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Transcript

The Rise and Fall of Galoob's WCW Toy Line - From The Vault · The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Welcome to the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast YouTube channel.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: I'm Brian Myers and I'm Matt Cardona and welcome to
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: the rise and Fall of Galub's WCW toy line, a.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Wrestling figure retrospective.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: Are you ready to fight and step into the ring
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: and take on stage?
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: There's me and my arrival, Rick Flair, and.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: There's a total package Lex Luger.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: Check out the toughest tag.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Team around, the Seiner Brothers. These WCW Action figures are.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: Just as tough and has mean as we are. Wicks
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: for the knee drop, He's sting escape Oh Tennis him
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: up with the bloody slam.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: The WCW wrestlers each sold separately from Galoup.
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: My darny better to take us on.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Tity is just as tough and mean as the stars
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: they depicted. Lewis galub Toys World Championship Wrestling Action Figures
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: may have been short lived, but over time they've become
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: cult favorites. But how did this unique line of toys
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: fall so quickly from store shelves?
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Were they doomed from the start. Let's tick a deep
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: dive into the surprise story of a toy line that
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: tried to supplex its way into kids' hearts, but tapped
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: out far too soon.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Wock hew, I'll never put the whammy on you again,
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: mister Lugar and.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Robinson WCW figures from Globe.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Are You Ready to Fight?
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Founded in nineteen fifty seven, Lewis Galub Toys was a small,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: family owned import business based in San Francisco, California. Initially,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the company distributed toys and novelty items as a regional
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: wholesaler with limited original product development.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy, Lewis Galube became too ill to continue
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: as president, and his twenty one year old son, David,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: dropped out of the University of Southern California to take
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: over his family business. By nineteen seventy six, alongside his
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: brother Robert, David had grown the company into a one
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: million dollar enterprise. But their big break would come with
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Micromachines line of miniature vehicles that helped make Gloub the
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: third largest US toy manufacturer by nineteen ninety eight.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: With the explosion of professional wrestling in the nineteen eighties,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Galub attempted to acquire the toy license for Titan Sports
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: World Wrestling Federation Following success with their eighteen line, they
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: offered twenty five thousand dollars to Titan Sports. In nineteen
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: eighty four, despite a handshake agreement, LJN Toy swooped in
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: and outbid them with a whopping two hundred thousand dollars offer,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: eight times what Galube had on the table, leaving Galub
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: out of the squared circle for now.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty eight, Medium Mobile Ted Turner purchased Jim
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Crockett Promotions and rebranded it as World Championship Wrestling. By
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety, ww was positioning itself as a serious competitor
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: to the WWF with stars like sting, Rick Flair and
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Lex Luber. Meanwhile, HASWRO had already secured the WWF toy license.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Galub saw an opening and signed a deal with Broose
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: ww action figures, playsets, and accessories. But the clock was
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: ticking and the product fast.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Revealed that the nineteen ninety one American International Toy Fair
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: were stars Lex Luger and the Steiner Brothers on hand.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: The loops Core WCW line featured four and a half
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: inch non articulated figures made of solid PVC plastic. Unlike
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Hasmo's dynamic WWF action figures with spring loaded wrestling moves.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: These were more akin to statues, miniature likenesses frozen in time,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: and yet kids found ways to play through Donkey doink
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: impacts and storytelling driven play. Last time we partnered with
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Garage Beer, things got a little out of hand. But
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: this time we're doing things more professional, classic, more class.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: These guys, guys, what can't we enjoy them?
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: More polished, good idea. It's a crisp, refreshing partnership. Hilton
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: integrity on teamwork.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: And focus. The first assortment of World Championship Wrestling Action
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: Figures included six single packed action figures of wire wrestlers
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Rick Flair, arn Anderson, Sting, Lex Luger, Rick Steiner, and
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Scott Steiner, with each including a w S Championship title
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: belt accessory fastened around their waist for added play value.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Eventually, Sting appeared in multiple color variants, arn Anderson's bald
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: spot came in way, and even the belt fasteners were
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: changed during production.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: The second assortment introduced six new figures Barry Windham, sid Vicious,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Ron Simmons, butch Red, Flying, Brian Pillman, and Tom's Inc.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: But again production compromises followed unauthorized Nike swooshes, deco reductions,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: and figures based on reference photos of stars and sweatbants
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: instead of ring gear.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Tag Team two packs included the Steiner Brothers, Doom Dudes
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: with Attitudes and the Four Horsemen, adding slight variations to
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: the Sting figures.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Once again, to complement the figures, Glub released the ww
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Slam Action Wrestling Arena, a compact playset with springboard ring steps,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: catapulting ring posts, steel cage, and even a working ring
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: belt complete with hammer. A deluxe fourteen inch figure Sortman
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: was also introduced, featuring Sting, Lex Luger, Rick Flair, and
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Said Vicious, this time with limited articulation. A role play
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: child size belt rounded out the initial nineteen ninety one offerings.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Galoobs WCW products first hit Kmart and sales were reportedly strong,
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: but that success proved to be a double edged sword.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: By the time Toys, r US and other retailers placed
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: large orders, most WCW fans had already bought what they
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: wanted and demand had dried up.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: The figures began appearing.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: In discount chains like KB Toys and the US line
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: was quietly discontinued within the year.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: To make matters worse. In June nineteen ninety one, David
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Glube was outed as president and CEO. Within months, key
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: team members, including national sales manager Robert Kanoff and Executive
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: vice president of Marketing and Development Saul Jodell, also exited.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Although Gloob's WCW line effectively flopped in the US, the
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: bell hadn't rung just yet.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: Two, Galube distributed a second wave of remaining WCW products
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: overseas through the United Kingdom through distributor Hornby Hobbies.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: The first assortment redecorated ten of the twelve figures from
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: NI nine one with new ring gear. The next assortment
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: brought in seven fresh sculpts and five new characters, Dustin Rhodes,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin, Big Josh, and El Yanting.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: UK two packs once again featured the teams of the
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: Steiner Brothers, the Four Horsemen, and the Dudes with Attitudes.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: For this time, they swapped out Doom for the Fabulous
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Freebirds plus The Slam Action Wrestling Arena playset got a
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: revamp with the sound Slam and action ring, which included
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: four real wrestling sounds thanks to a new sound module
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: to make playtime even more exciting for kids. The sound
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: module was also available separately for those who already owned
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: the original Arena playset, and it came bundled with the
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Fabulous Freebirds too.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Behind the curtain, even more was planned. Prototypes for unreleased
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: figures like PM News, Diamond Studd, and Ricky Morton exist.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: There were concepts for a talking Sid Vicious, and possible
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: electronic figures of Brick Flair, Lex Luger, the Steiner Brothers,
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: and Moore.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: There was even ideas for WW wrestling rods micromachine style
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: vehicles emblazoned with wrestler logos.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: In early nineteen ninety two, David Galub, alongside Kanoff, Jodell
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: and inventor Rand Sigfried, formed the original San Francisco Toy Makers,
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: eventually producing WCW toys again later that decade. In nineteen
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: ninety eight, Lewis Glub Toys, Inc. Was acquired by Hasbro, Inc.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Absorbing its legacy into one of the largest toy empires
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: in the world.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Despite its short shelf life, the Glub WW toy line
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: has gained cult status today, these figures are beloved relics
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: of the nineties wrestling nostalgia. Their bright colors, rigid poses,
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: and unique charm have found new life in the hands
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: of collectors worldwide.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: Fans appreciate the craftsmanship, even if the articulate was non existent.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: These figures captured a moment in wrestling history, even if
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: they couldn't pose for it.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: So what was your favorite WCW item that was produced
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: by galoub.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Do you own any of the rare UK releases?
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: Which prototype do you wish I'd seen the light of day?
• 9:16
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• 9:22
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• 9:25
  Speaker 1: Check out the video on screen for even more information
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: on Glob's ww figures featuring personal stories for myself Brian Myers,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: mst Maccardona and producer smart Mark Sterling.
• 9:35
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