#365 WRESTLING CHAMPIONS – BLACK CYCLONE and C.G. (Around 1987 and 1992)

Every successful toyline is followed by one or several similar toylines that want to profit from the concept created by the first company. In the case of action figures, one of the most "copied" was the Masters of the Universe, maybe because it was the most popular toyline in the "golden" age of action figures (which would decay with the arrival of videogames).


In this case, the bootlegs are not (only) Masters of the Universe bootlegs, but WCW/WWF bootlegs. The proximity in time of MOTU (1982-1987) and those lines, made that many of the MOTU bootlegs were "adapted" to look like wrestlers. The figures are in many cases old characters attached with a wrestling belt, so you can easily identify them as wrestlers. However, some new heads were casted, especially one similar to Hulk Hogan (which is probably the most "bootlegged" character of all times).

If you´re familiar with Masters of the Universe, you can probably recognise the cast of a Galaxy Fighter in the body of the black wrestler. That bent knees, big head, curved arms... are easily identifiable. These casts had already arrived in China (from Hong Kong), and they were ready to use them in new toylines. By the year 1990, Masters of the Universe was not selling at all, so these Chinese companies needed another concept for their new products.

These pictures appears courtesy of Pablo G. del Río

The copyright below the figure indicates (c) 1986 NISSO S.A., PANAMA - Made in Hong Kong, but no trace of information could be found about this company. Was it really located in Panama? or it is just its name?

This character is based on Apollo Creed, but still reminds me of the actor Richard Pryor.

Arternative Packaging - Pic: knockoffcollector.tumblr.com

The name of the toy line is “Wrestling Champions” although in some countries it was released simply as “Wrestler”. In this case, the character is Black Cyclone. This toyline  gained some popularity in the early 90s, but it was considered to be “2nd class”. It was rare to find them in toy-stores. It was more a cheap toy for press kiosks or pound shops. The relative success of this line came mainly because of the low prices. This first figure is made in Hong Kong, so it must necessarily be older than…

Alternative Package - Pic: Terrible Tony in actionfiguresca.proboards.com

The fake Hulk Hogan figure comes actually from the same toyline, but it seems to have been released some years later, since the body is completely different. The legs are not bent, and the torso and arms are different, actually very similar to other bootleg figures, like the bootleg ninjas shown here. This second type was sold in single or double blister packs, I am not sure if the first version was too. This figure is made in China, so I think there must be at least 4 o 5 years difference between the manufacture of both figures, this one and the previous.

As you can notice from the pictures in this entry, these figures, despite their low quality, have an enormous playability, much higher than Hasbro´s WWF and Galoob´s WCW. Figures are more poseable (with 6 points of articulation) than both those two toylines. They do not perform any action feature.

These are not the only wrestler bootlegs, but only two samples. In future entries, I will show more wrestlers from different manufacturers.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: BLACK CYCLONE and C.G.
• Toy Line: WRESTLING CHAMPIONS a.k.a. WRESTLER
• Year: Around 1987 and 1992
• Company: Unknown (Hong Kong/ China)
• Size of the figures: Around 11 cm