#203 HASBRO’S WWF – DUSTY RHODES (1991)

HASBRO'S WWF - SECOND WAVE (III) – DUSTY RHODES

The figure of Dusty Rhodes deserves its own blog entry. This figure is one of the most difficult to find in the whole collection. I remember I was quite curious as a kid, because it was the only figure on the cardback that wasn’t available in any toystore. I never saw it on the shelves, not even in the huge, brand new Toys r’us in my hometown. I thought it should have been a mistake when making the card, at least until I got an internet connection.

After that I found out that it really existed, and there are even figures which are Spanish carded… so it was also released in Spain. (UPDATE May 2020: Since a few years, i think that this card never existed, I was told at the time by another collector, but I regard this opinion today as untrustworthy)

But why was the figure so difficult to find at the time? “The American Dream” was one of the most popular wrestlers during the early 80s, but by the end of that decade, he was one of the least favourite wrestlers. In 1991, he was already quite aged for a wrestler. My theory is that the figures in this second wave came out shortly before 1991’s Royal Rumble, which marked the end of Dusty’s career. Maybe his unpopularity made that there were fewer units made, and the figure was never re-edited (after the first batch sold off), since he was retired at the time.

Some carded figures have a triangular sticker at the upper right corner with a “win a trip to Summerslam” promotion. It is not clear if they’re rarer than the normal cards without the stickers. In the Summerslam 91, Dusty Rhodes was already retired.

9. Dusty Rhodes with Dust Buster!

  
In addition to being one of the rarest figures on the collection, the figure has one of the most fragile moves from all figures, the same move performed by Akeem and André the Giant, which is a hit with the whole upper body. This move was never reused, and future “heavyweights” like Earthquake and Typhoon had a different action.

In most lists, you’ll find that there is a variant of this figure featuring “yellow boots” instead of “white boots”. Among (most) collectors, this variant is considered to be really sun-damage. The variant figures seem to have been released with black casted legs, while in the original “white boots” release the legs are casted in skin colour plastic. It’s up to you to consider if it’s a variant or not, and if you want to pay hundreds of dollars for a sun-damaged figure.

To finish this article, here's part of the original card of the figure plus the filecard. Note that the card (it is quite usual for this particular figure) includes the Summerslam promo sticker on the upper right side corner.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DUSTY RHODES
• Alternate Names: “EL SUEÑO AMERICANO” (Spain)
• Toy Line: Official WWF (Wave 2)
• Year: 1991
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 12 cm or 4,5’’