Wrestling Superstars

Wrestling action figures were the brainchild of Richard Derwald of Buffalo NY who sold the idea to LJN in the summer of 1984.

The figures were made of solid rubber and paint and were very accurate in appearance to their real life counterparts.

The line was restarted in 2021 by Jazwares, which produced an action figure of Cody Rhodes with LJN branding for All Elite Wrestling.

[1] Wrestling Superstars figures for AEW wrestlers Darby Allin and CM Punk have also been announced for 2022.

There are a total of four figures which include wrestlers who were produced both with and without laces on their boots: Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Roddy Piper and Iron Sheik.

Hulk Hogan has a third variant which has blue knee pads instead of red, and is .25" taller than the rest of the line.

Jake Roberts and King Kong Bundy were produced in very small quantities in comparison to the other 10 figures.

The main gimmick to these figures was that they could be stretched and retain their elongated state for a short time before shrinking back to its original shape.

Various different prototypes were photographed in various LJN advertising and packaging, such as, Adrian Adonis with scarves, Rick Steamboat with red trunks, Tito Santana with an entirely different mold, Fred Blassie with a painted cane and glittered jacket, Hillbilly Jim with a black undershirt, Jimmy Hart with a pink megaphone, Kamala with an alternate paint job, Koko B. Ware with light blue tights, Haku as 'King Haku', and Rick Rude with green tights among others.

Photographed prototype versions of George Steele with painted on chest hair, as well as a Roddy Piper figure with a panther shirt are rumored to have actually been produced.

The requirements for the "Free" mail-in offer were four proofs of purchase (Wrestling Superstars points on the card backs) and $1.00 to cover postage and handling.

The side plates that were attached on the straps of the belt featured WWF champions of the past and included Buddy Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, The Iron Sheik, Ivan Koloff, Pedro Morales, and Superstar Billy Graham.

The case is officially licensed and features artwork from the Hulk Hogan's Rock 'N' Wrestling cartoon from 1985.

There were also Canadian release "Value Packs" which contained a randomly assorted two-pack of figures generally taken from, but not limited to, the first three series of the line.