Handbangers Classic Superstars

What wave were these slated for?

I know about the popular cancelled names like juvi and sandman, but never heard of these three even being planned at some point for the line.

That would have been a hell of a wave to end on to say the least! Skinner and an updated release (by some company) of the Head Bangers are two of my biggest wants! We go from this to the trash that was Series 28 instead...unbelievable!

I would've loved those figures. Saddens me that they never got released.

I agree with you, I loved collecting Jakks, but the way they went out sucked. What made it even worse was that they half assed the line for that last year and then expected everyone to jump on board with their TNA line.


These Headbangers look awesome. I was always a fan of theirs back in the day and found them pretty entertaining.

I always thought while Jakks might cut corners, they normally had amazing distribution - so yeah Mattel figures are better, crazy to deny that, but who cares since people cannot find them or you are paying twice the price online, and that was a problem before the pandemic.



Makes me wonder if Jakks cut corners, to keep production costs lower, because they paid more for distribution? It would be really fascinating to see the break down of where every penny went to in making a jakks figure

The CS collector in me, is so happy to see these yet saddened at how easily JAKKS could have pumped these out. I actually expected one of them to had the "beefer/loose" mold shirt (no sleeves) and one to have a tanktop or no shirt at all.

To clear CS 28 up here is the timeline:
The original line-up, with a high emphasis on WWE gimmicks, was released (list only) in February 2009 is shown below:

 Bam Bam Bigelow (Wrestlemania XI Attire) (1)
 APA Bradshaw (1)
 APA Faarooq (1)
 Edge in "Brood" Style (1)
 Pat Patterson - 70's/80's Version w/ IC Title (1)
 Headbanger Mosh (1)
 Headbanger Thrasher (1)
 Skinner (1)
 Brian Pillman (WWE Style - Hart Foundation Era w/ Jacket) (1)
 D-Lo Brown (w/ Chest Protector (1)
 Vader (WWE Attire w/ Mask) (1)
 RANDY ORTON - LJN STYLE CHASER (1)

Over the course of the next 6 months, the line remained stable, with few changes that included the addition of Blackjack Mulligan and the removal of APA Faarooq and APA Bradshaw, which left the line-up looking like:

 Bam Bam Bigelow (Wrestlemania XI Attire) (1.5)
 Blackjack Mulligan (1)
 Edge in "Brood" Style (1)
 Pat Patterson - 70's/80's Version w/ IC Title (1)
 Headbanger Mosh (1)
 Headbanger Thrasher (1)
 Skinner (1)
 Brian Pillman (WWE Style - Hart Foundation Era w/ Jacket) (1)
 D-Lo Brown (w/ Chest Protector (1)
 Vader (WWE Attire w/ Mask) (1.5)
 RANDY ORTON - LJN STYLE CHASER (1)

The line-up remained unchanged until early September, when the line-up was completely overhauled and collectors were given this as the new official line-up:

 Bam Bam Bigelow (ECW gray-flame attire) (1.5)
 Brian Pillman (WCW-era attire) (1)
 Vader (WWE Attire w/ Mask) (1.5)
 “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (1)
 Bret “Hit Man” Hart (2)
 Shawn Michaels (1.5)
 Hunter-Hearst-Helmsley (1.5)
 The Undertaker (1)
 REY MYSTERIO - LJN STYLE CHASER (1)

However, CS 28, the clusterf*ck that is was turning out to be, underwent yet more cuts; Vader, Brian Pillman, & Bam Bam Bigelow were all removed leaving the CS line ending with the following set:

 “Rowdy” Roddy Piper ()
 Bret “Hit Man” Hart ()
 Shawn Michaels ()
 Hunter-Hearst-Helmsley ()
 The Undertaker ()
 REY MYSTERIO - LJN STYLE CHASER ()


JAKKS really went out like a lamb on the CS line. CS 28 (and CS 27 to some degree), the final CSTT and CS3Ps were basically all re-paints. Compared to some of the stuff they claimed that would come out, they never followed through.

The chick who sculpted the heads used to be on these boards at that time and showed his head and others. Seems like she got in trouble for doing so. Wonder if anyone still has those pics