What year is lacking representation the most?

[Biff Slamkovich™]

Can be any company any year in particular. But what year do you feel really needs some TLC?

I organize my collection by year and after seeing what shelf was lacking the most I'd say 1997.

Here's just some of the talent missing from that year:

Ahmed Johnson
Headbangers
Godwinns
Smoking Gunns
New Blackjacks
Bob "Sparkplug" Holly
Flash Funk
Crush
Jeff Jarrett
Jim Cornette
Marc Mero
Marlene
Luna Vachon
Savio Vega
Sable

[Crane]

Missing quite a lot of lower midcard guys from 2003-2008, probably will never get them. Would like to see a Hardcore Holly, Spirit Squad, Charlie Haas, etc.

Guarantee we never see a Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns, Nathan Jones, A-Train, etc

[mcfclee]

98 is still missing quite a few people.

Kai en tai and Taka
Val Venis
Al Snow
Too Much
Sable and Marc Mero
Bart Gunn
Bob Holly
Southern Justice
Double J
Oddities and Luna
TAFKA Goldust
NWA invasion
DOA
LOD 2000
Gangrel
Headbangers

[Neos]

Not a year per se but just ECW in general. Outside of a few guys like Rob Van Dam, Terry Funk, Cactus Jack, Bam Bam Bigelow, and the upcoming The Sandman, the entirety of ECW has been sorely unrepresented by the Mattel line. Even Rhyno and Tommy Dreamer didn't get OG ECW version elites of them made when they were still apart of WWE, so a real missed opportunity there.

Now obviously part of it is the fact that ECW was known for being the land of extreme, full of blood and adult themes that make it hard for some of the personalities to be turned into children's toy without Mattel executives raising an eyebrow (then again The Godfather and The Sandman both got green lighted so who knows where the line is drawn.) But I think it's also the fact that a lot of the guys that were the faces of the company aren't on good terms with WWE itself (Sabu, Shane Douglas, Raven, and Francine immediately come to mind), or Mattel just doesn't seem to be able or willing to pursue a licensing agreement with them (Mikey Whipwreck, Nova, Juvie and The Blue Meanie all being guys who have had Figures Toy Company figures made of them, and I highly doubt FTC can outbid WWE or Mattel when it comes to offering financial compensation for the rights to make merchandise of them.) It also seems like Bill and Steve just aren't nearly as big on ECW as they seem to be with the WWF Golden, New Gen, and Attitude eras or even WCW as a whole, given how those eras get wayyyy more love and representation than ECW has.

While I expect this to be somewhat rectified by The Sandman as well as The Dudley Boyz recently signing Legends contracts and thus likely to get multiple figures sooner, including one of them from their ECW days, I'm also not holding my breath that we will suddenly see an influx of ECW figures come out from Mattel. While I'm sure Bill and Steve would love to make some more figures from that era, it also just doesn't seem to be a priority for them compared to WWF/E and WCW wrestlers.

[Neos]

Mar 2, 2024 2:17:08 GMT -5 Crane said:

Missing quite a lot of lower midcard guys from 2003-2008, probably will never get them. Would like to see a Hardcore Holly, Spirit Squad, Charlie Haas, etc.

Guarantee we never see a Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns, Nathan Jones, A-Train, etc

Yeah unfortunately a lot of the lower mid careers from the Ruthless Aggression era just weren't memorable or lasted long enough with the company for me to ever see Mattel taking the chance of making a figure of them due to the fear of them becoming hardcore peg warmers. Even wrestlers who had slightly longer and more impactful runs from that time period like Charlie Haas, Paul London, Trevor Murdoch, Lance Cade, Jamie Noble, Orlando Jordan, Maven, Rico, and La Resistance seem like long shots to ever get an official Mattel release, which is unfortunate as I'm sure they would make for some pretty sweet looking figures deco wise

[Neos]

Mar 2, 2024 2:13:30 GMT -5 Biff Slamkovich™ said:

Can be any company any year in particular. But what year do you feel really needs some TLC?

I organize my collection by year and after seeing what shelf was lacking the most I'd say 1997.

Here's just some of the talent missing from that year:

Ahmed Johnson
Headbangers
Godwinns
Smoking Gunns
New Blackjacks
Bob "Sparkplug" Holly
Flash Funk
Crush
Jeff Jarrett
Jim Cornette
Marc Mero
Marlene
Luna Vachon
Savio Vega
Sable

The fact that we have never gotten a Mattel Legends or Jakks Classic Superstars figure of Marc Mero, Savior Vega, Terri/Marlene or The Godwinns honestly bugs me. At least with Double J, Ahmed, and Cornette you could understand that they had an ugly breakup and current relationship with the company (and that might be the case as well with Mero though he doesn't seem bitter in his interviews when talking about the company), and Sable is a special case as she apparently wants nothing to do with the business anymore even if her husband remained one of its biggest stars for the past decade.

But as far as I know Savio Vega and one of the Godwinns were good friends with Taker and aren't on the WWE's shitlist, so the lack of figures for them is confusing. At least we are likely to get The Headbangers made soon though as they recently signed an official Legends contract with the WWE and have even appeared in the mobile WWE SuperCard game already so merch of them including figures are bound to be on the way.

[azraelms]

Mar 2, 2024 2:13:30 GMT -5 Biff Slamkovich™ said:

Can be any company any year in particular. But what year do you feel really needs some TLC?

Assuming you meant in general the WWF from Hulkamania onward, because I would say the older eras - 60s and 70s - are quite underrepresented - but that is understandable. My hope is that Powertown helps rectify this.

[PJ]

You can pick any year from 1976 - 1980 and they are grossly under represented.

[jt]

Id like to see some 83-87 Crockett figures

Terry Taylor
Buddy Landel
Buddy Roberts
Ole Anderson
The Horsemen are probably due for an update (Arn, Tully, Ole, Ric)
Steve Williams
Dutch Mantel
Black Bart
Great Kabuki
Jimmy Garvin
Ronny Garvin
Midnight Express
Rock n Roll Express
Jay Youngblood
Wahoo McDaniel
Hector Guerrero
Jimmy Valiant
Ivan Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Krusher Khrushchev
Kevin Sullivan
Etc etc

[stc13]

I'd echo 1997, in terms of years that should be Mattel's sweet spot.

There are top acts from that year missing like The Patriot and LOD, plus a ton of the midcard.

There are definitely periods with far fewer figures, but considering how well the New Gen and AE WWF eras are represented, 1997 feels VERY light.

[newgenandy]

Given that most people (wrongly) claim mania 9 is the worst and it was considered part of a down time it’s very well represented.

Attitude era as a shine I’d white under represented but potentially done of that is due to the type of wrestlers and the time - val Venus etc being easy example

[czw4life]

2001-2004 is pretty empty figure wise...most of the ruthless aggression era too

[MKSavage]

Mar 2, 2024 11:17:28 GMT -5 PJ said:

You can pick any year from 1976 - 1980 and they are grossly under represented.

Probably could stretch it to 1983/84.

[The Assassin]

WCW/NWO era (1995-2001) is lacking depth, particularly "First Time" names and "Deep Dive" names

[MKSavage]

Early WCW 1991-1994.

[AxelSmackdown]

Idk but I know NXT is lacking representation

[Crossfit Jesus]

2004-2009

[nomorexclusives]

Things are the way they are for a reason. The most popular years when football and boxing were super hot were the best years for the wwf (wwe);1986-1993, imo. They tried competing with the ufc in the 90s by bringing in ken shamrock, etc but there was nothing stopping that speeding train. There may be a comeback one day where the wwe gets back to its roots and stops trying to be realistic. I personally stopped watching it when it got violent and wrestlers lost their lives because of it. I dont remember much past the nwo wcw days and i dont want to. I know i am not alone. So 1997-mid 200s are a blur. Mattel is smart to hold off on creating wrestlers from that era. Can it happen yes, but more likely with a smaller competing company. Mattel will most likely stick with the more memorable wrestlers.

[GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy]

1997/1998. It’s just the answer I like.

[drankadranka]

2024