Thursday, May 21, 2009

1991 Impel WCW

Anyone who knows me knows I am a bit of a wrestling fan. I do favor the wrestlers and wrestling of my youth though. Obviously I have known for a long time that wrestling is scripted. However, a good storyline played out with believable performances and solid wrestling is very enjoyable to me.
In 1998, Ted Turner bought what became World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The WCW favored my kind of wrestling, instead of the cartoonish version presented by the WWF. In 1991, WCW was starting to build a little momentum and more national exposure. They came out with a 162 card set produced by Impel.#37 and #44-Ric Flair
The WWF had Hulk Hogan, but WCW had the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Flair was sort of the anti-Hogan. These 2 cards perfectly depict Slick Ric in and out of the ring. These cards came out about halfway through Flair's career, as he just retired last year.

#48 Arn Anderson
Anderson was Flair's right hand man for many years in and out of the ring. The longtime member of the Four Horsemen, Anderson is an agent for the WWF now.# 111 The Steiner Brothers
Rick and Scott Steiner are given a red background for tagteams. This brother combo was awesome at this point. Unfortunately, Scott bulked up a bit too much (and probably a bit unnaturally) and has been often injured, although still wrestles for TNA. Rick is semi-retired and a teacher.
#10 Sting
Steve Borden is Sting (the wrestler, not the musician). Sting went from the surfer dude look to the 'Crow' look and maintained his popularity for 20+ years.#24 Sid Vicious
Vicious drifted in and out of wrestling and between organizations. Vicious suffered one of the worst leg injuries ever caught on tape. See it here.#89 El Gigante
Ted Turner also owned the Atlanta Hawks. When Jorge Gonzalez proved he couldn't play in the NBA, Turner brought the 7'6" Gonzalez into WCW. Although pushed as an 8 foot giant, Gonzalez soon proved he wasn't much of a wrestler either.#56 Flyin' Brian Pillman
Brian Pillman was a former NFL player with the Cincinnati Bengals and in the CFL. Pillman overcame throat polyps and 28 operations as a child. Unfortunately, he is one of many wrestlers who died way too young.
#125 The Fabulous Freebirds
Actually, this card depicts 1/2 of the Fabulous Freebirds (or 1/3 really). Michael Hayes and the Freebirds had most of their success in Texas against the Von Erich family.
#159 Missy Hyatt
The First Lady of Wrestling gets a green border for managers. Hyatt has done it all in wrestling. This card shows her around her peak.#149 Doom
Ron Simmons is another half of a tagteam. Doom started out under masks and as a dominant team. It was a good gimmick that was poorly written. While in his Junior year at Florida State, Simmons finished 9th in the Heisman Trophy voting. Simmons was drafted by the Cleveland Browns of the NFL, but played for the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL before entering pro wrestling.
#69 Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor has had a long and successful career. Unfortunately, he will always be remembered for the horrible Red Rooster gimmick he was given in the WWF shortly before this WCW period.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW... these cards take me back. My younger brother somehow ended up with a whole box of these when we were little. Best. Pack/Post. Ever.

Missy Hyatt - what a babe.

Anonymous said...

Another comment... wasn't there a Legion of Doom, too? I can't remember which "Doom" l liked more.

Johngy said...

The Legion of Doom was the Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk). Doom started under masks and managed by Woman (the late Nancy Benoit), but were always Ron Simmons and Butch Reed.

Jason Presley said...

I remember how big a deal it was when Doom was unmasked, but since I really hadn't been watching wrestling for long at that point (and usually only WWF), I had no idea who Ron Simmons and Butch Reed were, so it was pretty uneventful. But had Tony Schiavone been there, I'm sure it would have been the greatest night in sports entertainment.

SpastikMooss said...

Cool, just found this today looking for Troll group break posts. I'm actually about to finish this set and then post on it lol.

Jason Presley said...

I finally picked up a box of these when KayBee Toys had them marked down to $1.99 a box for about a year. Pretty good photos, but for as many cards as were in the set, way too little in the way of variety as they only covered the biggest stars in the company (and the Young Stallions or whatever Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong called themselves nad Tom Zenk). No cards of Big Josh, Bobby Eaton, Dustin Rhodes, PN News, Johnny B Badd, One Man Gang, Robert Gibson (Ricky Morton, but no Robert Gibson?!), Bary Windham, Jim Cornette, Paul E. Dangerously, Van Hammer, Steve Austin, Larry Zbysko, Rick Rude, Big Van Vader, Cactus Jack, Ricky Steamboat! Those guys were all huge in 1991-1992 in WCW. No wonder no one bought these when they came out.

Anonymous said...

Ah men on drugs with little clothes on. That's wrestling.

Anonymous said...

if anyone is interested in one of these sets i have basically a whole set missing maybe 4-5 cards in great condition if interested tag me in message