jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
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Post by jason1980s on Mar 17, 2019 13:38:49 GMT -5
In a backstage memo to Vince McMahon, a writer had a note about Alberto Del Rio referring to WWE wanting Del Rio to be a "big deal...quickly" or something to that effect.
In our youth, we all know it seemed to take forever for LJN or Hasbro to come out with a figure. A wrestler might be gone for six months to a year (Warlord, Neidhart, Sid for example) and their figure would come out. I get the changing landscape of a wrestling promotion might not allow for all wrestlers to still be in the company when their toys come out but the point is, it seemed to take a while normally for figures to reach toy stores.
On the other hand, it seemed like Outback Jack, Koko B. Ware, Hart Foundation in pink or purple (LJN) and Tatanka in short tights along with most of the yellow card Hasbros were planned and prototypes produced more quickly than a Hasbro figure may normally be.
Do you think WWF had big plans for these guys mentioned (or anyone you can think of) or is it just coincidence? It just seemds odd that Hart Foundation would wind up in pink considering most other figures made in 1987 appeared in outfits from six months to a year prior. And Outback Jack could have been around very long with the company when his toy was planned. The 1987 LJN catalog had a reference to his figure being planned for 1987.
It's just something that's had me curious and I'm wondering what you guys think...
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Post by Ruby Fusion on Mar 17, 2019 14:16:58 GMT -5
I once read Outback Jack claiming to get a tag title run with Hillbilly Jim (could've been with Billy Jack Haynes or Corporal Kirchner), it didn't happen in the end.
Wasn't Tatanka supposed to have an IC-title run that got cancelled?
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Post by MKSavage on Mar 17, 2019 16:03:11 GMT -5
In a backstage memo to Vince McMahon, a writer had a note about Alberto Del Rio referring to WWE wanting Del Rio to be a "big deal...quickly" or something to that effect. In our youth, we all know it seemed to take forever for LJN or Hasbro to come out with a figure. A wrestler might be gone for six months to a year (Warlord, Neidhart, Sid for example) and their figure would come out. I get the changing landscape of a wrestling promotion might not allow for all wrestlers to still be in the company when their toys come out but the point is, it seemed to take a while normally for figures to reach toy stores. On the other hand, it seemed like Outback Jack, Koko B. Ware, Hart Foundation in pink or purple (LJN) and Tatanka in short tights along with most of the yellow card Hasbros were planned and prototypes produced more quickly than a Hasbro figure may normally be. Do you think WWF had big plans for these guys mentioned (or anyone you can think of) or is it just coincidence? It just seemds odd that Hart Foundation would wind up in pink considering most other figures made in 1987 appeared in outfits from six months to a year prior. And Outback Jack could have been around very long with the company when his toy was planned. The 1987 LJN catalog had a reference to his figure being planned for 1987. It's just something that's had me curious and I'm wondering what you guys think... I can't be sure about turn around but paint schemes like the Hart Foundation could have been changed at the last minute, seems like it would be easy to say instead of blue and black paint on the tights do pink and black. As for the Hasbro's, it's possible that the figures from series 6 on may have had a faster turnaround because only a few needed new molds (other than the heads). All figures except for Yoko, Papa, Giant Gonzales, used existing molds so basically they were just repaints which could have made for faster turnaround. One thing I always wondered about was Tatanka from series 6 was supposed to be a jumper and Berzerker was supposed to be the double clothesline (tornado punch), why did it change? I once read Outback Jack claiming to get a tag title run with Hillbilly Jim (could've been with Billy Jack Haynes or Corporal Kirchner), it didn't happen in the end. Wasn't Tatanka supposed to have an IC-title run that got cancelled? Not sure about the tag titles but I did here, from one of Tatanka's shoot videos, that he was told by both Bret and Taker that he was supposed to get the IC title at WM9 but Shawn got in Vince's ear and things changed. It did seem that Vince was high on Tatanka since he did give him an undefeated streak for over a year, and before he turned heel the only other loss I remember him having was against Owen Hart at KOTR 94. |
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Post by Glorydaysofwrestling on Mar 18, 2019 7:33:37 GMT -5
One that comes to mind that hasn’t been mentioned is the LJN Ted Arcidi. The guy never really did Anything and wasn’t around that long. Makes me wish they used that spot for someone else...say Dory “Hoss” Funk (off the top of my head). At least a guy like that was a big name and we could of had the Funk Brothers tag team.
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Post by Patrick Bateman (original) on Mar 18, 2019 11:40:55 GMT -5
Big deal quickly, was they messed up and put that on wwe.com on his profile when he first came in.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 13:04:37 GMT -5
I once read Outback Jack claiming to get a tag title run with Hillbilly Jim (could've been with Billy Jack Haynes or Corporal Kirchner), it didn't happen in the end. Wasn't Tatanka supposed to have an IC-title run that got cancelled? It was less cancelled, more Shawn not wanting to drop the belt so causing trouble backstage. |
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drnickriviera995
Main Eventer
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Post by drnickriviera995 on Mar 20, 2019 0:33:58 GMT -5
I actually never thought the yellow card set was very timely at all. Unless I'm wrong on timelines here, but off the top of my head:
Owen was done with the New Foundation run almost a year by the time the figure came out.
Shawn had turned heel in late 91/early 92'.
Razor debuted in fall of 92'
Crush debuted in Kona Crush look in mid 92'
And I don't remember Nailz or Kamala doing much of note after Fall 92.
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Post by Ruby Fusion on Mar 20, 2019 2:38:43 GMT -5
I actually never thought the yellow card set was very timely at all. Unless I'm wrong on timelines here, but off the top of my head: Owen was done with the New Foundation run almost a year by the time the figure came out. Shawn had turned heel in late 91/early 92'. Razor debuted in fall of 92' Crush debuted in Kona Crush look in mid 92' And I don't remember Nailz or Kamala doing much of note after Fall 92. The yellow cards read (c)1992. So they were quick with heel Shawn Michaels, Kona Crush and Razor Ramon. Nailz first entered the ring in May 1992 to attack the Big Boss Man, they'd end their feud at Survivor Series in November 1992. By Fall '92 Nailz started another feud: with Undertaker. They did have a non-televised match (a fan filmed version is on Youtube). In December 1992 Nailz allegedly attacked Vince in his office and was fired. So Nailz was also quickly produced by Hasbro; Nailz didn't even wrestle for a year in the WWF, but fought: Virgil, Big Boss Man, Sgt. Slaughter and the Undertaker. |
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drnickriviera995
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Joined on: Jul 25, 2010 23:58:50 GMT -5
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Post by drnickriviera995 on Mar 20, 2019 2:52:24 GMT -5
I actually never thought the yellow card set was very timely at all. Unless I'm wrong on timelines here, but off the top of my head: Owen was done with the New Foundation run almost a year by the time the figure came out. Shawn had turned heel in late 91/early 92'. Razor debuted in fall of 92' Crush debuted in Kona Crush look in mid 92' And I don't remember Nailz or Kamala doing much of note after Fall 92. The yellow cards read (c)1992. So they were quick with heel Shawn Michaels, Kona Crush and Razor Ramon. Nailz first entered the ring in May 1992 to attack the Big Boss Man, they'd end their feud at Survivor Series in November 1992. By Fall '92 Nailz started another feud: with Undertaker. They did have a non-televised match (a fan filmed version is on Youtube). In December 1992 Nailz allegedly attacked Vince in his office and was fired. So Nailz was also quickly produced by Hasbro; Nailz didn't even wrestle for a year in the WWF, but fought: Virgil, Big Boss Man, Sgt. Slaughter and the Undertaker. I was just basing my comments off the fact that the series hit retail in August 93'. They probably did plan the series and may have done art and/or prototypes in 92'. Pretty much seems in line with most of the Hasbro series, probably about a year in planning/production until final release. |
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Post by Ruby Fusion on Mar 20, 2019 3:08:05 GMT -5
The yellow cards read (c)1992. So they were quick with heel Shawn Michaels, Kona Crush and Razor Ramon. Nailz first entered the ring in May 1992 to attack the Big Boss Man, they'd end their feud at Survivor Series in November 1992. By Fall '92 Nailz started another feud: with Undertaker. They did have a non-televised match (a fan filmed version is on Youtube). In December 1992 Nailz allegedly attacked Vince in his office and was fired. So Nailz was also quickly produced by Hasbro; Nailz didn't even wrestle for a year in the WWF, but fought: Virgil, Big Boss Man, Sgt. Slaughter and the Undertaker. I was just basing my comments off the fact that the series hit retail in August 93'. They probably did plan the series and may have done art and/or prototypes in 92'. Pretty much seems in line with most of the Hasbro series, probably about a year in planning/production until final release. That being said, Nailz was rushed or Vince wanted revenge: Nailz was billed as 6'5", but his figure is smaller than Michaels. Yes I know: Nailz had DiBiase 1's legs. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 8:53:33 GMT -5
I still can't believe USA Lex Luger wasn't rushed into the green card series considering he was going to be Vince's Hogan.
Crush turned heel after Lex turned face and yet got an evil figure first!
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Post by MKSavage on Mar 20, 2019 8:58:06 GMT -5
I still can't believe USA Lex Luger wasn't rushed into the green card series considering he was going to be Vince's Hogan. Crush turned heel after Lex turned face and yet got an evil figure first! Yeah, that is confusing. Especially since they were both just repaints of their first figure. It should have been easy to get USA Lex in the Green Card Series over Crush or Yoko. |
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
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Post by jason1980s on Mar 20, 2019 14:14:13 GMT -5
Yellow cards were not timely in terms of release date but definitely timely in terms of the quickness or prototype production versus many other series. They may have even thought big things for Crush, Nailz, Shawn and Razor and possibly Kamala and Owen. The ads were first featured in the April WWF magazine which featured January 1993 news so probably figure the ads were first getting produced in late 1992 or early 1993 which is about six months for four of the six. Compare to 1 year plus for Warlord, Virgil, IRS, Skinner, Model, Anvil, Sid, Mountie, El Matador, Flair, Repo and Berzerker.
A joke on the timeliness of the 1993 Yellow cards was that some people couldn't even find them until late 1995 with the KB 3 for 10 specials.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 14:15:30 GMT -5
I still can't believe USA Lex Luger wasn't rushed into the green card series considering he was going to be Vince's Hogan. Crush turned heel after Lex turned face and yet got an evil figure first! Yeah, that is confusing. Especially since they were both just repaints of their first figure. It should have been easy to get USA Lex in the Green Card Series over Crush or Yoko. I have no proof, it's just my speculation really. But I've always wondered if the green card Crush was initially just going to be a face version repaint and was changed last minute. Since the figure doesn't have his full face paint, and the logo on his attire is the one he only wore as a face (just with long tights). |
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drnickriviera995
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Post by drnickriviera995 on Mar 20, 2019 14:47:39 GMT -5
Yeah, that is confusing. Especially since they were both just repaints of their first figure. It should have been easy to get USA Lex in the Green Card Series over Crush or Yoko. I have no proof, it's just my speculation really. But I've always wondered if the green card Crush was initially just going to be a face version repaint and was changed last minute. Since the figure doesn't have his full face paint, and the logo on his attire is the one he only wore as a face (just with long tights). Yeah, that's a head scratcher all around. I think the evil Crush is an awesome figure, but never really cared much for the Yoko, guess it would have been good for someone who never found the red card version. But, Luger would have made a lot more sense than Yoko. Unless it was a matter of not wanting to overload one set with big names and evenly distribute them through the next wave or 2. But, then again, the red card was very heavy on big names, moreso than the green cards. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 15:02:51 GMT -5
I have no proof, it's just my speculation really. But I've always wondered if the green card Crush was initially just going to be a face version repaint and was changed last minute. Since the figure doesn't have his full face paint, and the logo on his attire is the one he only wore as a face (just with long tights). Yeah, that's a head scratcher all around. I think the evil Crush is an awesome figure, but never really cared much for the Yoko, guess it would have been good for someone who never found the red card version. But, Luger would have made a lot more sense than Yoko. Unless it was a matter of not wanting to overload one set with big names and evenly distribute them through the next wave or 2. But, then again, the red card was very heavy on big names, moreso than the green cards. As a kid I always felt the biggest ones we missed out on the tail end of the run were Owen, USA Luger and Diesel. I may have looked at Evil Crush as a big miss if we never got one so I'm glad we got what we got, but it blows my mind to this day that Luger wasn't shoved straight into that green card wave. |
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
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Post by jason1980s on Mar 20, 2019 18:09:56 GMT -5
For as big a star as he was, it's crazy Hasbro messed up Yokozuna's outfit on both figures. They pulled a Jakks and reversed the color schemes. I think the red card may have been accurate to his debut time but by 1994 very outdated and by late 1994/early 1995 release of green card it made no sense to reverse the color scheme. The evil Crush was a rush repaint, not much thought put in to it.
Post yellow card, the red cards and purple cards came out about a year after the wrestler debuted or started wearing the outfit featured. Blue cards seemed pretty late for Headshrinkers. They debuted before Steiner Brothers by a few months.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 19:49:20 GMT -5
For as big a star as he was, it's crazy Hasbro messed up Yokozuna's outfit on both figures. They pulled a Jakks and reversed the color schemes. I think the red card may have been accurate to his debut time but by 1994 very outdated and by late 1994/early 1995 release of green card it made no sense to reverse the color scheme. The evil Crush was a rush repaint, not much thought put in to it. Post yellow card, the red cards and purple cards came out about a year after the wrestler debuted or started wearing the outfit featured. Blue cards seemed pretty late for Headshrinkers. They debuted before Steiner Brothers by a few months. Even though the Yokos were inaccurate to his iconic look, he did wear those colour schemes exactly like that on TV. For some reason the SNES games coloured him the same way as the hasbro figure. |
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