At times, I'm more a fan of the merchandise than the wrestler. I have nothing personal against Nia Jax. I'm sure she's a nice person. I think it's the way that she's presented that hasn't won me over. Nia should be a monster. She shouldn't speak much, if at all. I'm not even going to go into the theme song, despite playing off of it for the title of this post. I will also say that the outfit needs changed, but I'll be praising it, in a way, in just a few paragraphs. Indeed, Nia Jax is an interesting figure in the ring, but now she's also a fascinating action figure.
When the prototype pictures of the debut Nia Jax figure first hit, I was blown away. It looked to be one of the best efforts Mattel has put forth in the WWE line, if not the very best. It captured Nia, but it also did something that I've wanted from her since in-ring debut. The same thing that I mentioned just above. It made Nia into a monster, at least as far as display in a WWE figure collection is concerned. I knew the figure would be popular, and indeed nearly every collector that I know is impressed. But if she doesn't impress me on television, why does she in plastic?
Nia debuts in the Basic Mattel WWE line. As we've discussed here before, the female figures from Mattel are all in the Elite body style no matter which line they're included in. The difference is usually accessories, although even the line on that has been blurred on occasion (see the first Alicia Fox figure). Nia looks great carded and fills the plastic bubble like a champ. The card art features Nia's more recent straight haired look, though the figure has her debut curly hair. I prefer the latter, as it makes her more monstrous and hearkens back to another devastating women's wrestler, Rhonda Singh in her guise as Monster Ripper.
Really, everything about this figure is perfect. Look right into the face and you think of the now-expected shot of Nia's eyes as her entrance begins. Nearly all new parts had to be made for Nia, and I can't think of any other character that Mattel will be able to utilize them for. The costume is laser-line perfect. Actually, I'd say it's even better than the real thing, which we'll get to as promised. My only gripe would be that the detail on the shoulders does limit mobility of the arms, but who's complaining? The figure, and character, should look menacing. In this case she certainly does.
Why do I like the outfit here and not in real life? In plastic, it makes her look like a female Big Van Vader. In real life, to be quite honest, the outfit makes her look dumpy. I'm not sure exactly what material the real costume is made out of, but such a small tweak could make a huge difference in her presentation. In a rare moment, a toy looks better than the real-life counterpart. As her career moves forward, hopefully WWE realizes the same.
What a figure! Due to all the unique tooling and her ubiquitous presence on television, I'm sure that Nia will be no stranger to the action figure world. Although I wouldn't count on it immediately, I do see a future figure with the updated, straight hairstyle somewhere down the line. She's a female monster getting a figure when ladies like Rhonda Singh and Awesome Kong never did due to varying circumstances. Though she would have been my third choice among those names, I'm happy that Nia finally made the "revolutionary" breakthrough.
When the prototype pictures of the debut Nia Jax figure first hit, I was blown away. It looked to be one of the best efforts Mattel has put forth in the WWE line, if not the very best. It captured Nia, but it also did something that I've wanted from her since in-ring debut. The same thing that I mentioned just above. It made Nia into a monster, at least as far as display in a WWE figure collection is concerned. I knew the figure would be popular, and indeed nearly every collector that I know is impressed. But if she doesn't impress me on television, why does she in plastic?
Really, everything about this figure is perfect. Look right into the face and you think of the now-expected shot of Nia's eyes as her entrance begins. Nearly all new parts had to be made for Nia, and I can't think of any other character that Mattel will be able to utilize them for. The costume is laser-line perfect. Actually, I'd say it's even better than the real thing, which we'll get to as promised. My only gripe would be that the detail on the shoulders does limit mobility of the arms, but who's complaining? The figure, and character, should look menacing. In this case she certainly does.
What a figure! Due to all the unique tooling and her ubiquitous presence on television, I'm sure that Nia will be no stranger to the action figure world. Although I wouldn't count on it immediately, I do see a future figure with the updated, straight hairstyle somewhere down the line. She's a female monster getting a figure when ladies like Rhonda Singh and Awesome Kong never did due to varying circumstances. Though she would have been my third choice among those names, I'm happy that Nia finally made the "revolutionary" breakthrough.
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