The Monday Night War was a great time to be a wrestling fan. I have a breakdown of the whole line here. This is a great series that is focused on the 1995-2001 time period when Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro ran head to head on Monday Nights. There are eight main waves and two Greatest Hits waves, so I thought it was a good time to rank them all, one by one. Which is the best and worst so far?Criteria:
- Accuracy
- Character Selection
- Historical Significance
- Any other intangibles that I think of
Starting at the Bottom:
55. Rob Van Dam. RVD comes from his appearance as Mr. Monday Night, but has a terrible face scan and isn’t overall significant to the Monday Night War.
54. Razor Ramon. I love the yellow attire, but this Razor is from 1/1995, a better attire is needed to get Razor into the correct timeline.
53. Big Boss Man. A direct re-release, this one could have been a Greatest Hit.
52. Bam Bam Bigelow. Another direct re-release, this was when Bigelow jumped to WCW in late 1998.
51. Hardcore Hak. A non-factor in the Monday Night War
52. The Great Muta nWo version. Other than a couple of appearances, he was a non factor.
51. The Great Muta chase version. See #52
50. Referee Teddy Long. This build-a-figure was not something high on anyone’s radar.
49. Shawn Michaels. This is the third time this figure has been released, when there was plenty of options for a ring attire HBK from the period.
48. Hollywood Hogan Series 7. This figure is trash, when there were so many better Hollywood looks they could have chosen.
49. GI Bro. I like the deep cut, but this is the fifth Booker T in 9 waves.
48. Ken Shamrock. The Boots make this one dumpster fodder.
47. Lita. Non factor when it comes to the Monday Night War.
46. The Shark. Didn’t have a big role once Nitro came along.
45. The Rock (Series 9). Needs a better shirt.
44. Fatu. He wasn’t Makin’ a Difference for long once Nitro started.
43. Jerry The King Lawler. He needs to be in the line, but an inverted Survivor Series King was a bit lazy.
42. Albert. Non factor in the Monday Night War, but hey, a new face!
41. Ted DiBiase (Build-A-Figure). Nothing technically wrong here, but boring.
40. Scott Hall. This one is historically significant, but the final product is a mess with poor details.
39. Triple H (Series 2). He needs to be here, but the 1999 look didn’t pop as nicely as you would have thought it would.
38. Dusty Rhodes (Build-a-Figure). I understand why they did it, but the parts come off poorly executed.
37. Ray Traylor (Build-a-Figure). See #38
36. The Rock (Series 3). This one is more famous for a moment, but not a bad inclusion.
35. Gorilla Monsoon (Build-a-Figure). Not someone known for being a big part of the MNW, but he was there.
34. Hulk Hogan (Series 1) This one has to be there, but the parts make him tiny.
33. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Series 4) This one was from a famous moment, but two Austins in four series was not the best look.
32. Michael Cole. This should have been Jim Ross.
31. John Tenta (Chase Version). Kudos for an extremely deep cut, but John was on jobber status at this point.
30. Ringmaster (GH2). Another re-release, he barely registers as significant.
29. Rey Mysterio Jr. Rey was a big part of Nitro gaining in popularity so he needs to be here. He originally was supposed to be unmasked, however.
28. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Series 1) A direct re-release, but it is arguably a top-5 moment for him.
27. Shawn Michaels (Build-a-Figure) This one fits right in.
26. Undertaker (Series 9) The American Bad Ass was a fixture late in the MNW, but was a main player.
25. Triple H (GH1). One of the most historic moments in Raw history.
24. Booker T/Stevie Ray (Series 3) The black attire was fine, but I prefer the chase blues.
23. Undertaker (Series 1) This one was needed as a 1998 version, but seemed a bit off with the final look.
22. Kane (Series 5) A perfectly good entry.
21. British Bulldog (Series 5) See #22.
20. Bret Hart (GH2) A much needed update, this one is unpopular on the pegs.
19. Golga (Build-a-Figure) Another great deep cut.
18. Booker T and Stevie Ray (Series 3) Chase versions, the blue gear is how I better remember them.
17. Lex Luger (Series 9) Wolfpac Lex is a nice addition.
16. The Disciple (Build-a-Figure) I think this is the best BAF so far.
15. Vincent (Build-a-Figure) This one ranks above Disciple because he had a bigger role in the original nWo.
14. Diamond Dallas Page (also chase version) The differences with these were very subtle, but great figures.
13. Curt Hennig (Series 4) One of the big players to jump during the MNW, he fits right in. As a bonus, he has two looks in one.
12. Kevin Nash (Series 2). One of the most significant moments in the entire MNW, Nash was a great representation here.
11. Fake Diesel (Series 2). This one was more cute than anything, but a really well done figure.
10. Eddie Guerrero (GH1). A great addition here, even as a re-release.
9. Syxx (Series 5) Both versions are equally good and he was a major player on both sides.
9. Syxx (Chase Version) Both versions are equally good and he was a major player on both sides.
8. Booker T (Series 6) (also chase version) The black attire version is strong.
7. Ultimate Warrior (Series 5) One of the most infamous moments in Nitro history.
6. Lex Luger (Build-a-Figure). The debut that started the war.
5. Booker T (Series 6) (chase version) The White Attire is magnificent.
4. Eric Bischoff (Series 8) He has to be here. A must.
3. Brian Pillman. The first major name to jump from WCW to WWF in 1996.
2. Diamond Dallas Page (also chase version) The Dark Blue jeans and rib tape was a key look for DDP.
1. Diamond Dallas Page (Series 4) The light blue jeans and white rib tape was his defining look in my view.
