The Greatest Hits Of The Legends

Four true blue wrestling legends on Thanksgiving? Sounds like a winning Survivor Series team to me! Instead of once again talking about the past glories of wrestling on Thanksgiving night, I thought it’d be fun to look back at four Mattel WWE Legends figures that are suddenly new again. It’s the Mattel WWE Legends Greatest Hits series. Exclusive to your favorite bullseyed retailer, the set started hitting stores earlier this month. And what about that phantom fifth figure? He’s still on the back! Grab some bread, Dukes mayo and either white or dark meat. It’s time for your first turkey sandwich of the night and a look at some toys!

While the initial Mattel WWE Greatest Hits line has already had several legends included, a retailer exclusive subset has now been introduced and is dedicated solely to the stars of yesteryear. The Greatest Hits concept itself brings previously released figures back to the line, almost always with some sort of upgrade. For the first set of Legends we’ve got The Ultimate Warrior, The Honky Tonk Man, Terry Funk and The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. The four are packaged in the Legends box design that we’re all quite familiar with. It will also likely be the last set to be in this particular box design as the next regular Legends set release is already known to be coming in brand new packaging. This set has been arriving to the stores in a “sidekick” (those cardboard displays that hang at the end of an aisle) featuring the same art as the individual boxes.

These four figures were originally released before three major design changes in the Mattel line: “True FX” facial scans, extra elbow jointing and removable hands. If you already have the four it’s up to you if picking up the new versions are worth the upgrade. Interestingly, Bruno Sammartino is still shown on the back of the box. The Living Legend was originally scheduled as the fifth figure in the series but was ultimately moved to a main line release in the Elite Series 110. Seeing as that this figure was, arguably, the best of the series, it may not be such a bad move. Bruno has only ever had one release in the Mattel line and that was a decade ago. This figure will seemingly have a greatly updated face thanks to the new technology and, for the first time as a figure anywhere, Bruno will be released in green trunks. It should be noted that while he remains on the packaging for this series, he was omitted from the store display art.

One of these figures is brand new to me, personally, and that would be Davey Boy Smith. This was the very first figure of the British Bulldog released by Mattel over a decade ago and, at the time, I simply wasn’t sold on the changeover from Jakks. I was basically buying figures such as Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage who Jakks hadn’t made or previously released characters with all-new looks from Mattel such as short-haired SummerSlam ’90 Rick Rude. For whatever reason, short-haired Hart Foundation Davey didn’t make my cut back then. Now he does. I’ll say that he isn’t quite bulky enough and maybe that put me off of the original release. We all remember how big Davey was at the time, albeit with tragic consequences. Still, I’m glad to finally get the figure and the soft goods Hart Foundation vest is great.

The Ultimate Warrior is always a favorite and a hot seller. This look has been done several times but the Elite version here was first available in a Flashback series that I reviewed here on the blog so many years ago. Included are the Macho King’s “breakaway” scepter (the plastic-y Royal Rumble ’91 version that was used to cost the Warrior the title while he was wearing this attire) and the WWF “winged eagle” championship belt on the never-before-released pinkish-purple strap. The inclusion of a “new” belt should cause this figure to be popular alone. While I have tons of fists from other figures, as I’m sure you do as well, I really feel a set should’ve been included here. The Warrior’s fists were always flying.

The Honky Tonk Man in his blue jumpsuit was a welcomed addition to this set by many. Not only is it an iconic look, but the original release has deteriorated in the eyes of many. This blue jumpsuit with The Honky Tonk Man caricature was originally included in the Retrofest line a few years ago which is best remembered for being packaged in cool arcade game cabinet-styled boxes. What the line is infamous for is that the blue jumpsuit has faded to a light purple for many collectors. Hopefully a different dye/material/whatever was used to prevent this for this re-release. The face is sort of neutral here and I wouldn’t say that it really looks EXACTLY like ol’ HTM, but it’s not someone completely different, either.

For a few reasons, the star of this set for me is The Funker. We may have just lost him, but we all knew that he’d live on. This version of Funk relives his reign as ECW Champion. The face looks pretty much identical to the original but it’s two other features that I enjoy. The first is the inclusion of taped fists. You know you’ve seen countless photos of The Funker posing with those legendary and lethal taped fists. The other feature, which is included with all of these figures, is that the head is removable. Because of this you can take one of the heads from the Terry Funk figure out of The Coliseum Collection and attach it to this body. While the tights are a tad more colorful here, this “mix” is very close to an ’89-era Funk look. I can feel the figure photography already.

This is a solid set. It would have been even better with Bruno, but at least we are eventually getting him. I predict good sales, too, as it’s hitting just as the holiday buying season is kicking in. That’s not to say that these guys will evade clearance completely, but you just don’t know. Grandma Mabel Bertha Ethel remembers these names and is sure that her grandson, Hunter Axel Liam, is going to want these under his tree. It’s also hard to say if stores will be getting shipments beyond what comes included in the sidekick display. Whatever the case may be, it’s a nice lineup to kick off the Legends Greatest Hits. Now go! Get outta here! Grab another sandwich or make your first leftover plate. Why not fire up a classic Survivor Series? To make it simple for you, I’ll suggest 1989. You know you want to hear Vince yelling the names.

“Gobble, gobble.”—Gorilla Monsoon

The Legendary Terry Funk

Any good journalist writes these things far in advance. It’s an old tradition/SOP for news obituaries. Whatever it says about my journalistic skills and/or integrity, I just don’t do it. I don’t even feel the need to rush tributes out, though I’m hardly a news site. Pretty much everything on this blog is a reflection and that’s certainly what we do when someone passes. We all knew that we’d be doing quite a bit of reflecting upon the passing of Terry Funk and, while we all knew that it was inevitable, we still were not fully prepared.

Terry Funk was real. While there may have been a few additions for the crazy world of wrestling like the classic “you egg suckin’ dog!” or unleashing that legendary branding iron, everything else about the man was just genuine. He was that Texas cowboy from the Double Cross Ranch. He did come from a family that lived and breathed the pro wrestling business. He didn’t have to put on a front to get you to believe. All he had to do was raise the voice of the real Terry Funk and you already got your money’s worth.

Being the genuine article probably greatly helped make the legend. No matter where he went he was a star. He knew how to adapt or reinvent himself but it never felt strange or out of place. You knew it was Terry Funk no matter which “version” you got and, again, you knew you were getting your money’s worth. NWA Champion? Texas bronco? Middle-aged and crazy? It was all the same guy with very few tweaks yet he starred in multiple eras.

If you listen to the stories of his contemporaries, Terry rarely wanted to be in the center of the spotlight. As long as he was entertaining the fans, and possibly helping someone else out in the process, he was a contented man. He didn’t need to be the winner of the match in a business where ultimately that doesn’t matter. He saw the bigger picture. He didn’t take any of it too seriously and still became one of the greatest of all-time, many say the greatest. Does it get any more amazing than that?

I’ve never heard a single soul say a bad thing about Terry Funk. Closer to my realm, I’ve never heard a single fan talk about a bad interaction with the man. In fact, I don’t think I know a fan who had met him who doesn’t have a great story to go along with it. He never seemed to meet a stranger. He was always willing to sign each and every autograph. He knew that, as amazing as he was in the ring and on the mic, keeping the fans happy is what ultimately keeps the gears of the business moving. No one did it better.

I’m fairly sure that my first glimpse of Terry came on the back of the LJN Wrestling Superstars figure card. While at a VERY young age I may have seen him on a Saturday Night’s Main Event, I remember that wild-looking cowboy figure shown on the packaging and knew that he was one I wanted. Little did I know that some of my best wrestling memories, both on television and in person, would come from that man. In what turned out to be the final time that I got to see him I had brought a ticket from his first retirement in Japan. After he signed it, in that unmistakable Terry Funk voice he said to me, “I really did plan on retiring. You know why I didn’t? I ran out of money!”

I miss him already.

Terry Funk

1944-2023

From The Musty Yellowed Pages—NWA Wrestling Magazine Vol. 1 No. 1

After nearly fifteen years of maintaining this blog, at times I forget everything that I have, or haven’t, covered. I felt for certain that we’d taken a voyage through the debut, and only, issue of the NWA Wrestling Magazine. Aside from some mentions here and there, as well as plenty on its sister publications, I don’t think that it’s been done. Wait no longer, NWA fans, the time to revisit an era when the territories were king, Terry Funk was champion and Jesse Ventura was “The Great” instead of “The Body” has finally arrived.

Yes, this publication had just the one issue. Could you think of a better cover for just one issue of the NWA Wrestling publication? I can’t. If it reminds you of the WWWF Wrestling Action and Mid-Atlantic Wrestling magazines it probably should. It was done by the same artist, Cal Byers, and wrestling renaissance man Les Thatcher was at the helm of all of them. Wrestling, broadcasting, training, promoting and publishing. He did it all and has the stories to tell about it. I’ve had input from him while covering the aforementioned publications here on the blog and I still remember how surprised he was to see a copy of this one when he signed it awhile back.

More familiar names come about when looking at the list of contributors from then-NWA President Eddie Graham to Gordon Solie, Freddie Miller, Paul Boesch, Larry Matysik, Jeff Walton and Gene Gordon. The magazine covered all of the NWA wrestling hotbeds of the era and seemed to want to devote adequate press to all of the big territories. Even NWA members in other countries were not to be excluded. After all, this was the only publication to be “sanctioned” by the National Wrestling Alliance!

Though he was still relatively new to the game that he would eventually become the dirtiest player of, it’s telling that Ric Flair is the topic of one of the first features of the issue. The Crockett’s knew what they had and that’s why he was proudly displayed as the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. You’ll note the famed Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling logo adorns the article here. As noted with all of the Thatcher publications, the art direction was second-to-none. There are logos for most, if not all, of the NWA territories featured within. In the late ‘70s this isn’t something that I would expect in a wrestling magazine at all, but here it is.

More familiar names pop up with looks at Georgia Championship Wrestling and Gulas Wrestling Enterprises Inc, the latter of which being the fabled Memphis wrestling territory. We have great color photos of Dick Slater, Mr. Wrestling II and Jerry “The King” Lawler. We also get a printing of one of my favorite Memphis photos displaying Jackie Fargo, Jerry Jarrett, Tojo Yamamoto and…George Gulas. Ok, so three out of four isn’t bad as far as levels of greatness. Still, I’ve always liked that photo ever since I saw it grace the cover of an “NWA East” edition of “The Wrestling News,” probably around the same time.

A very different Terry Funk than the version many are familiar with today graces the centerfold of the first and only NWA issue. This isn’t the “middle aged and crazy” Funker that’s so beloved today, but rather a tad more serious NWA World Champion who was continuing on the family’s championship legacy. I often talk about how much I admire wrestlers who are able to successfully reinvent themselves during the course of their careers. Terry Funk may own everyone else when it comes to that. I could picture the later Funker taking a flaming branding iron to the attire he’s wearing here. From champion to legend, that’s for sure.

One of my favorite pages in the issue has always been the feature on Chavo Guerrero. Talking about his famous exploits in the rings of California, it gives you an idea that Chavo may be one of the more underrated stars of the decade. I feel that his popularity was of the type that you really had to be around for to experience. I also think that, through no fault of his own, the popularity of brother Eddy may have overshadowed Chavo’s legacy. Still, ask most any wrestler who was around at that point and they’ll tell you what a huge star Chavo was in the business. A family photo here really tickles me as we get to see young Chavito, who we all got to know better many years later. Pepe was not invited to participate in the photo.

“The Great Ventura?” What? Yes, before he was “The Body,” Jesse was just “The Great.” I think we can all agree that “The Body” fit and rolled off the tongue much better. He has a short blurb in the magazine right alongside the likes of Dusty Rhodes and Jimmy Snuka. It’s amazing to think how many bonafide all-time greats came from wrestling in the ‘70s. I truly believe that the territorial system helped in that regard and would’ve been beneficial to many wrestlers in the past twenty years who seemed destined for greatness. In the old system you could try different things, work plenty of different opponents and move along when things got stale. Sadly, many of the newer generation stars had virtually “one and done” shots thus robbing us of quite a few talents who could’ve made it to superstardom.

Speaking of “one and done,” those are just some highlights of this, the only issue of NWA Wrestling Magazine. There are more photos and articles to peruse and you can see several of them on our Instagram account right here! Despite their age and rarity, copies of this magazine do show up available but almost always at a price. You never know, some shrewd searching may yield one for your collection. It’s certainly worthy as a collection centerpiece for any fan of the NWA, Terry Funk or just the last great wild west era of wrestling – the ‘70s!

Two Kings, A Dream, A Texas Bronco & A Living Legend

I feel like whether they’re alive or dead, a lot of my top ten favorite wrestlers of all-time have been on the minds of many fans as of late. Seeing as that my top ten is made up of ten wrestlers who make many such lists worldwide, it isn’t too much of a surprise. Still, a lot has to do with the time of year. We’re hitting the fifth anniversary of the passing of Bruno Sammartino, what would’ve been the 80^th birthday of Harley Race and I don’t even have to tell you why everybody’s been talking about the patriarch of wrestling’s other royal family. Of course Jerry Lawler has been in the news with a health scare, The Hulkster pops up everywhere and The Nature Boy never knows when to shut up. All things considered, I thought it would be fun to write about my top ten again. Over the next two weeks, in no particular order, we’ll take a look at an item from each. Some you may own, others may be new to you, but it’s never a dull moment when looking at the memorabilia of the all-time greats.

I still remember where I was when I’d heard that Bruno Sammartino had died. As big of a deal as it was worldwide, it hit especially hard here in Pittsburgh where Sammartino made his home for most of his life. It was hard to believe that there would ever be a time when Bruno wouldn’t be out making appearances around the Greater Pittsburgh area. It was just five years later when I, along with thousands of other fans, got to see him take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame right in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden. “The Living Legend” was physically gone but, I’d said back then, in many ways he was immortal. News broke of the passing of “Number One” Paul Jones on the same day. Once a huge star in the Carolinas, many fans my age more remember Jones as a manager. In an odd coincidence, both Sammartino and Jones shared the cover of the February 1977 issue of The Wrestler. Nikolai Volkoff is the victim of a Bruno armbar in the cover photo. Sadly he would also pass away later in 2018.

Jerry “The King” Lawler thankfully seems to be on the mend from a recent stroke. He appeared, via videotape, at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony this year as part of the induction of Andy Kaufman. I spoke to him just last year when he signed an amazing poster that I’d picked up. It was a celebration of all those great Monday night shows at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis. Lawler himself had drawn the poster back in 1994. We discussed the stars depicted and who was still around and who wasn’t. Since that discussion we’ve lost Jerry Jarrett. Thankfully, The King has pulled through once again. Long Live The King!

Speaking of royalty, this month would’ve marked the 80^th birthday of Harley Race. For as gruff, rough and brutal as he was in the ring, Race certainly seemed to enjoy and treasure the fans. I can even recall him excusing himself to the restroom during an autograph signing but assuring the fans that he’d be right back, in case they were concerned that they wouldn’t get to meet one of the all-time legends of the ring. He continued to make appearances well into his battle of the illness which took his life. When I think of a real, hard fought wrestling match that could make anyone a wrestling fan for the sheer realism alone, it’s a Race match that I think of. He gave it his all. As we’d discussed here earlier in the year, The King is returning to the Mattel WWE line soon, but both the WWF and NWA versions of “The Greatest Wrestler on God’s Green Earth” have been represented well recently in the Micro Brawlers and Pint Size All Star mini figure lines, respectively.

Speaking of those grizzled old veterans, God bless Texas and God bless Terry Funk. If there’s anyone out there with a negative story about The Funker I don’t think that it’s ever been told. If you’ve seen or heard him talk outside of “kayfabe,” that’s exactly how Funk is. No pretenses or falsehoods, Terry Funk is just a genuine person. Widely reported health issues have obviously slowed The Funker down into retirement, but rest and relaxation in his later years have certainly been well earned. We all hope that he can enjoy that retirement as best as possible. Funk reinvented himself so many times over the years that it’s often hard to pick your favorite “version” of the legend. He was certainly immensely popular in Japan where he had the moniker of “Texas Bronco.” In that country I’m sure he signed many of what you see here: a shikishi board. Hugely popular in Japan, these boards are used for art, calligraphy and collecting autographs.

From The Texas Bronco to a son of a plumber, who hasn’t been thinking about Dusty Rhodes as of late? From the trials and tribulations of his son Cody in WWE to the recent A&E Biography, The American Dream does indeed still last. Anyone who knows me knows that it’s hard for me to narrow it down to just any one Dusty item. They all have that individual quality of Stardust magic. No, not the more recent Stardust. We’re talking about that common man from Austin, Texas who was chasing the end of that lightning bolt and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. One of the biggest moments in that chase was on August 3, 1980 in Tampa, FL. In fact, it was billed as “The Last Tangle In Tampa.” Rhodes challenged Race in a match that ended in a sixty minute time limit draw. Someone back then may have shown their support with the bumper sticker that you see here. Wrestling in the territorial days had a lot of bumper stickers. They were cheap to produce and fans ate them up. I’ve always wondered if there was a Harley counterpart sticker…

In the next entry we’ll visit with five more legends and five more pieces of memorabilia created in their images. Iconic, fun and desirable, would you expect any less from the legends of wrestling?

Hulk Hogan vs Terry Funk -- Tonight In The Coliseum Collection

Between exclusive playsets, Retro figures and plenty of non-WWE products, Mattel has found yet another way to get extra money out of us. Mattel Creations has become their own version of Hasbro Pulse and likely other company “exclusive” sites that aren’t on my radar. Their standard excuse for most items released this way is believable: these are products that retailers wouldn’t want to stock for various reasons. That’s actually not hard to understand after seeing the pathetic action figure sections of most brick and mortar retailers. Still, I think that today’s topic is a line that retailers just may have gotten behind. It’s entirely possible. Don’t kid yourselves, Mattel isn’t doing you any favors by having Mattel Creations at their disposal. If it isn’t making them money it will never be in your hands, it’s as simple as that.

Hitting porches most recently from Mattel Creations is the first entry in the Coliseum Collection. This series was obviously spawned from the positive reaction for the San Diego Comic Con “Ultimate” Sgt. Slaughter figure from 2021. The figures are in the “Ultimate” style based on décor from the beloved LJN WWF Wrestling Superstars line complete with packaging that bears resemblance to those well-remembered blue cards. The title comes from the text on the poster included with the first few series of figures. On those cards an artistic rendering of the figure was accompanied by “X-Wrestler TONIGHT At The Coliseum.” So while the thought of Coliseum Video is certainly there, that isn’t where it originated from.

Our first two wrestlers in the Coliseum Collection are Hulk Hogan and Terry Funk. I’ll admit that I wasn’t blown away by the choices at first, but it’s interesting that Mattel picked this concept at all for the fact that it’s very limited. How many LJN figures can be recreated with what Mattel has to work with? That being said, the company isn’t limiting itself as much as I initially thought. We’ll get to that at the end. The Hogan is based on the middle of three LJN Hogan releases with red trunks and white shirt. There was only one Funk in the LJN line and while there are liberties with this recreation, it’s close enough to bring those memories roaring back.

The packaging here is impressive to begin with. A brown box with the WWE block logo houses a more colorful box featuring art of The Hulkster and The Funker. Like the LJN-esque cards inside, the outer box was also done with the SDCC Slaughter. Inside are the two figures in poses reminiscent of the LJN counterparts. Additional accessories are housed in boxes at the base of each figure. The card backs slide out of the enclosing plastic and you are indeed able to place the figures back in rather seamlessly. They won't be "mint" again, however, as there are the usual plastic bands and ties which need cut to get the figures out in any sane way. It should be noted that Slaughter is shown on the back as part of the set, even though the "Coliseum Collection" name hadn't been coined for his release. Mattel seems to be indicating that he was the actual first in the series.

The inside of the box as well as the individual card back art depicts an audience just like the LJN designs did. "Crowd signs" are individualized for each wrestler and I must admit that I got a kick out of the choices for Funk. There's also a cool little bonus included in between the two carded figures. You get a third piece of cardboard with the Coliseum Collection logo and a blank space on one side with the classic "Mean Gene" baby blue interview backdrop on the back. This is obviously a little gift for action figure photographers, sort of like the cardboard crowd backdrop that Mattel gifted us with as part of The New Generation Arena. Posing a figure in front of the Coliseum Collection side would make it almost appear that a classic LJN poster went three-dimensional.

Each figure includes three heads total, several sets of hands, The Hulkster's championship belt, headband, soft goods shirt and cross necklace as well as The Funker's cowboy hat, poncho, chaps and branding iron. Many will want this set for the belt alone. This is the first time since the actual LJN days that the first WWF Championship won by The Hulkster has been recreated in figure form. I have a suspicion that we will see this belt re-released down the line as the coloring here is to resemble the LJN version rather than the green strap that it had in real life. This and several other championships either already in or coming to the Mattel line lead me to believe that the rights to "trophy belts" of the past have either been figured out. It's also possible that it's simply been decided that no one can lay claim to the classic, yet basic, piecemeal designs. The Funker's clothing has been redone from the original WWE Legends release of over a decade ago. It's much higher quality this time around and the branding iron even has a thicker portion of the handle to allow better gripping.

The figures themselves are high quality and worthy of inclusion in any collection. I've never felt that the "Ultimate" body type was all that special but it certainly does well here. I wasn't sure if Terry Funk necessarily needed the body type, but I can totally see his physique. Each head contains a different expression for each grappler. While we've seen the Hogan faces before, it's fun to have The Funker be able to display that classic array of emotions in the midst of battle. It's also fun that while the red Hogan trunks do indeed reflect the LJN figure, the look is actually more reminiscent of his AWA days.

Remember what I’d said about this line being limited? That was when I thought that it would be limited to figures who either would be completely different in looks from other Mattel releases (Hulk) or were released so far back (Funk) that it’s not really out of the question to do it again. With the second set unveiled I was proven wrong. Ravishing Rick Rude vs Jake “The Snake” Roberts features a figure of the latter that was just released in the Legends line a few years ago. Yes, this is an Ultimate, but again that's not enough to sell me on a re-release. Rude is also very close to a Basic figure done a few years ago. Will I bite for that set? Time will tell. Even still this line will not go on forever. The one line that Mattel cannot cross is licensing rights. A lot of the more interesting wrestlers that LJN produced are off-limits for them. Am I hoping for some new names to pop up? Yes, but the faith I’ve seen of collectors that this will actually happen has been mind-blowing. Some people just don’t learn. We’ve been shown time and time again that, while we’re occasionally thrown a nice bone, we’re going to see the same faces over and over again. While new versions of Piper and Savage (who has so many looks that he’s almost always a purchase) would be fine, I’m just not seeing too much fresh ground to be broken here. Obvious LJN choices like Paul Orndorff and Big John Studd have absolutely nowhere left to go. Without packing a mind-blowing name with them it’s not even worth a purchase for most.

No matter who comes next, this first installment is a winner. As of press time it's still available at Mattel Creations. I always enjoy when things are available for a good period of time enabling as many collectors to obtain them as possible. Or should I say, enabling collectors to "Bring Home All The Action..."

When Memory Making Becomes A Memory Itself...

Time is flying. Even with the world the way that it is where it seems there's very little to believe in or hope for, our lives are going by. Now more than ever it feels as if people know that it's time to get out and do what they want. Eat that meal. Go on that trip. Take that risk. When it's over, it's over, so do it now. Thankfully, around two decades ago, I decided that was how it would be when it came out to living the memories of pro wrestling's past. The stars were coming out and it was time to mingle. We knew the time would be limited, but who knew just how limited it would be? Exactly one decade ago was the perfect example.

In August 2011, Greg Price took his already legendary NWA Fanfest out of Charlotte (for what would prove to be the third and final time) and land in yet another wrestling hotbed of the past, Atlanta. This event would have a decidedly Georgia Championship Wrestling feel yet still work to honor many areas of wrestling's past. Even the then-recently released Rob Van Dam became a part. He'd wanted to attend the event for years but wasn't able until his WWE tenure was complete. NWA Fanfest was an event that the wrestlers wanted to attend almost as much as the fans did.

I know that I'm not going to do justice to the list of talent who attended, but among them were Mr. Wrestling II, Terry Funk, Ole Anderson, Stan Hansen Tommy Rich, Ron Simmons, Austin Idol, Joyce Grable, Baby Doll, Manny Fernandez, Fit Finlay, Paul Orndorff, Eddy Mansfield, "Dr. D" David Schultz, Pat and Randy Rose, Thunderbolt Patterson, Masked Superstar, Teddy Long, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Debbie Combs, Paul Bearer, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Ted DiBiase, "Superstar" Bill Dundee, Raven, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Nick Bockwinkel, Jimmy Hart, Referee Mac McMurray, Darlin Dagmar, Candi Devine, Action Mike Jackson, Superfly Jimmy Snuka, Bushwhacker Luke and likely a bevy more that I'm forgetting.

The weekend was special for me for a number of reasons. While I'd previously met the wonderful Judy Martin, her "Glamour Girls" tag team partner and former WWF Women's singles and tag team champion Leilani Kai had sort of dropped off of the radar. She resurfaced for the show and even granted an interview for this blog in the weeks leading up to the event. At the "Hall of Heroes" banquet held over the weekend, Greg put my friends and I at a table with Kai, Martin (who, along with myself, loved the carrot cake), her sister Cathy who briefly wrestled as well as Joyce Grable. Miss Kai gave me enough stories to fill a book as soon as we met and we continue to stay in touch.

There were also a few stars in attendance that I sadly never had the opportunity to meet with again. Those names would include Joe Pedicino (who, along with wife Boni Blackstone, hosted the event), Buddy Colt, Cora Combs, Gypsy Joe, Killer Tim Brooks, "Dirty" Dick Slater and "The Wild Bull of the Pampas" Pampero Firpo. It's these meetings that make me so glad that I took the opportunity to go on these trips when I did, even when I was living a bit above my means during the leaner years.

More highlights that can't ever be recreated surrounded Rowdy Roddy Piper. The Hot Rod was in full force that weekend doing photos on a replica Piper's Pit set as well as performing his one man show late on the Saturday night of the event, complete with a guest appearance from his son. My personal favorite moment with Piper that weekend was a photo op tribute to the famous Starrcade dog collar match in 1983. Piper, Greg Valentine and you, the fan, posed with the exact dog collars from the match around the wrestler's necks. Talk about history!

I'd be negligent not to mention the great vendor room, as well. While many of the aforementioned stars were available for autographs and photos at the vendor tables, the true gems are often hidden among the madness. Even in 2011, at the end of what should be known as "The Golden Age of the Wrestling Convention," vendor tables were more often than not cluttered with overpriced then-current action figures and DVDs that largely go unpurchased. It's an issue that continues to this day, however I do remember picking up quite a few finds that weekend. I even tasted a little "Badstreet" right there in Atlanta, GA.

I've always said that I'd take any opportunity given to go back in time. 99% of the time I'm meaning time periods before I was born. Here's the odd example of a weekend just a decade ago that I would love to go back to. I'll expand upon why in the future (maybe in book form...?), but 2004-2011 is just about the span of "The Golden Age of the Wrestling Convention" that I had mentioned above. NWA Fanfest went on for another few years and of course there are other events, but those shows that still exist are now listing unknown names who had cups of coffee in NXT as "legends" of the ring. No thanks. I'm glad that I took my trips, and my risks, back when they were worth it.

10 Years...

I still remember typing up that first blog entry. Little did I know where it would all lead. Who would have thought that a weekly blog about wrestling memorabilia would take off? When no one else is tackling the same sort of thing, readership will grow. Even with interest in the wrestling business at a fairly low point at the time, people came to read. Maybe it was because a huge chunk of the content was nostalgia. Either way, if you've read this blog at any point in the last decade, thank you! And before I continue, I apologize for this anniversary entry being stream of consciousness to an extent, but it just feels right in this case.

I always tried to keep the same mission: to enlighten and entertain using wrestling memorabilia. Though I did occasionally stray discussing other topics within wrestling, I constantly attempted to tie it into at least some collectibles. I also did my best to keep the content positive. It's easy to write negatively and sadly there are a lot of negatives in the wrestling business to write about. Did I stray? Sure. But you all enjoyed my infamous New York City encounter with A.J. Lee. I'm told that even Jay Lethal mentioned it in a shoot interview. Even with a little bad came some good.

It was interesting to see the highs and lows of readership from week to week depending on the content. As a rule wrestling action figures always attracted more readers. Looks through musty old magazines did far less. But as far as feedback, the latter always seemed to attract more. How does that work? Even I don't know. The posts covering the excitement around Greg Price's Charlotte Fanfests were usually well-received also. While they weren't 100% memorabilia related, I always had demand for more meet-and-greet stories. While many of those tales are being preserved for different avenues in the future, I couldn't ever resist spilling a few of them.

Dusty, Bruno, The King, and Piper are just a few names who I feel were written about more than others around here. I never thought that I would be writing memorial entries for The Dream and Hot Rod back in 2009, but time marches on. Autographs have also always been a staple, considering I myself am a huge collector of them. I know that doesn't ring true for every collector, but I appreciate you staying on if it's not your thing. While I don't think that every single piece of memorabilia needs signed, more often than not I will purchase an item if I think that it has autographing potential.

In case you missed the last entry of 2018 and haven't been keeping up with this years offerings, the blog is no longer weekly. For one thing, so much of what I've wanted to cover initially has been done. Another reason is that my time doesn't allow me the pleasure of getting an entry in weekly. If a writer is truly enjoying the content, the output will be that much better. If I'm rushing through to get an entry done just for the sake of getting one done, it isn't going to be good. For another truth to be revealed, my personal interest in the current product is at an all-time low. I have not seen a weekly program in well over a year and no longer regularly watch the monthly pay-per-views. While I love so much of the current talent, the presentation is nearly the complete opposite of what I want to see. Therefore, my coverage of current memorabilia suffers.

With all of that being said, we're nowhere near being over. When I have a great topic it's still just as fun as it always was to maintain this blog and continue the journey. I have several ideas lined up for the near future and still maintain all of the branches of the blog on social media through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While the tales of wrestling memorabilia are now told in various ways outside of the blog that you're reading, it's a sincere hope of mine that you all still have a big spot in your heart for the original. You may not have a Thursday evening destination any longer, but remember to visit now and then.

In another decade we'll be reflecting on twenty years right here. Mark my words.

Mattel WWE Year-In-Review: Survivor Series Style!

2016 may have been Mattel's best year for the WWE line yet. Looking back at just this blog over the past eleven months, even I can't believe how much space has been devoted to the figures. A plethora of names new and old, unique and common, have been produced by the company this year. WWE and NXT stars, Hall of Famers and Legends, and even some off-the-wall and offbeat characters have "made the list" for Mattel, and it's hard to imagine just which one will be "Figure of the Year." For a fun change on this, my favorite holiday, we'll take a look at some of those finalists. But it isn't a normal rundown. Instead, we're grouping the thirty top figures into six Survivor Series teams. Who will be the sole survivor?

REGAL'S ROOKIES 

VS 

THE NXT DEMONS

Ok, so Regal's rookies aren't really rookies, but it sounded good. A late addition in 2016, the Lord Steven Regal figure is an awesome new WCW entry to the ever-growing Mattel roster. Regal leads his team of 2016 figures that includes Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and The Vaudevillains. Opposing this fivesome is The NXT Demons led by "The Demon King" himself, Finn Balor. The NXT alumni that join him are Apollo Crews, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, and Kalisto. 

BAYLEY'S BEAUTIES 

VS 

THE GIMMICK GANG

A Neidhart on each team! Bayley's Beauties have it all. Looks, in-ring skills, and alliteration. The Hugger is joined by Becky Lynch, "The Narcissist" Lex Luger, Nattie Neidhart, and Tyler Breeze. "Prince Pretty" seems more interested in getting a group selfie than in winning this thing. The Gimmick Gang is captained by The Bunny and includes Tugboat, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, and The Bushwhackers. 

THE BOSSES 

VS 

TEAM EXTREME

In the main event we see a team that's comprised of people nicknamed "The Boss," a Bossman, someone who was a boss to many, and a Stinger. We've got team captain Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., Big Boss Man, Sting, and Sasha Banks. They're opposed by Team Extreme, and although Lita is aboard this isn't that Team Xtreme. These are alumni of ECW. Lita is joined by team captain Terry Funk, Bam Bam Bigelow, and The Dudley Boyz. 

See what I mean? Mattel certainly had an impressive lineup this year, and this is only thirty of those figures. My deepest apologies to "SummerSlam 1989" Hacksaw Jim Duggan as well as Enzo and Cass. There just wasn't room. The "sole survivor" will actually be the "Best Figure" winner in the 2016 J\/\/ Awards at the end of the year. A few of the late entries here may even be featured in a blog entry before that as well. Stay tuned!

And although you've already finished the big meal by the time that this hits the Net, it is with my best thoughts that I wish you and yours a...

From The Musty Yellowed Pages--1976 Wrestling Yearbook

I'm often asked where I obtain all of my items. It isn't anywhere special and hardly just one place. You never know where you'll find something, and more often than not I tend to "run into" things. Following along with the old saying, it usually is where I "least expect it." Because of that, and the fact that wrestling memorabilia is a truly undocumented collecting niche, I rarely "look" for something. Unless it's a loose end in a series of items, I wouldn't even know what to look for! In this entry, we're spotlighting an item that was in one of those random finds and slowly became one of my favorites.

Around fifteen or so years ago, my eyes centered behind the counter of a used book store. Sitting on a rolling cart piled in about three stacks was a collection of 1970's wrestling magazines. At the time, my wrestling collection was largely confined to the 1980's and 1990's, so much of what was piled up was new to me and looked absolutely fascinating. My dad and I inquired about their availability. The Janeane Garofalo-clone who worked at the store was more than happy that we were interested, but told us that they weren't priced yet. Immediately I pictured huge dollar signs for each and pretty much gave up then and there. We frequented the store, but between the inevitable prices and the knowledge of many other wrestling fans who would probably want them, I all but gave up. As I walked away, crestfallen, the fake Garofalo shouted after me: "There are even some covers with Dino Sammartino on them!"

"Dino." Yeah.

A few weeks later when we returned to the store, I had all but forgotten about the dusty, old, treasure trove. It's hardly a surprise at this point, but there they were, bundled in about seven or eight different stacks for a few dollars each. For the next few days my knowledge of 1970's wrestling swelled. The words and photography of the Stanley Weston magazines (as well as a few titles such as the legendary WWWF Wrestling Action) filled my brain. Bill Apter, Dan Shocket, and everyone's favorite perennial old crust Matt Brock were there, as were the champions. Several of these issues were the Weston "Wrestling Yearbook" titles. Published quarterly, the Yearbooks were yet another title that joined The Wrestler, Inside Wrestling, and Sports Review Wrestling on the '70s wrestling magazine shelf.

It seems as if once a year, the Wrestling Yearbook magazine was a "Special Championship Issue" that focused on the "big three" champions from the WWWF, NWA, and AWA. These were among my favorites from the magazine bounty that I had purchased. Several of these championship issues featured a motif that could have come from the opening title cards of "Love, American Style." It was red, white, blue, and stars all the way. It looked great. It looked '70s. It looked special.

In addition to the normal departments such as ratings and pen pals, the championship issue had a full article on each of the three champions. Bruno Sammartino's is titled "Wrestling's Living Legend," a label that has stuck with him to this day. Terry Funk was deemed to be the "Accidental Champion" while Nick Bockwinkel was "The Man Who Had To Win The Title." There are also "Ringside Report" sections telling of how each man respectively won the title. For fans of the era, this had to have been amazing. Almost all areas of the country would have recognized one of these men as the true world champion. To see whichever two that you DIDN'T recognize as champion right up with your own hero was likely infuriating.

While the Sammartino and Funk stories are known, the Bockwinkel article is a classic magazine tale. Bockwinkel was "the man who had to win the title" because of his wrestler father, "discovery" by Bobby Heenan, and learning from partner Ray Stevens. Although the article recognizes that the championship was Bockwinkel's "dream," they feel that because of his rulebreaking, attitude, and Heenan's constant interference that it had become a "nightmare." Only in the wrestling mags!

Although the infamous "Love Doll" ads don't show up here, other dubious product offers do. Ads for the sister publications called "Battling Girls" featuring apartment wrestling are here, as are pellet guns, miracle ginseng capsules, and many ways to either bulk up or trim down. If the kids of the '70s had written and paid for all of these valuable products, today we would have an entire fleet of 50-somethings with bulging muscles, trim wastes, endless ways to defend themselves, skills in dozens of different courses including vinyl repair, x-ray vision, and unmatched knowledge in the art of love making...with or without a partner.

Forty years later and I know that I'm not the only one who is fascinated by these publications. There's footage available from the era, but the magazines offer something different. We get a great glimpse at the wrestling industry of the time and see it through the eyes of the fans. To learn of wrestling around the country, this is basically all that you had. If you lived in the Northeast, you saw Bruno but you probably didn't know much about Funk and Bockwinkel. Here was your chance to compare the champions as well as you could from a color cover and black and white pages. This was your Internet. This was your WWE Network. This was your ultimate source of wrestling knowledge. Many fans from the time miss it being that way...

...are we sure that's such a bad thing?