Wrestling Superstars was an action figure toyline based on the wrestlers of the WWF. They were made by the toy and video game company LJN from 1984 to 1989. The toys were made of solid rubber and were very accurate in appearance to their real life counterparts, however they did not have any articulation. The original 8" figures were the first and most successful series from the line and other versions soon followed, such as Thumb Wrestlers, Stretch Wrestlers, and Bendies.
LJN closed its toy division in 1989, cancelling the Wrestling Superstars series with it. The last 6 figures which were produced did manage to get released by Grand Toys of Canada. They were the distributor of the entire Wrestling Superstars series in Canada. Hasbro were awarded the license as the main WWF action figure producer the following year.
These figures have become quite collectible, partly due to wrestling's ongoing popularity and the 1980s nostalgia boom. However, it is somewhat difficult to find them in good condition. The paint on the figures would easily come off during play, leaving most figures in poor shape. The price for mint figures goes from about $10 and all the way up to $100. In poor condition, most of the line isn't worth very much due to their great abundance. The figures that remain carded can command much higher prices though. In good condition, a mint on card figure can range from about $20 to $1200.
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Each superstar in the 8" series was released with a unique biography card on the packaging and a small poster featuring an artists rendering of each individual superstar (until series 5 & 6 which used real life photography rather than the drawings).
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Series 4
Series 5
Series 6 - (Black Card Superstars 89)
Series 6 - (Black Card Superstars 89 Re-Releases)
Tag Team Box Sets (each set came packed with a poster, 1 or 2 file cards, and 2 brown tag team champion belts)
Accessories
Single Figures
Tag Team 2 Packs
Accessories
Various different prototypes were photographed in various LJN advertising and packaging, such as: an Adrian Adonis with scarves, Rick Steamboat with red trunks, Tito Santana with an entirely different mold, Fred Blassie with a painted cane and glittered jacket, Hillbilly Jim with a black undershirt, Jimmy Hart with a pink megaphone, Kamala with an alternate paint job, Koko B.Ware with light blue tights, Haku as 'King Haku', Rick Rude with green tights and unproduced bendie figures of the British Bulldogs among others.
Photographed prototype versions of George Steele with painted on chest hair, as well as a Roddy Piper figure with a panther shirt are rumored to have actually been produced.
LJN also produced a kid size WrestleMania Championship Belt. The packaging for the title belt featured pictures of unproduced large size "Wrestling Superstars Muscle Grip" action figures of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage complete with title belts.
There were also Canadian release 2 pack "Value Packs" which contained a totally random assortment of any 2 figures generally from (but not limited to) the first 3 series of the line.
The final series of figures that were scheduled but never produced included: Bad News Brown, Brother Love, Bushwhacker Luke, Bushwhacker Butch, Demolition Smash and The Barbarian.[1] Photographs of the wrestlers appeared on the backs of the black Series 6 Superstars '89 cards and they were mentioned in various ads by a company called The Wrestling Ring contained in 1989 issues of Pro Wrestling Illustrated and their various publications, but photographs of the actual figures have never been seen.
An 8" Sgt. Slaughter figure was made by LJN. Slaughter had a contract dispute with then WWF over merchandising, and left the company. The figure was never released to stores and was instead purchased by Hasbro. Hasbro then made the 8" Sarge figure available as a mail order tie-in with their G.I. Joe action figure line. The 1st design of the figure was a re-molded body of Jimmy Snuka.
There were 2 prominent misspellings on the red stickers affixed to the figures' packaging. Vince McMahon's name was spelled "Vince McMann" and Bret Hart's was spelled "Brett Hart", though Hart's wasn't really an error as "Brett" was the spelling used on every episode of Championship Wrestling in 1985 and some episodes in 1986.
The original Sling 'Em-Fling 'Em Wrestling Ring was recalled on November 4, 1991, due to 4 cases of children seriously injuring themselves falling on the corner ring posts. In one of those cases, a plastic ring post penetrated the child's body causing severe damage. The posts had very little give and would not budge much if weight was applied. 1.4 million rings were sold. [2]
In the mid-'90s, World Championship Wrestling released several "Collectible Wrestlers" through OSFTM that closely resemble the WWF LJN Series. These were made of hard rubber but only standing at 6 or 7" tall. The figures included the following:
Later series still resembled the original OSFTM & LJN figures but were more articulate and consisted of different sizes and features.[3]