Review: Kevin Owens WWE Hasbro Flashback

I've written about the old WWF Hasbro figures so many times that I feel like I've run out of things to say about them. I mean what can you say? For a toy line that ended over 20 years ago, there's not a lot of new wrinkles to be discovered.

Until this year...

Mattel decided to send us back to our childhoods, and just like Jakks did a decade ago with LJN-style figures, give us some new "Hasbro" figures as a WalMart exclusive line. Yup. I'm just as excited at the concept as you are. But, I'll be honest, with a 10 dollar price tag, are they worth picking up and not being about to pay for a tank of gas? We'll see...

6 WWE superstars, were chosen for the initial run. The guinea pigs if you will. Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, The Ultimate Warrior and the Undertaker. Huh.

 Not a bad lineup if you ask me. A nice mixture of old and new. The sculpts are pretty darn fantastic too. A lot of the action features also seem pretty in line with the original figures. Some body slams, a punch, a clothesline. All basics of the Hasbro line. We didn't need pose-ability, but we certainly needed a Doink that could punch-out The Warlord!


So as I said before the figures themselves carry a $10 tag. Now, these days, it's hard for me to drop ten bones on anything that doesn't involve bills and food, but I decided to pick up at least one. I thought "hey, at the least I can use it for blogging and it'll look great on my shelf.". And I was RIGHT!

I picked Kevin Owens since he's been one of my favorites for years. He's just such a great, unique performer and deserves all the accolades he's gotten. Now, I don't have any issue with the rest of the guys released, but if I've gotta pick one, it's gonna be KO! Now, let's take a gander at the goods, shall we?

Look at that packaging. It's so spot on! The cut of the card, the logo, the "action feature" spotlight. It's very easy to see why so many fans have been trying to scoop all these up in record timing. The packaging sells you on this line very quick. If you're over the age of 25, you know what you're looking at. You're buying a Hasbro and you're rushing home to put them in your ring an have a Royal Rumble.

The figure itself is just as fantastic as it's terrific throwback packaging may suggest. I can't help but think someone, somewhere involved in this line was actually apart of the Hasbro production, just because it is so eerie how close it is to the originals. I can't help but look at it and just think that it's really a Hacksaw Jim Duggan figure with a new head sculpt. His pose, isn't the most fancy, but like I said, neither is Kevin. He's a barebones kinda guy. His pose fits him perfectly.

The tattoo on Kevin's right arm reminds me of Earthquake's shark tattoo. Sure it's a small detail but it's a great touch. I never expected for a second that Kevin's "EVIL" tattoo would've been a part of this, so I can't say I was even slightly disappointed.


His action feature, the main draw if you will, is rather dubious. Back in the original line, the "belly bop" was a feature given to the...shall we say..."larger" figures. Figures like Andre The Giant, Akeem and Dusty Rhodes would essentially hit other figures with their stomachs, if you pulled their heads back. It was weird, but it kinda fit. Kevin Owen's finisher is a "pop up powerbomb" so it makes sense for him to be given the belly bop to accentuate his powerbomb. It's a pretty good feature, but I would've preferred a punching feature, personally. But it's not enough for me to throw a fit and ask for my money back. It's a good feature that fits him and besides...WE'RE GETTING A KEVIN OWENS HASBRO FIGURE. How can I truly complain?

Size wise, compared to a Hogan for example, he fits in perfectly. Kevin isn't a colorfully dressed guy anyway, so he stands out in the ring and in my collection. Which is a stark contrast between the old days and today, too. We used to have wrestlers that looked like they rolled around in Fruity Pebbles. Now they dress like they shopped at Hot Topic. Makes sense to me. Gotta stay current, kids! Pass those Beats headphones!

As far as I'm concerned, this is already nominee for toy line of the year. It gives the current generation of fans something to want to buy and it gives us old farts something to put with our old figures. They look great, feel great, and send us back to a time when the world wasn't so bleak and we still had this big, bright-eyed innocence about everything. In the end, isn't that why we collect these things to begin with?

Now excuse me, I gotta find Demolition to team with Kevin to take on LOD and The Warrior...

(Hint: Demolition and KO win)

-Chad

Graham and Chad Talk Rasslin' Episode 2: The Royal Rumble 1992

powered by podcast garden


It's that time again, to join Graham of TheHistoryofWWE.com and Chad(me) of...well, this site...to discuss one of the greatest Pay Per View's in history: The 1992 Royal Rumble!

Also discussed:

• Other favorite Royal Rumble matches
• Predictions for this year's show
• Nikolai Volkoff and Virgil
• Publix and Wegmans
• What else was going on in 1992

Enjoy!

5 More Awesome VHS!

Well, what can I say? I'm a slave of habit.  Another day off spent in bed with a gigantic bowl of buffalo chicken flavored pretzels and Ecto Cooler with a couple vhs. I can't truly explain it but it's a form of comfort. You most likely know what I mean. So without further adieu, let's take a gander at what I'm watching....



TALES FROM THE HOOD:

Tales from the Hood was one of the most fantastic horror movies of the 90s and one of my favorite anthology films. It's very unique in that it is all from an African American point of view. From the director to the cast to the stories themselves. Everything ranging from racism to politics to police brutality to inner city/gang violence are tackled in very intriguing ways. All tied together by Clarence Williams III as a funeral director taking three drug dealers through these stories and eventually ends...well...quite literally for them...

This movie has been sought after it's dvd release became out of print and not getting any form of rerelease in the years since. But thankfully, our friends at Scream Factory will be releasing a special edition BluRay this coming March. Considering how long fans have waited, it's long overdue and I get the sense that a lot of fans will be willing to consider it "release of the year" nominee.


THE HITCHER:

I discovered this late in life, thanks to Bravo's 100 Scariest Moments in 2004 and I'm very happy I was exposed to it. Rutger Hauer as a creepy hitchhiker who seems so obsessed with making C Thomas Howell's life absolutely miserable. Through multiple mind games and a finale that will make you gasp, this really pulls you in. Now, the odd part is the fact that this movie hasn't gotten a lot of love in the past few years. Personally, I'd love to see a figure of Rutger's character to put on my shelf. On top of that, a bluray release would be fantastic as we haven't received anything past the dvd released about 15 years ago.


GI JOE VOLUME 12:

Gotta liven it up. Two real intense and dark movies, I gotta get a quick pick me up and put me in a lighter mood and what better to do so than GI Joe? Containing 3 of the best episodes Sunbow had to offer, the real draw is the live action segments featuring Mr GI Joe himself, Sgt Slaughter, who was clearly taking a break from defending America from Mr Fuji or something, to introduce the cartoons on this tape from what seems to be my back yard.

Not fooling anyone, Sarge. You're just filming these at the YMCA summer camp down the road, aren't you?

Ok, you can watch the cartoons anytime. But seeing Sarge acknowledge the continuity of the show was something else. Sarge plays the VJ so to speak and drops a witticism or two, gives us a preview and then throws it to the action packed episode. The segments themselves are so incredibly 1980's in nature in both the lines Slaughter spouts and the filming. But is it a nice comfort tape to watch when I need a quick pick me.



THE NEW KIDS:

Oh boy. This is such a gem. The New Kids is about Lori Loughlin and Shannon Presby playing two military brats who just lost their parents in a plane crash, so they move to a small town and are soon menaced by the local bully, Dutra, and his hillbilly friends. Dutra is played by James Spader who plays it so well that it makes this movie my all time favorite role of his. On top of that, the cover just looks so cool. Definitely one of my favorite covers and one that sums up the era, if you ask me.

This is again a case of a movie that a lot of fans love but there has yet to be a solo bluray release. Mill Creek has released it apart of an 80's compilation on dvd called "80's Beat" that features other fun movies from the time, but it's inclusion of New Kids is truly what makes this set worth picking up, which you can do here.




SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE STARRING CHARLES GRODIN:

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I still watch SNL every week and live tweet it with the likes of Corey from The Chap Report and the famous William Bruce West of WestWeekEver. Yes, we may be the last three fans in existence of the show despite it's ups and downs. Nothing like a bunch of nerds in their mid to late 30's complaining about a 40 year old show but I've been watching for over 20 years and I don't see giving it up anytime now. I still look forward to it!


One of my favorite episodes is the infamous episode from 1977 that features Charles Grodin stumbling through sketches with virtually no rehearsal time and it shows. Yes, they centered an entire episode around the idea that Charles just couldn't be bothered to rehearse sketches. It gets really strenuous and very uncomfortable at times but for SNL enthusiasts, that's what we look for. It's such a deliciously terrible car crash that even Paul Simon gets irritated with him in hilarious fashion.

One of my favorite things of this tape is the ridiculously disco NBC Home Video theme. Check it out:

I'm not gonna lie, I totally have that on my tv theme's playlist. Don't judge me!

By now, I've already plowed through my snacks and tapes so it's time to get out of bed and actually do something meaningful. Maybe I will just walk down to the mailbox and see if any coupons for Arby's or something. Now I want curly fries.

So until next time, keep that VCR warm!

-Chad