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

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

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

WrestleMania updated Set List

WRESTLEMANIA
(Commons)
wm001 Hulk Hogan
wm002 Barry Horowitz
wm003 Virgil
wm004 Red Rooster
wm005 Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
wm006 Koko B. Ware
wm007 Tatanka
wm008 Max Moon
wm009 Irwin R. Schyster

wm010 Marty Jannetty
wm011 The Bushwackers

wm012 El Matador
wm013 Miss Elizabeth
wm014 Tugboat
wm015 "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels
(Uncommons)
wm016 Ultimate Warrior
wm017 123 Kid
wm018 Doink & Dink
wm019 "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
wm020 Owen Hart
wm021 Mr. Fuji
wm022 The Orient Express
wm023 Rick "The Model" Martel
wm024 Junkyard Dog
wm025 Andre The Giant
wm026 The Undertaker
wm027 "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
wm028 Jim Cornette

wm029 Nailz
wm030 "Sensational" Sherri
(Rares)
wm031 "Macho Man" Randy Savage
wm032 Sgt. Slaughter
wm033 Jake "The Snake" Roberts
wm034 Earthquake
wm035 The British Bulldogs
wm036 Captain Lou Albano
wm037 Mr. Perfect
wm038 Texas Tornado
wm039 Papa Shango
wm040 "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart
(Super Rares)
wm041 Bret "The Hitman" Hart
wm042 Yokozuna
wm043 Bob Backlund
wm044 "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
wm045 "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
wm046 The Big Bossman
wm047 Bam Bam Bigelow
wm048 Razor Ramon
wm049 Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
wm050 "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair

wm010 Marty Jannetty

http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=52882

The Rockers were the mildly successful team of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. Blatantly stealing their gimmick from the great Rock N Roll Express, Michaels and Jannetty pioneered a high flying style of tag team wrestling in the WWF in the early 90s. They had a feud with the Orient Express that produced some good matches, and had one short unrecognized reign as tag team champs. What the Rockers will be most remembered for though is their shocking split on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's "Barber Shop" interview segment. A great example for me personally of how the drama of pro wrestling can warp childhood memories, I distinctly remember Michaels' superkicking Jannetty straight through the window when he turned heel. Rewatching the video (linked below) though shows that Michaels superkicked, then grabbed and smashed Jannetty through the window... far less dramatic, but still pretty traumatizing at the time when WWF rarely allowed blood on TV.

Jannetty was a consistent wrestler throughout his career, and although he never acheived anywhere near the star status of Shawn Michaels, he was clearly the worker of their team and held their matches together. Marty did have some success after the split, winning the Intercontinental Championship from Michaels once, and then later winning the Tag Team Championships (in a recognized reign this time) with the 123 Kid. I tried to capture Jannetty's unremarkable consistency in his dial, with a stronger second half as he actually was more successful after splitting with Michaels. Also worth noting is the Battle Fury he gains at the sight of his own blood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCljiGVZ5fE

wm009 Irwin R. Schyster

http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=52745

The Tax Man himself, IRS. Could there be a better natural heel gimmick? Mike Rotunda was a very sound technical wrestler who never had a particularly compelling character or ring presence previously in his career. He had bounced from all-American and Varsity type gimmicks until the WWF eventually struck gold in 1991. As Irwin R. Schyster, Rotunda easily became one of the most hated and iconic heels of the 90s. Although he never had a run with a singles title, he was a very successful tag team wrestler as a member of Money Inc, and was in some high profile singles feuds. With all that in mind I tried to make IRS's piece mirror Tatanka's in terms of point value and overall usefulness. And rightfully so, as IRS and Tatanka had a most epic feud at one point revolving around IRS' claim that Tatanka did not pay his gift tax on his Native American headdress! With his token removing special power (TAX RETURN) and righteous government fueled Willpower (NOTHING IS CERTAIN BUT DEATH & TAXES) paired with the Masters of Evil team ability, IRS will make the perfect addition to a 100 point Money Inc themed team, or an even larger Million Dollar Corporation team.

Tax Tips with Irwin R. Schyster!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcsNwwK9vfg

wm008 Max Moon

http://www.aduckwhat.com/robert/heroclix/customs_view.cfm?figs=52726

Believe it or not, Max Moon was one of the harder dials so far to design. I wanted to make sure he was one of the cheapest pieces in the set (he never beat anyone notable at all), but still make him somehow, some way, slightly useful. I am a bit ashamed to admit that as a child Max Moon was without a doubt my favorite wrestler. Partially due to the irregularity he would appear on TV, partially due to his high flying offense, and mainly due to his outlandish moonsuit (which according to Wikipedia cost the WWF a whopping $1,300) I couldn't get enough of Max Moon. The original Max Moon was the luchadore Konnan, but after he left the WWF due to the company hatred of chulos the gimmick was given to Paul Diamond. The mysterious Moon would come to the ring being billed as from Outer Space or the Future (I AM FROM OUTER SPACE AND POSSIBLY THE FUTURE), and would shoot sparklers into the crowd from his wrist rockets (MOONDUST). Possibly a distant cousin of The Vision?

http://www.worldwrestlinginsanity.com/am2/uploads/1/max_moon.jpg