TAG TEAMS
II + UNPRODUCED “RHYTHM 'N BLUES”
ROCKERS
The Rockers
Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels were the good guys. Specially memorable are
their fights against the Nasty Boys, the Demolition or the Legion of Doom.
These two
figures are also cheap and easy to find. I guess they were sold massively back
in 1991.
Something
curious is that in the back card the figures are different from the actual
produced toy. Shawn Michaels appears in the body of Marty Jannetty and the
other way round.
Shawn
Michaels (the blond one) features the classic “jump” move. Interesting is the
left hand, which is open, instead of fist.
Marty
Jannetty features a strange movement that was never given to any other figure,
and that I do not fully understand. Maybe it is a version of the movement
performed by the Ultimate Warrior v3, Skinner of Giant Gonzalez. I-m not sure
about this.
RHYTHM ‘N
BLUES
First Greg Valentine prototype. Taken from: http://wfigs.proboards.com/ |
But the
most interesting thing to comment about the tag teams, is that, in this first
wave, they were originally 4 teams intended to be made. The fourth team
appeared in a promotional image in a Toys ‘r Us catalogue.
In this
picture, apart from the figures we already known from this and the previous
entry, there’s a seventh and an eighth figures: Honky Tonk Man and Greg “the
Hammer” Valentine, the Rhythm and Blues Tag Team.
If you’re
familiar with the toy-line, you’ll probably know that Honky Tonk Man wasreleased in wave 2 in a single pack.
But what
about Greg “the Hammer” Valentine? A figure representing this wrestler was
released in wave 3, although the finally produced version is quite different to
the one in the promotional picture.
Second Greg Valentine prototype. Taken from: http://wfigs.proboards.com/ |
Apparently,
the figure in the picture was a prototype. Now we know that there were at least
two prototypes. The second one is almost identical to the first one, can be
identified because has a slightly better paint scheme.
This has
been known for collectors since a long time. It is rumoured that Greg Valentine
himself was looking for one of these prototypes. And finally, one appeared.
This was the description on eBay:
I have in my possession the holy grail of wwf figures Greg "the Hammer" valentine rhythm and blues prototype. one of a kind. only one in existenc, There was 2 made but the other one was different. I received it from my grandfather 23 years ago he was a wood pattern maker for hasbro. If you wanna do some research his name was Norman Macneil he retired from the Hasbro on Newport ave, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
I have had it sitting in a box all this time and didn't know what I had until yesterday, I have been offered a couple thousand dollars already, but as i"m not a collector so i"d rather see it go to somebody who appreciate it. it is a prototype it seems to be painted with flat colors and the figure moves pretty loosly, it was not ment as a toy. for advertisement. it also says greg in raised cursive letters on the right side of his trunks. if you have any other questions that i did not cover contact me personaly at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Greg valentine himself was looking for this figure but I dont know how to contact him.
The price
it finally got in the acution is unknown, because the listing was finished
before the time ended, but it was 7500 US$or less.
I retrieved
all the pictures from this listing, because they will disappear sometime.
In Spanish
cardbacks the Rhythm ‘n Blues tag team is also listed among the others, note that Rhythm (in Rhythm and Blues) is not correctly written.
FACTS and
FIGURES:
- Name: ROCKERS (MARTY JANNETTY and SHAWN MICHAELS)
- Toy Line: Official WWF (Wave 2)
- Year: 1991
- Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
- Size of the figures: 12 cm or 4,5’’
I'm not certain which wrestler it was on an American card back that showed both members of rhythm & blues as a purchasable duo? I was curious because I recall actually looking for the two in Minneapolis early 90s. Found Honky yet had no magazine subscriptions nor Internet to even know the greg existed?
ReplyDeleteHi Matt,
DeleteThanks for the comment, I love to hear this kind of stories.
To my knowledge, there was never a cardback made with that information, except in Spain (see card above), but this changes the whole time. Maybe one card of that kind you saw has survived and will be discovered tomorrow by some collector. Who knows?
It could also be possible that you saw the Toys'r'Us catalogue, or one magazine you borrowed from some colleague... memory can sometimes be deceitful. But, if you tell me, I believe you: I'll be aware if something related to this topic is ever discovered, and I'll comment here again/update my article.
See you!
Juan