http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=62637
The 1-2-3 Kid was the ultimate underdog. He started out as a jobber who changed his name from different variations of Kid as he lost every match for about a month. Then came the upset of the century- the kid pinned Razor Ramon himself! That surprise victory is one of my favorite WWF memories from my childhood and it was hard for 1-2-3 Kid not to become one of every adolescents' favorite wrestlers. And rightfully so, Sean Waltman was a world class worker at the time, and his run as the 1-2-3 Kid is by far the pinnacle of his career. His small size and young appearance set him apart from the rest of the WWF roster, and his high flying offense made him one of their most exciting members. As much as I liked him during this era, I feel equally apathetic towards the rest of his career. He's had some particularly dark days, and I would heartily advise against the morbid curiosity to check out his porno with Chyna. But as the Kid he pinned some of the best in the WWF and while his dial is short, he could surprise you with a quick pinfall as well if you aren't careful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghoAFLkFqPo&p=6D5161E504D846C0&playnext=1&index=2
Friday, October 22, 2010
Saturday, November 28, 2009
wm016 Ultimate Warrior
http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=54923
The Ultimate Warrior may have had the most successful run in the history of pro wrestling relative to how long he was on top of the business. Starting out early in his career as the Dingo Warrior, Jim Hellwig went on to become one of the most popular wrestlers of the early '90s when he exploded onto the WWF scene as the Ultimate Warrior. There is no doubt that while he was a main eventer, Ultimate Warrior was THE MAN. Yet in the annals of pro wrestling history, he is more or less a joke. A giant roided up stiff with tassles, neon face paint, and an interview style that consisted of grunts, snorts, and gibberish, the Warrior was truly one of a kind. There was no denying he was completely terrible and awesome at the same time. He may have been blown up by the time his entrance was done. He may have had trouble putting on more than a 30 second match. He may have been completely batshit insane. None the less the Ultimate Warrior was the definition of '90s pro wrestling. While I tried to have his dial capture how he would be gassed after charging the ring, shaking the ring ropes, and squashing his opponent... I also wanted to make it comic accurate in terms of how dangerous Warrior was as an opponent. After all, he is one of the only pro wrestlers to actually cross the line and become a comic book superhero. Warrior is one of the few pieces in the set that could feasibly take down Hulk Hogan consistently, and rightfully so, as he had perhaps the most iconic victory over Hogan of all time at Wrestlemania VI.
And now for your viewing pleasure, easily the greatest moment in the history of the Arsenio Hall Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbjNNrO8CeM
The Ultimate Warrior may have had the most successful run in the history of pro wrestling relative to how long he was on top of the business. Starting out early in his career as the Dingo Warrior, Jim Hellwig went on to become one of the most popular wrestlers of the early '90s when he exploded onto the WWF scene as the Ultimate Warrior. There is no doubt that while he was a main eventer, Ultimate Warrior was THE MAN. Yet in the annals of pro wrestling history, he is more or less a joke. A giant roided up stiff with tassles, neon face paint, and an interview style that consisted of grunts, snorts, and gibberish, the Warrior was truly one of a kind. There was no denying he was completely terrible and awesome at the same time. He may have been blown up by the time his entrance was done. He may have had trouble putting on more than a 30 second match. He may have been completely batshit insane. None the less the Ultimate Warrior was the definition of '90s pro wrestling. While I tried to have his dial capture how he would be gassed after charging the ring, shaking the ring ropes, and squashing his opponent... I also wanted to make it comic accurate in terms of how dangerous Warrior was as an opponent. After all, he is one of the only pro wrestlers to actually cross the line and become a comic book superhero. Warrior is one of the few pieces in the set that could feasibly take down Hulk Hogan consistently, and rightfully so, as he had perhaps the most iconic victory over Hogan of all time at Wrestlemania VI.
And now for your viewing pleasure, easily the greatest moment in the history of the Arsenio Hall Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
wm015 "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels
http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=54756
As we touched on earlier with Marty Jannetty, Shawn Michaels was one half of the Rockers before he decided to go his own way. After turning heel and becoming a singles wrestler he had a few feuds involving the Intercontinental title. The most famous feud he was involved with at this early stage in his career centered around two ladder matches with Razor Ramon for that very belt. That is the era of The Heartbreak Kid that this piece represents, and I considered giving him a special power that involved falling off elevated terrain to capture his experience in these ladder matches. In the end it became too convoluted and I decided to just go with a few clicks of Leap/Climb. Exploit Weakness is a perfect fit for the Superkick, a finisher that can come out of nowhere and penetrate any defense to KO an opponent (especially late in the match, or in this case, late in the dial). I have very little positive to say about Michaels as a worker, but he did sing his own intro song, and what a song it is. He's got the moves... that really move 'em!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w1mq6rAfMM
As we touched on earlier with Marty Jannetty, Shawn Michaels was one half of the Rockers before he decided to go his own way. After turning heel and becoming a singles wrestler he had a few feuds involving the Intercontinental title. The most famous feud he was involved with at this early stage in his career centered around two ladder matches with Razor Ramon for that very belt. That is the era of The Heartbreak Kid that this piece represents, and I considered giving him a special power that involved falling off elevated terrain to capture his experience in these ladder matches. In the end it became too convoluted and I decided to just go with a few clicks of Leap/Climb. Exploit Weakness is a perfect fit for the Superkick, a finisher that can come out of nowhere and penetrate any defense to KO an opponent (especially late in the match, or in this case, late in the dial). I have very little positive to say about Michaels as a worker, but he did sing his own intro song, and what a song it is. He's got the moves... that really move 'em!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w1mq6rAfMM
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
wm014 Typhoon
I had Typhoon as Tugboat in the original set list, but decided to switch him to his alter ego since he's only Tugboat for his opening click. As such at 30 points he may be the cheapest piece in HeroClix to feature an activation click. Tugboat was Hulk Hogan's lovable lumbering red and white striped companion. After a year of aiding the Hulkster in feuds such as against the massive Earthquake, Tugboat saw the error of his ways and turned to the darkside. Turning heel and teaming up with Earthquake, he changed his name to Typhoon and they became the enormously fat duo of the Natural Disasters. I considered making them a duo piece but thought that would be a slight to Earthquake, who is one of the better big man wrestlers in wrestling history and deserves his own piece. Still the Natural Disasters make a formidable duo in Clix form, as you'll see their double splash finishing maneuver come into play when they're thundering your way. Typhoon on his own wasn't much, but surprisingly enough he's still alive, has a normal job and a family... so kudos to you, Tugboat. Toot toot!
http://eljebi.zonalibre.org/archives/mariner.jpg
http://eljebi.zonalibre.org/
Thursday, August 13, 2009
wm013 Miss Elizabeth
http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=53339
Miss Elizabeth may have been the classiest woman in the history of pro wrestling. To follow that up by saying that she was divorced twice and died of a drug overdose while dating an abusive Lex Luger, will give you an idea of what type of women are involved with pro wrestling (I'm looking at you, Cyndi). Still, Miss Elizabeth was, and always will be, the First Lady Of Pro Wrestling. She is forever associated as managing her (at the time) real life husband, Randy Savage, and was instrumental in uniting the Mega Powers (hence her Hulkamaniacs keyword). This lead to one of my earliest childhood wrestling memories, as at Summerslam in 1988 Elizabeth was the ace in the hole as the Mega Powers challenged Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase. The odds seemed insurmountable for Hogan and Savage to me at age 6, but I was assured that Elizabeth would be their secret weapon if all seemed lost. Sure enough, in their moment of ultimate desperation, Elizabeth ripped off her skirt and distracted Andre and DiBiase (THE SECRET WEAPON), allowing the Mega Powers to secure victory.
That said, Miss Elizabeth made her career as a manager/valet without showing all that much T&A, and without having an over the top personality either. She was an anomaly as a female in the wrestling world. What made Elizabeth work so well was her undeniable chemistry with Savage, which stemmed from their legitimate love for each other. When they split up (in the storylines) it was heart wrenching to watch her try to reason with "The Macho King." And when Randy finally proposed to her (after being married in reality for the better part of a decade) after losing his retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior (note: nobody ever really retires from pro wrestling until they die), it was one of the most touching moments in WWF history.
Much like Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks, Elizabeth was a woman that seemed so beautiful, pure and vibrant, but her lust for life would eventually consume her. After two marriages in 2003 she was shacking up with Lex Luger, who was feeding her drugs by the truckload while getting arrested for beating her and crashing his Porsche while drunk. Not even two weeks after the DUI arrest Luger called 911 to try to have Elizabeth resuscitated after a cocktail of vodka, xanax and hydrocodone. It was no use, and at 42 Elizabeth left us much too soon. But let us not remember her in those dark days towards the end of her life, but instead forever in the throes of true love, with her macho man...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOqzEZ8QjbQ
Miss Elizabeth may have been the classiest woman in the history of pro wrestling. To follow that up by saying that she was divorced twice and died of a drug overdose while dating an abusive Lex Luger, will give you an idea of what type of women are involved with pro wrestling (I'm looking at you, Cyndi). Still, Miss Elizabeth was, and always will be, the First Lady Of Pro Wrestling. She is forever associated as managing her (at the time) real life husband, Randy Savage, and was instrumental in uniting the Mega Powers (hence her Hulkamaniacs keyword). This lead to one of my earliest childhood wrestling memories, as at Summerslam in 1988 Elizabeth was the ace in the hole as the Mega Powers challenged Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase. The odds seemed insurmountable for Hogan and Savage to me at age 6, but I was assured that Elizabeth would be their secret weapon if all seemed lost. Sure enough, in their moment of ultimate desperation, Elizabeth ripped off her skirt and distracted Andre and DiBiase (THE SECRET WEAPON), allowing the Mega Powers to secure victory.
That said, Miss Elizabeth made her career as a manager/valet without showing all that much T&A, and without having an over the top personality either. She was an anomaly as a female in the wrestling world. What made Elizabeth work so well was her undeniable chemistry with Savage, which stemmed from their legitimate love for each other. When they split up (in the storylines) it was heart wrenching to watch her try to reason with "The Macho King." And when Randy finally proposed to her (after being married in reality for the better part of a decade) after losing his retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior (note: nobody ever really retires from pro wrestling until they die), it was one of the most touching moments in WWF history.
Much like Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks, Elizabeth was a woman that seemed so beautiful, pure and vibrant, but her lust for life would eventually consume her. After two marriages in 2003 she was shacking up with Lex Luger, who was feeding her drugs by the truckload while getting arrested for beating her and crashing his Porsche while drunk. Not even two weeks after the DUI arrest Luger called 911 to try to have Elizabeth resuscitated after a cocktail of vodka, xanax and hydrocodone. It was no use, and at 42 Elizabeth left us much too soon. But let us not remember her in those dark days towards the end of her life, but instead forever in the throes of true love, with her macho man...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
wm012 El Matador
http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=53277
El Matador was Tito Santana, a latino wrestler who spent his career primarily in front of white audiences but almost always as a babyface. This is unusual for any chulo and says a lot about how naturally likeable Santana was. If/when I ever design a Tito Santana dial, it will actually be much stronger than El Matador, as Santana was a successful Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion with Rick Martel (Strike Force) in the 80s. As El Matador though, his vaguely racist bull fighter gimmick of the 90s, Santana was mostly a jobber. I tried to represent his bull fighting ways in his OLE! special power, which is slightly reminiscent of Hulk Hogan's AXE BOMBER. Otherwise he brings his agility to the table in his Leap/Climb, and not a lot else. Oh well Tito, you'll always have the distinguished honor of being the only wrestler other than Hulk Hogan to appear on the first 9 Wrestlemanias... posting a 2-7 record.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V9mJl9HQbNE/Rx3oNU4dfYI/AAAAAAAABjY/gBE8qKffqgg/s320/tito+santana+3.jpg
El Matador was Tito Santana, a latino wrestler who spent his career primarily in front of white audiences but almost always as a babyface. This is unusual for any chulo and says a lot about how naturally likeable Santana was. If/when I ever design a Tito Santana dial, it will actually be much stronger than El Matador, as Santana was a successful Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion with Rick Martel (Strike Force) in the 80s. As El Matador though, his vaguely racist bull fighter gimmick of the 90s, Santana was mostly a jobber. I tried to represent his bull fighting ways in his OLE! special power, which is slightly reminiscent of Hulk Hogan's AXE BOMBER. Otherwise he brings his agility to the table in his Leap/Climb, and not a lot else. Oh well Tito, you'll always have the distinguished honor of being the only wrestler other than Hulk Hogan to appear on the first 9 Wrestlemanias... posting a 2-7 record.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_
Saturday, August 1, 2009
wm011 The Bushwackers
http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=53032
Formerly the ultra-violent team of the Sheepherders, Butch and Luke were a pair of evil New Zealanders who helped put barbed wire matches on the map in the US in the 80s. When brought to the WWF though they became the fun loving Bushwackers. They marched, licked, and loved their way into the hearts of children all across the USA, enlightening our generation on exactly what Aussie culture was like. While they were never a particularly successful team (and on his own Luke set the record for the shortest Royal Rumble appearance at the time at 4 seconds), the Bushwackers were popular with the fans and promoted pretty heavily. They were really more of a comedy/special attraction sort of team, which I tried to reflect in their piece. They have a couple special powers to represent their hijinx, although a pretty sad dial otherwise. For your viewing pleasure, watch as Mean Gene Okerlund becomes a Bushwacker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF2sIw3fYK0
Formerly the ultra-violent team of the Sheepherders, Butch and Luke were a pair of evil New Zealanders who helped put barbed wire matches on the map in the US in the 80s. When brought to the WWF though they became the fun loving Bushwackers. They marched, licked, and loved their way into the hearts of children all across the USA, enlightening our generation on exactly what Aussie culture was like. While they were never a particularly successful team (and on his own Luke set the record for the shortest Royal Rumble appearance at the time at 4 seconds), the Bushwackers were popular with the fans and promoted pretty heavily. They were really more of a comedy/special attraction sort of team, which I tried to reflect in their piece. They have a couple special powers to represent their hijinx, although a pretty sad dial otherwise. For your viewing pleasure, watch as Mean Gene Okerlund becomes a Bushwacker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
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