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.

Help, Help Me Ronda

In the decade since the company acquired the WWE license, Mattel has tried seemingly countless lines to further the brand. The three most successful have been the ones so closely intertwined due to scale, those being the Elite, Basic, and Battle Pack (two-pack) lines. Aside from varying articulation, the figures are interchangeable. Due to this, Mattel has become quite a formidable rival to the vast variety offered by Jakks during their time with WWE. While that company had a much deeper roster of Legends thanks to the beloved Classic Superstars line, they did not have nearly the amount of current stars to create. Mattel has superstars from Raw, Smackdown, and NXT to produce, not to mention the stars of 205 Live and NXT UK.

In 2019 Mattel has introduced yet another line that, while fitting with the aforementioned Basic and Elite figures, ups the price point and, hopefully for Mattel, the desirability of re-releasing previously made characters. This is the "Ultimate Edition" figure series. At a price of around $30 per figure, Mattel is selling it as the ultimate in articulation for a figure as well as a way to package many different interchangeable parts with the figure thus creating different looks. The first series of two includes The Ultimate Warrior and Ronda Rousey.

Rousey was a polarizing figure in WWE for sure. I never had much of a problem with her being there, but I never felt that she added much to the product, either. This was at a time (continuing to this day) where I loosely watch at best, but her charisma seemed much more suited for the world of MMA than WWE. That being said, nothing that she did really put me off, either. Considering that her connection with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was legitimate (unlike other current stars that WWE has attempted to link to legends), that was also fine with me. She was simply there. Another name. And here we have two or three of her signature looks in one figure.

The packaging is large but does show off everything that's included. Heads, arms, hands, a jacket, and her kilt. Opening the package wasn't as easy as opening an Elite. In fact it was a bit annoying. It's a nice window box, but maybe a tad too big. Once open, it is fun to lay out and think of what combinations can be made. To my knowledge, this is the only way as of press time to have a Ronda in pre-match entrance gear. While there was a Ronda figure with the jacket and one in wrestling gear, I think that this is the only one with the ponytail, jacket, and wrestling gear combined.

All of the Ronda figures have been spot on with the face, so all three of the heads are good here. The heads and arms aren't too difficult to change, but I had a bit of an issue with getting one of the jacket arms to stay on. Honestly, I'd rather have a soft goods jacket. Almost always. With any figure. It's just easier. The extra articulation in the arms really doesn't do much for me either. It doesn't look bad, but is it really necessary? Maybe there's a certain niche audience that Mattel is looking for here who wants that, but I'm more about the ease of changing the look of the figure with a product like this.

It's a nice figure, but not worth $30. I paid a sale price much closer to the cost of an Elite, which felt more reasonable. With the inclusion of extra hands, heads, and other parts in many of the Elite figures, it's really the extra articulation that should be considered for the price jump. Since I'm not concerned with it, that's simply not worth it to me. Aside from the first Basic of Ronda which seemed like a rush job (though unique as she's simply in her white t-shirt and pants), I held off on her other figures until this one was released. I'm glad that I did, but I don't feel any urge to pick up Bret Hart, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, Triple H, or anyone else who may show up in the line as of yet.

The "Ultimate" Ronda figure? Yes. An ultimate pass for the rest as far as the foreseeable future.

Your Guide To An Evolution

Programs. A collectible that is produced less and less as the years go by, especially by WWE. Sure there are those produced for WrestleMania each year. There have been a few for SummerSlam in the past decade and even the 2011 Survivor Series had one. But in a world where pay-per-view lineups change continuously until the day of the event, the era of the program is largely done. However, out of nowhere, we have a new one. To coincide with the first WWE-branded all-women's pay-per-view event, we have a program for WWE Evolution.

The program itself is very much like the other ones that have come along in this era. It's oversized and glossy with thicker-stock pages than a magazine-style program would have. This design first appeared in the very early 2000's. It is also more of a roster guide for the women rather than displaying actual match-ups. Again the pay-per-view lineups change too much for them to be accurately printed too far in advance.

The first page is a shot of the folks who brought you this show, Triple H, Stephanie, and Vince McMahon. Let's all thank them. Then, of course, we get to Ronda Rousey. Obviously she will begin the program being the center of the women's division. So far, she seems to have dedicated herself to the business in a way that many of us wouldn't have imagined. She has largely been a plus for the product, or so it has seemed in the little that I follow the weekly product. All of the larger stars such as The Bella Twins, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch get their own pages, as well.

The interesting portions come later in the book. We get pages with a smattering of smaller pictures of NXT stars and even trainers Sara Del Rey and Serena Deeb! The Mae Young Classic tournament is also chronicled with results of both the 2017 edition as well as the 2018 version which saw its finals held at the Evolution show itself. And yes, "spoiler alert," winner Toni Storm is shown here in all of her British glory.

My favorite portion, of course, is the section featuring the legends. Not only do we get Wendi Richter, Mae Young, and my friend Leilani Kai, but also shown are Cyndi Lauper, Sapphire, Bull Nakano, Rockin' Robin, Mildred Burke, Bertha Faye and Velvet McIntyre just to name a few. The biggest shocker? An inclusion that shouldn't be shocking at all. In fact, she should be front and center. Yes, folks, The Fabulous Moolah is here. Did somebody call Snickers? I think we have a program to burn. Get Twitter on it...

A cool collectible for a first of it's (WWE) kind event that not only looks at the current stars but pays respect to the past as well. It's hard to say what value this will attain. Some of the larger programs such as this have held or risen in value while others just languish. To me, any event-specific program is welcome in a collection. While the live event programs are rather cookie cutter, these are at least specific to a show even if they don't necessarily reflect the matches. If you want one of your own, grab it while you can. There could be an Evolution in demand before you know it.