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.

A Real American, A Nature Boy, A Modern Day Warrior, A Dragon & A Hot Rod

Another five to complete the ten! I’ve accumulated plenty of goodies representing my top ten favorite wrestlers of all-time just as I’m sure you have with your favorites. I don’t care if they’re monetarily worth one dollar or one hundred dollars, what matters is what their value is to me. That’s where collecting has gone off the rails in recent years. It’s fine to have memorabilia worth money, but for many that truly seems to be the focal point. Grading? Please. I’ll tell you whether my autographs are authentic and what condition my items are in. Paying someone to tell ME and then lock them away behind plastic? I don’t know where some of you all lost it, but if you’re reading the blog you have at least some sense. Enough with grading! Enough with my soapbox! Onto some fun!

Who had more fun than The Nature Boy? If only he knew when to quit! Of my top ten favorite wrestlers of all-time, he’s the one that I wish I had never liked so much. His post-career behavior is mind boggling and nonsensical. It seriously gives me a headache as to wonder which contradictory statements are going to come flying out of his mouth next. Thankfully, I rarely if ever think about it and instead enjoy his career as it was. As NWA World Heavyweight Champion that was a career that took him all over the world including to Japan. Like here in the United States, Ric Flair and the championship together made magazine cover gold in Japan. Adding intrigue was showing Flair with the WWF Champion Bob Backlund and AWA Champion Rick Martel a few years later. 

One man who defeated Flair for that very championship was Kerry Von Erich. From afar, “The Modern Day Warrior,” later “The Texas Tornado,” truly seemed to have it all. If you could chisel a wrestler from granite I think it may very well have ended up being Kerry. Not to mention a homespun charisma and looks that drove the women wild. For that very reason Kerry was the quintessential Texas coverboy. I recently posted the picture that you see here on Instagram. I titled it “Coverboy Loverboy” and as you can see it was an apt description. Throughout his short life Kerry was the one that the guys wanted to be and that the girls wanted to be with. He appealed to all audiences and while his life ended tragically, there’s something about the work that he did leave behind that’s still enjoyable for many of us.

A wrestler who could also fit the bill of “the one that the guys wanted to be and that the girls wanted to be with” is Ricky Steamboat. As late as 2022, “The Dragon” was still breathing fire in the ring! You cannot meet a more affable wrestler and, considering that he’s thought by many to be one of the greatest of all-time, it’s always an all-around amazing experience getting to visit with Steamboat. His merchandise keeps on coming, too. Steamboat seems to have new action figures each year and has even recently joined the realm of Funko Pop figures. One figure that I’ve been wondering if we will see again is the Mattel WWE Defining Moments release. It’s the only Mattel figure thus far to represent the 1991 WWF run of The Dragon, complete with the full costume and “fire” stick. Seeing Mattel’s love for releasing Steamboat and re-releasing past glories, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one show up again in some form down the line.

And speaking of great guys to meet, I’m not sure that they came any better than Rowdy Roddy Piper. I’ve discussed it in here before, but Piper greeted you like an old friend no matter who you were. I have a few hilarious Piper stories that I only share in person, but one that belongs in this blog is when he signed my GI Joe convention exclusive figure of himself. Yes, Hot Rod is a GI Joe. He “marched” it across the table towards me as if it were a toy soldier. It’s the little things like that. He was one of a kind. In the past few weeks I’ve noticed discussion on the net of a photograph which shows Piper hoisting both the WWF Championship and the WWF Intercontinental Championship up outside of the classic blue steel cage. There has been some conjecture as to the origin of this photo. This photo was actually the first signed Roddy Piper item that I ever owned. Those days are long gone, but I still treasure it like all of the rest.

If you’re talking Roddy Piper you have to be talking The Hulkster. Though Piper was not the giant-style villain that Hulk Hogan usually faced, he may very well have been his greatest adversary. Even the WCW Hogan-Piper revival feud, which I didn’t care for at the time, rings of nostalgia now. That was, of course, when Hogan was in the midst of his legendary “Hollywood” heel run. The roles were indeed reversed with the ‘90s version of Hogan vs Piper! The latest Hogan autograph in my life comes on his Mattel WWE Superstars figure. The line, which is meant to resemble the classic Remco AWA figure collection, greatly lends itself to autographs with a nice big plastic bubble to sign on each one. The classic yellow and red Hulkster is joining the line later this year alongside, you guessed it, the Hot Rod himself!

You’ve once again been subjected to my top ten. Come on, you enjoyed it. With men like Rhodes, Harley and Steamboat how could any wrestling fan not? The legends live on…

WWF '80s Cover Boys (& Girl)

What were you doing a decade ago this week? If you were a reader of this blog back then, and I hope that you were, you may have been reading about Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It was ten years ago here on the blog that I chose my five favorite covers of everyone’s favorite then-33 year old (now 43!) wrestling magazine. A magazine that’s slightly less aged yet just as classic is the official WWF Magazine. I can proudly say that I’ve long chronicled the history of the now defunct publication, even garnering the attention of WWE itself. No matter what their official take is, the first in-house publication was the WWWF Wrestling Action Magazine. All five issues have been displayed and discussed here on the blog and probably will be again. The two issues of WWF Victory Magazine from 1984 are what WWE considers to be their first and those two editions certainly hold a value similar to that of the earlier Wrestling Action titles. No matter how you look it at, the publication that eventually became WWF Magazine in its longest incarnation was bound for success. I’m sure you have some favorite issues and often that’s determined by the cover. So just as I did with PWI ten years ago, here are my top five favorite covers from the 1980s… 

*Who personified the ‘80s wrestling boom better than Hulk Hogan and Wendi Richter? Certainly had the latter stayed with the company longer she would be even better remembered, but don’t discount the impact of Miss Richter. Managed by Cyndi Lauper, Wendi Richter was a household name around the time of the first WrestleMania. Her cover appearance on the October/November 1984 WWF Magazine, teamed with The Hulkster himself, reflects just how popular women’s wrestling had grown. Was it the first women’s wrestling revolution? It absolutely was. Nearly forty years later and we’re actually able to recreate this cover in action figure form. Hmm… 

*He’s cool, he’s cocky and he’s bad. You know he’s The Honky Tonk Man and in September 1987 he proudly displayed his newly-won Intercontinental Championship on the cover of the WWF Magazine. This isn’t just a nice cover, it’s a striking cover. Between Honky’s expression, the hair and of course that legendary championship belt (complete with the beloved red WWF logo), this photo is a work of art in my opinion. This is the type of photo that would be featured if some hoity toity magazine were doing a fluff article on pro wrestling. Instead it’s here in a magazine for wrestling fans as opposed to putting down wrestling fans. 

*I’m a Christmas guy. There have been several great Christmas wrestling magazine covers over the years but the one that makes my list is the December 1984/January 1985 WWF Magazine featuring Sgt. Slaughter. The Rowdy Roddy Piper cover of a year later comes ever so close, but something about the Christmas card-quality of the Slaughter design just wins out for me. It’s also interesting to think that Slaughter was gone from the company by the time that the cover date came around with his last recorded match being in early December. I miss when holidays were celebrated more publicly like this. 

*Flying up to March 1989 we’ve got a purely 1980’s cover featuring my all-time favorite tag team, Demolition. It may also be notable that three of my five favorite covers shown here feature championship belts in addition to the stars that held them. Demolition was in the midst of their first of three WWF Tag Team Championship reigns and were undoubtedly the hottest tag team going. I respect The Road Warriors, but Demolition carved out a legacy all their own. In addition to being able to have great, entertaining matches with any style of team, the boys also didn’t overstay their welcome. Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow are also two of the nicest guys in the business. Let’s just say that with Demolition the best part of the match wasn’t limited to their ring entrance. 

*The early years of the magazine certainly produced a lot of memorable covers. October/November 1985 featured an absolutely dramatic scene with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Though the exciting superstar had torn through the NWA over the years, Steamboat was still relatively new to the WWF and “The Dragon” persona. Evoking thoughts of Bruce Lee was always a goal during Steamboat’s time in the WWF and that is certainly evident here. Though he would get a few program covers, including a very memorable one featuring the Intercontinental Championship belt, this would prove to be his only solo appearance. 

Well, that was certainly a bit of a “who’s who” of ‘80s WWF talent. I guess in another decade we’ll go with a different magazine. The Wrestler? Wrestling Revue? Championship Wrestling Magazine from Memphis? For the latter we’d only have six issues to pick the five from so it certainly wouldn’t be too difficult. In the meantime, keep flipping those pages of the past!

George "The Animal" Steele Would Have A Ball With These...

This past year brought a lot of unique items and situations. This entry covers both. You know you saw the ads for them and probably continue to do so. Virtual signings! Virtual meet and greets! Virtual conventions! Concepts that sound like something out of an odd future became real out of necessity. After all, promoters and celebrities need to make money somehow. While I cannot say that I partook in much of that (I may have fired off a few items to be signed, just in case), a new series of collectibles caught my eye. The Highspots Turnbuckle Collection.

No, I don't think that they've actually given it that swank sounding title, but they may as well steal it from me. It takes a lot for me to latch onto something like this, but I got caught hook, line and sinker. Ranging in price from $75 to $109 per item, Highspots began offering official turnbuckles representing talent that they've had in for their virtual signings. Highspots has made turnbuckles and even full rings for countless promotions over the years, so these are actually real, quality made corner pads. 

What caught my eye at first were that some of the pads featured artistic representations of the classic Hasbro WWF figures. I'd venture to guess that they are colorized versions of the drawings on the card backs. Others, such as The Iron Sheik, feature a fictional Hasbro-style figure drawing. I have a feeling that the Mattel Retro figures weren't used in fear of legal issues. Figure drawing or not, the turnbuckles have all featured a logo proclaiming either the talent's name or a quote or symbol representing them. How can your eye not be caught by the classic figure of "The Dragon" on a bright red turnbuckle? Talk about conversation pieces.

The turnbuckles are obviously not folded as they would be if attached to a post and ropes, so there is a lot of room for the wrestler(s) to sign. How cool is it to see the Million Dollar Man and I.R.S. figures flanking a symbol very close to the one used for Money Inc. back in the WWF days? What about "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant's classic profile and a nod to his "Boy From New York City" theme? That is not to say that all of these have been a home run in my view. I can't say that I've known many of the indy talent names that have received one. Nevertheless, even those ones have seemed to sell well.

One that particularly stands out is the turnbuckle that Highspots produced for a private signing with "Fabulous Freebird" Michael P.S. Hayes. Though I was initially hoping for a "Badstreet" logo turnbuckle, the one that they did offer came out great. The design represents both Hayes and the "Badstreet USA" theme music in a style made to resemble the famous Jack Daniels label. On top of that, extra effort was put into the materials. While the others that I own seem to be done with a screen printing process, this Hayes/Badstreet turnbuckle is actually embroidered. 

If I still did my "Future Holy Grail" award at the end of the year, these would be a no-brainer. Once they sell out, they're gone. While a few early ones made it to the regular Highspots commerce site for a spell (I was able to get The Iron Sheik at Black Friday pricing in November), most sell out before the signing even takes place. Seeing as that these aren't truly licensed, I would consider them more of a high-end art piece. But do you really need to worry about licensing when they're "endorsed" in bold Sharpie or paint pen right by the wrestlers themselves? I'm not.

I told myself I was only buying Steamboat. Now I'm not far off from having enough to build a ring...

Wrestling MarketWatch: Bring Home All The Action!

LJN Wrestling Superstars. Still, in my opinion, the most recognizable wrestling figure line ever made. Everyone remembers "those big rubber wrestlers." If you were a kid of any age in the '80s, you knew someone who had a few even if you owned none yourself. You remember that Hulk was the ultimate hero, Andre had varying lengths of hair, and King Kong Bundy really hurt. Really. That was one hefty hunk of rubber. It's no wonder that so many are falling off of the card when you stumble upon one that's even partly attached.

Carded examples of these figures are less often remembered. As kids we wanted to play with these guys. While many kids, such as myself, kept the packaging to look at over and over again, in general we just ripped these superstars wide open. Today we're looking at the other end of collecting LJN. It's a look at the ones that remained on the card over three decades later. We'll also quote some of the recent auction prices for five of the more memorable characters, for better or worse. As always, prices quoted are for unsigned examples.

*No chance in Hell? Years before Vince McMahon became the top heel in the company, the swaggering chairman was simply a bright-blazered television announcer. The LJN figure of "Vince McMann" (so proclaimed the sticker) reflects that era perfectly with the impeccably-tailored and coiffed Mr. McMahon in a perfect pitchman's pose. Fun fact: I remember around twenty-five years ago when Figures Inc. (now known as Figures Toy Company) acquired a warehouse find of Vince LJN's and sold them for the modest price of $25 each. Most recently this figure sold at auction for an additional four-hundred dollars at $425. I wish I'd ordered more.

*One man who loves being an LJN figure is Ted Arcidi. Mr. Arcidi's figure is one that often became "the jobber" among kids playing with their figures seeing that his WWF run was short and unmemorable, despite competing in the famous WrestleMania 2 Battle Royal, The Big Event, and having a few O-Pee-Chee trading cards. Nonetheless, when Arcidi signed my LJN figure of himself several years ago he couldn't have been more pleased. He even asked if I would text him the picture of us holding it. I more than happily obliged. The strongman recently sold for $142 at auction, though there was significant wear to the card.

*An early favorite in the line was Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Although The Steamer isn't quite as colorful as some of the other Wrestling Superstars figures, the pose is unbeatable. In another fun fact connected to the LJN line, Ricky and then-wife Bonnie actually collected the line while on the road with the WWF. They sold their collection in the early 2000's to help aid son Richie in his hobby of car racing. I'm proud to say that both the carded Miss Elizabeth and Dynamite Kid figures in my own collection were originally owned by the Steamboat family. Ricky's own figure recently sold for $400.

*Three of my five all-time favorite wrestlers are represented in the LJN line. Rowdy Roddy Piper is one of them. Another is our fifth and final segment in this entry. The third is right here and is also undeniable royalty. "The King" Harley Race is a beautiful looking figure and, to me, seems to have been designed with both his "King" and "pre-King" looks combined. His jacket is made to look like the cape that he wore in real-life, but also resembles the jacket that he used in the WWF before winning the King of the Ring tournament. I'm not the only one who loves this figure seeing as that it recently sold for $675.

*As with any good WWF spectacle of the 1980's we're ending with The Hulkster. There were three different Hulk Hogan figures in the Wrestling Superstars line. This newly sculpted "shirted" version was also the first to be released on a fabled "black card." While this figure is designated as a "Collector's Edition," the black coloring would later be revived for the final series in 1989, aptly named "Wrestling Superstars ''89." Though we all love the original Hogan LJN, this later version does a much better job capturing a classic dynamic pose of The Hulkster. He recently sold for an equally dynamic price of $1,251.

It's a good time to sell most wrestling figures, not just LJN's. Perhaps due to all of the gloom in the world at the moment, people want toys and are paying top dollar. It's somehow comforting to know that even with all of the advancements in action figures since the days of LJN, the Wrestling Superstars are still bringing home all the action, just as the commercial said.

The King, The Dragon, Two Snakes & A Kid Commish

Now that we've gotten over the bitterness of the release of these figures in the last entry (though there will be more to come), let's look at the figures themselves. Being completely honest, there wouldn't BE any bitterness over the release if they weren't great figures. That being said, if Harley himself wasn't involved it would be the first "Build-A-Figure" release that I would've skipped had the release still gone the way it did with a different figure in place of "The King."

Aside from Steamboat, the series almost seemed to have a "King of the Ring" theme. With Race being obvious, you have Austin and Roberts appearing as they did at King of the Ring 1996. Steamboat did compete in the 1985 King of the Ring tournament which was won by Don Muraco, but there's no real connection. The look is obvious here. This is WrestleMania III Steamboat complete with the Intercontinental title. I guess you can split the set and say half is 1987 and the other half is 1996, but that's looking way too far into themes that the manufacturer never intended.

The packaging is a look back to the rectangular boxes of the past several years that I so enjoyed. These Flashbacks are particularly nice seeing as that the bright colors and baby blue "interview set" background are direct World Wrestling Federation-era throwbacks. I would not argue anyone who said that you get a true blue backdrop piece with each of these. That right there goes to show that bitterness over the release aside, I am always fair and give credit where it's due. The difference in the packaging releases between the United States and international were covered in the last entry.

Were this not a "Build-A-Figure" series, I would not own the Austin. I own so many figures of Stone Cold, The Rock, and The Undertaker from the Jakks era that I have no desire to add any more to my collection. A new "Stunning" Steve Austin would definitely pique my interest, but that's nowhere near here where we're discussing "The Rattlesnake." Steamboat has already been done in white as a Basic release although the detail on the gi is sensational. Jake Roberts is a fun entry as he has never been produced in his 1996 outfit correctly before. Jakks made an attempt in a two-pack with Austin as part of the Classic Superstars line, but the tunic ended up being made as a vest and was not accurate at all.

Fan of "The King" or not, Harley Race is the standout figure here and why so many want the set. The thing looks like a statue and for once I appreciate a soft plastic accessory as opposed to soft goods. The crown, which was re-released with the RetroFest Jim Duggan, fits perfectly on Harley's head even though it does not look like it would. With the accessories removed Harley looks just as accurate. I'm not sure that Mattel did quite as good of a job with the tattoos as Jakks did but the facial sculpt is better here. Harley's hair color changed during his run as "The King," and I'd say that this shade sits somewhere in the middle. The crown is present on the back of the trunks and the boots. The trunks crown always seemed to be a bit off-center in real life. It may be tad too far to the right here, but I'm not complaining.

While Race's accessories are his cape and crown, the others have a wider variety. Steamboat has his gi, sash, and Intercontinental Championship, Jake has "Revelations, his albino Burmese python, and Austin has his vest and microphone. The old school microphone would've been a better fit, but I'm not deducting points for it.

The Commissioner Shawn Michaels "Build-A-Figure" is an interesting choice. It's certainly a way to get another figure out of an all-time popular character. The stint was so brief, however, that I'm not sure it's essential. The likeness is perfect and the beard and ponytail are a great look, but it remains one of my least favorite of the "Build-A-Figure" lineup. It doesn't have the importance to the line that Jim Ross, Michael Cole, and The Fink do, yet I doubt it will be released on its own like Paul Heyman and Ricardo Rodriguez were. It's just sort of there and if you're not interested in Harley it really isn't worth the trouble of the set. If you're an HBK collector, you will want it for the face scan/sculpt alone.

This is a great set. It will irk a lot of collectors who, like myself, paid a premium to own the set should these exact figures get re-released. It's the nature of the beast and a risk you have to be willing to take. Austin and Steamboat aren't involved here as similar figures have been released. More figures of Jake are already on the horizon and seeing as how limited his run was in this outfit, I don't see a rehash. The, pardon my French, "shit-eating-grin" head sculpt debuted here should definitely see reuse. Harley is Harley. I think he's essential to any collection and I would be just as anxious for a figure of him with blue trunks and mutton chops. There have been rumors that we'll see him released in another form, but he isn't the kind of wrestler that Mattel likes to produce much of. Time will tell.

I took the plunge to get a case of these. I've rarely overspent in over three decades of collecting and I don't really feel that I did here, either. Way more than retail? Yes. But I feel satisfied. I have a set that I wanted. I'm still not happy about the blunder of a release that it was nor the "Collector's Edition" crapola that we collectors continue to face with each series. They can keep their "Elite Squad" hashtag and all of that other marketing nonsense disguised as something "fun." I'll collect my figures and spend the least amount of time out of my busy day doing so, thank you very much.

The Case Fit For A King...aka...How Mattel Blundered One Of Their Best Figure Efforts

A little over two years ago the first pictures surfaced of the third Wal Mart exclusive Elite Flashback series. Included were Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and King Harley Race. Together the five would include parts to build Shawn Michaels in his brown suit and cowboy hat from his short sting as commissioner. I greatly anticipated the set seeing as that Race is one of my top five favorite wrestlers, not to mention that this was his first inclusion into the Mattel line.

Before the set was released (and I use that term loosely), it became apparent that Harley would be "short packed." There's no excuse for this, no matter how the company wants to spin it, but nonetheless there would one figure of "The King" per case, with two of Steamboat and Roberts. The least exciting figure of the lot, Steve Austin, would have three figures per case. Credit where credit is due, Austin is a fundamental name when looking at the history of the company and I'm sure his eight thousandth (loose sarcasm) figure would sell well, but there's no reason for "short packing" in a set where most are going to "collect them all" regardless in order to create the "Build-A-Figure."

That Fall the set began hitting Wal Mart stores. It also became apparent that all of the figures were hot. Why not? It was a solid lineup, there was a "Build-A-Figure" involved, and the packaging was great as it had been with the previous Elite Flashback releases. But once stores received their initial shipment, the figures stopped. Where were they? Prices were skyrocketing on the secondary market, especially for the "crown jewel" of the set, Harley Race.

Smoke screen and double talk are concepts that have never been foreign to action figure collectors. Name any brand and manufacturer from the past and you're sure to hear excuses and stories as to why certain things happened to make this figure limited, that one delayed, or this item never to be released at all. Jakks "Chinese New Year," anyone? This set, with all of its controversy, has been no different. Did the company lose the rights to one of the characters? It hardly seems like that would cause them to pull completed product. Or was it a "trial run" for their absolutely lovely and collector-friendly "Collector's Edition" nonsense that has been plaguing the line since shortly after this set was released and magically disappeared?

Whatever the situation may be, a Canadian release of the figures has surfaced as well. Whoever got their hands on these is certainly feeling their own stimulus right now thanks to collectors such as myself who want this set, but such is free enterprise.

Upon opening a case you can see why so many Steamboat's and Race's ended up with the "switchblade slice" often found on figures in stores. There are also a few small differences. The Canadian releases omit any mention of the name "Shawn Michaels." Yes, the pieces of the "Build-A-Figure" are still there as are pictures of the pieces on the packaging, but the name and any worded acknowledgement are gone. This would lend credence to the theory that Mattel lost the rights to one of the characters in the set, but HBK figures have been produced since. A small blurb on the back of each package that mentioned a moment in the career of the respective wrestler is also gone. That seems to have been replaced by legal wording in multiple languages. On the Race, Steamboat, and Austin figures there is also a choking hazard/legal sticker added to the front which can be removed.

The figures themselves remain the same. Next week, we'll take a look at the five figures themselves and if they're worth the price you'll likely have to pay to add them to your collection.

The Dragon Scorches The Cover

Many consider him to be one of the greatest of all-time. Others say they've seen none better. Without a doubt, you were highly entertained if you've ever viewed a Ricky Steamboat match. "The Dragon" could do it all, with just about any opponent, and never gave less than 100%. The man had a tremendous look, as well. Exotic and dangerous, he was the wrestler that guys wanted to be and that girls wanted to be with, yet he remained a wholesome hero of the squared circle.

During his career, Steamboat's image graced the cover of many publications. The grappler who would later call North Caroline his home actually first began setting the world on fire in the late '70s as part of Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. With longer hair than he would later be known for, Steamboat was played up as a Hawaiian high-flyer who did things that many other stars of the time did not. Though he had many top-level feuds at the time, his bouts with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair would be a prelude to their storied NWA World Championship rivalry a decade later. Many have said that these Mid-Atlantic matches, mostly confined to the memories of fans in the arena live, were even better than those later seen on a national level.

The treasured Mid-Atlantic Championship Magazines saw a few Steamboat covers, but none are cooler than the "beach" cover of Issue No. 3 Vol. 8. These magazines are quite collectible and always fetch a high price when they appear for sale these days. Many of the early covers feature beautiful artistic renderings of the promotions stars. Steamboat in his "native" lands of Hawaii is definitely unique and almost too peaceful for a wrestling magazine.

As Pro Wrestling Illustrated was instituted in 1979, it's no surprise that the publication grew as did the career of "The Dragon." Ricky made several PWI covers over the years, including one in May 1981 that featured him as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. The title belt, a favorite of many classic wrestling fans, saw one of its greatest national showcases on this cover. Steamboat also throws the old adage that "babyfaces don't grow facial hair" out the window as the cover shows him sporting quite the mustache.

By the middle of the decade, Ricky Steamboat had transformed into a
master of the martial arts somewhat reminiscent of Bruce Lee. "The Dragon" was born in the WWF and would be a moniker that followed Steamboat through the rest of his career. Steamboat saw his sole WWF Magazine cover appearance on the October/November 1985 issue. A striking and dramatic cover, the issue seems to show up much less than other issues of the time and, thus, commands a higher price when it does appear for sale.

Many fans consider the WrestleMania III encounter between Steamboat and Randy "Macho Man" Savage as their all-time favorite match. The bout ended with "The Dragon" as the Intercontinental Champion. Though his title reign was notoriously short, Steamboat made the ideal holder of that particular title. After all, it's often said that the matches for that championship "stole the show," just as Steamboat did more often than not. A 1987 WWF program cover appearance shows Steamboat during his brief reign, holding the Intercontinental Title high in the air. Iconic and historic.

Although he just misses my own "Five All-Time Favorite Wrestlers" list, he's definitely in the next five. When a Steamboat match is on, you watch. You can't help but watch. Meeting him many times over the years, Steamboat's greatness in the ring is only matched by his real-life attitude towards his many fans. If anyone ever came away from a meeting with "The Dragon" with any less than a smile on their face, I'd be truly shocked. The phrase "Never meet you heroes" does not apply here.

A true champion of life, cover-to-cover.

Jim Crockett's All-American Legacy

November 27, 1975. Greensboro, North Carolina. A night of wrestling presented by Jim Crockett Promotions. Terry Funk. Paul Jones. All the ingredients needed for what we would now look upon as a classic night of professional wrestling. Traditional wrestling. Wrestling the way that many still remember as the greatest era in the history of the sport. The one element that I failed to mention? The Funker and Number One were battling over the United States Championship. Funk had just won a tournament for the vacant title while Jones, an icon of Carolina wrestling, was the other wrestler who had made it to the finals. Who won the epic Thanksgiving night rematch? You could go look it up and simply see the result, but I have a better idea. How about learning each nuance of the match. Why it happened, what happened during, and what the ramifications were. This is where a brand new book comes into the picture.

Dick Bourne's newest in a line of books is titled "Jim Crockett Promotions' United States Championship." You may already have read some of Bourne's other titles including "Big Gold," "Ten Pounds Of Gold," and "Minnesota Wrecking Crew." Bourne is also one of the creative forces behind The Mid-Atlantic Gateway website. The Gateway is a site that I'm sometimes too scared to surf over to. The reason is that I know I'm about to lose an hour or two getting absorbed into the great content covering anything and everything that you ever would want to know about Jim Crockett Promotions and the rich Carolina wrestling history. Everything from wrestlers to venues to food (yes, food!) is covered there. The writing and photography pulls you in and actually almost transports you back to the era that's being described.

That same style of publication carries over into the new "United States Championship" book. As any fan of wrestling's past will tell you, history isn't always easy to follow. The promoters of the day probably never imagined that nearly a half century later, their moves and tactics would be studied. This was a business designed to draw fans into a building to buy tickets, Cokes, and popcorn. It wasn't rocket science...to them. To a lot of us, it's a form of sports and entertainment that is as worthy to chronicle as is cinema or pro football. That's the kind of history that is presented at the Gateway and the same level of dedication went into this book.

Bourne traces the Crockett version of the United States title all the way back to it's origins and brings it to present day. You'll see why this version of the championship (there were several around the country) is in fact the predecessor to today's WWE United States Championship. With so much focus on that particular title over the past year, a book like this could not have come at a better time.

Detailed descriptions and stories are given with each title change. Rare photos, newspaper clippings, and even newly created art and charts break down the fantastic title lineage. Can you believe that some wrestlers who held the title were never even photographed with it? And there wasn't just one physical belt. As the cover illustrates, there were actually five different versions of the belt while it was under the Jim Crockett Promotions banner. Before this book, I could have described three of them. I never before realized that two others existed, both of which look very much like other title designs. You'll see them all, as well as impressive replicas of some that are now missing in action.

Perhaps the most striking takeaway from the book is just how many of wrestling's biggest legends held this belt. Ric Flair, Harley Race, Jimmy Snuka, Dusty Rhodes, Roddy Piper, Blackjack Mulligan, Ricky Steamboat, Sgt. Slaughter, and Wahoo McDaniel just to name a few. Sure, we hear Michael Cole rattle off a few of the names every so often during a WWE U.S. Title match, but the complete list is absolutely mind-boggling. A line on the cover describes the book as "A Close Look at Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's Greatest Championship." With a list of title holders like that, it's hard to disagree with that description of the title.

If you're familiar with Bourne's books on the most recognizable versions of the NWA Championship, you remember the great "belt photography" that went into those. This volume is no different, with photos so clear and close that you might think Reggie Parks etched the belts right into the book. There are also plenty of shots of the various title holders wearing the championship, some of which have never before been published, as well as replicas and memorabilia.

If there's a classic wrestling fan on your list this holiday season, look no further. The legacy of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and one of its best draws is all right here. For more information and to order, check out the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. While you're there, stick around and check out some of the great content. Just grab a drink, make a sandwich, and reserve an hour or two. You'll be hanging out awhile!