One the packed-in items I include in every WCW Worldwide Gimmick Box is a Galoob figure from 1990, and I somehow managed to come across an extremely clean set of all twelve single figs from Series 1. I was sold the batch from the always awesome owner and founder of BeltsByDan/BeltTalk, and I knew immediately that I had to take some quick pics of these wrestle guys before I shipped them away for others.
Everyone is included up above with a few exceptions. Apparently, there are alternate versions of Arn Anderson and Butch Reed that are floating out there with slightly different paint jobs. Galoob got rid of the trademark infringing NIKE sneakers by painting Butch’s shoes all-white while “Double A” has a variant that harshly leaves a large spot on his head unpainted to replicate Arn’s early signs of male pattern baldness. Some early versions of the figures also had “Presents the Superstars of the NWA!” on the packaging as well:
I was aware of World Championship Wrestling by 1990, but I have zero recollection of these toys here in Texas. Fans of the site has sworn to me through Twitter that they recall their K-Marts and Kay Bee Toys being flooded with these guys. That could very well be true, I wouldn’t know. WCW merch was apparently hard to come by in my state during the early 90’s. That being said, I was more into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Real Ghostbusters, so maybe I just never cared enough as a kid to buy these or any wrestling figures. Hard to spend my allowance on things like a Brian Pillman or a Barry Windham when Playmates was putting out Sewer Surfer Michelangelos and Pizza-Throwing Tanks (no offense)!
Galoob would go on and produce another wave of toys under the WCW line for the US that were nothing more than repainted Series 1 figures. I’m guessing that Galoob saw how poorly these were selling in-store as new figures like El Gigante, Dustin Rhodes, Big Josh, and The Freebirds all became UK Exclusives before they shut down the line completely.
Thankfully, eBay is full of these guys if anyone out there would want to start collecting. Their paint apparently wears out pretty easily, so be aware that you could very easily end up with a bare-assed Tom Zenk unless you’re careful. I’ve gotten a handful of Lugers where his face is completely rubbed off and caved in, which could showcase how hated “The Total Package” was by his original owner. At the very least, it might be worth hunting down a Stinger to spruce up your work desk.
Or maybe a UK Exclusive El Gigante if you want to show off to your co-workers.
37-year-old World Championship Wrestling fanatic/collector/hoarder. Runs a soil analysis lab in Austin, TX by day and scans in old wrestling magazines by night.
He’s got posters on the wall, his favorite rock group’s KISS.
I still have them all
I had a couple, mainly remember the sting.
Have almost all of them still, and thinking about selling them
I remember some neighborhood kid put my “Flyin” Brian Pillman in the microwave:(
i have rick steiner…and that’s all! XD
Had those and they released some that were bendable as well. Wish i still had them.
I had Sting, Flair, Luger and Ricky Steiner. Plastic was as hard as a rock
I had Sid & Rick Steiner.
Had almost all of them. Still do lol
The Sting pictured here was my introduction to wrestling. I never watched it til 96′ after Hall invaded. My mom brought home that Sting toy randomly one day and I thought it was the coolest action figure ever. Sting’s been my all time favorite since.
My dog mangled Flair’s head pretty bad.
Brian Richter
Daryl Peters
I had a Johnny B. Badd and my brother had a Sting
Yeah I had Flair Sting and both Steiner Brothers
I did. Still have them too. Including El Gigante, Dustin Rhodes, and the Freebirds. Lol
I had almost all of them, dad made me a wrestling ring out of plywood, rubber bands for ropes and cut padding for the turnbuckles. Worst thing about the gloobs was if you pissed your little sister off and she threw one of these and hit you. Definitely bruises lol
Sting. It was either mine or my brothers.
I have Sting, Windham, and Luger. Also a larger version of Sting that has movable arms and legs.
Talk about a throw back. I had that same ring and half the wrestlers. I used to have a tape of entrance music and used to walk them down the aisle to their theme music. Fuck I’m old.
Oh yeah, I have most of them and then the Freebirds from Series 2.
I did
I had a lot of them and played with them all the time
had sting and flair
No, I had them as an adult lol. I was in my 20s when these came out and they were in a war on top my entertainment center lol
Yes I had them all
I had the Steiner brothers, Ric flair, and Arn Anderson
Still have the steiner one I believe.
I had sid Rick Steiner, flair, and luger
I had pretty much every one they did. Maybe one or two exceptions, but I think I had them all.
Also had the Sting and Sid bendies
I had Sting, Luger and the Steiners. Literally all I could ever find.
I started getting those a few years later, more like 94 or 95
Had them all. Wish I still did
Had all of them except for Doom.
I has sting…… But not that one
Had Luger
I only have one Ric Flair and one Sting
Yep had Sting Ric Flair Arn Anderson and Sid and Luger
I had all of them except butch Reed.
My brothers had all of these in the photo. I loved these.
Still got Michael Hayes
Yes They Are Great Classic Wrestling Figures
Had Sting, Flair, Sid and the Steiners. Wish I still had them.
I still have the few I got, these were mainly in K-Mart as I remember.
I had all of those except Butch Reed.
I still do
Ahh i totally forgot about these! i had sting from this photo and hogan and the nasty boys
Still got them Z Man and Flying Brian has the most wear
I might have to go there mate haha