The WWF was at a crossroads. The superstars and charismatic characters Vince McMahon built his WWF empire on were leaving the promotion for various reasons. Death (Andre the Giant), broken-down bodies worn down from years toiling on the road (Brutus Beefcake, Hillbilly Jim), change of scenery (Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Ravishing” Rick Rude), or the steroid scandal (Hulk Hogan) depleted most of the favorites fans grew accustomed to while watching the WWF in the mid-1980s to early 1990s.
While WWF was still the preeminent name in sports entertainment wrestling, it was time for a change. It was time to familiarize the wrestling world with the future standard bearers of the promotion. Guys who would astonish the crowds in a way their predecessors could not, with equal parts superior wrestling acumen and showmanship. It was time for The New Generation Era. Although some faces were familiar, they were now getting a chance to be the WWF headliners and main-eventers, and the WWF never looked back. We’ve looked back with rose-colored glasses at the top 5 missing guys we’d like to see Mattel make in their excellent WWE line from the Rock-n-Wrestling/Hulkamania Era and stomped a mudhole pondering the Top 5 Attitude Era holdouts, but now it’s time to look at the important time frame in the middle — The Top 5 Most-Wanted figures from The New Generation.
Variant alert (See also: Honorable Mention.)
While Mattel has done a decent job of getting the real big names of this era made in figure form, there’s still some New Generation-specific attires missing from some of the big stars. Greenwich Blue Blood-era Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a Goldust with more gold than black in his attire, Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase in his Million Dollar Corporation manager attire, Smoking Gunns Billy Gunn (let’s get a Bart Gunn figure too, Mattel!), and the most glaring absence is a mid-’90s face Intercontinental Champion/World Champion Shawn Michaels. Sure, we got an Entrance Great HBK from Wrestlemania 12, but we need a fully articulated version. Since HBK sported so much colorful attire during that timeframe, the best outfit was arguably his Summerslam ’95 blue tights and silver hearts look from his ladder match rematch against Razor Ramon.
5. Jeff Jarrett
Yeah, I know. Vince McMahon was particularly spiteful in announcing that “Double J” was “fired” from WWE when he bought out WCW, but if Vince could make peace with Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, and The Ultimate Warrior, I’ve gotta figure he’ll get past whatever lingering animosity he might have once had with Jarrett. Since Jarrett’s now out of TNA, there’s a chance that Mattel can make a figure capturing him in all of his Nashville country-singer glory. While it’s too much to ask for a complete glow-in-the-dark jacket, à la Elite 20 Chris Jericho, I’ll settle for a light-up hat and guitar.
4. Bob Backlund 
While “Mr. Backlund” may not immediately spring to your mind as a pivotal figure during the New Generation compared to some of his flashier peers, Backlund is essential for any New Generation Era collection. He can be pitted against the Wrestlemania exclusive Bret Hart (coming soon to a store near you) as well as the Elite 16 Diesel. Add the blue robe similar to Elite 22 Damien Sandow and you’re all set.
3. Ahmed Johnson 
Before he started getting injured seemingly every other week, Johnson was one of the brightest stars in the New Generation. With an intimidating look and overwhelming power, Johnson perhaps best represented the new frontier of the New Generation mixed with the throwback brawling style of the Rock-n-Wrestling era. Plus — he bodyslammed Yokozuna! Best of all, Mattel already has the parts (Ezekiel Jackson and Big E Langston hybrid) to perfectly capture Johnson’s frame.
2. “Psycho” Sid 
That Big Sid is on this list is a bit disappointing considering the impact he’s had throughout wrestling. Every bit as powerful as Johnson, Sid, whether vicious or just psycho, was an impressive specimen and has his way with the majority of the New Generation stars, whether battling Diesel as the cornerstone of The Million Dollar Corporation, defeating Michaels for his first world title, and also going on to beat Hart for another world title in the waning moments of the New Generation era. Even better, Sid can feud with practically half your existing Legends/Flashback collection from the Road Warriors, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Diesel, The Undertaker, Arn Anderson, Vader, British Bulldog, and Kevin Nash. Since Mattel has been so good at accurately capturing scale, this Sid will actually tower over most of your collection and be “The Master” of your display.
1. Razor Ramon 
While he’s gone from a “not a chance” to a soft “maybe,” Scott Hall’s WWF gimmick remains one of the most highly requested. The good news is he’s not in TNA or in an especially bad place in life (thankfully), so if ever the WWE and Mattel thought the timing was right for a Razor figure, it’s gotta be now. With a variety of colors to choose from, Mattel should help the figure stand out by going with Razor’s purple tights and matching vest, and since he was one of the more decorated Intercontinental champions, include an IC title as well.
Those are my selections. What do you think? And now that we’ve gone through the majority of the big eras in WWE history, what should we go to next? Dusty Rhodes, The Four Horsemen time period of the National Wrestling Alliance? Sting and The Dangerous Alliance phase of World Championship Wrestling or maybe the New World Order era of WCW? Perhaps we’ll just skip NWA/WCW all together and go to ECW or other regional promotions? Let me know and we’ll take a look at that in upcoming weeks.
