#366 WRESTLING CHAMPIONS – THREE UNKNOWN FIGURES (Around 1995)

The wrestler bootlegs shown in the previous entry are only two samples. Even later than that, and under the same brand “Wrestling Champions”, a third type of figures were available in toy stores, although the quality of the figures kept sinking and sinking.

At this point, I have two theories: It is possible that the manufacturer was only a reseller that bought figures from different companies, attached a belt to them, and packaged them for sale in Europe and America. When all figures were sold, this reseller simply looked for more similar figures to keep selling them.
My second theory, is that these new figures could actually be knock-offs of the figures in the previous entry.

In any case, the blister back card is different and shows many wrestlers, numbered 338/1 ot 338/6 and 339/1 to 339/12, that is 18 figures. It is difficult to say which figure is which, since the back card is printed just in black and all figures look pretty much the same. There even seems to be a second version of these figures with no articulation at all in the legs.

 Pic: toyriffic.blogspot.com

 

But there is even more… check the bald wrestler with the moustache from this group of three. It is again different from the other two… its quality is even worse, and the belt is different. It is so badly done, that the arms do not even fit well in the torso, producing an unintended “ball-articulation” that allows the figure to open a bit the arms (in cross).

The playability is not so good as that of the older figures, as you may deduce from the following pictures.

I have read a couple of blog sources about these figures, but everything is quite blurry. Anybody can provide me information about these figures? Which are made by genuine companies and which are bootlegs? Which are bootlegs of bootlegs?

Too many questions…

Here are some pics taken from eBay. Nice to see all that packages and figures. And some more here:

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: THREE UNKNOWN WRESTLERS
• Toy Line: WRESTLING CHAMPIONS a.k.a. WRESTLER
• Year: Around 1995
• Company: Unknown (China)
• Size of the figures: Around 11 cm

#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