The Jakks Pacific WWE Classic Superstars series is legendary for many reasons. It introduced an official line dedicated to legenday talents for the first time. By the time it was finished, almost all major names from the history of wrestling had been covered, and it is remembered fondly, despite some severe parts choices in some cases and some detail errors in others. That was how Jakks rolled, and we loved them for it. This is the fifth in a series of posts covering the Jakks Classic Superstars Series, with checklists, and my opinion of the best and worst in each wave. For today, we’re going back to 2008, and covering Series 21-25.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
Classic Superstars Series 21:
Checklist:
- Brian Pillman
- Buff Bagwell
- Chris Jericho
- Jeff Hardy
- Jesse The Body Ventura
- Tazz
- Rey Mysterio (LJN Style)
Note: I remember buying these, but I have no recollection of where. Looking into it, it was a KB Toys wave for me.
The Best: Buff Bagwell, with Brian Pillman as a very close second.
The Worst: Tazz in a merch t-shirt is a waste of everyone’s time.
Series 22:
- Andy Kaufman
- Earthquake
- Chainsaw Charlie
- Bob Spark Plug Holly
- Mr. McMahon
- Matt Hardy
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Eddie Guerrero (LJN Style)
Note: I believe these were all at Toys R Us.
The Best: Bob Holly, but Earthquake, Chainsaw, McMahon, and Kaufman were all good.
The Worst: Matt Hardy. The hair over the face was awful, and made it worse than a more or less repeat Stone Cold.
Classic Superstars Series 23:
- Big Boss Man
- Billy Kidman
- Spike Dudley
- Lance Storm
- The Berzerker
- Road Warrior Animal
- Road Warrior Hawk
- Rob Van Dam
- Trish Stratus (LJN Style)
Note: This set was definitely at Toys R Us.
The Best: Lance Storm is a great figure, as is Spike Dudley. Berzerker would be if he was in brown.
The Worst: Big Boss Man is one of the bottom 5 worst classic superstars ever made.
Series 24:
This is when the line hit the iceberg.
- B. Brian Blair
- Jim Brunzell
- Davey Boy Smith
- Dynamite Kid
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley
- Rey Mysterio
- Stephanie McMahon
- Trish Stratus
- Rob Van Dam (LJN Version)
Note: This was also a Toys R Us Wave.
Sidenote: This is the first classic wave where I had no interest in opening any of them.
The Best: None of them.
The Worst: The Bulldogs are in merch shirts which is a waste, the Bees were re-releases from the CSTT series, Stephanie and Trish were not good, Rey was a waste of a spot repaint, and HHH in an oddly huge coat.
Series 25:
- Bastion Booger
- Big Boss Man
- Goldberg
- The Big Show
- Haku
- Jack Brisco
- Jerry Brisco
- Jesse The Body Ventura
- Jeff Hardy (LJN Style)
Note: These made it into Walmart and Toys R Us.
The Best: Haku, and it’s not close.
The Worst: Goldberg, for having the same body as Steve Austin, and a horribly goofy face scan.
Final Note on Series 21-25:
Series 21-25 is when the Classic Series was starting to sink, in my view. Mattel was coming on the horizon, and Jakks efforts were iffy at best. There were still some big names and important looks, but the cracks are definitely showing, and we will see the final outcome in the next post.
This is part five of a full line breakdown of the Jakks Classic Superstars Series. I’ll be back with Series 26-28 soon.
