I loved it! I mean REALLY loved it. The beginning of the Andre vs. Hogan feud was started and I was a fan! I collected all of the LJN series and even went to a few live events in Atlanta. Now I didn´t like it because I thought it was real. I liked it because I KNEW it was choreographed. I think I would have hated it if it were real. Having watched real wrestling since....I do hate it. I was a hardcore collector of all things WWF through the Hasbro line and through Jakks as well. I was from Georgia but hated the rival promotion NWA then WCW. Weird huh? I saw the differences between the two companies. WWF was slick and appealing to the eye. The Atlanta promotion looked like it was done in a back alley. Even when WCW got better lighting and bigger arenas it still looked like a bad copy of the WWF. Even in 96 when Hogan turned heel in WCW I never switched promotions. Marc Mero was just as exciting to me as any of the old eighties stars. In fact it wasn´t until I moved to Mexico that my enthusiasm had lessoned for wrestling because it wasn´t on TV here and when it was it was all in Spanish. I missed good ole JR commenting. WISH I could watch it in English but it is what it is. So here is my collection...I have more but just have not taken pictures of it.
Now many of my blogging breathren do not understand the virtues of WWF wrestling but I do not fault them. I explain it is somewhat like a comic book come to life. At least it used to be. I for one would like a return to the use of gimmicks in wrestling. I hate when guys use their real names.
Holy crap H.G. !That is one awesome collection.Maybe it's just me,but I feel like there are too many pretty boys in Wrestling these days.I loved characters like Goerge the Animal Steele,Hacksaw Jim Dugan and King Kong Bundy.Ugly as sin characters with loads of charisma and charm.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Love King Kong Bundy! I miss the fat guys.
DeleteI miss the good old days. When it was the WWF. I would watch Saturday Night Main Event. Good old Hacksaw.
ReplyDeleteDan
I miss the old days too! Every one looks like each other today.
Deleteyou are now in lucha libre territory. Even tho lucha libre isn't as shiny and well polished as wwe I still really enjoy it because a lot of those guys have real talent and can work the crowed just like Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper did in the old days. The few time I have been to Mexico (years and years ago) I saw some really nice, well made lucha libre figures and always thought they would be fun to collect. So far I only have a really poorly made La parka figure.
ReplyDeleteThere is another thing lacking in Mexico. They throw two guys in a ring and they fight. No story. No reason. Heck I don´t even know who is champion in Mexico. Therefore I do not gravitate towards it at all.
DeleteI was a huge fan of Wrestling just before all the WWF stuff started to blow up. I would buy the magazines and I knew all the stars and who was the champ in what division. We watched alot of AWA stuff in the Winnipeg area. My grandma was a huge fan too and I would slip a few of my old magazines into her luggage whenever she visited. The family was shocked to find that she had hundreds of wrestling magazines in her collection when she died - that was how much she loved the characters. You also could never tell her that the competitions were 'fixed'. Her favorite of all time - Andre the Giant.
ReplyDeleteI liked Andre when he turned heel. Of course that was when I was 15 but the WWF covered it SO well with a three month buildup that I totally believed Andre was going to squash Hogan! Thanks Kal for commenting! One of these days I will have a little Mexican artist do a portrait of you so you can have something from Mexico for your Cave of cool.
ReplyDeleteI grew up watching classic wrestling out of Memphis(Am originally from Kentucky)and i got to see some really awesome match-ups and stories back in those days.
ReplyDeleteWere you around for the Kaufman-Lawler exchanges?
DeleteI still have all of my LJN WWF wrestlers!!!
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