Teaching an old BCA line new tricks

In the same vein as the Backlash series post from November, today I will formally recognize the newer BCA style of figures and their significance to the BCA line.

Beginning with the Bone Crunching Superstars series (which was initially called "Bash and Thrash") that came out in August 2001, Jakks Pacific decided to give the Bone Crunching figures another chance.


Except, in retrospect, they really didn't as these were all new figures. The original BCA molds were done away with after Backlash Series 5 was shipped to KB Toys stores in October 2001, which means once again they were phased out in favor of a new style of figures.

I guess you could say BCA replaces BCA, but what's the difference?

Well, I hope to illustrate this better with a comparison post coming soon, but for now we'll just go with a. added Bone Crunching sound/articulation at the neck and b. a taller, skinnier frame than the later, bulkier BCA series figures.

Oh, and Real Scan technology was used for the new heads, something that the original BCA figures severely lacked (since it hadn't yet been developed) in the late '90s.


One upside was the introduction of new faces to the BCA line, including Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle in the first series alone. Other names to be made later include Chris Benoit, Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan, Booker T, A-Train, Brock Lesnar, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Eddie Guerrero.

Three prototypes that were shown but never released include Rikishi and APA members Bradshaw and Faarooq, the latter two WF member STOMWIJF actually owns (and for which I am eternally jealous!). I believe there was also a Matt Hardy figure in the works, but I only have this photo from above his waist to prove it.

Here is a mostly-complete checklist of the newer BCA style figures which I have considered adding to the official BCA checklist at the top of the page.

New BCA Style Figures:
Bone Crunching Superstars Series 1 (Released August 2001)
Chris Jericho
Kurt Angle
The Rock
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Triple H
Undertaker

Road to WrestleMania Series (Released April 2002)
Chris Benoit
Bubba Ray Dudley
D-Von Dudley
Chris Jericho
Jeff Hardy
Undertaker

Snappin' Bashers Series (Released May 2002)
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Chris Benoit
Chris Jericho
Jeff Hardy
The Rock
Undertaker

Grudge Brawlers Series (Released ?, Rite Aid Exclusive)
Christian
Chris Jericho
Kurt Angle
Jeff Hardy
Triple H
Undertaker

New BCA Style Backlash Series:
Backlash Series 1 (Released November 2002)
Kurt Angle
Edge
Jeff Hardy
The Rock
Triple H
Chris Benoit

Backlash Series 2 (Released June 2003)
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Hulk Hogan
Booker T
A-Train
Triple H
Brock Lesnar

Backlash Series 3 (Released November 2003)
Triple H
Chris Jericho
Billy Gunn
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Undertaker
Big Show

New BCA Style Rings:
Stunt Action Rings
1. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero figures included
2. Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley figures included
3. Triple H and Chris Benoit (?) figures included

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I'll try to add hyperlinks with photos of all of the figures listed above over the next several days, so keep checking back to see what the new style had to offer.

While you're at it, take a look at these newer BCA style prototypes from Toy Fair 2001, Toy Fair 2002 and various other sites (click on the links to see the images).

Toy Fair 2001 New BCA Style Display:

Bash and Trash Bone-Crunching Wrestlers packaging prototype

Billy Gunn prototype
Christian and Edge prototypes
Jeff Hardy prototype
Kurt Angle (original BCA style) prototype
Stone Cold Steve Austin (original BCA style) prototype
Rikishi prototype
Dudley Boyz prototypes
Triple H prototype

Toy Fair 2002 New BCA Style Display:

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6

Jakks Pacific's Old Web Site:

Christian prototype
Rikishi prototype

Bash and Thrash (a.k.a. Bone Crunching Superstars) Series:

Alternate Kurt Angle and D-Von Dudley prototypes

Kurt Angle prototype
Stone Cold Steve Austin prototype
Triple H prototype
Chris Jericho prototype
The Rock prototype
Undertaker prototype

Unreleased Bone Crunching Tag Teams Series:

D-Von Dudley prototype
Edge prototype
Jeff Hardy prototype
Matt Hardy prototype

Credit to everyone whose images are featured in this post.

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Backlash Series 4 was released in August 2004, three years after the first Bone Crunching Superstars Series was spotted, and it marked the end for the new style as Jakks completely switched over to TTL figure parts from that point forward.

BCA figures in one form or another had lasted for a period of eight years and, contrary to what some might say about the Havoc Unleashed series figures, they have not reappeared since 2004.

Those abominations (meaning the Havoc series) don't deserve the title "Bone Crunching Action."

Until next time, thanks for looking and have a nice day!

- Alex