The Rise and Fall of WCW Toy Biz Figures (Complete History of WCW Toy Biz Figures)

World Championship Wrestling hit its stride in the late 90s, going head to head in a war with World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and winning! WCW's popularity resulted in a toy deal with one of the most popular toy companies: Toy Biz. Toy Biz was famous for making Marvel figures, making every variation of Spider-Man and Wolverine as possible. Would Toy Biz take the same approach with WCW figures? Who would win in the toy war between WWF and WCW? Which of the 40+ unique WCW roster would be captured by Toybiz?
Stick around for this look at WCW wrestling figures like you've never seen before! This is a complete retrospective covering the rise and fall of WCW Toy Biz figures!
Written and Produced by Jack Slime of Figure Collections
Guest Narration by Thom Sliney
Music by www.davidcuttermusic.com
Additional Thanks:
Josh Crawford - who let me film the majority of his MOC WCW Toy Biz Collection
Whiplashers images credit Wfigs message board member figurecollector
Unreleased Talk Back Wrestlers Bret Hart image credit Mark Bushey
This video took 2 years to produce! From research, to writing, to re-writing, to filming, to filming again, scanning toy magazines, catalogs, narrating, getting Thom to narrate it after I hated my narration tracks...This is a huge labor of love. I don't have a Patreon. If you want to support me the best way to do so is by grabbing yourself a deal from one of our shops, or downloading our app! Or just keep watching our videos!
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[@FigureCollections]

What was your favorite WCW Toy Biz figure?

[@acehunter3229]

Perry Saturn in the dress was F'N awesome for the time. The rest of the figures kind of looked demonic...Lex M0nkeeey🤣have most of these figures. I much preferred WCW toymakers from 1997.

[@geogonz352]

Hollywood Hogan and Goldberg were awesome figures.

[@lwwkaleb2132]

Benoite by far

[@geogonz352]

@@lwwkaleb2132 I didn't think they did his action figure very well. I had him from the four houseman collection. I was happy to have him but they could've done a better job with him

[@hernanmorales1861]

Chris Kanyon

[@MyDamnToys]

I LOVED these figures as a kid. I talk about them all the time on the channel. Fantastic video bro!

[@christophergarcia3548]

Nah I found out about this channel and you guys are hella underrated, I’ve been trying find toys channels that talks about legit everything and about the story behind it. Definitely deserves more recognition. Keep up the great work.

[@FigureCollections]

My man, thanks! I genuinely appreciate that!

[@Yourmomgoestocolledge]

These came out when I was really into Toybiz xmen and spiderman figures. It also happened to be the only time I was ever into wrestling so I had all of these. The 90s were the best time to be a kid.

[@Justin_L_Smith_]

Never even knew these existed, besides the ones made of cloth you bend & bash. But I am impressed with the articulation. Lots of ppl would laugh this line off, but a lot of features made it into the original Marvel Legends line.

[@Makoto03]

I loved WCW as a kid. Great video on their toy figures.

[@joseortega7815]

This was my childhood right here!!!! I can't count how many times my Bone Crunchers and my Toy Biz figs went to war. Lol Thank you for this video.

[@lancemiller8428]

8:08. The motorcycle Road Wild figures made perfect sense within the WCW lineup as they literally had a PPV called Road Wild at the time took place at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally every year.

[@TJ52359]

as some one who still has the Sting and Nash figures on display 20+ years later it both made sense and yet Didn't because of who was featured in the line and the way the Bikes were done Hogan was the only one who I think every appeared on Camera in the same frame as a Motorcycle... the Hogan and Goldberg Bikes, other than their Name on the Gas Tank don't match anything they did (Hogan's bike looks like he bought it second hand from Frank Castle; while wearing Captain America's T shirt) Goldberg's just looks they added random Pipes for the sake of adding them) Nash and Sting's bikes look like you'd imagine ( in Hind sight ) what Custom Bikes from Jesse James or American Chopper might produce (Neither had attained National Attention at the time) but Neither man every used a bike on TV...

[@jimitheado8481]

This is my entire childhood. What a walk through memory lane.

[@DaBigCheeso]

I've still got my Smash n Slam figures. Those are, to this day, one of my favorite series of wrestling figures

[@MacorettaBoozer]

Beautiful figures! I had so many as a kid, and they were made available in rural canada. Awesome

[@theallknighters]

Incredible video! Well done! Gets me itchy to re-collect them all!

[@DIRTYFINGERPROJECT]

This was such a enjoyable video. Thank you! Took me back. 😢

[@rhysdonaldson5393]

Great work on this mate. Massively enjoyed.

[@zackharris01]

This was a great video! The Battle of the Giants 2-pack and the Smash & Slam Sting were my very first wrestling figures. Still have Nash, Sting and the nWo stand. As a little kid, living in Atlanta during peak WCW really felt like I was in the middle of something special. Thanks for making this

[@nicholassalonya6646]

Thank you for making this video

[@CoffeeNToys]

Great video! I did not know so many figures were released! That Sting six-pack was by far my favorite figures.

[@riffsandwich9541]

I have such fond memories of this line. Thanks for the awesome vid.

[@geogonz352]

The WCW toys were soooooo freaking cool!!! I was very blessed that my mom would buy me these when I did good or just because she knew I liked them

[@JoseRivera-hn8xq]

Great detailed video thank you

[@DoctorInk20]

11:41 These three right here were my childhood wrestling toys, gifted to me by an aunt of mine. Still have them among my figure collection and they were actually what got me interested in pro wrestling. Though my mother didn't let me watch it - for fear of copying any moves as a kid - she didn't mind the toys it seemed. However, I ended up creating my own idea of what wrestling actually was in my 6-year-old-mind. I was nearly there, to be fair, but it was way more over the top and fantastical. 😂 They fought each other, my Power Rangers and sometimes blobs of Blu-Tack that were trying to devour them. Good times.

[@ANTICHRISTJC]

What a trip to the past…! thank you for making this video! WCW 4 Life !

[@thomasnix6670]

Great video, love you

[@jcfigz]

Love this video. Well done to all involved! 👏

[@CaptainMcKayRandom]

I watched this a while back and don’t think I commented, but as always I love how thorough you were with this one! I remember having some of these from when KB was clearancing them out. Steiner, Kanyon, Michael Buffer, Mean Gene, etc. It’s great to go back and see all these again!

[@NotAGarage]

I'm so happy you did this! Edit: man, I really feel like I remember these were out in late 1998

[@FigureCollections]

Its possible they did! But I never saw them until January/February, and all the KB stickers confirm the earliest sighting was January 99!

[@TJ52359]

I still have the Sting 6-pack... in the box... but I broke the seal to get a closer look at some (pretty sure 3 of them are straight re-issues or slight repaints (different Scorpion Graphic) of Sting in the preceding lines with the other 3 being repainted 'head swaps'; as the Play feature was used for other figures I had... (I think I had two dozen other figures across a few of the early lines) I also got the Sting/Hogan two pack... out of the box and on display to this day... but or the life of me I can't remember where the Belt went.. I know I had it 'recently'

[@harveyplissken4604]

Yeah, there definitely were a lot of big names that Toybiz never made figures of. At first I thought the reason why Eddie Guerrero didn't have a single Toybiz action figure made for him was because he jumped ship. But then, I remembered that he (alongside Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko) all went to the WWF in January 2000. In some way, Toybiz secretly made action figures for wrestlers from the WWF (Benoit, The Giant/Big Show, Chris Jericho, Saturn, and Malenko). A lot of missed opportunities with Toybiz's WCW line, there are. Also, what is that Glacier figure at the end from and where can I get my hands on him?

[@GamingTechUnited]

The GOAT is back with another banger!

[@HALBY400]

Fantastic video tribute to the best line of all time!

[@danpecoraro5340]

Tremendous work and video. Thank you. Can you please do the 90s X-Men series if and when resources allow?

[@jamesmcintosh4153]

I have great memory’s with some of these toys thank you for posting

[@EdsterIII]

I used to love and still love the Toy Biz Marvel Legends figures. So many iconic "waves" and BAF's. My favorite is one I couldn't afford. The Sentinel figure. I was able to acquire a loose BAF Apocalypse figure, and the entire wave of the Galactus BAF as well as the loose Galactus figure. The X-Men figures in that wave were just incredible. Professor X and Nightcrawler were perfectly casted. War Machine another good one of the group. I also lucked out and was able to get all of the variants. Gray and Green Hulk, and multiple 🎯🎯Bullseye🎯🎯figures as well. My all-time favorite Toy Biz figure is 🐙🐙Doctor🐙Octopus🐙🐙. I was so lucky to find a pair of them. One I could open and one to keep sealed. It is my favorite figure. Now while Toy Biz figures were great for the Superheroes, actual human faces, they had issues with, as seen by some of the female X-Men characters that they made. Some were not very good, and some were awful! Sadly I was going through a really dark and tough time. My Mom had passed away and then almost two years later, my Dad died of lung cancer. I took care of them for over 10 years. This happened right before 2000. So collecting action figures wasn't high on my list. Some of these were good and some, yikes. That Ric Flair figure, looked like a Surfer kid? 🏄‍♂️ WTH? Still they had some excellent ideas and great molds. Nice video sir. I definitely enjoyed it and you definitely earned this subscriber here.

[@oldskoolrasleingfan]

Great video

[@natr0n]

Awesome video.

[@MetropolisKid]

dude i still have some of these figures.. some even broken and super glued 😭. but ive still got them. and now i want that kidman figure with the black shorts lol

[@Jay_Digital]

These were so cool

[@zm9996]

the Bret Hart ring masters figure is my favorite WCW figure ever, the base gear with the grey pinstripes is so great for him and that Raven Bruisers figure is iconic

[@HardyHeft]

Loved the deep dive…. Man I loved the WCW line :)

[@RubenAlvarado-nz3yo]

I remember the Hulk Hogan and Sting pack. My parents bought that for me when I was 7. Great memories seeing that package again after all this time.

[@FreeAgentWriter]

Love the WCW/nWo Revenge references in your intro! nWo4Life!

[@timbartschwolfman]

Throughout 1999 WWE, WCW, Star Wars and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy Toys fought for the battle of Toys

[@_The_Worst_]

Whatta rad run of figures...🤘🏼💯✔️

[@HighFalutinTootin]

Wow these ToyBiz WCW figures look cool as heck👀

[@ivanmcgann1989]

07:00 there is no way that head wasn't originally meant to be Charles Robinson

[@greatmuta2]

I had the Sting and Goldberg Series 1 Smash figures and the Steiner pack series 2 Grip and flip, really fun memories as a kid

[@jasonjay1053]

WCW Had great action figures. From the body type , height . Even when you perform their signature moves it felt so identical to what you watch on TV.

[@DudeMcGuybro]

Man, I had that Kane with the chokeslam arm and the switch on the back. That was my ALL TIME favorite action figure as a kid. Seeing it brought back a ton of memories. I see the Slam and Crunch Sting, the breakaway NWO table, Wrath, Goldberg/Rey Mysterio, Scott Hall with the Sting mask, Power Punch Sting (white face paint), The Bashing Brawler Sting pillow thing that I had as well. Plus The Rock with the rubber arms and bug eye!? oh man...

[@PeninsulaPaintingProjects]

This was great time to be a fan. I was only 11 at the time. Loved them

[@BiggHefty]

Nostalgia hit me hard with the WCW/NWO Revenge music. I also had one of the Nash motorcycles and I think Sting

[@patricksvensson3104]

Great video! I have most of these Smash ń Slam figures boxed, and here in Sweden they came bundled with an VHS tape. I haven't seen them anywhere else, so i guess they are super rare.

[@FigureCollections]

I really wanted to know what was on those VHS tapes! I couldn't find one affordable enough to include. There's also a Toy Fair 1999 VHS that exists, where they preview all the figures on video. I could not track that down, sadly!

[@patricksvensson3104]

@@FigureCollections It contains a couple of matches and some WCW commercials 😊 I have a video in my profile if you want to see the figures 👍

[@merkcityboy834]

I had all of these figured rings and some stages growing up I use to make my own stages and have spice entrances and matches..

[@mattsands161]

One thing I thought was funny was how Toybiz’s Stevie Ray figure was actually just a second Booker T figure with a different attire. It even had the initials “BT” written on it’s boots.

[@Shlumbus69]

I love how in the head to head lists you could tell the clear point when phantom menace came out in theaters lmao they were like "okay now guys, yes thos is the heat of the attitude era but STAR WARS IS BACK!!!"

[@FigureCollections]

That's a great point I hadn't even considered!

[@Shlumbus69]

In 2006 a cousin gave me all gis old wwf and wcw figures and i remember getting a macho man in red and black, a ddp, hollywood Hogan, wolfpack sting, i wamna say a scott hall too, and kevin Nash. They were really freaking sweet honestly

[@HandlebarOrionX]

The late stage ToyBiz WCW figures and figures were some of the best out there. A template for the frankly really good ToyBiz TNA figures that became amazing before TNA got with Jakks

[@KushWilson]

I had all these toys and my dad ended up cleaning out his basement and threw all of them away I’m still crying to this day

[@trevorrasmussen7668]

For anyone who didn’t know the superman S logo is in public domain and can’t be copyright protected

[@indarkestknight1]

I remember they got their own aisle in Walmart when they first released. First pair I got was Hollywood and The Macho Man.

[@FigureCollections]

Do you remember if your Hogan was pale or had the hotdog tan?

[@indarkestknight1]

@@FigureCollections Hot dog tan. Definitely Hot Dog.

[@stevenkilboy1319]

Duuuude I know it’s not yalls cup of tea but I’d absolutely love a retrospective on the toy is Lord of the rings figures! Awesome videos as always man!

[@FigureCollections]

I would need to see the films first! shhhhhh

[@chrisz31974]

These were GREAT figures 😊

[@Bats-7]

The smash n slam were an awesome collection I loved the Goldberg figure as it came with the world title & you could perform the Jack hammer Sting with the bat was cool as he’s always been my favourite wrestler since I was a kid 👊

[@pantheonvideo]

Are you ready to come where the big boys play? Just try and top us! -- Very interesting phrasing in the advertising 😂

[@josephk4445]

Pretty sure that Little Nature boy ref was supposed to be Charles Robinson when he became a heel ref for the 4 horsemen in 1999 and died his hair blonde. Lol

[@HandlebarOrionX]

8:59 Goldberg and Randy Savage both look like they just worked a 60 minute classic on an excursion to New Japan against Shinya Hashimoto and only got sleep on the flight home, with no neck pillow, so now they have to work the Nitro after with jetlag and neck stingers

[@luckypapi87]

Love how at one point he said a decent head scan for the Bret hart figures, so the problem with likeness on a Bret Hart figure goes back that long lol.

[@mattpyro90]

What's the music used from 18:22 ? I've heard it on Hellogreedo's videos as well and Shazam doesn't seem to actually pinpoint what it is. I like it as a modern 80s synthwave tune. Great nostalgic vid btw.

[@blankwavemessiah]

How dare you use RELIVING THE WAR MUSIC!!!! Shout-out to all the WB/RTW MARKS!!! JK love the video!

[@theflyxx]

I had Hall & Nash of these and at the time, they were the best Outsider figures out there. They still hold up pretty well to this day, but have been supplanted by the upcoming Ringside Collectibles exclusive Outsiders.

[@babescasian3693]

Hope we see a video about TTL figures too!🙏

[@VirgilZandig]

Man, I am shocked the WCW figure sales held up through 1999. 10:52 - in Feb of 2000 they were promoing a to be released Raven figure? He'd left five months or more prior. Even for figures, that seems like a long delay.

[@hilariousstuntsinc8827]

Currently working on complete sets of just about every wrestling figure line you could think of. After i finish either the wwf hasbros or osftm figures ill start more focus on wcw toybiz

[@a2ilool]

I had some of these even though i mostly collected WWF/WWE figures i remembered seeing alot of these in shops here in the UK in 2002 after WCW had closed

[@kidy7k]

My 1 yr old plays with my set when i was a kid. Goldberg and ddp were my favorite.

[@Pigbeater]

I remembered my best friend showed up to my house one day with the vampiro action figure and I totally geeked out lol

[@TheNaturalPatHarris]

The best Wrestling figure line

[@HennyGodSlic]

I had the Nash one with the ref, Hall,Macho Man,DDP ,Hollywood Hogan,Wolfpac Sting and The Giant wit Rey Mysterio.Chilhood was lit bacc then lol

[@hsolanki7971]

I was also a WWF kid growing up, especially during this era in the late 90s where the contest was getting more fierce. But these WCW toys were way better than the WWF counterparts at the time

[@wrestlingfan4154]

I loved those growing up

[@RobPlayingVideoGames]

is that the theme music from wcw vs nwo world tour??

[@JohnnyTong215]

I had the Goldberg and Kevin Nash Tuff Talkin toys!!!

[@koryandrews1665]

I had some of these Toy Biz WCW figures as a kid

[@officegossip]

Omg the bashin brawlers. I think i used to own DDP. I definitely remember owning the Macho Man WWF version of those same plushies, cept their versions didn’t have voice boxes.

[@shortinos]

10:03 I remember getting this for my 11th birthday! Many wrestlers were power bombed through that breakable table 😂

[@fatcat8033]

That jacket on slam force Bret Hart 😂

[@SLURM187]

For figures at the time, they actually looked really good.

[@B.-T.]

We don't have KB in Canada, I found those final WCW figures on small cards at Walmart.

[@mattsands161]

Great video, the Toybiz WCW figures are underrated. I think they were better than Jakk’s BCA figures and OSFTM’s ECW figures.

[@Jerry-zc5qt]

A few months ago I ordered the Sting vs Hollywood hogan wcw nWo clash of the champions and Macho man randy savage and Elizabeth power and beauty. 8 figured they would be more expensive but I can't complain

[@mis1476]

I still have alot of these mint on card

[@TroubleZxHCT]

I used to have the DDP throwing up the diamond

[@geogonz352]

I had the Nitro Arena. Sooooouch fn fun as a kid 👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽

[@FigureCollections]

Truly the best

[@SpanishTravelsHols]

I have the nitro champions with Sid still in the box, signed. they came out in December 2001. Christmas present from a toy shop in the UK

[@FigureCollections]

Thanks for the heads up!!

[@SpanishTravelsHols]

We also had quite a few wcw figures come out in 2002

[@HandlebarOrionX]

11:12 Why is half of this ad shot with a makeshift homemade ring rather than the official WCW ring playsets? I do like the pearlescent silver stick on ring apron though. Very 1999

[@b_side8669]

7:09 😂I’m dying

[@BurnoutInc]

Sounds odd but one of my favorite figures was the Rick Steiner that came with the Dog Faced Gremlin. I loved that little guy. Was so ugly it was cute.

[@spacecase7504]

Love the reference to WCW/NWO Revenge on N54 @ 0:57

[@FigureCollections]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJXOcpptmax-bMk ^ i've done more than a reference, here's a near shot-for-shot remake of the WCW NWO Revenge opening with action figures!

[@sheistdolo6086]

The Toybiz WCW figures was light years ahead of Jakks pre-TTL figs

[@officegossip]

That ring set was awesome. It was my defacto ring for my wwf wrestlers as well before I ultimately stopped playing with my toys and stuck to just playing WCW/NWO revenge lol

[@razorblademask]

The Slam Force figures are reusing X-Men Missile Flyers toyline 🤣. Idk to what extent, but I definitely saw reuse there.

[@zombiekohhi3586]

My favorites were the Smash N' Slam figures