they are fun figures. You may recall that the Hasbro Hawk even made a cameo appearance at their WWE Hall of Fame induction. The pair of loose figures has been selling for an average of $90.

Hawk and Animal may be gone physically, but their influence will assuredly always be felt in the world of professional wrestling...and its merchandise. What else is there to say? What a rush!

Forty Years of PWI

September 1979. Were you alive? I was a few years away from arriving, but it had to be a great time to be alive. A great decade was ending, another good one was on the way and those nasty '90s were a good ways off. Bias towards eras aside, I will always be partial to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Beginning this month some forty years ago, PWI became the standard in wrestling magazines. In 2019 it's the only wrestling magazine still regularly on the newsstands. Have you ever peeked into that first issue? You're about to.

Is it any surprise that the cover of that first issue features '70s wrestling icons? "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and Mil Mascaras are nicely photographed by editor Bill Apter with an inset action shot of Nick Bockwinkel. Mascaras was always billed as the favorite wrestler of Apter and neither the masked luchador nor Dusty were strangers to the covers of this family of magazines. I had the opportunity to witness a reunion between Mascaras and Apter this summer. When the legendary photographer and editor is present with "The Man of 1,000 Masks," he tells me that he suddenly becomes "Mil Moscawitz."

Speaking of Apter, in this first issue we get his well-remembered "Ringside" potpourri column as well as "The King's Court" with Peter King, "On Assignment" with Steven Farhood, and "Dressing Room Confidential" with Randy Gordon. The first letters section, "Between Falls," is a star-studded affair for this first issue with correspondence from the stars themselves! Dusty, Rick Steamboat, Bruno Sammartino, Johnny Valiant, Ric Flair, Captain Lou Albano, The Grand Wizard, and Andre the Giant have all sent their thoughts on this new publication! A worthwhile read if only to see how eloquently Andre pens his congratulatory letter. And just how are the legends shown reading this first issue that we're reading? Hmmm...something's fishy here!

Speaking of fishy, we come to none other than Matt Brock. Brock was already known to the readers of the Weston wrestling magazines and here he is "Looking At..." Jerry Lawler. Brock was always described as a grizzled, tough-as-nails, veteran wrestling reporter who shunned computers in favor of a vintage typewriter. This was forty years ago. Last I checked, ol' Matt was still plugging away as if time has stood still. It's as if he was a special being living in a world reserved for unique people such as himself, fellow wrestling writer Liz Hunter, Little Jimmy, and Sister Abigail.

Next up we get articles featuring some of my favorites such as Harley Race, Rick Steamboat, and our cover boys Dusty, Mil, and Bockwinkel. Steamboat is also shown in the "heel" column "Off The Top Rope" written by Dan Shocket. Unlike with Matt Brock, there's no question that Shocket was true blue. As was reported in the magazines several years later, Shocket tragically passed away from cancer. Eddie Ellner and Brandi Mankiewicz would carry on the "bad guy" writer legacy in a way that corporate pretenders like "Vic Venom" in the WWF Magazine couldn't quite match.

We also get our first "edition" of Wrestling Enquirer. This feature was two pages set up to look like the front page of a newspaper. Included were blurbs from around the wrestling world, written in a breaking news style. In the lower right corner we even get some upcoming event dates from around the country. Following that is wrestling's answer to "The Playboy Interview." Yep, it's the PWI Press Conference. And just who was the first subject? "The Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino. Among the topics covered are his title loss to Ivan Koloff and whether or not Bob Backlund will be an unforgettable champion.

Florida star and eventual gator breaker Steve Keirn gets a good write-up, as does the legendary Chief Wahoo McDaniel. While we get plenty of ads for back issues of other wrestling titles, ways to get stronger, ways to retire before 50, and other mail-away offers of questionable authenticity, the somewhat un-PC items shown for sale in other publications of the '70s are all but gone. Need a vinyl "friend" for those cold lonely nights? You will just have to find an older copy of Sports Review Wrestling to fill that need.

If your need in 2019 is to add this magazine to your collection, it may cost you. Selling prices have varied over the years, but most recently a copy sold at auction for $129.99. Also be aware that a "replica" issue from 2004 that came polybagged with the 25th anniversary edition of PWI is out there, though it has markings to indicate as such right on the cover.

For those of us who grew up with the title, the memories of articles, photos, and covers should come flooding back. It is an absolutely true story that upon my first PWI magazine purchase I knew what I wanted to do in the wrestling world. While it was only for a few issues, I am immensely proud that I was able to live that dream and can count myself among the names of writers who have been able to contribute to this long lasting publication.

While we couldn't fit every picture and page here in the blog entry, be sure to follow @JWs_Wrestling_Memorabilia on Instagram to see more of the issue, including the very first PWI Ratings page. Happy Birthday, PWI!

Wrestling MarketWatch: Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Nearly forty years after the first issue, the title remains on newsstands. I often preach the fact that we need to enjoy the magazine while it lasts, as we all thought that a WWE-branded monthly would go on forever. Sadly that was not the case. Many modern stars will never see a magazine cover in their careers, so when an issue of PWI pops up with Charlotte Flair, Braun Strowman, or Kevin Owens featured, it feels like a tradition that still lasts. Fans may no longer live and die by the rankings, but there is still a lot to love in the pages once dominated by the likes of literary luminaries such as Matt Brock and Liz Hunter.

As always in MarketWatch entries, we're looking at a few examples of recent selling prices for items of a specific theme. This time, it's obviously PWI. We'll go back in time for a few issues, and check in with a more recent example, too, just to see how collectibility has held up with the title. As usual, prices featured are for unsigned items unless otherwise noted.

*There's no better place to start than where it all began. Probably one of the most featured magazine covers on this blog over the years, the September 1979 issue launched the title with Dusty Rhodes and Mil Mascaras most prominently featured. The two had been staples of the Stanley Weston wrestling magazines for a decade prior. "The American Dream" was in a singlet-wearing phase at this point, and we can't forget that Mascaras is editor Bill Apter's favorite wrestler. The selling price of the issue has had highs and lows over the years, but recently sold for $110.

*From Issue #1 you go to Issue #2. Another Weston magazine legend, The Living Legend himself, makes the first of several Pro Wrestling Illustrated cover appearances. Although I'm sure that the magazine tries to stick to current stars to appeal to younger fans, it would be nice if the next issue in 2018 featured Bruno Sammartino as a final tribute. As the magazine was still coming into its own, this November 1979 cover gives off a very Inside Wrestling feel. The issue recently sold for $23.

*Moving onto November 1983 we find a legend making one of his last cover appearances. In an extremely cool shot that just screams "wrestling," Harley Race holds the NWA World Heavyweight Championship proudly and regally. Many collectors love the covers that feature crisp photography of the many championship belts from the past. PWI would become known for these portrait-style covers featuring champions, especially those in the NWA. This issue recently sold for $40.

*September 1985 features another great portrait, this time sans belt. The subject is often said to have been in line for the aforementioned NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but due to his career-ending accident it was not meant to be. Still, Magnum T.A. holds a place in fans hearts to this day. Attend any autograph appearance of his, especially in the south, and you can still witness this popularity. Here, Magnum is positioned as a cross between Tom Selleck and James Dean. At least that's what I'm getting from it. Needless to say, both PWI and Jim Crockett Promotions knew to market Magnum to the female fans. This issue recently sold for $32.

*We can't forget about the more recent issues, even if this female spectacular is already a decade old. The November 2008 issue was the first "PWI Female 50," ranking the top fifty female wrestlers at the time. Featured on the cover are Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, "The Beautiful People" consisting of Angelina Love and Velvet Sky, and Awesome Kong. A stunning and talented group, for sure. Who would have guessed where these ladies, and the women's wrestling divisions, would be ten years later? This issue recently sold for $16.

My hope is that PWI lasts forever. In my opinion, there will always be room for some tangible, print media. Does the rest of the world agree with me? Not usually. But it's important that fans and the stars themselves have these items to pass down and remember. It's called memorabilia. On this blog, for nearly a decade, it's always been the name of the game.