In a third installment following my favorite Hasbro WWF figures as well as my least favorite, I decided to add a third list: the sleepers. These are ones who in my opinion are among the best in the line, even if they’re not my personal favorite. The criteria I was looking for was: accurate attire, correct parts for the character, small details, and not the obvious choices like Series 1 Macho Man or Yellow card Shawn Michaels. These are ones that are often left off of top ten lists.
In No Particular Order:
123 Kid, Series 11 (Green Cards): I chose The Kid because he’s actually a good use of the skinny Rick Rude body, the face scan is decent, and the attire is perfect for a mid-1993 123 Kid.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan #2, Series 9 (Purple Cards): Hacksaw is updated here with his 1993 Singlet attire, which uses the Sgt. Slaughter torso. It’s a good fit for Duggan. The singlet, knee pads and boots are all accurate for the time period. This was a nice update from the series 2 Hacksaw.
Jake The Snake Roberts, Series 1: Jake is included here because the body mold chosen for him was very accurate to him at the time. The face scan, attire and mold were all tailored to Roberts, even when it was used for El Matador and Billy Gunn later, it was always the “Jake body”.
Mr. Perfect #2, Series 8 (Red Cards): This is a nice update for Perfect from his 1993 face run. I chose this one over the original (also very good) figure from series 3 because of the extra details. His blue singlet has the yellow triangle on the back, and the “Mr. P” on the boots that the series 3 figure lacked. Both Perfect figures have one of the most accurate face molds in the whole lineup.
Big Boss Man #2, Series 3: Boss Man was given a great update here, matching his weight loss in real life. His series 1 figure was very heavyset, and this one matched his new physique. The attire and night stick accessory is very accurate and a pretty solid headscan as well.
Demolition Crush, Tag Teams series 1: The third member of Demolition got a strong figure for his debut in the line. The face paint is accurate and colorful, a unique body mold for him, and he fit in perfectly with Ax and Smash. The only flaw was his curled arm, which would have looked better as a straight arm.
Nasty Boys Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, Tag Teams series 2: Both of the Nasty Boys are strong efforts here, despite often being overshadowed by the popular Legion of Doom figures from the same wave. The Nasty Boys were hard to come by, but definitely a good addition to the tag team ranks. Both have good molds and actions, and the attire is as good as it could be for the time. Their head scans are nicely done as well. I don’t think the paint splatter would have made it all the way around the shirts.
Honorable mentions: Texas Tornado, Greg The Hammer Valentine, British Bulldog
It’s always fun going through the Hasbro collection, enjoy yours if you have one.
-Keck
