Ever since debuting their line of Bone-Crunching Action in 1996 featuring the stars of the WWF’s New Generation, Jakks Pacific had a chokehold on the WWF/WWE line producing figures of most of the biggest names in wrestling and their Classic Superstars line allowed Jakks to celebrate legends from the 1970s to the late 1990s.
But ask any discerning collector and they’ll likely express more than a little frustration with Jakks’ handling of the license from sparse details to an almost baffling disregard to scale (looking directly at you Deluxe Classics Shawn Michaels and Deluxe Classic Kevin Nash figure. Sigh). Jakks and WWE parted ways in 2010 allowing Mattel to assume control of the WWE license, both with the current “superstars” and the wrestlers from yesteryear such as The Rock, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, The Road Warriors and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Mattel was even (finally!) able to make figures of former Holy Grail figures Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and his Wrestlemania III opponent Randy “Macho Man” Savage proving that the sky is the limit for this line assuming the combination of surprisingly lackluster sales and two of the biggest names in wrestling being stuck in TNA purgatory doesn’t pin them to the mat yet.
Mattel’s WWE Legends line may be arriving to the party a little later, but the Mattel team has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the line with all the extra bells and whistles — such as George “The Animal” Steele coming with his sidekick/pal “Mine” and Vader coming with removable masks and the cloak he wore during his WCW championship reign — that really make a line worth investing in. And so in the grand tradition of the Marvel Legends and DC Classics polls before it, The Fwoosh proudly brings to you the first Top 10 Mattel WWE Legends poll.
Before this little countdown begins, you’ll notice there’s more than 10 legends listed here. No, it’s not that I don’t know how to count to 10. Two on the list are already in various stages of production and another is such a cool idea that he needed to be included just to get on Mattel’s radar since they’ve tried to do legends Jakks didn’t get to. So with no further hype, let’s look at the Top 10 13.
#13 – The Great Muta. [8 votes]
Muta is unquestionably one of the biggest global stars in history with his unique face paint, bizarre mannerisms, breathtaking moonsault and penchant for spitting mists of any and all color to incapacitate a foe. He’s a legend that would benefit of the Mattel touch, specifically the inclusion of a robe, mask and maybe even cloth pants. Pair him with your Wave 2 Terry Funk for some NWA 1989 goodness!
#12 – Mankind [8 votes]
Mama Foley’s baby boy is the first of a few legends whose numerous alter-egos directly affected his position in the Top 10. If any version of Mick Foley would have sufficed he would have placed fourth, but Fwooshers chose his look at the peak of the WWF in his “corporate” white shirt and tie. Mr. Socko would make for a needed accessory but why not toss in his “Rock n Sock Connection” jacket in as well?
#11 – Miss Elizabeth [8 votes]
Chalk this up directly to having three “Macho Man” figures (Defining Moments 1, Wave 5 and All-Stars two-pack with John Morrison) being released within the span of a year. While Savage was paired with Sensational/Queen Sherri, Madusa, Molly Holly and Gorgeous George, there’s only one woman synonymous with the “Macho Man” and the lovely Miss Elizabeth soars up the ranks as a result.
#10 — Sting [8 votes]
For NWA/WCW fans who started watching in the 1980s, the first name likely to come to their mind is Dusty Rhodes or Ric Flair. For fans that started following WCW in 1990 on until the company’s demise, one man is WCW and that’s the man from Venice Beach. No, not that guy. The Stinger himself! Voters opted for Sting’s more colorful look, which would allow Mattel to go nuts with variants reflecting the colorful robes and jackets Sting wore before going black and white to combat the n.W.o. Sting’s my favorite wrestler so like many I was hoping he’d ditch TNA and come to WWE, in large part to seeing what Mattel could do in crafting Sting figures. Hopefully one day we’ll see Sting in the WWE, but until then, look for him to be perched on this Top 10 for many years to come.
#9 — Bobby “The Brain” Heenan [9 votes]
“The Brain” is a must for any collection as the main force that led his “family” to war against Hulkamania. Jakks’ take was ok, if you prefer the manager towering over his charges. A number of voters suggested including a weasel suit along with the rhinestone jacket and know-it-all smirk. Heenan just got his own DVD set released so maybe it’s not that far-fetched to hope “The Brain” becomes the first manager in Mattel’s line to lead Wave 4’s Paul “Mr. Wonderful” Orndorff down the aisle.
#8 —Andre the Giant [9 votes]
A phenomenal prototype of the Eighth Wonder of the World has been shown and was scheduled to come out with the Legends ring, but that was cancelled and fans are still clamoring for the release of this figure. Andre has been among the first wrestlers released in a number of lines including Jakks’ early predecessor to the Legends line so voters clearly wanted to let it be known their line won’t be complete without the release of Andre.
#7 —Diesel [10 votes]
Figure fans were excited to see Kevin Nash return to the Royal Rumble as Diesel because he crossed the TNA line and the chances of getting a new Mattel Legends figure has increased tenfold. Diesel’s never really had a great figure and voters are hopeful Mattel can deliver the goods with their take on the seven-footer. Nash’s n.W.o. stint in WCW nearly split his vote as well, proving sometimes having multiple memorable gimmicks can hurt you. Oddly, no one voted for Oz…
#6 — Owen Hart [10 votes]
Much like Sting, the “King of Harts” is a figure Mattel wouldn’t hesitate to deliver, but a different set of logistics is preventing us from likely ever seeing a new Owen Hart figure to join his fellow Hart Foundation members. That didn’t stop voters from letting their desires be known.
#5 — Sid Vicious [10 votes]
This was one of the big shocks to me, but Sid clearly has a pretty sizable fan base. Again, this may be the case of voters wanting to see a version of Sid that their Shawn Michaels’ figures would have to look up at as opposed to looking at eye to eye. Slap a vest on a taller body and we’d be all set Mattel!
#4 — Ric Flair [12 votes]
There’s gonna be some styling and maybe some profiling when “The Nature Boy” leaves TNA, freeing Mattel to make a figure of the man. Flair’s numerous colorful attires and robes make him the ideal legend for constant rotation in Mattel’s Defining Moments line, which allow for more intricate designs and attention to detail.
#3 — Razor Ramon [15 votes]
Scott Hall hands down would have won this poll had his two most famous gimmicks counted as one selection. Hall never got a great figure by Jakks in either his Razor Ramon or n.W.o. Scott Hall look, but proving that collectors don’t want a display full of guys in black, voters chose his more colorful gimmick. The chains and a vest are a gimmie, but is there any way to have mini-toothpicks too?
#2 — Hulk Hogan [15 votes]
Take comment about Razor/Scott Hall and repeat. With Kamala, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Mr. Perfect, the Ultimate Warrior, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Kamala, Akeem, Savage and Orndorff, Mattel has given us plenty of fodder for Hulkamania to run wild on and voters clearly want to have “The Hulkster” in their collection to square off against some of his more famous rivals. And just try to get “Real American” out of your head now.
And now for #1. This one was the biggest surprise of all for me. Largely because this wrestler has long since been one of my favorites but I wasn’t sure if everyone got his character or could really appreciate him like me. I’m glad to be proven wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu, the legend you most want to see Mattel tackle next:
Kidding.
#1 – Bret “The Hitman” Hart – [18 votes]
Yep. “The Hitman” took out the rest of the competition to become the winner of the first-ever Fwoosh WWE Legends poll. I wonder if he considers this more prestigious than winning the 1994 Royal Rumble? Mattel execs announced Bret is on his way in both the Elite style, which could just as easily be current day Bret from his 2010 run with the company and a Defining Moments edition, which has to be a legendary look for him. Fortunately, Bret is one of those legends who had a pretty consistent look throughout his career so collectors should be happy. Yeah, I can’t believe I just wrote that last line either.
So as you can see, we didn’t have millions (and millions) participating in this one, but hey, “Ringmaster” Steve Austin and Rocky Maivia didn’t catch on right away either. Hopefully we’ll all get some more welcome news on the future of this line come SDCC and then we’ll crank out another one of these come the fall!
Full results are as followed:
Seven votes: Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Junkyard Dog and Arn Anderson
Six votes: Nikita Koloff, Lance Storm, Sabu, Big Bossman (prison guard attire), Kane (debut attire) and X-Pac
Five votes: Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Yokozuna, Trish Stratus, Gorilla Monsoon, Earthquake, Big John Studd, Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall
Four votes: Rob Van Dam, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Tully Blanchard, Honky Tonk Man, Edge (Brood attire), Christian (Brood attire), Billy Gunn (Mr. A$$), Crush (Kona) and “Superstar” Billy Graham
Three votes: Shawn Michaels (1995 era), Taz, Brock Lesnar, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, The Sandman, Raven, Barry Windham, Stan Lane, Bobby Eaton, 1-2-3 Kid, Lex Luger, Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Brian Adams (Kronik), Bryan Clark (Kronik), Ralphus, Lita, Chyna, Jeff Hardy, Road Dogg, Papa Shango, Crush (Demolition), Sting (Crow), Warlord, Dynamite Kid and Dino Bravo
Two votes: Harley Race (NWA champ), Cactus Jack, The Rock (2003 with Samoan tattoo), Magnum T.A., Don Muraco, Luna Vachon, Sherri Martel, Mankind (debut attire), Hercules, Goldberg, Adam Bomb, Bradshaw (APA), Farooq (APA), Undertaker (debut), Matt Hardy, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Triple H (DX), Robert Gibson, Ricky Morton, Doink the Clown, Jimmy Hart, The Narcissist, Hugh Morrus, Barbarian, Davey Boy Smith (British Bulldogs version), Prof. Toro Tanaka, Mr. Fuji, Tito Santana, Syxx, Typhoon and Tugboat
One vote: Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels (DX), Ken Shamrock, Ivan Putski, Haystacks Calhoun, Gene Kiniski, King Curtis Iaukea, Tiger Jeet Singh, Gorgeous George, Zeus, Capt. Lou Albano, Terry Gordy, Shane Douglas, Shawn Stasiak, The Missing Link, Mr. Hughes, Van Vader, Mick Foley, David Von Erich, King Kong Bundy, Samu, Fatu, Kimberly Page, DDP (heel), Berlyn, Tony Schiavone, The Wall, Madusa, Sonny Onoo, Raven (WCW), I.R.S., Bruno Sammartino, Sable, Owen Hart (black hart), Shane McMahon, Bubba Ray Dudley, Devon Dudley, Rikishi, Shawn Michaels (Texas hearts), Chris Jericho (2003), The Rock (Wrestlemania 17), Sid Justice, The Great Muta (n.W.o.), Masahiro Chono (n.W.o.), Freddie Blassie, Chyna (debut), se7en, Conquistador, Hakushi, Booker T (Harlem Heat), Ernest Miller, Ivan Koloff, Wendi Richter, Baron Von Raschke, Tommy Rogers, Bobby Fulton, “Iceman” King Parsons, Big Bubba Rogers, The Patriot, Bruiser Brody, Billy Jack Haynes, The Nation of Domination — Farooq, Crush, Savio Vega, Mark Henry, Kama, The Rock, D-Lo Brown, Stevie Richards, Blue Meanie, Nova, Gangrel, Chainsaw Charlie, Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Triple H (champ era), Nikolai Volkoff, DDP, Chris Jericho (undisputed champ), The Mountie, Haku, Al Snow, Sapphire, Slick, Giant Gonzales, Jerry Lawler, The Goon, Duke “The Dumpster” Droese, Rad Radford, Damien Demonto, Jean Pierre Lafitte, T.L. Hopper, Tom Pritchard, Jimmy Del Ray, Ole Anderson, JJ Dillon, Brooklyn Brawler, Repo Man, One Man Gang, Glacier, Mortis, Rey Mysterio Jr., Jay Strongbow, Mil Mascaras and Rocky Johnson
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