Your Wrestling Figure Promotions

[Forrest]

Inspired by Ian's first figure/mag/video thread, discuss your epic wrestling figure federations. Who did you have? Who were always in the main event?

 

For me, despite having about 9 Austins, HHH, Undertaker, Nash, Hall and those famous Hogan/Warrior Hasbros and pretty much every other big name star in figure forms, my money matches always featured a variation of Crow Sting, Reality Check-era Piper and Ric Flair. I have no idea why I always had Piper in the main event as this was circa 2000, or even why he has was constantly doing top-rope bumps, but I just did. It all took place inside a vintage WWF Wrestlemania ring that I got at a car boot sale with about a thousand figures which had a faux-announce table attached for head-off-the-table bumps. My roster included Commissioner Shawn Michaels in his brown suit, an awful rubber Austin and Raiden from Mortal Kombat and used one of those plastic basket things as a steel cage one way and Hell in a Cell the other.

 

DISCUSS.

[Arch Stanton]

I repackaged a rather bland Tom Zenk as The Incredible Hulk by painting his entire body in Tipp-Ex then colouring him in with a green felt tip pen. Instant push to the top of the card.

 

Gutted I did that now. Z-Man was one of the best looking Galoobs. Plus, it all came off on my hands.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Best thing about the figures back then was every line of toys could basically intertwine. They were all of similar size. Ray from the Ghostbusters was the ref because he was a chubber with a basin, and I thought most refs looked like that. And you needed a ref, for my Russo-esque booking. I had castle Greyskull which (if anyone remembers) had the massive skulls mouth for a door. That was the entrance set up, which always looked great next to the WWF ring. I had an older brother so he'd always bring me wrestling figures in. He'd also look in the paper and buy a shitload from people who got "gay wrestling" figures for Christmas. Royal Rumbles were the best and worst things in the world. I'd have a bag with all the wrestlers in and I'd pick a figure at random. But I'd just get bored eventually and stick them all in. Or chuck them all out and get down to Hulk Hogan vs Earthquake, Andre, Typhoon, Akeem, Boss Man, Shredder, a miniature Eric Bristow, a bobble head of Dennis Taylor for some reason and other heels that I'd got at the jumble sale. Spoilers - Hogan went over.

 

And because I was still playing with figures some 2 years before the balls dropped (dont judge), I did a mini custom job of these pair. Him on the left was coloured brown and became King Mable and Arnie got a beard put on him and became Diesel. Because they were feuding.

 

I also invented the vehicular assault angle using the Turtle van on Kerry Von Erich. There wasn't a mass search or anything. Texas Tornado just assumed the Turtles had done it out of some kind of spite. Maybe they thought he was apart of the (lack of) Foot Soldiers*.

 

*I made that bit up.

[Killjoy_Gee]

I repackaged The Highlanders. I was given them by my Nan as a cheap pressie on my 18th as she knew I liked wrestling, but had no idea how shit they were XD

 

I instantly removed both their kilts so they wrestler in trunks. Robbie - The one with the hair - was given a Sheamus like push. Never used the second one until I noticed he looked like the white fella from Four Lions so with Rory - the bald one - I gave him Sabu's turban and gave him a muslim convert gimmick, which immediately got 'over' as the top heel.

 

Thats an example of my 'low profile' figures. I have huge stars like Stone Cold, Taker, Rockk, Cena etc... but their stories are usually a bit more complex.

 

Here's a real question though... do you use any figures as 'yourself' if you were a wrestler and insert yourself into the storylines??

[Arch Stanton]

Just want to make it clear that I was about 10 when I was painting Z-Man white. Not a grown ass 18 year old man.

 

I was probably painting Trish white at 18.

[AshC]

Lots of fun memories of this as a young lad.

 

I used to do a big match with the WWF champ and the IC champ against the tag champs every year on New Year's Eve.

 

Remember having a 90-minute Bret vs Sid match for the big belt that went all over the shop and using an upturned wash basket as the big steel cage gimmick.

 

Did anyone else used to write the results down?!

[Killjoy_Gee]

Ahh you see, I'm 23 and still, on occassion, play with them XD I go through phases.

 

I never wrote results down, but I did, at one point, keep track of the title changes and length of holding the belt

[NEWM]

This threads happened before, but I like keeping this post alive for Googling to entertain myself occasionally so I'll post it again:

 

I was a big fan of the shocking heel turns when I was younger. Especially into gangs such as Dibiase's Corporation and (imaginary) Mr Fuji's deadly "Mental Orientals" group which routinely just featured any old baddie, regardless of race. Ultimate Warrior & Hogan selling out to Dibiase at a Survivor Series was was a big one, it was Hogan, Warrior, Bret, Michaels and Randy Savage as a superpower group against Dibiase's corporation of the Big Boss Man, Scott Steiner, Bam Bam Bigelow, Tatanka and Sid. Savage had been eliminated, which is when those sell out cowards chose to strike, assaulting Michaels and Bret in a 7-on-1 attack.

 

My memories are unbelivably vivid too, I had intended to do a winner take all match as my Wrestlemania main event by putting the tag, single and IC titles on the four respective guys, but got impatient and blew it off at the Rumble instead. I remember this because after such an epic tag war where Warrior and Hogan cheated to win the tag titles, Bret and Shawn were early starters in the Rumble and the final two men left at the end. Bret won the title shot, but there was no ill will. Some of the imaginary audience were actually in tears at what an emotional night it had been. And Bret beat Warrior for the title at Wrestlemania too, so it ended well.

 

While I'm reminiscing, I also want to gloat on turning Scott Steiner before it happened in the real world. Rick Steiner (?!) won the Royal Rumble one year, which obviously meant he got to fight for the title against the leader of the Corporation - The Big Boss Man at Wrestlemania. Scott helped him train, but then turned on him at Mania and joined the Corporation. The shit bag. Ironically, I got bored of "pushing" the Rick Stiener figure, and used the baddie Scott and his corporation buddies a lot more, much like real life.

 

I turned Ricky Steamboat heel in my figures and gave him invisible manager Mr Fuji, and to help me illustrate this, my mum took a bit of black material and made a little black waistcoat to put round his akward shaped back and arms. I actually just dropped the "Ricky Steamboat" name completely and called him The Evil Dragon. He turned heel on Bret Hart to help Yokozuna retain the title one time for the Mental Orientals. The Evil Dragon, Yoko and Three Man Demolition were undoubtedly the strongest incarnation of the group, which rotated through a few guys such as the Bezerker, Papa Shango, Andre the Giant and Giant Gonzalez.

 

My most Russo-riffic moment also involved The Undertaker. He shot Warlord in the chest to beat him in a Texas Death Match. Shot him dead. Then held an in ring funeral for him the next week. Taker became the most dangerous man in the Federation, threatening to shoot anybody that didn't lose to him. A prime heel world champion for sure. When Warlord made his suprise return from death a few months later to cost Taker the title, the imaginary crowd went fucking barmy.

[wandshogun09]

When they stopped making new Hasbros and you couldn't get the likes of Diesel, Jeff Jarrett etc, I used to use other Hasbros as them. For some reason I used fucking Papa Shango as Diesel, I guess because he was tall and had the black vest/trousers combo. I had two Mr Perfects (the yellow and blue ones) so I used yellow Perfect as Jarrett. And I used Jake as 123 Kid because he was little and skinny.

 

By the time the Austins, Mankinds, Kanes and that lot came out I'd long stopped playing with figures but my little brother used to get them and I was always surprised how quick they'd break. The Hasbros could usually take a pretty good beating but these fuckers were losing limbs almost daily.

[PowerButchi]

Who did the mid 90's WWF figures? I remember having a blue kecked HBK and it fell apart in a week. They were too fucking tall as well.

[Maverick]

While we're on them breaking easily...

 

I had one of these Bret Hart WCW action figures and feuded him with Goldberg over the World title. He tried to take Goldberg out with his own spear and in the process lost an arm! His treachery cost him that day. I tried to keep him going as Bret one arm but he never recovered really and things were never the same.

[wandshogun09]

Who did the mid 90's WWF figures? I remember having a blue kecked HBK and it fell apart in a week. They were too fucking tall as well.

 

You mean this one?

 

 

Sorry can't find a better picture. That's the one my brother had that fell to bits. I think he got a twin pack with The Undertaker, probably around 95/96ish. They were both missing limbs within the week I think.

 

They also did a Vader around this time;

 

Nowhere near fat enough.

 

Jakks did these. Think they might have been the first Jakks series but I might be wrong.

[PowerButchi]

Twin pack with taker makes sense, yeah. I'm pretty sure the Undertaker fell apart in no time at all. The Hasbros and Galoobs would last forever (provided you didn't try to eat them). I used to throw them out of my Action Man helicopter, down the stairs, or from my bedroom window all the time and they'd be grand.

 

While we're on them breaking easily...

 

 

That's not Bret Hart. That's Curtis fucking Stigers.

[Maverick]

The Blue sunglasses really confused me at the time, they didn't come off either if I recall correctly. Were more like suba gear.

[quote the raven]

Back in the day i had the very forst huge rubber figures.

 

But i didnt have anyone of note. NO hulk, macho bulldogs nothing.

 

So i had to make do with junk yard, and ricky steamboat. Ricky got a bad biro facepainting and ended up being Hawk and then killed every figure i ever owned.

 

At some point i became obessed with the ramp WCW used to use so i found a box that i think had dinner set in it. As luck would have it the thing provided me with a ramp that was only a bit smaller than the home made ring my grandad built me. This was in use for ages until poor pillman was piledrove though it by the evil sid. Sid then went on a ricky/hawk style run and beat every WWF/WCW figure i had until the new bulldog one was mine.

 

God those early WCW ones where crap they didnt even move!