WCW Smash n Slam

Review by Loc

I’ve bought lots of crap in my life. Some of that crap happens to be toys.Look, I’m no 40-year-old virgin…I’m like 30. However, much like Steve Carrell’s character, action figures sprinkle my surroundings, some open, some still enclosed in their pristine packaging, some stowed away in ziplock baggiess. Regardless of their state, they all have one thing in common: I bought them with money that could go towards things like automobiles, electronics, or houses. So, rather than enjoy them all by myself, I’ll showcase them for you as well. It’s like community service for all to relish.

First up, a semi-classic line that rarely receives its due: Toy Biz’s WCW line. In the late 90s, pro-wrestling experienced a renaissance of sorts. Can you really use the word renaissance to describe professional wrestling? Another question for another time. Back to the 90s, where characters like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, HHH, and Shawn Michaels entered pop culture iconography. At that time, two of the very popular wrestlers “jumped ship” from the World Wrestling Federation to Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling. When Kevin Nash and Scott Hall introduced the concept of the NWO to the world, the big Monday night wrestling wars began and led to combined viewership in the tens of millions. That’s a lot of eyeballs and a lot of fans tuning in every week.

So of course, toys were bound to come. Toy Biz had been making its name producing superhero toys from the Marvel universe. Spandex-clad characters like Spiderman, Iron Man, and the Hulk were their bread and butter. Ah, but they took a flyer on the red-hot wrestling world and unleashed WCW figures to the world. And these were some damn fine figures with lots of play value.

The first series was dubbed “Smash ‘n’ Slam” and included some of the biggest names on the WCW roster: Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Sting, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, the Giant, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Lex Luger. These figures were extremely cool and the included extras that made these fun-filled packages.

First, the figures had great sculpts. Whereas action figures in general and wrestling figures specifically were usually indistinguishable chunks of cut-joints, Toy Biz applied their Marvel expertise to these grapplers. Sculpts were great for the time, each wrestler actually embodying defining characteristics of their living counterparts: Scott Hall’s hair curl or Sting’s stoic, expressionless facepaint. In addition, the 6-inch scaled figures had distinct body types, from Kevin Nash’s towering height to the Giant’s hulking mass, these figures delivered individually designed sculpts.

Second, the articulation and action features melded well to make these toys playable and fun. Most of the figures utilized a leg-squeeze activation to swing arms in signature gestures. Scott Hall could be posed with his arms spread to deliver the Outsider’s Edge. Kevin Nash’s arms swooped up to drop an opponent with a Jackknife Powerbomb. One of the most unique action features was the Giant’s Chokeslam, where squeezing his legs lifted his right arm while simultaneously closing his right hand to grip his opponents neck. In addition, the articulation found on each figure was more than enough to recreate great in-ring action. Most figures included knee and ankle joints, elbow and neck joints, and shoulder joints were usually incorporated into the action feature.

However, the best thing about this first series of WCW figures came in the nuanced extras included. For some wrestlers, a secondary figure was included. In the case of Kevin Nash, a generic referee was included to feel the wrath of the Powerbomb. With Goldberg, a semi-rubber “masked wrestler” could be hoisted into the Jackhammer. Yet, the best add-in was the Giant’s “masked wrestler”, who actually had limited arm articulation, a surprise for a simple add-in accessory. This “masked wrestler” also had an extending neck to allow the Giant to properly grip his victim for the Chokeslam. Extending neck action feature, just too surreal and hilarious. A little tip to you, both “masked wrestlers” were actually simplified, unnamed versions of Rey Mysterio. That dude got no respect.

Other accessories included ringside items like breakaway tables, folding chairs, or ring steps. All good weapons when battling in the squared-circle. Also, certain figures included championship belts that actually clipped onto wrestlers. What better way to recreate your fantasy match-ups and imaginary wrestling leagues than with title belts that could be exchanged after tough-fought matches.

Yes, this first series of WCW toys were a huge leap in the genre and offered great value to kids and collector’s alike. Future series kept trying to innovate with more action features, more themed lines, and more great add-ins. However, nothing matched that initial wave in terms of excitement and freshness.

While these can be found for cheap on Ebay nowadays, their initial value was sky-high and matched the energy of pro-wrestling at the time. Track them down for reminiscing, enjoy them for maintaining their fun-factor and play-value 4-life.