By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: At some point, the G.I. Joe commander-in-chief must have decided that pro wrestlers make good soldiers.

The Rock stars in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” this summer, which means there will be plenty of new toys of “The Great One” as Roadblock. This isn’t the first time G.I. Joe has recruited a wrestler in the battle against Cobra.

In 1986, the uber-patriotic Sgt. Slaughter crossed over from wrestling to cartoons. Slaughter provided the voice for his likeness in the popular 1980s G.I. Joe cartoon, and Hasbro offered a Sgt. Slaughter mail-away G.I. Joe figure. Lots of kids saved up the necessary proofs of purchase to get their own figure of the sarge, so the toys are plentiful even today. In most cases, a loose figure can be found for under $10; a figure still sealed in the original plastic bag usually sells in the $20-40 range. Hasbro also offered a new Sgt. Slaughter figure in 1989 with a removable hat, and another in 2007 as a part of the 25th anniversary of the popular toy line.

Super Bowl champion and WrestleMania 2 battle royal star William Perry also enlisted with the Joes. He became “The Fridge,” wearing a sleeveless jersey with his Chicago Bears number 72 on the front. His weapon of choice was a spiked football on a chain. Like Slaughter, Perry’s figure was also a mail-away offer. It isn’t quite as abundant as Slaughter’s figure today, but is still easy to find for around the same price.

The Joes encountered perhaps their most dangerous enemy in 2007, when the legendary “Rowdy” Roddy Piper joined Destro’s forces. As a part of the Hasbro G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Convention, attendees could buy an exclusive figure of Piper as Destro’s “Iron Grenadier trainer,” complete with his trademark kilt. This figure remains one of the scarcest and most valuable G.I. Joe toys ever released; a loose figure will usually sell in the $200-300 range, with packaged figures selling in the $300-350 range and sometimes topping $500.




Wrestling stars have appeared in other toy lines as well. Hulk Hogan and original WrestleMania tag team partner Mr. T were included in a series of Rocky III figures from Phoenix Toys in 1983. Hogan’s Thunder Lips toy actually predates his famous LJN Superstars of Wrestling figure by a couple of years. The old figures of Hogan and Mr. T are fairly common and affordable. Loose figures with all accessories usually only sell for $10 or less each; packaged figures rarely top $35.

Jakks-Pacific also released a line of Rocky figures in the mid-2000s that were very similar to the company’s WWE figures. Hogan and Mr. T were included in a limited edition two-pack that usually only sells for $12-18. Mr. T had several different figures, including one in street clothes and one in boxing gear. The boxing gear figure is his most popular, with loose figures sometimes selling as high as $25.

Jakks began making toys of The Rock in 1997, and the company presented him in a whole new light when it acquired a license to produce figures from the “Mummy” series of movies beginning in 2001. Jakks released a few different toys of Rock as the Scorpion King, including a special two-pack that also included Rock in his WWE gear. Loose figures are common and usually sell for $10 or less.




Former Horseman Steve “Mongo” McMichael never had his own wrestling toy, but he was included in Kenner’s popular Starting Lineup series as a member of the Chicago Bears in 1989. McMichael’s lone Starting Lineup figure is incredibly rare and valuable; a raw, ungraded figure will usually sell for $100-150, while graded figures command a substantial premium. A McMichael figure that received a grade of 85 (near mint+) from toygrader.com recently sold for a whopping $565.




Sloppy Signature Trivia




Do you recognize the autograph of this wrestling star of the 1970s and 1980s? Send your answer and name to michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. The names of those who correctly identified the sloppy signature will be included in next Tuesday’s collectibles column.

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