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Often considered one of the holy grails of the Pro-Wrestling community, Blog #159 reviews
the Popy Super Pro Wrestling Series Abdullah The Butcher figure.
Super Pro-Wrestling Series
Hot off the success of their Kamen Rider, Chogokin and Thunderbirds figures, Japanese toy manufacturer Popy (run by Bandai) decided to expand their portfolio by creating an officially
-licensed line of action figures based on Professional Wrestling.
Released in 1981, Popy would name the line "スーパープロレスラ シレス" (Super Pro-
Wrestling Series), a ten figure set that highlighted some of the biggest stars in the Pro-
Wrestling world at the time.
You can't mention successful gaijin talent without bringing Abdullah The Butcher.
The world's first Abdullah The Butcher figure! Complete with era-accurate
goatee and white Taekwondo pants.
In terms of head sculpt, Abdullah's likeness is spot-on.
Abdullah's signature head scars are faithfully recreated in Abdullah's first figure outing.
Abdullah is sporting his late 1970's All Japan Pro-Wrestling ring attire.
The back of Abdullah's Taekwondo pants contains the Popy logo as well as
Abdullah's name written in Japanese Katakana.
Personally, I wish more effort was put into Abdullah's ring pants. They look more like
ring tights/spandex than baggy Taekwondo gear.
Abdullah's recognizable Arabian boots are also represented. If you look closely, you'll
see a drawing of a Cobra near the top of the boots!
Scale-wise, the Popy Wrestling figures stand around 5 inches tall when compared to Toukon
Shop's Keiji Mutoh figure.
Closing thoughts:
Popy's Super Pro-Wrestling Series is often considered one of the most desired and sought
after figure sets in all of Pro-Wrestling ...and it's easy to see why.
While Wrestling toys existed in Japan going back to the early 1970's, no action figure line
beforehand captured the star power and intrigue with collectors across the globe as much
as the Super Pro-Wrestling Series did.
Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, Stan Hansen, Bob Backlund, Abdullah The Butcher,
Mil Mascaras, Antonio Inoki, Hulk Hogan and even Andre The Giant - all made up 1981's
Super Pro Wrestling Series figure line. A star-studded roster if there ever was one for the
era.
It's no surprise that figures from Super Pro Wrestling Series can go for hundreds, if not
thousands of dollars if preserved in their unopened packaging.
Abdullah's Popy figure, understandably so, is one of the most expensive figures you can
buy of the hardcore legend. Only rivalled in price by one of the unopened Abdullah The
Butcher DX figure variants from Character Product's legends line
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