On February 2nd, 2019, six Japanese Pro-Wrestling promotions (All Japan Pro-Wrestling,
New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, Pro-Wrestling NOAH, WRESTLE-1
and Tenryu Project) joined forces for one special event.
In Japanese, the event was called: "ジャイアント馬場 没20年追善興行 王者の魂"
(rough translation: "Giant Baba Memorial Performance 20 Years After His Death -
Soul of a Champion"). A high-profile show that was held at Japan's famous Ryōgoku
Kokugikan arena.
As the name implied, the event marked the 20th anniversary of All Japan Pro-Wrestling's
founder and Pro-Wrestler Giant Baba's passing on January 31st, 1999. Giant Baba's
20th anniversary memorial event also served a dual purpose: the retirement ceremony
of one of Giant Baba's biggest rivals: Abdullah The Butcher.
Abdullah's part of the poster reads: "アブドーラ・ザ・ブッチャー引退記念～さらば
呪術師～" ("Abdullah the Butcher Retirement Commemoration - Farewell, Magician" -
a nod to Abdullah's Japanese nickname "Kuroi Jujutsushi" or "Black Magician/Shaman").
For our next figure review, we'll be looking at two figures that were first introduced at the
Giant Baba 20th anniversary event.
Blog #193 goes for blood with the 16d Collection
Abdullah The Butcher soft vinyl figures.
Before the Giant Baba memorial event, Japanese Distributor Ingram (
https://www.ingram.co.
jp/properties/legend.php) released the above promotional photo featuring six Wrestling legends
who were under contract for future merchandising.
The legends are Tiger Mask, Genichiro Tenryu, Akira Maeda, Stan Hansen, Riki Choshu and
Abdullah The Butcher (pictured in a very uncommon shot of Abdullah wearing a full Karate
Gi).
At the time, I didn't know what would come of this licensing agreement.
Then, a few hours after Giant Baba's memorial event, this was one of the very first photos of
the Abdullah The Butcher figure (in prototype form) that made it's way to the web.
Was it a prototype? A really well-done fan custom?
Two promotional ads that were distributed at the Giant Baba memorial show. The second advert
promotes a replica Triple Crown Championship belt set for sale through the legendmaster.jp
website.An ad promoting three of 16d's legend figures at the time: Andre The Giant, Abdullah The Butcher
and Riki Choshu.
On March 19th, 2019, 16d posted the Abdullah The Butcher figure variants for pre-order with
a planned release date set in August of 2019.
Let's take a look at both variants:
First up is the red variant.
Adullah The Butcher would be the seventh figure added to the 16d Collection line (as numbered
"PVC 007" on the packaging). Next to Andre The Giant, Abdullah would be the second figure in
the 16d line to be based on a Pro-Wrestling legend (third if you want to count the retirement
commemorative Genichiro Tenryu figures sculpted by HAO).
The left side of Abdullah's packaging reads:
"PROFILE
.............................................
D.O.B.: January 11th, 1941.
Birthplace: Canada
Height/Weight: 186cm (6'1)/ 150kg (330lbs)
Debut: 1961
Signature moves: Hell Thrust (chop to throat), Poison Needle Elbow Drop, Weapon Attack"Besides Larry Shreve (the real name of Abdullah The Butcher) coming from Windsor, Ontario,
Canada, I don't know why 16d decided to stick with "Canada" instead of The Sudan in Butcher's
profile.
In the bottom left corner, the figure contains the text "
(C) Abdullah The Butcher" as these
figures were officially licensed by the man himself.
The back of the packaging features two great shots of the Abdullah figure. You can tell 16d
takes great pride in their work.
The right side of the packaging. Another good shot of the Butcher.
The only difference in packaging between both of the Abdullah figure variants is a small
sticker on top of both boxes. The red dot indicates the red attire variant while the black dot
represents the black attire version.
Personally, I find using the same packaging for both variants a bit lazy on 16d's behalf.
The bottom of the packaging contains standard safety precautions along with 16d's parent
company Jyurokuhoui (jyurokuhoui.jp which just redirects to
https://16d.jp/).
Abdullah The Butcher is listed under copyright along with the figure's material being
listed as soft vinyl.
The Abdullah The Butcher 16d figures are based on Abdullah's late 70's - early 1980's
appearance.
While under the 16d banner, the Abdullah figures themselves were sculpted by renown
Japanese figure maker HAO.
Photo credit: Pro-Wrestling IllustratedThe 16d figure variants also contain Abdullah's goatee from the era.
Abdullah The Butcher would be the first figure in the 16d line to include a removable
accessory. In this case, Abdullah's Arabian hood entrance attire.
I like how the hoods are sculpted as if they are flowing in the wind. In Japan, Abdullah's
theme "One Of These Days by Pink Floyd" is also called "Call Me Arashi" arashi
meaning storm in Japanese. A theme that starts off with plenty of wind.
The last time an Abdullah The Butcher figure came bundled with Abdullah's Arabian hood
accessory was fifteen years prior in the form of 2004's Character Product DX figure variants.
Like the Character Product DX figures, Abdullah comes in two colour variants. Red pants
with black highlights and black pants with red highlights.
If you look closely, you'll notice the red version contains a touch of blue for Abdullah's pants
pockets. I also like the added detail provided to the red variant's boots. It's little things like
these which help 16d stand apart from other figure makers.
The 16d Abdullah The Butcher figures are sculpted in Abdullah's signature "Hell Thrust"
(chop to the throat) attack.
A similar sculpt appeared in Abdullah's Character Product DX figure (black pants ver.).
For years, I often remarked that Character Product contained the most realistic Abby head sculpt.
I think that mantle has since been passed to 16d with their phenomenal work here.
Of course, Abdullah's famous head scars are also present and more accurate than the Character
Product versions.
The 16d Abdullah The Butcher figures stand 13.5 cm (5.3 inches) tall.
Articulation-wise, the Abdullah figures are articulated at the arms, waist and neck.
One of the glaring oversights to the Abdullah figure, in my opinion, is the lack of a fork
accessory. Especially considering Abdullah's left hand is perfect for holding one.
Abdullah's Hell Thrust in action!
Closing thoughts:
One figure that I always wanted in the original HAO Collection line was Abdullah
The Butcher. The writing seemed on the wall with HAO's 2008 "
Regards For
Superstars" series that added Stan Hansen, Giant Baba and two versions of Akira
Maeda to HAO's figure lineup.
The Abdullah The Butcher 16d figures are officially licensed by the Butcher himself.While not as big scale-wise as HAO's original Wrestling figures from 2003-2008
(and with Abdullah not having any figures released in Japan beyond 2005), I never
thought we'd actually see another Japanese figure of The Madman From Sudan.
But, if the squared circle has taught us anything it's to never underestimate
the power of Pro-Wrestling.In Japan, Abdullah's retirement ceremony culminated with the Butcher being greeted
by some of his biggest rivals such as Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, Stan Hansen, Dory
and Funk Jr., along with special guests Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) and Keiji Mutoh.
The memorial event was also highlighted by a supershow held between the six aforem
-entioned promotions. The standout performance for me personally was seeing All Japan
veteran "The Outlaw" Joel Deaton (also known as "Thunderfoot #1") get back into a
Japanese ring after 13 years and drop a vicious lariat.
If you love old school Wrestling stories and are a fan of AJPW's glory years, I highly
recommend adding Joel on facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/joel.jones.1612).
Overall, the Abdullah The Butcher figures are well made, come with plenty of detail
and contain the most realistic depiction of the Butcher to date. My only real complaint
is lack of a fork accessory that should have been included with either variant.
More reviews coming your way!
