Where Do The Fiend, Liz, Vis, Rude, AJ, & Ronda Meet? The Elite!

It's rare that I pick up a whole series of figures. With an average of six figures per set, who can afford it? Sadly, the series are also usually filled with re-releases that are, except to completists, unnecessary. Mattel's WWE Elite 77 is one that even I jumped for. It had the perfect mix: three legends (which as you know by now are essential to me), one extremely hot brand new character, and two re-releases which aren't really bad at all. Saving frustration and gas money, the decision to pre-order was made.

In a cool twist, the Elite 77 packaging reflects SummerSlam not only with the logo of the event but also bright, shelf-jumping colors. Each character is also represented with a look that they appeared in at various SummerSlam events over the past three decades. Headlining the set we've got "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, Viscera, Ravishing Rick Rude, Miss Elizabeth, AJ Styles, and Ronda Rousey. It should be noted that there is a "chase" Rick Rude in different tights and Mattel's first release of Classy Freddie Blassie ships in the same case as a "collector's edition." The latter is not connected to the set in any way other than being randomly dispersed in the case.

Each figure includes a variety of accessories, most notably extra hands. When discussing the inside production of these figures, it's often noted how company budgets decide which characters will end up in each series. I don't know that there has been a wave of figures that displays this better. You've got a positively humongous figure like Viscera in the same set as petite Miss Elizabeth. You have the thicker Wyatt with all new "tooling" next to Styles who has been released time and time again. It's something that is often overlooked when discussing case assortments but sticks out like a sore thumb in this particular go around.

Looking at the re-releases first, I'll explain my bias. Yes, Elizabeth and Rude are re-releases, but they're legends or "Flashbacks" as Mattel prefers to call them. They don't have countless releases like Styles and Ronda, therefore I don't lump them all together. Styles happens to be one of my favorite modern wrestlers, so I never completely shy away from new figures of him. The gloved hands, shirt, and vest are all solid accessories. The journey of AJ's hair has been interesting to follow both in his WWE career as well as in his Mattel figures. Here we have what I can only describe as the "Marlo Thomas flip." If that's a meaningless reference to you, get off my lawn. Ronda is easily my least favorite figure in the set, but it isn't bad by any means. She has some face paint on here which makes her unique in my collection if not the whole line. I thought I was complete with her when the "Ultimate" figure was released, but one more won't hurt.

Two legends I will always buy are Rick Rude and Miss Elizabeth. They are directly from my era and these are two looks we've never seen in figure form, coming from the first two SummerSlam events. This is the first switchable hand Rude which means the open-palm meat hooks are here for hip-swivelin' and sweat flingin'. Using one of each of his hands, I had a flashback to one of the cards from the Classic brand WWF trading card set where he had the same perm and posed the figure as such. Liz is from the infamous main event of SummerSlam '88 where it was all but promised that she would strip down to a bikini. I used the word "infamous" since all she ended up doing was removing her skirt. As disappointing as it was for so many of her starry-eyed fans, in a way it continued to play up the innocence that the character was all about. Yes, the skirt is removable with the red bottoms underneath. She has a yellow painted "corset" on under the top if you really needed to know.

Many fans are seeing The Fiend as the star of the series, but my vote goes with Big Vis. Always a huge fan of Nelson Frazier, I will say that this is the definitive figure of Viscera if there ever was one. The figure easily wins the "LJN King Kong Bundy Award" for providing more-than-your-money's-worth. Not only is the figure massive with a picture-perfect likeness, but also included is the Hardcore Championship and three unique sets of hands including a pair posed in the "V" symbol. The Fiend is a winner, too, complete with the horrifying head lantern. I'll give Mattel one thing, they certainly don't shy away from content like many worried about when they took over the line. The body is also heavily tattooed and the scan of the mask looks great to me.

Wrestling figure sales are at an all-time high. Figures old and new alike are going for big bucks. My best advice is if something you want is up for pre-order at even a tad more than retail, jump on it. While The Fiend is the hottest figure in this set at press time, there's already word that he'll be an upcoming entry in the Ultimate series. With the popularity of the character I'm sure we'll also see Basic versions and additional Elites. After all, the level of his character is what the "Top Pick" Elite sets are meant to be for, so that the top characters are always available for new collectors. Personally I feel Viscera is the one to watch out for in the future. It's an absolutely amazing figure from a popular time in company history. Remember, we've still only seen one Mabel. While Big Daddy V may appear down the pike, get your figures of the big man now.

Another Elite set in the books and on the blog. I have a feeling that more will be here before summer's end. As much as I complain about Mattel, they're doing something right, and grabbing plenty of money from both you and me while they're at it.

Retro Continues To Be Nowtro: Part II

Picking up where we left off last week, we look at four more new Mattel WWE Retro action figures. As promised, we're also going to dive into some issues that I have with this line as well as some of the others under the Mattel WWE umbrella. That isn't to say that the company has stopped cranking out some amazing product. Quite the contrary with a seeming continuation of these Retro figures as well as the regular sized products. How we're expected to be getting these figures into our collections is the problem.

Again in this series we have three new characters and a repaint. Included are Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sting. As with last week, the latter is a re-release although this one is striking. We have Sting in his red and black nWo Wolfpac attire. Aside from the obvious economics, I question why classic WCW "surfer" Sting wasn't done in this style. Needless to say, a long-haired "Crow" era Sting Retro figure was already produced, so this is the far easier repaint for Mattel to release. The red and black look admittedly grew on me with the "Elite" figure released in this attire by Mattel several years ago. The style is still striking here with the deep red.

Also repeated are the same issues here with the packaging as last week. The stands aren't too bad with Nakamura's actually looking fairly cool, but I still don't see the use for them. The figures don't benefit much from them and they eliminate an important part of the retro packaging. I'd rather see an accessory included with one or two figure per wave. The photo choices for the packaging are very Hasbro-esque, as well. Mattel does do their homework when it comes to detail like this, but sadly other issues creep up and subsequently the figure line suffers.

Wyatt, Bryan, and Nakamura are all hindered greatly in the facial likenesses. These do not look like Hasbro product at all. Those facial likenesses were cartoony, somewhat exaggerated, yet ultimately left you recognizing who the figure represented. These three look like bad customs with regular Mattel figure heads plopped onto Hasbro style bodies. If you want to see the correct style, take a look at Brock Lesnar from back in the first wave. You could tell it was "The Beast," yet it retained enough of the Hasbro look to fit right in.

The "Real Wrestling Action" continues with another "jolt" move for Wyatt, another "Jannetty" move for Bryan, another new kick for Nakamura, and the "jumping" mechanism for the repainted Sting. I would have liked Bryan to have been given a different mechanism, though I honestly don't know which I would have chosen. Nakamura's arms seem too big for him and would probably match up with those of The Warlord from the Hasbro run. This obviously should not be the case considering the varying physiques of those two men.

The true problem here is distribution. These figures have been out for months, yet these two series reviewed here in the past two weeks as well as a third haven't seen store shelves much at all. If a company doesn't make its product available, how do they expect the lines to continue? Further souring me in the Mattel WWE universe are upcoming Elite releases that will be "chase" figures. This would be fine if it were a special umpteenth release of John Cena or Roman Reigns, but instead these are brand new characters. I'm sure that I will touch upon this again in the future, but it doesn't please me in the slightest. Collecting should be a joy, not more work. Everyone should have equal access to any figure produced without turning a hobby into a chore. Keep in mind, this is a collector of over three decades saying this.

The Retro line is coming along nicely, though the concerns are clear and not limited to my voice on this blog. I wouldn't want to see bad distribution of future Retro figures like Kurt Angle and The Iron Sheik, neither of whom seem to suffer from the "custom head syndrome" mentioned above. It's a proven fact, poor distribution and choices have killed action figure lines dead in their tracks. Let's not see the last shining beacon in modern day wrestling memorabilia go down. Examples like Ric Flair from last week have what it takes to be the best figure release of the year. It would be a shame to see a blast from the past that appeals to all ages end with an unheard whimper.

Topps WWE Heritage 2016 Turns Back The Clock To 1986

Could my favorite style of wrestling trading cards finally be getting a steady yearly release? It's been roughly ten months since the last time we visited the Topps WWE Heritage series which saw release in November 2015. That set was nice, but it didn't knock my socks off. Any Heritage set is great in my book with the classic cardboard/no gloss style, but the 2015 edition didn't manage to crack my top three. Here in 2016 we've received another Heritage set, but will it be a collection worthy of the best (2012) or will it sort of fizzle like many of the non-Heritage WWE card releases do?

As usual with Heritage, I cracked open a hobby box. As with most Topps WWE releases, a hobby box guarantees two "hits" (autographs, relics, etc.) and, in recent years, has almost always yielded a complete base card set. The design of the box remains very similar to 2015, changing in color from blue to yellow. The bright colors work well for these retro sets. Once again a mixture of current and past WWE Superstars adorn the box, with no real surprises as far as names included. The packs themselves feature The Rock, John Cena, and Andre the Giant.

The base card design this year is based off the 1986 Topps Baseball collection. I owned that full set as a kid, probably still do, and I remember it being a favorite. In place of the MLB team names we get Superstar, Legend, or NXT. Some of the autograph cards have "Diva," as well, in what will likely be the last time that we see that designation. The photo selections are good, although I noticed at least one change from the sales sheets. A "Macho King" Randy Savage card was planned and for whatever reason we got a rather ordinary "Macho Man" card instead. A change to "Macho King" would've been something different, but I'm sure something got in the way to cause the switch.

As usual we get several subsets including "Record Breaker," "WCW/nWo All Star," and "Turn Back The Clock." The latter features inset reprints of older cards. In addition to cards from Topps 1985 and 1987 WWF sets, foreign releases are included as well. It should be noted that the original WWF block logos are switched to the WWE block logo on the reprints. These "Turn Back The Clock" cards are based on a baseball subset that I also had, and enjoyed, in my youth. The "WCW/nWo All Star" cards feature some great, rarely used photos from the WCW archive. There is also a subset featuring The Rock that are not actual Heritage cards. If you remember my review of Heritage 2015, you already know my feelings on these and thus they are not shown here.

My autograph "hit" from this set was a Brie Bella on-card autograph. I'm very glad that the on-card autographs have returned for Heritage. Ever since Topps started integrating the on-card autos into their sets, I've quite frankly been spoiled. I was very disappointed when, upon opening a box of Topps WWE 2016, the autograph card was once again a stick-on. While the autograph pulls in Heritage 2016 are sharp, I can't say the same thing for the relics. I pulled a Bray Wyatt Survivor Series mat relic that is, to be perfectly honest, boring. While relics are definitely overdone at this point, things can be done to make them more appealing. That is not the case here.

As usual, my focus is the 110-card base set. For most card reviews, the base set is what I base my final opinion on. Opening the hobby box, I once again received all 110 base cards. It's a solid lineup featuring plenty of current favorites and a healthy dose of past greats. For collectors like myself who enjoy getting the base cards signed, it's becoming more and more a reminder each year of just how many legends we've lost. As new sets get released, there are less legends around to sign. This set does feature more recent alumni/legends such as Rikishi, Road Dogg, and Tatanka, but the point is still driven home. Regulars like Harley Race and Nikolai Volkoff among others were left out. I understand why, but it's a tad disappointing when easily obtainable signers such as those greats aren't included.

My verdict? I love the designs. The lineup and some of the photos left me a bit underwhelmed, but this set definitely scores higher with me than 2015. The cards all have that vintage feel, where as some of the subsets last year were an odd mix of retro and current material. It's nice to see that we've now gotten two Heritage sets in consecutive years. In my opinion there is no reason that it should be less than annual. As I suggested last year, a 30th anniversary of the Topps 1987 WWF/WrestleMania III set would be a great idea for 2017. The American-themed border was a simple yet amazing design that we see a glimpse of this year in the "Turn Back The Clock" subset. They could even do a WrestleMania subset with an image from all 32 events. Come on Topps, I give my geniusin' away for free here!

The 2014 J\/\/ Awards

How unimaginable is it that another year has passed?  Even more unreal is that this year is the fifth annual installment of The J\/\/ Awards, celebrating the best in wrestling memorabilia over the past twelve months. Each year the design of "The Joshie" changes, but it is always "based" upon a classic wrestling figure or collectible.  This year, the award could go flying through the air with a 747 splash or even magically transform into a dancing, yellow and blue clad, African Dream!  The design isn't the only change in 2014, with one award being retired and another one born.  The wrestling world as a whole has seen a lot of change this year, from the way that some of the product is presented to losing some of its most memorable names.  Without further ado, let the awards begin!

2014 Best Figure

Mattel's WWE Wyatt Family win "The Joshie" for 2014 Best Figure(s).  For the second year in a row, a trio of figures take this one home.  In contrast to last years winners, each figure here is very different in appearance.  Though the Elite versions of the boys were chosen due to their accessories, each release of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan have been great efforts by Mattel.  That being said, the accessories are almost as great as the figures themselves.  With all three members of the family embarking on their own paths, it will be interesting to see where they go, both in WWE and on store shelves, in 2015.

2014 Best Buy (Non-Figure)

WWE Network wins "The Joshie" for 2014 Best Buy.  For whatever reason that you may have subscribed, you automatically got the best deal of 2014.  If you haven't yet subscribed, we may have to bring back the "Turnbuckle Turkey" award for you.  Sure there are deserved criticisms, but that comes with the territory. You can pick just about any one thing from the Network and justify $9.99 per month.  The current pay-per-view live?  Yep, that's worth $9.99.  Four or five NXT episodes a month?  Yep, that's worth $9.99.  On-Demand access to the WWE, WCW, and ECW pay-per-view libraries?  Yep, that's worth...ok...enough of the commercial.  But it's true.  It's a Helluva deal and should only get bigger and better as time goes on.

2014 Best Product Line

Mattel wins "The Joshie" for 2014 Best Product Line.  Longtime readers know that when Mattel first started churning out WWE product, I was less than impressed.  Poor lineups, poor distribution, poor creativity, and that God-awful red packaging design. Things have changed for the better and for the third time, Mattel takes home the gold.  Although there's always room for improvement (could we get that Magnum TA?), 2015 already looks like a very good year.  Come on, we're getting Bayley!  What could be better than that?  A Bayley hug, perhaps, but the figure will be almost as cool.

2014 Future Holy Grail

NECA's The Simpsons Bret Hart Figure wins "The Joshie" for 2014 Future Holy Grail.  I've already said a lot about this figure, but I really can't say enough.  It combines The Simpsons and wrestling into one great collectible.  It captures a moment when a wrestler, who despite having a huge fanbase never truly crossed over into the mainstream, became a part of animated pop culture.  Thanks to that crossover appeal, the figure flew off of shelves as soon as it hit.  A New York Comic Con version has proven to be equally as popular.  Bret Hart.  The Simpsons.  Action figures.  It's a great recipe that should stand the test of time.

Normally our awards end with the "Future Holy Grail."  You may have noticed the absence of the "Best Publication" award which usually went to books or magazines.  As of 2015, Pro Wrestling Illustrated will be the only remaining U.S. wrestling magazine and although there are some great authors churning out amazing wrestling books, I just do not have the time and resources to be objective and read them all.  Thus, "Best Publication" has been retired.  However, in the spirit of PWI's year-end "Editors Award," this year we introduce our "Thanks For The Memories" honor.  Since this blog celebrates "The Best in Wrestling Memorabilia & Memories" on a weekly basis, this award will focus on the latter.  The winner can be a person (living or dead) or concept that somehow made all of us fondly recall wrestling's past in the last twelve months.

 2014 Thanks For The Memories Award

2014 Thanks For The Memories Honoree:  The Ultimate Warrior.  Electrifying.  Entertaining. Controversial.  Just three words that could be used to describe the man known as The Ultimate Warrior.  A generation of kids grew up mystified by him.  While Hulk Hogan was the clean cut hero, the Warrior brought a bit of an edge and a whole lot of mystery.  Just where did he run off to every night after beating Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, or Randy Savage?  Where was Parts Unknown?  Who were these skeletons and why did they make a sacrifice?  Sure, we could all envision the other WWF "good guys" going to hang out after the matches, but Warrior seemed different.  He was.  We had never seen anything like him before, nor will we ever again.  Thanks for the memories, Warrior.

And thanks to all of you for once again keeping with the blog throughout the year.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  Whether you come up and say hi at a show or simply shoot me an e-mail, those are my awards. Those people and moments remind me why I've loved wrestling for all of these years.  Thank you!

He's Got The Whole Figure In His Hands...

Just when you thought that there was no hope for someone with a non-muscular body type to hit it big in WWE, along comes Bray Wyatt.  Obviously his look isn't the only reason for his success, but it has played a big part.  Fans have largely rejected the overly pumped muscle men that seem to dominate the WWE scene.  Instead, the WWE Universe has latched onto men like Daniel Bryan (smaller), Roman Reigns (big, but covered), and of course, Bray Wyatt.

When a popular character finally debuts as a figure, it immediately becomes a hot item.  Bray Wyatt has the distinction of his first two figures being released simultaneously.  One is in the Basic Mattel series while the other is an Elite figure.  When choosing between the two it isn't always a no-brainer, but it is with Wyatt.  The Basic is just as the name says, basic, while the Elite includes two of Wyatt's most recognizable props, his hat and shirt.

I decided to pass up the Basic and go right for the Elite.  Why buy an incomplete figure when the "gimmicks" are so important to the presentation?  Right away, Wyatt passed my "Mattel packaging test."  As I've discussed before, the Mattel WWE figures have occasionally looked as if they're "floating" in the package.  Bray does not suffer from this, and it is helped by the shirt packaged in the corner.

New pieces had to be designed for this figure, and they capture Bray very well.  Another of my notoriously hated Mattel features, the torso joint, works perfectly with Bray.  Crab walk, anyone?  He isn't a slim fella, nor does he wear conventional gear.  Among Cena, Orton, and Sheamus he sticks out like a sore thumb in the best possible way.  He is imposing in a completely different manner and that, again, is a major part of his appeal.  He's the psychopathic killer child snatcher that appears in your nightmares.  The kind of character that makes wrestling, and your emotions, spring to life.

Facially, I don't think that they could have come closer.  The eyes.  The grin.  All the creepiness that is present not only during his promos, but in his matches as well.  The hat fits on top perfectly, which brings us to the shirt.  We've got some soft goods here, and I could not be happier about that.  The rubber shirts just don't work as well.  I don't think that we've seen the last of the rubber, but I'm glad that it's not a Mattel standard.

You really can't go wrong with this figure, especially if you like having a character with his trademark accessories.  It's a definite "Figure of the Year" candidate, but once the hype dies down it will likely be easy to find.  When a character as hot as Wyatt maintains their popularity, the figure is continually re-released in new series to meet demand.  Rowan and Harper should see a similar shelf life, as their basic figures are being released in a two-pack (with Bray's rocking chair) and in singles packs as Elites.  The latter releases will contain the rest of the Wyatt Family paraphernalia as Harper will be packaged with the lantern while Rowan will have his trademark mask and the rocking chair.

Bray certainly has the whole WWE Universe in his hands, and rightly so.  It's a great character that has elements of Kevin Sullivan, Waylon Mercy, and even a little bit of Cactus Jack.  It's something that is seemingly too edgy for modern day WWE, yet it is exactly what the people want.  And if it ever stops working, they can always revert to my idea of a Pawn Stars stable.  Just imagine Steve Austin as Rick, Greg Valentine as The Old Man, Bill DeMott as Corey, and Bray Wyatt as Chumlee.  Follow The Dollars?

Memorabilia That Takes You Into The Ring...

Putting the action figures, video games, and other toys aside, there are some wrestling items that can truly make you feel as if you're a part of the action.  These toys and collectibles can best be classified as "role playing" items.  In the same vein as replica championship belts, holding or wearing these trinkets can transport you into the boots of the superstars of the ring.  A sampling of this style of collectible from various eras is what we'll be looking at today.

The most famous "role playing" toy in the wrestling world is without a doubt the Wrestling Buddy.  The "buddy" phenomenon began in 1990 with Tonka Toys picking up the WWF license.  These printed pillow people were designed for children to be able to "wrestle" with their favorite World Wrestling Federation heroes and villains.  The first series included Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, and Ted DiBiase followed by a second series of Jake Roberts, the Big Boss Man, and the Legion of Doom.  WCW and Mexico's CMLL followed suit with Wrestling Buddy-styled toys of their own, but the WWF characters remain the most remembered.

1990 also saw another classic WWF role playing toy produced, although not quite as well remembered as the Wrestling Buddies.  A company called PlayTime Products introduced an official WWF Microphone toy.  While there have been other WWF and WWE microphone toys produced since, this is still the only one to pattern itself after the classic WWF mic held by Mean Gene Okerlund, Howard Finkel, and so many others in the '80s and '90s.  Several wrestling sounds and a voice amplifier can be utilized when a nine-volt battery is attached, but it's the look of this toy that really makes it something special.  The box, featuring a classic "Let Me Tell Ya Somethin', Mean Gene!" photo of Okerlund and Hogan, only adds to the fun.

The boom of wrestling toys of the early '90s produced yet another such item, this time as an extension of the popular Hasbro WWF line.  It is not uncommon for manufacturers of action figure lines to branch out into other toys utilizing the same license.  Hasbro did this with Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior dress-up kits, but a less remembered item is the Jake "The Snake" Roberts Snake toy.  Hitting shelves in late 1991-early 1992, the snake was packaged in a squarish box featuring Jake and one of his snakes.  Inside was a green drawstring bag that resembled Jake's ring-used bag aside from being much smaller and including the "Jake The Snake" logo.

The snake itself was tan with brown spots and didn't really closely resemble any of Jake's snakes.  Was it Damien?  Perhaps Lucifer?  It's any one's guess really, as no specific name is mentioned on the packaging.  The item was probably designed roughly around the time of the on-screen "death" of Damien and subsequent debut of Lucifer.  The toy didn't last long on shelves, as Jake departed the company shortly after its release.

If the snake didn't creep you out, fast forward to the present day and the most recent role playing items released by WWE.  There's no doubt that among the WWE debuts of 2013, no superstars garnered more interest than the Wyatt Family.  Led by Bray Wyatt, this band of backwoods brawlers are sure to receive some interesting action figures in the coming year, but their first pieces of merchandise include several role playing items.

Wyatt, the bearded spokesman of the group, is known for his fedora.  One of his underlings, Erick Rowan, strikes fear into the hearts of many WWE Universe youngsters with a mask of a sheep's head.  Both of these items are now available from WWE and appear to be exact replicas of both.  Although the Wyatt Family aren't exactly heroes, it once again proves that merchandise of either heels or faces is desired by fans as long as it's interesting.  These two items fit that description perfectly.

Role playing items are fun, but just a small example of some of the great wrestling memorabilia out there.  If you're new to the blog, you may not be aware of our Facebook Fanpage.  Join the page for frequent updates, hundreds of photos of memorabilia, and much more.  It's a great supplement to the blog!