Wrestling Toys (Mattel WWE, Jazwares AEW, etc.)

[Stormbreaker]

I don't disagree with any of this. My imagery of Hulk Hogan when I was 8-9 years old in the early 80's, was pristine though, at a time when I probably still thought pro wrestling was real, LOL. He was the "role model" for me as an elementary school kid when I didn't have a lot of great male examples in my life growing up in a very shitty small town. Obviously what I know as an adult tarnishes almost all of that I looked up to as a kid. I probably haven't ever put another human being on a pedestal like that in my entire life. I think you get to know better than that pretty early in life - but I certainly didn't yet at that age.

My years of watching wrestling were when guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were lesser known tag team wrestlers who hadn't really started as singles wrestlers yet, so that's how I still think of Bret - half of the Heart Foundation with the Anvil and managed by Jimmy Hart. I really never knew him as a singles wrestler. I had stopped watching by that point and then he was long out of the business by the time I started watching again as an adult. I never got to enjoy him when he was the guy that you remember and mostly now know him from the guy he is today, someone who comes off to me as extremely bitter and angry at the entire world. We have just different memories of different individuals at different times in their and our own lives and how they impacted us. No one is likely as good as their best moments or as bad as their worst.

So agreed, celebrity worship in general is bad...because all of these guys are mostly just playing a character. However sometimes even those flawed human beings can help us aspire to be something more than we might otherwise. 8-9 year old me needed that character of Hulk Hogan even if the human being behind the caricature obviously didn't match. I didn't know that yet then, didn't need to and I'm glad that I' didn't. That type of lesson could/would come often as a I got older.

Tremendous post.

There’s a wonderful film starring Peter O’Toole - My Favorite Year - that has a scene toward the end that perfectly encapsulates your sentiments. It’s about an actor whose real life actions are at odds with the qualities of the heroes he portrayed throughout his illustrious career, and yet who proved to possess some of them after all.

It’s especially enjoyable for fans of Errol Flynn*, the greatest swashbuckler of them all.


*Why isn’t there an Adventures of Robin Hood Flynn figure?

 

[vicious]

At least Hogan being trashy doesn't ruin Hollywood Hogan for me. That's the only version I like anyway, lol. Only because of the negative reaction he got when I was a kid. Never saw a crowd boo someone so hard. Got to see him when I was like 13 in Minneapolis, people were throwing their signs and drinks at him.

 

[Damien]

I know sometimes we have really gross stuff like 'fans' stalking female wrestlers and things like that, but I do think people forget how fuckin' WILD the pre-2000s era was for like, entire crowds just being blatantly violent at wrestlers. Pretty sure a good chunk of the guys we remember from the '80s and '90s had to be, at least once, secretly escorted out of a building's back door to protect them from being lynched by the same type of people that drove Jack Gleeson out of his acting career because they couldn't figure out that Joffrey Baratheon was a -character in a TV show-.

Anyway... I used to love Errol Flynn movies. But I wouldn't buy an action figure -today- of a fucking child rapist. I guess that's what separates me from most wrestling fans.

 

[Stormbreaker]

I know sometimes we have really gross stuff like 'fans' stalking female wrestlers and things like that, but I do think people forget how fuckin' WILD the pre-2000s era was for like, entire crowds just being blatantly violent at wrestlers. Pretty sure a good chunk of the guys we remember from the '80s and '90s had to be, at least once, secretly escorted out of a building's back door to protect them from being lynched by the same type of people that drove Jack Gleeson out of his acting career because they couldn't figure out that Joffrey Baratheon was a -character in a TV show-.

Anyway... I used to love Errol Flynn movies. But I wouldn't buy an action figure -today- of a fucking child rapist. I guess that's what separates me from most wrestling fans.

I think the ‘70s and ‘80s were the craziest decades for wild fan interactions with wrestlers. Look up the story of Ox Baker in 1974 for one zany example!

Is that why that fellow - Jack Gleeson? - left acting? I had no idea. For a split second I thought you meant Jackie Gleason of the Honeymooners!

Sorry, I don’t know exactly to whom you’re referring when you say child rapist. Errol Flynn? But then you concluded by saying “I guess that's what separates me from most wrestling fans,” so I’m not sure if you meant him or someone else.

 

[mrboshek]

Thank Goodness George picked Carrie, Mark, and Harrison. Maybe Carrie liked to overindulge a bit, but they all made it through mostly scandal free or did nothing too egregious, as far as a I'm aware. I find Hulkster personally problematic because I'll still buy figures of him in 80s style trunks or In the Hollywood era gear. Here I am, Trump would consider me part of the radical left, practically a progressive, but I'm still buying Hogan figures. I refused to buy unmasked Glen "Kane" Jacobs because he's an election denying mayor, even though I needed the included BAF part. Or there was that time I was searching Target for a free figure during one of their holiday sales, anyone but Cara Dune, despite Gina being way cute.

Don't do that, it's not going to work.

I was never even a big Hogan fan as a kid. I preferred more of the underdog, low-mid level guys, or youngsters. My early favorites were Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda when they were a tag team or Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas. Rocky, the Rock's father, as it turns out, likely had a scandalous background. Not so much Tony Atlas who it was found out much later, he merely had a fetish for women stepping on his face. That gets a pass .

Post Christmas receiving: A couple days before Christmas I ordered the Austin with bloody head and Nikki Bella (don't judge me, I was trying to make the shipping worthwhile). Nikki's torso is a floppy mess. It's beyond being just a looser than normal joint, there must be something broken inside or missing. The male wrestlers have a rubbery spacer to create friction in the ab crunch. I don't know if the female figures have one, never cracked open one of their torsos. I've complained a bunch of times about using old boots for figures like Bayley and Becky or the recent Alba Fyre with pinned basic boots, so of course Nikki gets new properly articulated sneakers.

 

[CTV]

Hogan was a piece of shit and the world is better off without him, but I'm Black, so racism is a dealbreaker for me in ways I know it isn't for a lot of other wrestling fans. I could never bring myself to purchase a figure of his, but I was never a fan (as a kid my favorites were HBK, Rey Mysterio, Sable, and Team Xtreme) so I'm never tempted. It took one of RSC's super sales for me to buy a Logan Paul figure, because it was so deeply discounted.

 

[RicksNerdLife]

I just long for the days where we didn't have access to everyone's inner most thoughts. In many ways, the internet is great, convenient. In most others, it has destroyed civilization. Shone a light on how deeply flawed we all are.

 

[Damien]

Is that why that fellow - Jack Gleeson? - left acting? I had no idea. For a split second I thought you meant Jackie Gleason of the Honeymooners!

Yeah. He got bullied relentlessly while in public. Had things thrown at him. People shouted vile things at him. I believe even a few death threats. He was a fucking CHILD when he started the show, and barely in his early 20s when the character died, and he was effectively threatened to the point where he didn't even want to be an actor anymore. Really disgusting behaviour by way too many 'adults.'

Sorry, I don’t know exactly to whom you’re referring when you say child rapist. Errol Flynn? But then you concluded by saying “I guess that's what separates me from most wrestling fans,” so I’m not sure if you meant him or someone else.

Errol Flynn is a child rapist.
The latter comment was referencing the fact that I wouldn't buy an action figure of a terrible human being no matter how important that person was to my formative years (Errol Flynn was VERY important to a young Damien's love of swashbuckling adventure and Robin Hood specifically).

but I'm still buying Hogan figures. I refused to buy unmasked Glen "Kane" Jacobs because he's an election denying mayor

It's so weird, and forgive me because I don't mean this as an insult, because there doesn't even seem to be a line here that I can see being drawn. They are basically the same person. High profile, white, Trump-supporters (you basically cannot be a 2024 Trump Supporter without being a 2020 Election Denier, since if you don't deny the results, you have to admit that you're supporting an insurrectionist and/or a liar and/or someone that is deeply and dangerously delusional).

I just long for the days where we didn't have access to everyone's inner most thoughts. In many ways, the internet is great, convenient. In most others, it has destroyed civilization. Shone a light on how deeply flawed we all are.

I'm okay with accountability, actually. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person that doesn't consider it a bad thing that we have this kind of access to everyone's thoughts and opinions now. I -want- to know when people are dogshit. Best thing that ever happened to my wallet, in some cases. In others it can be a wonderful chance to examine my own beliefs, opinions, and even the strength of my convictions. And I HOPE it presents that chance to others when they put their opinions out in the world and get told they suck. If even 1% of those people go 'oh fuck, I didn't realize how bad this thing is that I believed' - then it was worth it.

 

[vicious]

Personally I draw my line at giving WWE money for the toy of someone I severely dislike on a personal level. From a collection standpoint, it doesn't really bother me. I'd be fine having an Ultimate Edition Benoit in my collection. Would I be comfortable giving WWE $35 for it, knowing they're profiting off a murderer? Probably not. But maybe if we're just being honest. He'd look great with Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio on the shelf.

 

[RicksNerdLife]

Benoit is a tough one. On one hand, he took part in some of my favorite matches ever, he was a massive part of my teen years. The Radicals angle rocked my world back then. There is a nostalgia and appreciation for him as a performer.

...but then he did what he did.

And yes, he practically had dementia, so they say.

...but he did it. It's one thing with his wife, which is horrific. It's whole different other planet with his little boy. And clearly he had the wherewithal to sedate his son before doing what he did. So...

Yeah, that's a tough one to be okay with--personally. Would I buy the figure? Likely, but it'd be one of those things where I would probably sell it after a month because it feels dirty having on my shelf.

 

[Damien]

"I wouldn't give someone money to have a murderer on my shelf, but I'd gladly have a murderer on my shelf" is a fucking wild take, if I'm being straight with you.

 

[mrboshek]

@Damien You're exactly right. It's not lost on me that it's very hypocritical and it's like I'm giving a selective pass to the guy. You also touched on something in you response to Rick that gets to me. I hate having the feeling nearly every contractor or guy in the trades I'm dealing with is likely to have a right wing bend I don't agree with.

Something more action figure-ish, Target has AEW Unrivaled and Unmatched on clearance for $11.99 and Christian/Cope two pack for $22.99. That's usually a bad sign when the mainline figures go on clearance. WWE Legends Curtain Call wave was also on clearance Razor @ $11.49, Diesel @ $12.49, HBK @ $17.49, and HHH was $21.49.

 

[Damien]

I think your post cut off there, @mrboshek, but to clarify I didn't really mean to call you a hypocrite so much as to say I don't really understand where the line is that you're drawing - as in what makes those people necessarily different to you.

Edit: Your post got fixed, or the rest of it appeared for me, or somethin', after I responded. But yeah, I agree. As a guy in the trades myself, it can be absolutely exhausting knowing half the people around you, or more, are just raging loons. But I'm also in a position where it can help determine who I want to work around in the future so... not always a bad thing.

EB Games has had the Christian/Cope set forever, and I keep looking at it all side-eye. But really what I want is Brood-era Edge and Christian. Don't know if that's ever going to happen again at this point. During my big purge, I got rid of my blue-tights Brood Edge and it's one of very few figures I've ever regretted selling off.

 

[vicious]

"I wouldn't give someone money to have a murderer on my shelf, but I'd gladly have a murderer on my shelf" is a fucking wild take, if I'm being straight with you.

That's fine. Kind of feels like you're virtue signaling while we're being straight. I brought up Hogan saying they make too many figures of him. You started down this path of judging others, but saying "don't worry about what I say". I've tried to bring this topic on-track to talk about TOYS multiple times and it's like some people can't do that, it's gotta be deeper. Are you even buying these toys are you just hanging out to talk shit like in the Vala thread?

 

[Damien]

Yeah, I forgot that these days having a strong ethics-based opinion on something is just 'virtue signaling.' Which, I mean, let's be honest, is a really convenient way to dismiss someone calling out problematic behaviour and opinions. If you don't want to defend buying action figures of awful people - literally don't. You don't have to post a response to a single point I make about the subject. Which is exactly what "don't worry about what I say" means. It doesn't mean "keep responding but be upset about it." If someone wants to engage with the points I'm making, they can. If they don't want to, no one is forcing them.

I've tried to bring this topic on-track to talk about TOYS multiple times and it's like some people can't do that, it's gotta be deeper.

On this entire page you have three posts (including the one I'm quoting now) and none of them are attempting to talk about just about the toys separately from the 'who we buy toys of' conversation. You seemed perfectly happy to engage on this topic until I said something that specifically set you off. Which is fine. Ignore it and move on. Sorry it upsets you that I think your position is very strange.

I also don't think it's weird for it to be 'deeper' when buying action figures of real people. Clearly, Mattel thinks it's "deeper" since they won't even entertain the idea of making a Benoit figure, despite how BADLY some not-virtue-signaling collectors want them to do it.

Are you even buying these toys are you just hanging out to talk shit like in the Vala thread?

I don't know. I guess the answer is further back in this thread and you can go read it to figure that out.