Rollertron WAR plush figures review

We're back again with even more plush coverage.  Blog #224 covers Rollertron's WAR plush
figures.

After releasing plush figures for All Japan Pro-Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling,
Rollertron set their sights on creating plushies of the recently-created WAR promotion.
Included below are seven plush figures from the WAR Rollertron series.

The first plush figure is WAR founder and AJPW veteran Genichiro Tenryu.

Tenryu is crafted performing one of his signature moves ...a Lariat!

The back of Tenryu's tag includes the date "'93" (under the "event" section of the card);
making me think these figures were released the same year.

Like the All Japan plush figures, the included tag contains a profile for each Wrestler.
Each Wrestler's tag contains different categories. But, the general breakdown is:

Nickname:

Real name:

Height/Weight:

Titles:

Signature moves:

Blood Type:

Event: (I'm guessing this is a major event for each Wrestler)

The second figure is another All Japan Pro-Wrestling veteran: The Great Kabuki.

Kabuki is crafted in a pose ready to spray Kabuki's signature Poison Mist!

Kabuki's glittery pants and body shape looks like it was mostly-recycled from Rollertron's
Abdullah The Butcher (from the AJPW line) plushie.

Wear and tear are common with Rollertron figures. Ultimo Dragon's Rollertron plush
figure is sadly a prime example.

A real shame, really, as the Ultimo Plush contains the most detail out of the All Star lineup.

Now, we are entering Shoot Fighting territory with Nobuhiko Takada.

Nobuhiko Takada is the first example of a Wrestler from the All Star line who was
featured from a different promotion other than WAR. In this case, Takada's tag displays
the UWFI Promotion logo (a promotion in which Takada was the star of until UWFI's
closure in 1996).

The included belt is the Pro-Wrestling Heavyweight Championship; the same belt
Lou Thesz wore in the 1950's.

The sides of Takada's leg guards contain the text "UWF", a reference to the
promotion of the same name that Takada was a part of before the formation
of UWFI.

Next up is fellow UWF veteran and popular shoot fighter  Kazuo Yamazaki.

Again, there is a bit of wear on Yamazaki's right boot.

Like Jo Higuchi from the All Japan Pro-Wrestling Rollertron line, this plush figure is
just one of few merchandise examples made in Yamazaki's likeness.

This bizarre-looking fellow is the third UWF native featured in Rollertron's All Star
plush line: "Submission Master" Yoshiaki Fujiwara.

The red towel makes me think of Antonio Inoki and the placement of Fujiwara's
moustache is a bit unsettling. Though, Rollertron's designs were always intentionally
over the top  and cartoon-ish in nature.

The included tag depicts the logo of Fujiwara's promotion "Pro-Wrestling Fujiwara
Gumi", a promotion which ran from 1991 to 1996 (about the same span as Nobuhiko
Takada's UWFI promotion).

I believe this may be Yoshiaki Fujiwara's first actual figure, too.

Lastly, we have NJPW hall of famer Animal Hamaguchi.

Hamaguchi was always known for his intense, charismatic facial expressions. Whether
as a Pro-Wrestler himself or by cheering on his daughter freestyle Wrestler Kyoko
Hamaguchi from the sidelines.

        


With the All Star lineup, Rollertron's quality was certainly improving. Hair portions became
evenly stitched and each plush included a tag depicting great shots and a mini bio of the
corresponding Wrestlers.

Additionally, seeing lesser-merchandised Wrestlers such as Kazuo Yamazaki and Animal
Hamaguchi  helps make Rollertron's All Star series stand out even better; begging the question
"what other Wrestlers could Rollertron have added to this line?".

Akira Maeda seems like a safe bet. Masakatsu Funaki, Bas Rutten, Ken Shamrock or Minoru
Suzuki from PANCRASE? How about Koji Kitao (a WAR staple for years) or the biggest
stars from the FMW, WING or IWA promotions?

Next up, we have one more Rollertron set to look at. The final wave of New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Rollertron plushes from the early 1990's. Stay tuned!