My Modern Wrestling Collection: WWE Magazines!!!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Here is the Halloween Special that I posted in My ginormous Halloween topic!



Tribute to Daffney Unger: Now I had taken most of these pics before a long while before she passed away so here is a little something special for her



So that will conclude My HUGE Jakks Pacific TNA Impact showcase and I hope you liked it. MAKE SURE you see the beginning on the first page, it starts with AJ Styles & Jeff Hardy...DON'T MISS IT However, I am not done with TNA as a second part is coming soon. The background that you see in most of My pictures is actually special books I got DIRECTLY from TNA themselves in their great store Their huge books like over a foot tall or so...just compare the size of hot Daffney and you can clearly see the size difference So that will be at hand shortly, until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

Sharkboy was actually on Impact last week or the week before as part of a battle royale. Looked to have drank quite a lot of clam juice as he was sporting quite the Uncle Elmer potbelly, lol. TNA actually put out some decent figures back then outside of that skinny Samoa Joe one.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Well I'll be, I had no idea, I haven't kept up with the current stuff in a long time. Yeah, and with the Jakks Legends figures that I showed within the topic, they actually put a different and younger version of Samoa Joe in the series and I'm like how is he a legend? What a wasted slot...back then it was like who is he compared to Hogan & Sting He's only been known for about a decade which was 1999. Hogan, Blonde Sting & USWA Jarrett were the only ones on My radar for that series that IMO are "true legends" Thanks for the reply PB, I appreciate that very much

[BrandonDaCollector]

So continuing My TNA Impact showcase with this second part, here is another shot but closer look at My great "Immortal" Hulk Hogan figure that was a must for Me to get! Despite the real scan tech still being used and not actual 100% sculpting, the likeness is still a tremendous one.



Even though Jakks always used muscular bodies provided the wrestler was or not but since this is Hogan we're talkin' about here, to Me this is quite acceptable because he still had a tremendous physique in 2010 plus he's in his newer red & yellow attire and since I missed out on his Jakks WWE figures years prior this was a cool bonus for Me. He has his possible "blasphemous" tattoo on his forearm but not the "Immortal" tat on his back which I believe he didn't get it till later.



Now of course as I revealed in My previous TNA Impact showcase is that the background is actually TNA Programs that I bought from their cool store back in 2010 when the decade was young and when they were still a tremendous promotion before all of the Dixie Carter crap went down. So again, here is the pic I provided previously of My small Daffney Unger tribute. I am "reposting" it because NOW it is crucial to LOOK at the back at the background of the SHEER SIZE of it as she is about 6" tall, the books are over A FOOT TALL or in LENGTH



So it was kinda like the old WWF days in the early 90s for Me when you could order some really fun stuff from the catalog before everything changed when the Attitude Era arrived. TNA's Impact Store had a a great amount of items to get like the Jakks figures, clothing among other things. They even had a Monster Abyss Mask that I bought and I became him for Halloween that year which I might showcase about that later on but the stuff I was mostly interested in besides the action figures was the BOOKS I have always been a collector of books especially wrestling books with bios, great pictures of them and so forth. Nowadays WWE & AEW tends to skip to say anything about your favorite wrestler where he/she is from, how much they weigh and how tall they are. Its bad enough how people are now but because of this, the importance of this aspect has disappeared due to a "confirmation" of a brainwashing effect if you will via an unnecessary trend This doesn't set well with Me because I grew up in AWE of stats in wrestling, baseball & boxing of all kinds such as the ones I already stated. Maybe people from My Generation or before may think the same, maybe otherwise, I know for a fact most of this current generation could give a R@t'$@SS about it which really is just so pathetic to put it very, very mildly and like in the words of JJ Jeff Jarrett, it P!$$es Me off

So I got two different Programs: 2009 & 2010! I actually got a duplicate of 2010 because it got lost in the mail and e-mailed them and told them about it and they actually were very nice Customer Service and replaced it for Me then only a couple days later the darn PO delivered it and I was like, so now it comes but it was a sweet deal none the less because not only did I get an extra copy but I saw how TNA's CS was, it was a pretty cool feeling to know not all companies were harsh corporate locusts. I would find out the next year that WWE is not the same company they once were during the New Generation era which really made Me uneasy to say the least

Here is a brief look at these which I'm only gonna present a sample here. So the first Book or Program as their called is from 2009. The insert of it is of Legends and its a very cool section as it shows "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Jimmy Hart, Scott Hall, Jake Roberts, Superfly Snuka, Road Warrior Animal, Sabu + many, many more.



So the entries are good and mostly complete but like any book there are some questionable decisions going on here. I must say the pictures are very good quality and their huge pictorials, something I was always was a fan of and that so many books & magazines lacked like since forever. However, like I was just saying just a short minute ago, there is no stats or additional info of anybody that is entered here Apparently the trend was starting then in places and by time 2011 everything was being downgraded like a comedy part in every movie and CGI in everything and how people are with their phones 24/7 to only say a few things out of a ridicules thousand-plus that has lead this limbolic society to where it is NOW and people keep on doing what their doing During this era of TNA was arguably their best. The men were great and the older veterans/legends still looked very good as well and all could still do their thing in the ring. The women on the other hand was some of the hottest babes ever seen in wrestling...period and was truly some of the last times wrestling had some true hotness in the squared circle. So the male entries on this set of pages I chose to show are Samoa Joe with his face paint & machete. Shark Boy, "Freakzilla" Scott Steiner and Sheik Abdul Bashir. Next we have JJ Jeff Jarrett & Jim Cornette. Jesse Neal and "The Legend" Kevin Nash. On another set of pages is the legendary Sting & video game character come to life Suicide



Now on the female roster, I was quite pleased with the entries and how large the pics were. I just loved Angelina Love and its a good pic of Awesome Kong. Next is hot Christy Hemme and the ultra hot Daffney Unger. Next we have is the very underrated ODB, the wowing Rhaka Khan, the mysterious Raisha Saeed and the great Sarita



So here is the TNA 2010 edition and what do ya know, this one actually has stats, too bad it couldn't continue longer For the roster this time I just chose a few. Here is "The Immortal Hulk Hogan's entry and it was one of his first since he had joined TNA. He looks really good but he looks quite basic, just all in black. Here is James Storm who was still part of the original Beer Money.



Here is the ECW Original Rhino and "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair who had just entered the company not long before this. For the women is another hot one of Daffney Unger and a new entry of Ayako Hamada whom was a superb wrestler in many categories. Here is an entry of Referees including legendary Earl Hebner and I loved that they had the championships there with a lot of info and stats, that was truly a treat that you don't see often at all



Toys'R'Us: So, you already know & saw My horrible WWE Mattel deal, if you haven't then go see the topic. I saved THIS just FOR THIS SHOWCASE...I had this planned all a long So here is a special look of My TRU in South County BEFORE & AFTER which I took the before pic...its so dang pathetic all of the years I went to that store and then it's gone Just like how Redbox & Netflix put out Blockbuster & Hollywood Video, the digital age of the web put out such great stores like TRU, this generation has no such clue of what kind of an era their living in and I for one am really, really loathing it more and more even greater then years before this very moment



So here is the wrestling figure isle that the WWE Mattel figures were at. Like I just said, I saved this pic just for this showcase as planned and you can see that I have most of those figures there especially AJ Styles & JJ Jeff Jarrett. If you missed it then go back to the beginning of part 1, its a tremendous showcase that I presented. There you see some smaller versions in three-packs, I didn't have in interest in them however and them Jakks UFC ones looked cool but since things changed with UFC in the 90s I stopped watching them (the era of Severn, Shamrock, Abbott & Grace WAS THE BEST!) so I never had an urge to collect anything UFC. With the price tags you can tell we're slowly but surely getting into the insane price scheme we're currently dealing with now. Even though things was becoming like that, they were still cheaper then, of course the prices had to change and all of that jazzz I guess the figures were popular and the plebeians were actually buying them because there wasn't much on the shelves I know as much WWE Mattel figures I bought that day, I cleared a very big area of the shelves Myself, shame it wasn't as good as it seemed and that it wasn't TNA instead cause I regret not getting some others



So that's it for this one. If you haven't seen My cool TNA Jakks showcase then do so, if you did there maybe some stuff you have missed cause I always put a multitude of bonus material in My showcases. I also showcased the totally tubular ToyBiz' TNA figures which kicked-off this great topic of Mine. Next up will WWE stuff and it will be quite different compared to these TNA showcases. Until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

I may actually have that same program somewhere. I got it signed by Cornette because he was at a table at the TNA show I went to (this was the same event I got my picture with AJ Styles and the World Championship Belt in the ring). Sadly the picture got a little water damage to it and I'm not sure where exactly it is after we moved, but the one thing I'll always remeber, and we still talk about it today, is just how taut the ring ropes are. I tried doing the whole holding open the second and third rope for my buddy to get in to the ring and I could barely push them apart, lol.

Those were the best TNA years, so many great wrestlers and surprises, like Bully Ray's single run. I would've never expected it to be so good. It's a shame they eventually squandered all that talent. Still, some of my favorite moments are from that era.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Huh, may you do have the same one but there' 2 I have have here, one 09 one 2010, their both different as you can tell by My pics. Gosh, I actually never knew unless I forgot that you had an autograph from Cornette & Styles. I'd do it of course but not sure how much I'd want to meet AJ back then cause he was a newer guy despite his brief time in WCW but I knew Cornette for a very long time since his NWA days when I was little. Can you elaborate MORE when this was and on how it was meeting them? Did you meet anybody else there? Shame about your pic

Oh indeed, that's steel cables in/under them, It just looks easy on TV because the wrestlers are so strong and their used to it I mean these are guys are truly the strongest people in the world even the women are, that's one thing I've always loved about wrestlers because of their strength!

Indeed, like I said, I thought it was best too and My favorites as well. Yes, Bully had a great run. Really he should have had it till he couldn't do it anymore instead of the way it happen.

[packerbacker180]

Oh yes about the ropes. I've heard Bully Ray talk about it on Busted Open a few times about how hitting the ropes can actually knock the wind out of you, and trust me, I believe it.

Now meeting Corny. It wasn't really anything memorable. I was at a TNA event at the Erie County Fairgrounds, I don't remember the exact year, I'm going to see if I can find that particular programs (I've found a few others!) but it had to be around that time. So anyway, we got there early, and I wanted to get an AJ Styles shirt so I went up to the memorabilia table and got a shirt, a program, and an AJ DVD.. And next to the booth, Cornette was just sitting there signing autographs.

I can't remember if I had to pay, but knowing the old school carny Corny is, it was probably $5 or $10. Sadly, there wasn;t much of a line. I went up, shook his hand, thanked him for all the years he's been in wrestling, then he signed the program and that was about it. I don't even remember if he ever said much, it just wasn't a really memorable experience. In fact, after me, I think he may've been there another minute or two and then he left.

Now meeting AJ was different. He was the champ and in the main event, and after the match the announced you could meet him in the ring for $25 so me and my two friends waited in line until it was our turn and we got to climb in to the actual ring. Styles greeted us, thanked us for coming. Asked if we enjoyed the show, then who our favorite was. Then he got in between us wearing his belt and they took a picture of the four of us, including me with my AJ shirt on holding up an AJ DVD like such a mark, lol. It was a really cool experience, and the funniest part was he's the shortest guy in the photo.

The next show I went to a few years later, the after match meet and greet was with Jeff Hardy who I unaffectionately called Meth Hardy back then, so I had no interest in wasting $25. I actually found the program for that and some other artifacts, but rather than clutter up your thread, I'm going to put one together this weekend with some of my wrestling stuff, not that I have a ton, but I think you'll be surprised and impressed by some of it.

Edit: the more I look at that 2009 program cover I am 99% positive that's the other one I have that Cornette signed.

[BrandonDaCollector]

WOW, sounds like you had a good time there. Sounds like you did your part well but shame about Cornette. I would have done the same as you and spoke to him more if he had the time. I think he was off his game or something, I mean Jim Cornette not talking Sounds like you got to meet him just in time Sounds like AJ is a nice guy. He's 5' 11" so even though he's average height he usually does look like the shortest guy in the ring compared to anybody 6' or over.

Well I appreciate that about not cluttering up My topic but it's no big deal, we're talking about TNA here Do see if you do have them programs and all that merch. Whenever you post it in your own thread I'll be sure to look for it or you can give Me the heads up Did you say you went to a WWE PPV event as well If so I'd make a special about that too if possible.

Thanks for all the lengthy personal history there, that is awesome to know PB

[packerbacker180]

Yeah, AJ has always been one of my favs and it's part of the reason I can't WWE these because they're really wasting him. He should be in the main event picture, at least a PPV match vs Roman during this run, but like you said, he's "only" 5' 11", and we know how Vince handles smaller guys. It's a shame, because he's terrific in the ring and has a great look IMO ever since he grew his hair out a bit and got a little scruffy.

I've found a few things that I'll probably share a lot of pictures of, so maybe I'll make my own thread for it for space issues. I've been to a few WWE house shows over the years, mostly for the kids, but WWE shows feel so impersonal due to being a bigger crowd. I've been to Impact and ROH shows where there may've been 500-1,000 people in the crowd, and it makes you feel closer to action and more apart of something. I'll share some stories from those as I've found a couple programs.

I've been to one WWE PPV and that was 2011 Night of Champions. We sat way up in the nosebleeds because by the time I decided I wanted to go, tickets were mostly gone. I went mainly to see CM Punk and get a Best in the World shirt. This was Sept 2011 just months after his "pipebomb" moment on the 6/27/11 Raw, so that when it go closer to the PPV, and CM Punk was going to be on the card, I really wanted to go. So I wound up getting the Punk shirt, and a Miz shirt because I love the heels. I've always thought Miz could be MJF if there wasn't a WWE censor around, and he's also someone who's a bit underused in the WWE, because he isn't 6'5" and jacked.

So the main event was Punk vs HHH and if HHH lost he had to step down from his COO position. In typical WWE fashion it was a convoluted mess with Awesome Truth (Miz and R-Truth) attacking both wrestlers repeatedly, as well as Lauranitius getting involved as well as Kevin Nash eventually costing Punk the match because, well, it's Hunter and god forbid he lose. The rest of the card was Daniel Bryan vs Heath Slater (I don't really remember), Air Boom (Evan Bourne and Kofi) defeated Awesome Truth, Cody beat Ted Dibiase Jr, Ziggler beat Morrison, Alex Riley, and Jack Swagger, Kelly Kelly beat Beth, and Cena beat Alberto Del Rio to retain the WWE Championship. The other match I remember was Mark Henry winning the World Heavyweight Title off Randy Orton because my wife loves Orton and Cena so I always root against them and I really wasn't taking Henry seriously as a contender yet because he had just started getting more serious with his Hall of Pain gimmick just a few months earlier, so the win really surprised me that he dominated that match because I still mostly thought of him as Sexual Chocolate. But it wasn't the greatest of PPVs and ended on a bit of downer with Punk losing, but it was also a stupid stipulation where no one really expected Hunter to lose, but Punk was so hot at that time it was a pretty deflating finish to the show, especially because it had so much interference nonsense.

But I got my Punk and Miz shirts that I still wear to this day (though the Punk shirt was packed away for seven years until he came back, lol). I also have a collectible cup from that show somewhere I can probably dig up.

[BrandonDaCollector]

First, back to the ropes. See. Bully Ray can tell ya

I know, AJ should always be in the big picture and be a grand champion and yes, Vinnie Mac loves the big man. Indeed AJ's newer look really did make him looks very good! Actually when I first saw MJF I thought he's like The Miz.

Yeah, sometimes I like the smaller crowd ones more. Wow, I thought I saw you say about WWE 2011 NOC. Sounds like you had a cool time despite your rants. Great write up of your experience, the card and all of that. Yeah, the women like Cena & Orton back then.

Cool you found some programs and stuff. I think it would be apropos to make your own thread then you can make it limitless and it'll be your own. Take your time and let Me know where your gonna post it and stuff. I would post all of what you got from your experiences you just talked about if you can PB

Yeah, funny you said Cups...spoiler on My next showcase here

Thanks for all of the cool info and all of that PB