Antonio Inoki Bottlecap Figure Keyholder review

For generations, one of the most common practices among toy companies is recycling figure molds. Instead of designing an entirely new figure from scratch, toy manufacturers will reuse preexisting figures and convert them into new products.

In the 90's and 2000's, Character Product shrunk down figure releases from their Super Star Figure Collection line and converted them into keychains. In 2003, Character Product would then go on to recycle figures in another format by creating the Pro-Kaku Heroes; a popular line of Mini Big Heads that lasted for five years and spanning 8 volumes in the process.

Recently, I discovered a figure that wasn't featured in the original Pro-Kaku line.


Blog #287 Antonio Inoki Bottlecap Figure Keyholder

Known in Japan as:
アントニオ猪木 ボトルキャップフィギュアキーホルダー


This figure was released in 2003.




The Inoki bottlecap figure looks nearly-identical to Character Product (back when they were known as Toukon Shop)'s Antonio Inoki figure (1970's version) that was released several years prior in 1999.



The surface of the red base reads February 20th, 2003 (Antonio Inoki's 60th birthday).



There is also a variant with a gold base. I would imagine this is the rarer version of an already rare figure.



Around the same time, Inoki international re-released the Inoki 70's figure to also commemorate the legend's birthday; bundling Inoki with a commemorative display base, NWF Heavyweight Championship belt, and collector-friendly packaging.

Inoki International licensed Antonio Inoki's image to Character Product going back to the 90's. Though, this partnership wasn't an exclusive one, as Inoki continued to have figures made in his likeness by other toy manufacturers and through brand endorsement deals themselves.

Judging by these two releases, it seems Antonio Inoki was able to legally release his own modifications of Character Product/Toukon Shop figures. Much the same as The Ultimate Warrior was able to strike up a deal with Jakks Pacific to produce exclusive figure variants of his likeness from Jakks' Classic Superstars and Ring Giants toy lines.

Character Product Tiger Jeet Singh DX figure review

Going back to pricier side of the figure spectrum, let's take a look at two more figure rarities from
Character Product's deluxe figure line. Blog #204 goes up against the Character Product Tiger
Jeet Singh Deluxe figures.

Tiger Jeet Singh was added to Character Product's deluxe legends line in the mid 2000's.

The cardboard backing contains an intense photo of Singh, a graphic of a tiger at the bottom,
a generous serving of fire and Singh's name in both English and Japanese Katakana.

As a deluxe figure, Tiger also includes his entrance turban accessory, folded chair,
acrylic display base, acrylic foot holders and an acrylic wrestler name plate that reads
"TIGER JEET SINGH".

The back of the packaging contains the same graphic as the front along with Tiger's stats and
a bio. The full bio on the back of the packaging reads:


"TIGER JEET SINGH

Height: 190cm (6'2)
Weight: 120kg (264lbs)
Date of birth: 1944 Aburizal, Punjab, India
Nickname: Mad Tiger of India
Signature move: Cobra Claw
Debut: May 1973 (In actuality, Tiger Jeet Singh made his in-ring debut in 1965.
Tiger's debut in Japan happened in 1973).

Profile:
After completing his military service, he learned to wrestle the Great Gama, an ancient
Indian style of wrestling, and made his debut as a professional wrestler in Singapore in
1965. He then moved to Canada and started selling under the ring name "The Hindu
Hurricane" with the now deceased Fred Atkins as his manager.

For a long time, he mainly fought in Canada and Southeast Asia, but in May 1973, he
stopped by Japan with Flurry. He showed up at the New Japan Pro Wrestling event
(Kawasaki City Gymnasium, May 4, 1973). He broke into the ring and KO'd Kotetsu
with his special cobra claw, which led to his rapid progress and forced him to participate
in the series. This was the start of his war with Antonio Inoki.

On the evening of November 5 of the same year, he attacked and injured Inoki
while he was shopping in front of Isetan in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On March 15, 1975,
he defeated Inoki at the Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium to become the 15th NWF
-certified heavyweight champion. He successfully defended the title twice, but on June
26, 1975, he was defeated by Inoki at Kurashiki in Tokyo and fell from the title. He then
won the championship match against Seiji Sakaguchi to win the Asian Heavyweight Championship (July 29, 1976, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium). He also teamed with his
evil ally Umanosuke Ueda to win the North American Tag Team Title from Sakaguchi
and Strong Kobayashi at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on February 2, 1977.

On January 17, 1980, he won the UWA World Heavyweight Title from Canek in Mexico
City. On April 13, 1980, he was defeated by A Inoki, who had travelled from Japan, at El
Torreo in Mexico City and lost the title. However, on October 24 of the same year, at the Okubusan Gymnasium in Okinawa he succeeded in regaining the belt. However, on
February 17, 1981, he lost to Kanek in Mexico City and fell from the title again.

In July 1981, he put an end to his eight-year feud with A Inoki and moved to All Japan
Pro Wrestling. On July 26, 1983, he and Ueda defeated Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta
at the Fukuoka Sports Center to win the 32nd International Tag Team Championship,
but the title was vacated by Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta on August 1, 1983 at the
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

In September 1990, he returned to his old team New Japan. On September 30, at the
"Antonio Inoki 30th Anniversary Memorial Festival" held at the Yokohama Arena, he
teamed up with Antonio Inoki for the first time to defeat Big Bang Vader and Animal Hamaguchi, showing a friendship that went beyond grudges. On December 8 of the same
year fought Hiroshi Hase at Ganryujima for the right to fight Antonio Inoki, but lost.
(Ganryujima is an island in Japan that was made famous for an island deathmatch between
Antonio Inoki and Masa Saito).

In June of 1992, he sought a new battlefield in FMW, and declared war on Atsushi Onita.
He fought to the death in Sekigahara (June 30, 1992 = no-rope barbed wire current bombing match) and Yokohama Stadium (September 19, 1992 = barbed wire landmine bombing match). However, he parted ways with FMW after his visit to Japan in March 1993.

In May of the same year, he joined NOW. After that, he fought bloody battles with Terry Funk, Shoji Nakamaki and others mainly in IWA Japan. In 1997, he briefly joined forces with Go Ryoma, but returned to the IWA in 1999, where he remains to this day.

In 2002, he made his CD debut with Gorgeous Matsuno as his manager. At the IWA Pre-10th Anniversary Tournament on September 29, 2003, he teamed up with Matsuda to face Williams and Miyake. This was his first matchup with Williams, and they formed a deep bond. He is a legend along with Butcher."

Tiger is sculpted with his signature sabre sword in teeth pose.

Like Bruiser Brody, Tiger was known for his insane entrances. Cutting through crowds
while swinging his sabre like a madman.

Both arms can move up and down.

Tiger's attire and look are inspired from the early 1970's - early 1980's when Tiger
competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Character Product would also release an alternate colour variant with a purple turban,
black trunks and red boots.

Singh's black trunks, red boots and purple turban were probably lifted from Singh's match
against Abdullah The Butcher in All Japan Pro-Wrestling on June 8th, 1990.

The purple version is considered the limited edition alternate colour variant and harder to
find example of the two. Usually rare variants are limited to 500 copies or less for Japanese
Pro-Wrestling figures.

The only thing that is really missing from either variant is Singh's entrance tunic. Though,
Singh is the only Character Product figure to come packaged with a chair accessory; a
throwback to Singh's heel tactics from outside the ring.

Both versions can remove the sabre sword from Tiger's teeth; showing Tiger's intimidating
snare.

The green version with chair accessory, turban and a NWF belt accessory (in which Tiger
was renown for holding in NJPW) that was borrowed from Toukon Shop's Antonio Inoki
Super Star Figure Collection 23 figure.


        

Character Product would also add Tiger Jeet Singh to the fifth volume of Mini Big Head
figures 2005; complete with entrance tunic!



Closing thoughts:

Tiger Jeet Singh's deluxe Charapro figures are some of the most expensive Pro-Wrestling
figures you can find in Japan. They also have a reputation for being bought up quickly in
certain Japanese shops when they do show up for sale.

Other than the KING OF TOY Tiger Jeet Singh soft vinyl figures, Tiger never had an action
figure of his own beforehand; making the Character Product deluxe variants all the more
collectible.

To date, there are about seven different Tiger Jeet Singh figures in total. Most of which are
Keshigomu and minifigures made by BoFord.

In Japan, the high prices for the deluxe Tiger figures can partially be explained by Tiger's
association to Antonio Inoki. Tiger's infamous (and staged brawl with Inoki in broad
daylight within a Shinjuku shopping district stirred up a lot of controversy in the press. So
much so that complaints AND charges were filed against New Japan Pro-Wrestling for
the brawl.

In the end, the publicity from Tiger and Inoki's antics spurred a massive boost in ticket
sales during the early years of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In the eyes of the Japanese
public, the homegrown hero Antonio Inoki had finally met an adversary dangerous enough
to make each match a life or death situation; and the fans continued to line up in droves to
see what would happen next.

Character Product Bruiser Brody DX figures review

As we've discussed in the past, when it comes to Japanese Wrestling figures, some of the
most sought-after pieces come from Character Product's early 2000's legends line. A time
when Gaijin Wrestler figures were still fairly uncommon on the Japanese Pro-Wrestling
scene - let alone an entire line dedicated to the greatest stars from the last 70 years.

Today, we'll be taking a look at two figures that tops the sought-after list for many collectors.
Blog #174 goes out swinging with Character Product's Bruiser Brody DX figures review.

Released in 2004 as part of Character Product's legends line, these are the world's first
action figures of the legend. The WWE Classic Superstars Bruiser Brody figure wouldn't
be released until 2005.

This particular Brody variant features Brody with his hair down. Brody's facial sculpt depicts
Brody shouting his signature "HUSS! HUSS! HUSS!" battle cry after just entering the ring.

Lastly, this variant features Brody swinging a chain with his right arm - a recreation of Brody's
wild ring entrances in All Japan Pro-Wrestling where fans literally ran for cover as Brody made
his way to the ring.

As a deluxe figure, the Bruiser Brody shout variant includes the following accessories:

1) Removable entrance vest.
1) Bonus right arm (without chain).
1) Acrylic display base with special cross chains decal.
1) Acrylic wrestler name plate that reads "BRUISER BRODY"

The back of the packaging contains a great photo of Bruiser holding the NWA International
Heavyweight Championship. The same belt held by Rikidozan and Lou Thesz that would
go on to become one of the three Triple Crown Championships.

Beyond Brody's stats and bio, the bottom of the packaging states that Bruiser's widow
Barbara Goodish licensed this figure.

Interestingly, Barbara has gone on record claiming she has never been paid for the Bruiser
Brody figures made by Character Product. Other legends like Dory Funk Jr., Mil Mascaras
and Scott Norton had no idea their Charapro legends figures were even created until fans
brought them in to get signed years after the fact.



The second variant is known as the "real chain" variant. This version of Bruiser Brody
contains a closed-mouth, tied back hair design, bonus arm accessory and....



a real, die-cast metal chain!



In terms of Brody's fearsome entrance, the real chain version depicts Brody pacing his
way to the ring.


Closing thoughts:

Bruiser Brody's passing is one of the great tragedies in all of Pro-Wrestling. Brody was a true
legend of the sport, a pioneer of the hardcore style and a physically intimidating competitor that
struck fear into the hearts of audiences wherever he went.

As such, Bruiser's Character Product figures continue to sell for top dollar wherever they
are listed. One big reason being that the Charapro Brody legend figures were the first action
figures made of the legend - 16 years after Brody's murder in Puerto Rico.

No figure since has captured the insanity and fervour of Brody's pre-match entrance as much
as Character Product's renditions here. Neither has a Brody figure been packaged with so many
accessories making their incredibly high prices a little more understandable.

Character Product Kazushi Sakuraba figure

Anyone who's followed Mixed Martial Arts in Japan is well aware of Kazushi Sakuraba.

Known as the "Gracie Hunter", Sakuraba is considered one of Japan's most lethal fighters
and an MMA all-time great in the ring for his "anti-technique" style.

Blog #173 is all about Character Product's Kazushi Sakuraba figure.

Released in the early 2000's as part of Character Product's earliest, non-New Japan
Pro-Wrestling licenses, the Kazushi Sakuraba figure comes with a recognizable
entrance mask accessory:

A mask that pays homage to Japanese legend Super Strong Machine.

As "MMA's Jester" Sakuraba was known for being highly-entertaining in the ring.
Often toying with his opponents (such as trying to pull Royce Gracie's pants down
during a match) in situations where a lesser fighter wouldn't have even contemplated
the notion.

Adding to the entertainment factor, Sakuraba would also adorn several entrance
masks as a tribute to other Wrestlers such as The Road Warriors, The Great Muta,
and Big Van Vader.

Sakuraba's trunks contain the text "Takada Dojo" (a reference to Sakuraba's trainer
and fellow shoot fighting legend Nobuhiko Takada).

Even Sakuraba's right knee brace has been faithfully recreated in figure form.

With mask accessory removed, Sakuraba's likeness and upbeat attitude is
unmistakably spot-on.

Typical to Japanese figures, there are two colour variants for this specific figure.
The second variant features Sakuraba with a half red and half gold hair colour.

A close up of Sakuraba's trunks reveals Sakuraba's initials, a copyright stamp for
Takada (I'm guessing Sakuraba's contract was owned by Nobuhiko Takada at the time)
and Sakuraba's last name in cursive writing.


Closing thoughts:

Character Product made great effort in catering to Japan's MMA-infused audience of
the early 2000's. RINGS, PANCRASE, K-1, Fujiwara Gumi, and even the UWFI all
had their biggest stars turned into figures as part of the Charapro line.

Charapro jumped at the chance at making figures for Sakuraba during the heyday of
Sakuraba's in-ring exploits. Keshigomu figures, action figures, Mini Big Heads,
G.I. Joe-scale figures and even a Bobblehead.

While certainly not the most-detailed Sakuraba figure available (that distinction easily
goes to the Sakuraba figures made by HAO), fans of the MMA Jester will still be
satisfied by the quality and faithfulness of Character Product's first action figure
adaptation.

Character Product Masakatsu Funaki figure review

As Toukon Shop re-branded themselves as Character Product in 1999, Character
Product set out to create figures for Wrestlers outside of the New Japan Pro-Wrestling
promotion.

One of the earliest licenses came in the form of "the golden boy" shoot fighting legend
Masakatsu Funaki.

Blog #172 gets Hybrid Conscious with Character Product's Masakatsu Funaki figure.

This particular variant features a younger Masakatsu Funaki from his early 1990's career
competing for the PANCRASE promotion.

The packaging contains the PANCRASE cross logo on the top right corner and middle
of the packaging.

As a throwback figure, Funaki is also sporting his longer hair from the era.

Funaki's stoic facial expression looks ready to start dropping palm strikes and
high kicks.

Funaki's stats and in-ring accomplishments are listed on the back of the packaging.

Though, no date is given, I suspect the figure (based on the blister card packaging
and Character Product's third logo being used) was released around 2001. The
bio section also mentions Funaki's accolades up until the year 2000.


Closing thoughts:

A great throwback to the early days of PANCRASE and a solid likeness of Funaki's
younger years. Collectors should keep an eye out for the rarer, alternate red colour
variant of this figure, too.

Technically, the rarest Funaki figures you can find are:

1) Masakatsu Funaki vs Minoru Suzuki two pack with Pancrase belt.

2) Masakatsu Funaki vs Rickson Gracie two pack with special Funaki colour variant.

3) Masakatsu Funaki Real Figure with Pancrase belt

Character Product Keiji Mutoh DX Figures review

At one point in time, the Triple Crown Championship belts were considered by many
to be the absolute pinnacle of Pro-Wrestling. An opinion that was substantiated by
the near-flawless craftsmanship and high-caliber work rate of the All Japan Pro-
Wrestling roster. The arduous task of unifying all three championships during the
peak of All Japan's relevance in the 1990's made for many historic fights for the
Triple Crown.

Legends like Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Stan Hansen,
Big Van Vader and Dr. Death Steve Williams all come to mind instantly when most
Puroresu fans think of the Triple Crown belts. The figureheads and stars of All Japan
that set a new standard of excellence for the Pro-Wrestling industry in the 1990's.

Epic stories of strength and determination, the act of overcoming insurmountable
obstacles and  the resonating aura of those who managed to rise above the competition.
The ring served as the canvas and the Triple Crown Belts were the greatest Tri-fecta of
Championship titles to hold in all of Pro-Wrestling.

Today we'll be taking a look at three very popular figures that contain the prestigious
Triple Crown belts. Blog #171 covers the Character Product Keiji Mutoh DX Figures.

The first deluxe figure variant we'll be looking depicts Keiji Mutoh in his entrance attire.

Keiji Mutoh is sculpted in his iconic "Pro-Wrest LOVE" pose. The overcoat Keiji Mutoh
contains  "Cross Wizard" era decals (a series of designs Mutoh would start wearing around
2001).

The first Triple Crown belt is the NWA United National Championship.

Fellow legends who held the NWA United Championship before being unified into the
Triple Crowns includes: Antonio Inoki, Genichiro Tenryu, Harley Race, Billy Robinson,
The Sheik, Abdullah The Butcher and Stan Hansen.

All three variants contain the same packaging front and back.

Keiji Mutoh's profile stats read:

"Height: 188cm (6'2)
Weight: 110kg
Signature moves: Shining Wizard
                             Moonsault Press
Titles: Triple Crown Belt
            NWA World's Strongest belt
            IWGP Belt
            World's Strongest Tag
            IWGP Tag"

The second figure variant depicts Keiji Mutoh-sans overcoat. The sculpted of this variant
shows Keiji Mutoh about to perform his Pro-Wrest LOVE pose (by kissing his hands).

Some Japanese stores refer to this variant as the "KISS Pose".

The same "KISS" pose Keiji Mutoh figure was also packaged with Mitsuharu Misawa in a
limited edition deluxe double pack (which you can read my review on here).

As you can see from the above picture, (even though Keiji Mutoh is performing a kiss), Mutoh
contains the same head sculpt as his entrance attire variant.

The second Triple Crown belt is the PWF World Heavyweight Championship.

In the 16 year time-span that the PWF Championship existed before unification, legends
like Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Abdullah The Butcher and Riki Choshu
all held the PWF Championship.

Keiji Mutoh's right kneepad reads "HOLD OUT", a nod to Mutoh's old New Japan Pro
-Wrestling theme song. Mutoh's left kneepad contains 61 and 0. 610 in a certain Japanese
numerical system spells out "MUTOH".

Mutoh's tights contain more decals of the Cross Wizard design.

The third and final deluxe variant features Keiji Mutoh performing the Pro-Wrest LOVE
pose without his overcoat.

The third Triple Crown belt is the NWA International Heavyweight Championship belt.
The most prestigious and oldest of the three belts going back to 1957.

The NWA International belt was brought to Japan by "The Undefeated Iron Man" Lou
Thesz. Rikidozan's defeat of Thesz during this era helped establish Japan's credibility
in the Wrestling world.

Other legends who held the NWA International belt include: Gene Kiniski, Bobo Brazil,
Dory Funk Jr., Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, Giant Baba and Kintaro Oki (who single-
handedly held the NWA International title for a combined total of 3,052 days!)

                       

All three versions contain the same face sculpt and identical upper/lower torso.

                   
                     
                              Mini Big Heads Vol. 4. Keiji Mutoh (Entrance ver.) and Great Muta
                              (Devil ver.) figures.

The same Keiji Mutoh head sculpt and pose were shrunken down into minifigure form
as part of the fourth volume of Character Product's Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head
Figures line in 2004.

I find the paint job on the Triple Crown belts to be shoddy at best. Especially since
Character Product had been producing Pro-Wrestling action figures for 7 years by
this point in the company's existence.

                  


As deluxe figures, each variant comes with an acrylic display base, name plate and figure
holders that attach to the base.


Closing thoughts:

Released in 2004, the deluxe Keiji Mutoh set would be the first action figures made in
Mutoh's likeness under the Character Product banner.

While it's nice having three different variants to collect, Character Product could have
realistically bundled all three belts and alterations into one package (or two packages at
tops) if they felt inclined enough to do so.

Take for example Character Product's Kokushi Muso DX figure - which contained about 10
different accessories including a bonus pair of removable arms and entrance attire (which
was also released one year earlier in 2003) or Toukon Shop's Kazuyuki Fujita DX figure
which came bundled with two IWGP Heavyweight Championships back in 2001.

Technically speaking, Toshiaki Kawada was the actual reigning Triple Crown champion at
the time of the DX Keiji Mutoh figure's release. Though (with all due respect to Kawada)
I can see why Character Product decided to place the Triple Crown belts with three Keiji
Mutoh figures instead. After all, Mutoh was All Japan's president at the time and already
a two time Triple Crown champion. Not to mention, a major star in New Japan Pro-
Wrestling for well over a decade.

                              

For collectors who don't feel like pursuing the Keiji Mutoh DX figure variants, Character
Product also released the Triple Crown belts separately as a special three pack the same year;
using the same belts bundled with the Mutoh figures. The only difference is the added keychain
rings on the tips of each belt.

Though, with the soaring costs of Japanese figures on the secondhand market, I don't recommend
purchasing the three belt set for the $200 average they currently go for.