By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

Prior to WrestleMania 27 last year, the Collectibles Column spotlighted trading cards of standout performers from each WrestleMania. With WrestleMania 28 just around the corner, the next two installments of this column will feature a similar action figure spotlight of a standout performer from each WrestleMania.

WrestleMania

The wrestler: Hulk Hogan

WrestleMania moment: Hogan teams with Mr. T to defeat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. The success of the original WrestleMania was carried on the shoulders of Hulkamania. The involvement of then-superstar Mr. T, along with the presence of Muhammed Ali, Liberace, Billy Martin, and others brought a lot of new eyes to pro wrestling and launched the phenomenon that is WrestleMania.

Cool action figure: Hulk Hogan LJN Wrestling Superstars Series 1. This iconic big rubber toy was everywhere around the time of the first WrestleMania. For many kids of the 1980s, this was the first wrestling figure they ever owned.

WrestleMania 2

The wrestler: King Kong Bundy

WrestleMania moment: Bundy loses to Hulk Hogan in a steel cage. Bundy was really the first of many monsters the WWF had Hogan defeat. He attacked Hogan during a memorable Saturday Night’s Main Event, crushing him with his avalanche and leading many fans to believe Hogan had no chance against Bundy in the big blue steel cage.

Cool action figure: King Kong Bundy LJN Wrestling Superstars Series 2. In 1986, LJN produced a plastic blue cage that snapped onto its regular ring. All of the packaging and advertising for this toy featured Hogan and Bundy. Fittingly, Bundy’s LJN figure was a big, solid piece of rubber that was heavier than almost all of the other toys in the line.

WrestleMania 3

The wrestler: Ricky Steamboat

WrestleMania moment: Steamboat defeats Randy Savage in the first great WrestleMania match. Fans expected something special between Steamboat and Savage, but there was no way anyone could have known just how great this match would be. The entire match was action packed from bell to bell and was contested at a much faster pace than WWF fans of the era were accustomed to. For years it stood out as the greatest WrestleMania match of all-time.

Cool action figure: Ricky Steamboat Mattel WWE Legends Series 1. Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of Steamboat toys out there. LJN made the first figure of “the Dragon” in its Wrestling Superstars line, and Hasbro made a figure of Steamboat in his cringe-inducing dragon costume from 1991 several years later. But this figure is the coolest of all, as it depicts Steamboat in red tights and removable karate gear, exactly as he looked during memorable feuds with Savage and Jake Roberts.

WrestleMania 4

The wrestler: Randy Savage

WrestleMania moment: Savage wins a tournament for the vacant WWF Championship, kicking off a year-long run with the title. The Savage-Ted DiBiase match marked the first time that a WrestleMania was headlined by anyone other than Hulk Hogan, even though he played a big role in the finish of the match. Savage celebrated in a memorable moment by hoisting Elizabeth on his shoulder.

Cool figure: Randy Savage Mattel WWE Classics Series 5. Both LJN and Hasbro produced figures of Savage, but collectors in the 2000s had to wait more than a decade for the first modern-era “Macho Man’ figure. Mattel released this figure in 2011, complete with trademark purple t-shirt, sunglasses, and orange bandana.

WrestleMania 5

The wrestler: Rick Rude

WrestleMania moment: Rude defeats the Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental Championship, capturing the only WWF title of his career. As Warrior attempted to suplex Rude back into the ring, Bobby Heenan swiped Warrior’s leg out from under him and held it down as Rude fell on top for the pin. This led to a memorable series of matches in which Warrior stuffed Heenan into a weasel suit before reclaiming the belt from Rude at Summerslam later that year.

Cool figure: Rick Rude Jakks-Pacific WWE Classic Superstars Series 13. In the 1980s, Rude was famous for his long hair, colorful robes and airbrushed tights. This figure features all of those traits, and comes complete with an IC Title belt.

WrestleMania 6

The wrestler: The Ultimate Warrior

WrestleMania moment: Warrior cleanly pins Hogan to with the WWF title. This was the first time two babyfaces had squared off at a WrestleMania, and fans couldn’t imagine either of these two losing. In the end, Warrior avoided Hogan’s leg drop and hit a splash to pin Hogan for the belt. This matched marked the first clean loss of Hogan’s babyface WWF run that began in 1984.

Cool figure: Ultimate Warrior Jakks-Pacific WWE Classic Superstars Series 1. Jakks launched its Classic Superstars line in the early 2000s with some of the biggest names in WWF history. This series included Warrior exactly as he appeared during his career moment, complete with orange tights, tassels and a Warrior logo painted on his chest.

WrestleMania 7

The wrestler: The Undertaker

WrestleMania moment: Undertaker defeats Jimmy Snuka in his first WrestleMania match. This is where it all began. WWF booked the Undertaker to go over strong against the aging “Superfly” and set him up for high profile feuds with Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan. Who knew that this would be the start of an unprecedented undefeated streak at WrestleMania?

Cool figures: Three Faces of The Undertaker Jakks-Pacific Special Three-Pack. Undertaker has changed his look many times over the years, and this rare package features three of his most memorable. Included are figures of the early Undertaker and the American Bad Ass, along with a rare figure with a rare Phantom of the Opera-like mask from late-1995.

WrestleMania 8

The wrestler: Roddy Piper

WrestleMania moment: Piper loses the Intercontinental Title to Bret Hart. Piper had participated in many more high profile matches, but this match was the best of his WWF career. Piper battered a bloody Hart throughout the match before clamping on a sleeper, which Hart reversed to score the pin.

Cool figure: Roddy Piper LJN Wrestling Superstars Series 1. There are plenty of Piper figures out there, as ever toy company that has produced WWF toys has included a figure of “Rowdy” Roddy. But this was his first figure, complete with “Hot Rod” T-shirt and removable kilt.

WrestleMania 9

The wrestler: Yokozuna

WrestleMania moment: Yokozuna defeats Bret Hart to win his first WWF title. Yoko won the 1993 Royal Rumble and then went on to defeat Hart after Mr. Fuji threw salt in his eyes. His reign was short-lived, though, as Hulk Hogan charged the ring and beat Yoko in a matter of seconds. Yoko would go on to reclaim the belt from Hogan at King of the Ring and hold it until WrestleMania 10.

Cool figure: Yokozuna Hasbro Series 11 (green card). Jakks produced a couple modern era Yoko figures, and Mattel has released images of one that will be released later this year. But, Yokozuna’s most valuable figure remains this one, his second figure from Hasbro, which was a part of the rare green card series.

WrestleMania 10

The wrestler: Owen Hart

WrestleMania moment: Owen pins older brother Bret in an exciting opening match. Owen scored the first big victory of his WWF career, and would go on to win the 1994 King of the Ring and feud with Bret over the WWF title.

Cool figure: Jakks-Pacific Hart vs. Hart Family Feud Two-Pack (with Bret Hart). Unfortunately, there aren’t many cool Owen figures out there. This two-pack was released in 1996 at Kay-Bee toy stores and is limited to 12,000 pieces. Owen is featured in his “Slammy Award Winning” tights and a cast on his arm.

WrestleMania 11

The wrestler: Bam Bam Bigelow

WrestleMania moment: Bam Bam loses to Lawrence Taylor in the main event. NFL Hall of Famer Taylor and Bam Bam got the main event spot over Shawn Michaels and Diesel, who were competing for the WWF title. Michaels and Diesel put on the better match, but Taylor and Bigelow had a much better match than anyone expected. Unfortunately for Bam Bam, this proved to be the highlight of his WWF career; he reportedly fell out of favor with the Clique and was gone from the WWF by the end of the year.

Cool figure: Bam Bam Bigelow LJN WWF Wrestling Superstars Series 5. Bigelow has had figures made by all of the major wrestling toy companies, including some WCW figures. His first figure is tough to find, as it was included in a late series as the LJN line began to run out of steam.

WrestleMania 12

The wrestler: Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania moment: Michaels defeats Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Title. Michaels’s “boyhood dream” came true as he superkicked Bret Hart in overtime to score the only pinfall in this hour-plus match. Michaels and Hart had much better matches that didn’t go nearly as long, but this match marked Shawn’s first WWF Title victory.

Cool figure: Shawn Michaels Remco AWA Mat Mania. Shawn is barely recognizable with short brown hair, goofy 1980s sunglasses, red tights and legwarmers. But Shawn’s first figure is one of the rarest and most valuable wrestling toys ever produced.

WrestleMania 13

The wrestler: Bret Hart

WrestleMania moment: Hart defeats Steve Austin in arguably the best WrestleMania match of all-time. Hart and Austin engaged in a brutal, bloody battle. By the end of the match, they had switched places: Hart was now a hated villain, while Austin was on his way to becoming the most popular wrestler in history. The image of Austin screaming with blood pouring down his face while locked in Hart’s sharpshooter has become one of the most famous moments in wrestling history.

Cool figure: Bret Hart and Steve Austin Jakks-Pacific Two-Pack. There are plenty of cool figures out there that capture specific moments from Bret’s career, including a Mattel Defining Moments toy that captures Bret from the 1997 Canadian Stampede pay-per-view. This cool package showcases Hart and Austin exactly as they looked in their classic match.

WrestleMania 14

The wrestler: Steve Austin

WrestleMania moment: Austin defeats Shawn Michaels for his first WWF Championship. Mike Tyson’s three-count after a Stone Cold Stunner on Michaels kicked off Austin’s reign as champion and the biggest boom in WWF history. Austin became the leader of the WWF’s Attitude Era, and suddenly, wrestling was cool again.

Cool figure: Steve Austin Jakks-Pacific King of the Iron Rungs Exclusive. There have been plenty of Austin action figures from Jakks and Mattel, but this was the first to feature “Stone Cold” in his trademark Austin 3:16 T-shirt and blue jeans. It was also the first time a toy of a wrestler in anything but traditional wrestling gear was made.

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Collectibles Trivia

Several readers correctly answered last week’s question and knew that Darren “Droz” Drozdov once played for the Denver Broncos and had a few football cards in 1993. A list of those who correctly answered this question will appear in Thursday’s column.

Do you have a question about wrestling collectibles? Contact Michael Moore at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com.

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