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!

TNA Live--An Experience In WRESTLING To Be Learned From

The wrestling industry is constantly changing and evolving. From The Rock and Steve Austin looking to pass the torch to the industry's "silent" battle against the fad of mixed martial arts, never before has there been more of a transition period than right now. One of the major companies has finally abandoned the "evil" title of "wrestling" altogether while the other is nearing a decade of trying to find itself.

When wrestling finally came to pay-per-view in 1985, the ultimate goals of most wrestling promoters immediately began to change. Pay-per-view buys became more important than selling tickets to live events. While these events, the sole financial backbone of the industry until '85, have survived the past twenty-six years, their importance has changed dramatically.

The matches which previously were only seen on a live basis were now available for a fee on pay-per-view or later on free television. Being under the same roof as your favorite stars and seeing cookie-cutter matches became the only real motivation to travel to your local arena and catch a live show.

TNA is a company which, for nearly ten years, has seemed somewhat lost at times. Being created as an alternative to the WWE product, many times TNA has seemingly just copied the worst of WWE. Glimpses of great things have come from the promotion, but often without capitalization or follow-up. For the past several years and deriving from several sources, TNA has done one thing right--the live event.

For many years independent wrestling promotions have been known for providing smaller shows where fans can see action from younger stars in addition to older veterans. Combine that with a usual option of getting to meet many of these stars at the show and fans of the independents usually leave the events with smiles on their faces.

TNA took those ideas from the independents and developed a unique experience that ultimately boils down to fans getting not only a great experience, but enough of a draw to get them out of the house and down to the arena. While TNA runs mostly smaller venues, fans always benefit from a more intimate setting where there really isn't a bad seat in the house.

A veteran of many live events over the past twenty years (including several TNA events), I can honestly say that TNA the event this past weekend in Rostraver, PA was one of the best I've ever been to. The company did its best to get the fans the best experience that they could have. From personal appearances in the area which included stars giving out autographs, DVDs, and show tickets to the different ticket options to meet stars at the show, I doubt a single fan left the event unhappy. Compared to the WWE's first two lackluster efforts at Pittsburgh's new Consol Energy Center, this is a far contrast.

Every TNA live event includes an "autograph party" where various stars of the promotion circle ringside with Sharpies to sign whatever the fans provide. Other signings and photo opportunities arise throughout the night as well. While buying a TNA program is encouraged by huckster Don West, I highly recommend viewing the show lineup in advance and bringing your own items in addition. The program is a very nice item to get signed, however, and nominally priced at $20.

For a few years now, perennial TNA announcer Jeremy Borash has come up with different ways for fans to obtain "backstage passes" in order to meet even more stars at the events. At the Rostraver show, sixteen commemorative Jeff Jarrett TNA guitars were available for purchase. While not in everyone's price range, the guitar included two backstage sessions as well as photo opportunities with Mickie James, Mick Foley, and Kurt Angle which were available to other attendees for a fee. Seeing the guitar in person makes you realize that this is the quintessential TNA collectible and ultimately a bargain. Considering what the included autographs and photo ops would cost on the wrestling convention scene individually it was almost a mistake to pass it up. Hopefully TNA creates other unique pieces of memorabilia such as this for future events.

The show itself was also a step above other offerings recently in the area. The card was solid, well booked, and well performed. If TNA provided the style of match and card on television that is presented on the house show level, we could see the company give the "entertainment" crew from Connecticut a run for their money. Each and every house show reaction I've witnessed live for Beer Money rivals and eclipses that of many of the Monday night superstars.

The bottom line is that both companies realize that change needs to be made in order for the ring wars to be "hot" once again. WWE believes that changing to full-blown entertainment is the way to go. TNA gets that wrestling is still on the marquee, but only seems to produce that on the house show level. There's room for athletics and entertainment in the world of wrestling, we simply need to get back to the perfect balance.

Whether you're looking to meet the stars, want to see entertaining wrestling, or pick up a couple of autographs, a TNA live event could be just what you're looking for. Don't let the stigma that the company has picked up deter you. They've changed live events the way that they needed to be changed. If the entire company followed suit, we could be in for wrestling the way we once loved it.