If you grew up in the 1990s, chances are you had wrestling action figures and watched wrestling shows like WWF Superstars on cable or satellite TV, known as satellite TV in the UK. When wrestling wasn't airing, you may have also visited Blockbuster to rent WWF main event VHS tapes or enjoyed your own collection of wrestling VHS videos, like those from Coliseum Video, watching stars like Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior compete for the WWF Championship over and over again.
The toys we cherished as children often remain dear to us even decades later. Recently, amid the pandemic and a growing fascination with collectibles, the demand for professional wrestling figures has experienced a significant resurgence. Back in our childhood days, without the luxury of the internet, spotting a newly released figure meant stumbling upon it on the shelves of a toy store. Alternatively, you might have caught a glimpse of upcoming WWF Hasbro figures while watching your Coliseum Video collection, as showcased in the video on the right hand side. The tag team version that follows it would also occasionally be seen on television.
One or two years later, this elusive video emerged around 1993, featuring Virgil and The Macho Man Randy Savage generating excitement among fans for the imminent launch of Series 5 of WWF Hasbro figures.
Although you might be familiar with the videos mentioned above, you might not be aware of some of the more recent and notable appearances of the WWF Hasbro line on television.
The Kamala moon belly action figure has become famous for its rarity, firmly establishing itself in the lore of wrestling figure collectors. With only about a dozen known to exist, it's estimated to hold a value of nearly $15,000 for a collector.
Some years ago, the Kamala moon belly figure made an appearance on an episode of series 18 of Pawn Stars. A collector acquired a Kamala, but unfortunately, the team's evaluation deemed it a counterfeit. With evident signs of manipulation around the packaging, the collector's expectation of fetching $7,500 was dashed when the expert confirmed the figure's inauthenticity. One glaring indicator of its counterfeit nature was the presence of a price tag for a figure that never made it onto toy store shelves.
Another fascinating segment to watch is Greg the Hammer Valentine's interview, where he discusses the royalties he earned from action figures throughout his career, along with the coveted Rhythm & Blues Greg Valentine figure. This particular figure was never officially released but made an appearance in a WWF Magazine advertisement. Hasbro withdrew it from the line after the tag team with Honky Tonk Man was dissolved.
Finally, an appearance by John Nord, otherwise known as The Berzerker during the 1990’s, contains some interesting footage where Nord claims that some action figures were given to a former friend as collateral for a debt.
There are many hundreds of commercials from the 1990's, and some of them contain images of the Hasbro line. A nice compilation of these can be found in the video 1993 Wrestling Commercials (feat. The British Bulldog, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Giant Baba) on Youtube.
Do you know of any other interesting television appearances containing WWF Hasbro figures?
If there are any other commercials, episodes, appearances of this line, please let us know about it!
