Five "Forgotten" Mattel WWE Figures

It's hard to believe that it's been six years since the Mattel WWE figure line began to hit stores and collectors hands. Some welcomed the change. Others, like myself, were bold and determined to try and ignore the line, holding on to our Jakks favorites ever so tightly. Over half a decade later, Mattel has taken their line of figures and toys and turned out some memorable and cherished product. It didn't necessarily start out that way.

Like with most figure lines, there were bumps and hurdles along the way. In an effort to correctly scale the vastly different WWE superstars, likenesses greatly suffered. I can remember an early Jack Swagger that nearly completely turned me against the line. In 2016, we've seen major improvements in likenesses as well as something that's important to me: depth. Because we are now in the sixth year of the line, we do have stars who, long gone from WWE, only received one or two Mattel figures. Highlighted here are five of those "lost" superstars. It's some of these early names that finally, years later, give us the natural depth that long-lasting lines achieve.

Kicking it off is one of my favorite people in the wrestling business: Tommy Dreamer. He is also the one on this list most likely to return to the Mattel line in the future. Although he seems to flawlessly float back and forth between organizations, Dreamer's recent WWE run was seemingly well-received. With the rapidly shrinking WWE roster due to injuries, Tommy may very well find himself bringing his brand of hardcore wrestling to the WWE Universe in the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, Mattel already has a great Dreamer figure that was released in 2010 in a two-pack with Christian. Like many of these early "one and done" figures, Dreamer has seen a large spike in value on the secondary market. That value will take a hit should he see a new release, but there has been no word of a new figure at this time.

Although he had plenty of releases through Jakks, Shane Helms only saw one Mattel figure. In his guise as The Hurricane, the green and black outfit was hard to miss on store shelves. For being an early Mattel figure, extensive detail was put into the likeness, especially surrounding the characters mask. This is also the only figure of The Hurricane to date in his later look with the stringy shoulder-length hair. Since it was only a Basic figure release, no accessories were including. For those who have to see the Mattel Hurricane "soar" into the ring, the various Jakks Hurri-capes work perfectly.

Speaking of hair, the one and only Carlito made two appearances early in the Mattel run. When the line first debuted, I decided to only collect those who had never been made into a figure before. To get Primo, you had to purchase a two-pack with his brother Carlito. The set was released twice with a slightly more heelish look for both the second time around. While Primo has remained in WWE since, Carlito departed not long after the figures were released. Rumors of a WWE return for Carlito have swirled as recently as late last year. In my opinion, the Puerto Rican star would fit like a glove in NXT where he would likely be motivated to finally live up to his full potential.

Another star frequently rumored to be on the WWE return trail is Shelton Benjamin. "The Gold Standard" also had an early Mattel entry, and the likeness was dead on. Benjamin always reminded me of "The Natural" Butch Reed in this gimmick and I don't feel that he went as far as he could have no matter the persona. Another great candidate for an NXT rejuvenation, Benjamin would likely be a great addition to the coaching area, as well. With the current rumored influx of talent to the WWE, there may be no stopping Shelton from joining the pack.

The only superstar out of our five featured to receive both a Basic and an Elite figure is Chavo Guerrero Jr. The high-flyer was still involved in many angles when Mattel began their line, but his Basic figure came along as a reminder of one of the worst. For whatever reason, Chavo found himself in a feud with Hornswoggle. The two-pack of figures reflects this epic struggle that many of us would prefer to forget, but at least a great looking Chavo figure came out of it. An Elite Chavito came complete with pancho and bandana.

I like to limit most "list" entries to five (quality over quantity), but there are others who had good and relatively forgotten early Mattel figures as well. Mike Knox and Luke Gallows spring to mind as further examples. As mentioned with Dreamer, the secondary prices on many of these figures have gone up, but you never know when a lapsed fan from a few years ago will be looking to liquidate their collection for the price paid or even cheaper.

Next week, the January figure trend continues with a look at a new "First Time In The Line" figure from Mattel...who actually made a cameo this week!

Halloween--The Wrestling Spooktacular

There is no holiday better fit for the world of professional wrestling than the one that falls on the 31st of October. Since so many heroes and villains of the ring wars "dress up" to "scare" their opponents and even the fans, it's no wonder that countless Halloween costumes over the years have been inspired by the likes of Hawk, Animal, and even...Hulk Hogan.

Keeping with the theme of memorabilia, it's often the more colorful or bizarre grapplers that make for a better action figure or trading card. While many purists would prefer a wrestler in black tights with arms outstretched in a grappling position, others just live for the face paint, leather, and other outlandish qualities that so many Halloween-esque stars have had. The following will be a look at some of those stars and other "scary" situations from the squared-circle.

Before getting to the grapplers themselves, there's no greater connection to "All Hallows Eve" and professional wrestling than the WCW pay-per-view event called Halloween Havoc. From 1989 to 2000, Havoc was always one of the most anticipated yearly WCW events, usually due to brutally bizarre gimmick matches. The first event featured an electrified steel cage main event pitting Sting and Ric Flair against Terry Funk and The Great Muta. Four legends in their own right, the teams were joined by the late, great Gary Hart and special guest referee Bruno Sammartino.

While early stars such as Pampero Firpo, Maurice "The French Angel" Tillet, and even The Sheik certainly qualify as spooky stars, it wasn't until the '80s that the grotesque were brought out front and center. The Road Warriors and Kamala highlighted many magazine covers during the "Decade of Decadence," with the March 1984 Pro Wrestling Illustrated cover perhaps being the most famous in the magazine's history. The cover, featuring Hawk and Animal illuminated in "horror lighting," was even chosen by the magazine as one of its ten best.

While WCW had Halloween Havoc and The Road Warriors and Kamala were products of the territories, no one can deny that the WWF/WWE has had the craziest cast of characters come through its rings.

The power of Paul Bearer's urn, the worm-eating maw of The Boogeyman, and the vomit-inducing powers of Papa Shango are just a few samples of the "supernatural" happenings to come from Stamford, Connecticut over the years. Even women's wrestling legend The Fabulous Moolah broke out a smoking cauldron and that pesky "horror lighting" along with her charge Leilani Kai.

The Road Warriors did indeed cross through the WWF in several stints before Hawk's death in 2003, but one WWF-born tag team continues to smear their face paint in rings throughout the world to this day.

"Here Comes The Ax...Here Comes The Smasher..." In 1987, Demolition were looked at as Road Warrior knockoffs. As the weeks and months progressed, Bill "Ax" Eadie and Barry "Smash" Darsow proved that they were far more. Taking nothing away from Hawk and Animal, Demolition carved out a style all their own, combining great brawling with excellent wrestling skills. While the debate over which team was better will forever go on, the teams both hold their place in the history of wrestling...and intimidation!

But what about the superhero powers of The Hurricane, hideousness of Bastion Booger, and hilarity of ECW original The Blue Meanie? All worthy contenders showing different sides of the "Wrestling Spooktacular" spectrum.

Events. Tag teams. Comic book heroes. Meanies. They all fit this category nicely. But one wrestler truly deserves to be kept for last.

The Lord of Darkness. The Phenom. The Reaper. A character that probably wasn't intended to last longer than a year or so, much less twenty.


The Undertaker. What more can be said that hasn't already been written? Few superstars have captured generations of fans as Taker has. A comparison to Andre the Giant would not be out of the question in terms of being on top of the game for such a length of time. Rolling into his 21st year in the WWE, Taker continues to cement his legacy as one of the best "big men" in the game, and without a doubt the king of "The Wrestling Spooktacular."

I hope you've enjoyed this look at some the most bizarre competitors, events, and concepts in ring history. I could not include everything or everybody, so let me know if you feel your favorite was omitted. Happy Halloween!