Remembering the end of Jakks run

I remember being really bummed out that the Classic Superstars line was ending because I had so many and that was so awesome at the time. I’ll never forget my brother coming home from Wal Mart & saying they had an Ultimate Warrior figure & I just assumed like, they had an old Warrior figure that they found from the Bone Crunchers? It was unfathomable that they go back and make the old guys again. I don’t think people really know that, toy companies always produced the current stuff, I remember the Mighty Morphin & Zeo 10th anniversary Power Rangers figures popping up in Toys R Us around that time and that was the first I can remember a toy company playing into nostalgia (at least of the ones I collected).

So yea, when these came out it was unbelievable. Nothing like this had been done. And I was very dejected when it ended because I didn’t think anybody would pick up the ball, especially when Mattel revealed their initial WWE figures. I remember seeing WM12 HBK & Austin and I was like, gone are the days of Legends figs of Koko B Ware haha. They’re just gonna make the relative guys and throw them in with the current guys.

As it turns out, the Mattel run has been my favorite of all time and I’ve been collecting since the Galoob WCW figs. They have done an awesome job but JAKKS started it & it was an awesome ride for sure!

I agree 100%, he hadn’t had a modern toy since ‘96 and his look was made for toy shelves. Wrestling figs had come a long way since the last time he wrestled, and very far since his heyday. That figure to this day is a favorite of mine, it’s a great figure and yea, you can tell they really gave it all the bells and whistles.

Some of the other figures were great at the time but don’t hold up as well…haha. I didn’t really understand cost cutting back then so I had no idea why Andre had an R3 Big Show mold in package, but had the single strap on the back. To this day I don’t know WHY they used a Titantron Live base for Taker. (or why his boots are white…why ARE they white!?) they painted on his stirrups so I really don’t know why they didn’t just use any other RA figure as his base.

HBK, Bret & Hunter we’re all great figures though, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Taker & Andre. I was just happy they were in old gear (for the most part 😅)

For as strong as the Classic series started with Warrior and Bret, it ended on such a downer note. I wasn’t collecting anymore at that point but I’d stay up to date here and when I saw that last reveals, I was glad I wasn’t collecting anymore.

I loved collecting Jakks, but the way it ended was such a bummer. It was made even worse by the fact they phoned it in those last 12 months big time and then expected those same people to support their TNA line even though they had been giving them a terrible product for a year prior!

Shame how’s the classic line ended. Just very basic reprints - suppose they was trying to make the last bit of money they could at the lowest cost.

Jakks was just being Jakks during the end run

I kept falling in and out of love with wrestling throughout the mid 2000s. Sadly I think by late 07/08 I just couldn't find much passion left for the product on TV. And after 15 straight years of collecting all the figures and video games I was ready to let it go. This was a bittersweet decision though since the Classic Superstars line was really starting to get off to the races. I was in my very early 20s and didn't have the disposable income to keep up with it, and I've always regretted those figures I missed out on the last 4 to 5 years of the Jakks line.

Now that I'm at an age where I can spend a lot more towards collecting, I feel like the mattel line in some ways is geared towards fans my age that couldn't complete a classic superstars lineup in its original run. I don't watch much wrestling at all these days outside of catching up on AEW ppvs and big shows a few times a year. But collecting these little fockers again after all this time brings a goofy smile to my face. Especially in an age that's so digital now. Spent a lot of time, money, and effort consolidating all my physical media onto a home server, video games have gone much of the same way. So it's nice to be able to look at a shelf and actually pick these figures up and admire the tributes in little statue form to all these great characters over the decades. Not really sure how much of this ties back to the end of the Jakks line but somewhere between opening the thread and hitting the reply button my ritalin kicked in so it is what it is.

The second hand hunt can be so much fun. Its cool to see what franchises have stood the test of time and made a connection with people over the years

I just started collecting again in 2010, and I remember buying a lot of Classics that were still in Forbidden Planet, mostly the last couple series.

When you look at the line overall and what we ended up getting in the end, it was so disappointing and clearly a “don’t give two shits” attitude in the last year.

Many of us on this board alone had pardoned Jakks over the years for the BS they ended up giving us compared to what it was advertised and shown as.

I think the last year was a slap in the face to everyone!