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Post by Mongo Bears on Nov 12, 2018 6:58:59 GMT -5
The "poor attire" argument is so lame. So nobody bought Snuka and Sarge because of their attires, and that's what killed the entire line, after 6 series and the 2-packs and the Matty figs? Nope.They wanted to sell way more figures than Jakks did for their Classic Superstars line, which lasted a long time. But there was not enough demand, too much supply. I would LOVE to see more Flashbacks/Legends/whatever. Many wrestlers Jakks made don't have Mattels - some guys never even got Jakks figs, like Hercules. But this never ending attire conspiracy theory drives me crazy. I don't think the attire choices helped though... I mean (to me) they should have made figures of their most iconic attire: S1 Sgt Slaughter should have been camo-gear, no question S1 Legion Of Doom should have been their red and black gear (...I don't care what anyone says - this was/is their most iconic look!) S2 Snuka should have been his trunks/barefoot look, no question S2 Rude should have been his long-haired look S2 Terry Funk should have been his red, black and white/striped tights look S2 Jake should have been his turquoise tights S3 Bulldog should have been his long hair/tights look They just all seem poor looks/attire choices to start off a new line. I think the main problem though was the lack of big names at the time - this was before they'd signed guys like Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Razor Ramon, Sting... And also the (bizarre) ruling that the Legends line couldn't include any current-roster guys (so NO Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Edge & Christian, Goldust etc.). I agree. I would add bam bam to the list too. I like the tnf Bigelow attire better. ..but the character choices were the main thing that made me not buy most of them. I don’t think youre gonna get mass sales from guys like the von Erich’s, terry funk, hillbilly Jim, kamala, 2 sheiks, Bob Orton, kamala, Akeem, Pillman, orndorff, and Tully Blanchard.
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Post by MKSavage on Nov 12, 2018 9:58:27 GMT -5
The "poor attire" argument is so lame. So nobody bought Snuka and Sarge because of their attires, and that's what killed the entire line, after 6 series and the 2-packs and the Matty figs? Nope.They wanted to sell way more figures than Jakks did for their Classic Superstars line, which lasted a long time. But there was not enough demand, too much supply. I would LOVE to see more Flashbacks/Legends/whatever. Many wrestlers Jakks made don't have Mattels - some guys never even got Jakks figs, like Hercules. But this never ending attire conspiracy theory drives me crazy. I don't think the attire choices helped though... I mean (to me) they should have made figures of their most iconic attire: S1 Sgt Slaughter should have been camo-gear, no question S1 Legion Of Doom should have been their red and black gear (...I don't care what anyone says - this was/is their most iconic look!) S2 Snuka should have been his trunks/barefoot look, no question S2 Rude should have been his long-haired lookS2 Terry Funk should have been his red, black and white/striped tights look S2 Jake should have been his turquoise tights S3 Bulldog should have been his long hair/tights look They just all seem poor looks/attire choices to start off a new line. I think the main problem though was the lack of big names at the time - this was before they'd signed guys like Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Razor Ramon, Sting... And also the (bizarre) ruling that the Legends line couldn't include any current-roster guys (so NO Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Edge & Christian, Goldust etc.). I'll have to disagree with you on these two. The Jake and Rude were the first two I bought from the legends line. Rude could have been either or and I still will have bought him, but for Jake, I think this attire was his most intricately designed tights, which is why I picked him up. I agree with the other points though. Also, agree that when you are starting a new line you need to start with the biggest names, though series one did have some of the top legends; Austin, Dusty, Road Warriors/LOD. Not sure if some of the bigger names like Hogan, Macho, Warrior, and Bret were under contract at the time of the start of production for Series 1. And I thought I heard or read somewhere that the WWE didn't want current guys who were still working regularly at the time to be put in the legends line (like Shawn Michaels and Undertaker), something about it would confuse the audience.
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POWERSOFPAIN83
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Jan 16, 2010 18:21:15 GMT -5
Posts: 414
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Post by POWERSOFPAIN83 on Nov 12, 2018 10:56:44 GMT -5
I just can't understand why wwe didn't want active wrestlers in the legends line as well? Jakks was making figures of guys like hbk, taker, hhh, Austin in both the ra line and the classic superstars line, so why would wwe not allow mattel to do the same?
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buddyboy101
Superstar
Joined on: Dec 26, 2004 12:34:57 GMT -5
Posts: 924
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Post by buddyboy101 on Nov 12, 2018 13:21:03 GMT -5
The thing is that for it to be unique it has to use wrestlers that people want. All those JAKKS collectors were def holding on to their figures, then starting over with Mattel. Which def brought down sales in the beginning. Yeah I feel like they should have done the exact reverse of what actually happened - they should have started with a few small runs (like HOF/HOC/TNF) or just a few flashbacks interspersed through their normal series like they used to do. Once the interest is established, they could have expanded to a dedicated line. Instead they blew their load on a bunch of deep cuts immediately following the glut of legends from Jakks - very risky.
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Post by JC Motors on Nov 12, 2018 17:11:14 GMT -5
Poor attire choices and it was too soon after Jakks lost the license
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Post by mikey1974 on Nov 12, 2018 19:21:26 GMT -5
I don't think the attire choices helped though... I mean (to me) they should have made figures of their most iconic attire: S1 Sgt Slaughter should have been camo-gear, no question S1 Legion Of Doom should have been their red and black gear (...I don't care what anyone says - this was/is their most iconic look!) S2 Snuka should have been his trunks/barefoot look, no question S2 Rude should have been his long-haired lookS2 Terry Funk should have been his red, black and white/striped tights look S2 Jake should have been his turquoise tights S3 Bulldog should have been his long hair/tights look They just all seem poor looks/attire choices to start off a new line. I think the main problem though was the lack of big names at the time - this was before they'd signed guys like Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Razor Ramon, Sting... And also the (bizarre) ruling that the Legends line couldn't include any current-roster guys (so NO Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Edge & Christian, Goldust etc.). I'll have to disagree with you on these two. The Jake and Rude were the first two I bought from the legends line. Rude could have been either or and I still will have bought him, but for Jake, I think this attire was his most intricately designed tights, which is why I picked him up. I agree with the other points though. Also, agree that when you are starting a new line you need to start with the biggest names, though series one did have some of the top legends; Austin, Dusty, Road Warriors/LOD. Not sure if some of the bigger names like Hogan, Macho, Warrior, and Bret were under contract at the time of the start of production for Series 1. And I thought I heard or read somewhere that the WWE didn't want current guys who were still working regularly at the time to be put in the legends line (like Shawn Michaels and Undertaker), something about it would confuse the audience. Hogan wouldn't be for a few more years, but at the end of 2010 Warrior,Macho,and Bret were all under contract. Which is why they should've waited until 2011 to launch the line. And that's true, supposedly a direct edict from Vince himself, that no currently active Superstars were to appear in the Legends line.
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Post by mikey1974 on Nov 12, 2018 19:26:27 GMT -5
I just can't understand why wwe didn't want active wrestlers in the legends line as well? Jakks was making figures of guys like hbk, taker, hhh, Austin in both the ra line and the classic superstars line, so why would wwe not allow mattel to do the same? I can only assume it had something to do with the name "Legends", maybe? Cause Mattel had NO issues doing a WrestleMania 12 HBK, 1999 Jericho, 1998 Rock,and 1990 Undertaker in the Entrance Greats line. Not to mention 1996 Taker, 1999 Rock, and 2002 Triple H in the Defining Moments line too.
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Post by BadGirlRyleigh on Nov 13, 2018 6:50:28 GMT -5
I'll have to disagree with you on these two. The Jake and Rude were the first two I bought from the legends line. Rude could have been either or and I still will have bought him, but for Jake, I think this attire was his most intricately designed tights, which is why I picked him up. I agree with the other points though. Also, agree that when you are starting a new line you need to start with the biggest names, though series one did have some of the top legends; Austin, Dusty, Road Warriors/LOD. Not sure if some of the bigger names like Hogan, Macho, Warrior, and Bret were under contract at the time of the start of production for Series 1. And I thought I heard or read somewhere that the WWE didn't want current guys who were still working regularly at the time to be put in the legends line (like Shawn Michaels and Undertaker), something about it would confuse the audience. Hogan wouldn't be for a few more years, but at the end of 2010 Warrior,Macho,and Bret were all under contract. Which is why they should've waited until 2011 to launch the line. And that's true, supposedly a direct edict from Vince himself, that no currently active Superstars were to appear in the Legends line. Bret Hart was not under contract at the start. They didn’t announce that they had Bret until well into 2011
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Post by Artie Kendall on Nov 13, 2018 9:36:23 GMT -5
Bret Hart was not under contract at the start. They didn’t announce that they had Bret until well into 2011Bret Hart was announced as being signed at Toy Fair 2011 in February of 2011. According to Bill he was signed "a little bit earlier" when asked if the deal was done the first of the year. So Bret may have been under a deal at the end of 2010. This video has the Bret Hart discussion at the first full 2 minutes is about it:
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Deleted
Joined on: Mar 28, 2024 21:00:28 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2018 9:50:36 GMT -5
Bret Hart was not under contract at the start. They didn’t announce that they had Bret until well into 2011Bret Hart was announced as being signed at Toy Fair 2011 in February of 2011. According to Bill he was signed "a little bit earlier" when asked if the deal was done the first of the year. So Bret may have been under a deal at the end of 2010. This video has the Bret Hart discussion at the first full 2 minutes is about it: I like this Bill better
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Post by BØRNS on Nov 13, 2018 11:03:45 GMT -5
Wasn't the price point above the normal Elite line by like $5 or $10?
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Post by Artie Kendall on Nov 13, 2018 11:10:49 GMT -5
Wasn't the price point above the normal Elite line by like $5 or $10? I can't remember the retail price point but I do remember Ringside sold them for about 18.99 each.
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Post by One Punch Reigns on Nov 13, 2018 11:18:50 GMT -5
I think another reason the line fell short was the odd rule that current wrestlers could not be included in the line so much of the star power was lost. You got some well known legends in the line like Austin or The Rock and soon after Warrior and Savage, but not having classic versions of HBK or Undertaker did the line in to a lesser extent than the previously mentioned issued.
Just the same, I feel it was more on attires than talent. Polka dot Dusty for one was a decent move since the Jakks version was more an exclusive vs. a main line release and the Jake Roberts was one of my favorite attires he had. I do agree that the packaging art was some of the best Mattel ever did with the airbrushed superstar and overall vintage look.
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Post by Fighter Hayabusa on Nov 13, 2018 11:44:58 GMT -5
Wasn't the price point above the normal Elite line by like $5 or $10? I think they were $15 but I found them regularly on sale for $10-$12. Matty exclusives were $20, plus tax, plus around $10 to ship so they ended up costing you over $30.
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Post by Nivro™ on Nov 13, 2018 12:16:03 GMT -5
Realistically the only person on this board that can tell us why it failed is Bill. Everything else is just speculation.
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Deleted
Joined on: Mar 28, 2024 21:00:28 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2018 12:30:19 GMT -5
Realistically the only person on this board that can tell us why it failed is Bill. Everything else is just speculation. Not entirely, I think its safe to assume it didnt sell well enough, if it sold well it may even still be a thing
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Post by BØRNS on Nov 13, 2018 13:58:19 GMT -5
Realistically the only person on this board that can tell us why it failed is Bill. Everything else is just speculation. Not entirely, I think its safe to assume it didnt sell well enough, if it sold well it may even still be a thing Yeah I'm sure it was a multifactorial problem. I just remember that the first few series I was not able to find. I think the character selection in 2nd and 3rd waves weren't that great?
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Post by JC Motors on Nov 13, 2018 15:28:54 GMT -5
Wasn't the price point above the normal Elite line by like $5 or $10? They were the same price as an elite
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Post by Nivro™ on Nov 13, 2018 17:11:20 GMT -5
Realistically the only person on this board that can tell us why it failed is Bill. Everything else is just speculation. Not entirely, I think its safe to assume it didnt sell well enough, if it sold well it may even still be a thing Obviously it didn't sell well but why it didn't sale is something only Bill would know. Every reasoning someone gives you can have a good argument against it.
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Post by mikey1974 on Nov 13, 2018 17:18:17 GMT -5
Bret Hart was not under contract at the start. They didn’t announce that they had Bret until well into 2011Bret Hart was announced as being signed at Toy Fair 2011 in February of 2011. According to Bill he was signed "a little bit earlier" when asked if the deal was done the first of the year. So Bret may have been under a deal at the end of 2010. This video has the Bret Hart discussion at the first full 2 minutes is about it: This. All indications at the time were they got Bret under contract right around the end of 2010. No matter what we wouldn't have gotten a figure until sometime in 2011, But if they had launched the line a year later Bret would have been under contract and usable for the Legends line at that time.
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