Rebuilding my collection again....for the Third time

[MonsoonMan]

Coming in today with a little STRAIGHT EDGE SATURDAY



Battlepack 25 CM Punk

another small addition to the ever growing Punk collection today is the BP 25 CM Punk! this Punk was packaged alongside the Undertaker and is meant to be representative of Punk during the buildup to Wrestlemania 29. the headsculpt on this figure is good, it is the buzzcut CM Punk look we saw on that wrestlemania elite figure from the match against the Undertaker; it portrays Punk in a nasty, teeth bearing angry expression and to be honest i do struggle a tiny bit to find the likeness to CM Punk in the sculpting. im sure it is a multitude of factors including the fact that they are trying to capture punk in an unusual appearance but every angle of the headsculpt i do struggle to see Pepsi Phil, i think its that factor of being told 'hey this is CM Punk' so we just believe it but honestly comparing it to his likeness, its a bit of a stretch. the tattoos on this figure are accurate for the time frame the figure is from. im not a Punk historian so im not positive when he wore this attire specifically, but i do know these are the trunks he wore throughout 2012 (royal rumble, elimination chamber, Raw vs bryan) but in the heel era where he chose to just wear un-decorated black kickpads.
all in all this is a cool CM Punk basic. honestly not a record breaking likeness or even cool attire but it fills out that timeline of Punk looks for our collections.

[MonsoonMan]

Happy Superstar Sunday y'all!

gonna talk about the figures i got from Elite Series 108!!



Elite 108 Terry Gordy

punching, kicking, hacking and slashing into the reviews today is the legendary TERRY GORDY! i wanna say right out of the gate this really is a phenomenal effort by mattel. truly a 2-in-1 figure all for the retail price of one. Ringside could have easily taken this on as a RSE but mattel had the faith to push it through to the mainline and holy cow what a banger of a figure!!!! the Terry Gordy figure comes to us with a FTITL headsculpt and i really enjoy the likeness portrayed and hair sculpting on the figure. the sculpting captures Terry in a stone faced, determined expression and i can easily see Terry's likeness from all angles of the headsculpt. mattel gave Terry some copper brown colored curly long hair and i think it looks great, i really like the color and sculpt detail. mattel chose to give Terry the Shiek torso and looking at a bunch i pictures, i do tend to agree with their decision on the body recipe here. Gordy was a pretty tall dude, but he was a tank of a man aswell and i think this body recipe and torso choice works well for him while keeping him in relative scale with other characters. Bam Bam Gordy comes to the ring wearing his ever classic black trunks, kneepads and tall boots. BUT WAIT THERES MORE!!! as this is a 2-in-1 figure effort we also get THE EXECUTIONER! this figure comes with interchangeable gear including hooded headsculpt and softgoods singlet and cape when he performed in the wwf as the Executioner alongside Paul Bearer and Mankind. the softgoods cape and singlet is amazing, it is super high quality, IMO, and the cape even features two sewn in loops for putting on the figure's wrists. the cape is black and features a jagged red shoulder piece that looks awesome and contrasting red interior. the softgoods singlet is all black with red cuffs near the boots and it looks and fits the figure great. all of the gear was not challenging at all to take on and off and just overall fit very well. the softgoods also did not limit articulation in any way at all.
all in all im being genuinely honest this is a major contender for figure of the year. both versions of this figure were just so supremely on point with design execution i really tip my hat to mattel on this release. the base Terry Gordy figure has been requested for years and i think mattel nailed the likeness in the headsculpt and the body recipe. he looks great posed with Michael P.S Hayes and frankly i personally had a good amount of fun posing this figure around in static fighter fist poses. the executioner figure is also over the top cool; literally super high quality softgoods and frankly you could put them on any figure which makes this a cool option for druids? or other fantasy booking stuff i suppose. you could also throw the gear on another figure so you could display both versions of Bam Bam Gordy. i rank this figure a MUST HAVE for the collection.

[MonsoonMan]

Wrapping up my reviews on the figures i bought from E108 today 😝

i honestly didnt really care for E108. i was for some reason hoping for a unique brock rather than another modern brock release--the headsculpt and attire was just all around dumb, imo. i dont really watch too much modern wwe programming so LA Knight is a 'meh' selection for me--its interesting that he sounds just like Dwayne johnson when casually talking though thats crazy. also felt indifferent about the Omos figure, i have the original Omos elite and i guress thats good enough for me unless i find the figure at a screaming deal. Chelsea Green-another modern talent im not familiar enough with to warrant a figure purchase, its a cool looking figure if it happens to go on sale ill bite.



E108 Bronson Reed

coming in today is BIG BRONSON REED! i was a huge fan of his first elite and this one comes back with a new colorway and softgoods entrance jacket! the headsculpt on this figure is the same as his OG elite, get get Bronson in a scowling angry, determined expression and i think the sculpting and paint apps bring this head to levels of photorealism and it looks amazing. Big Bronson comes to the ring this time wearing a softgoods green sleeveless trenchcoat thingy and it looks really good! as always im overjoyed to get softgoods accessories, the fabric is printed on the front side and makes an attempt to re-create the sparkly material his actual coat is made from. the coat is a nice bold green color with Bronson's large skull and crossbones logo front and center on his back and some white flame detailing along the bottom of the coat. the coat both looks and fits the figure great! underneath the singlet, we get the same body recipe, which is fine as i see no reason to change for Big Bron Bron. this time however, Bronson is splashin his opponents in a black singlet with some white/green flame detailing on the sides and a large skull and crossbones logon on his chest. Bronson's tattoos all seem in position and accurate--especially that chest tattoo that was strangely absent during the proto images. finishin up this figure are some legsleeve style kneepads and some small boots.
all in all i just personally think this is a really cool figure. i liked Bronson's original elite figure and his overall look and costume design are really fresh to this era. this figure is a straight up re-paint of his previous figure(plus a new entrance coat) so unless you also are a Bronson Reed fan, then there is no real urgent draw to have this figure in your collection. but i like it. so i have it in mine.

[Old Zeke]

Bronson's gear makes for some really cool figures!

[MonsoonMan]

Jun 19, 2024 0:24:34 GMT -5 Old Zeke said:

Bronson's gear makes for some really cool figures!

it really does! i love the contrasting colors and the big skull and crossbones!

coming in today however with a Best there is, Best there Was and Best there ever Will Be Wednesday 😝



Elite 43 Bret Hart

putting the reviews into the sharpshooter today is Bret the hitman Hart from all the way back from elite series 43. i may be wrong in thinking this, but i believe this was his debut to elite mainline and ofcourse the big draw was the fact that he was coming with Jim the Anvil Neidhart in the series aswell. i have yet to acquire a Jim figure, but im always on the hunt, so one will land in my collection soon. ANYWAYS this figure is wearing the attire that the Hart Foundation was wearing at Summerslam 1990. im not sure what is going on with the headsculpt on this figure; Bret's hair did look a bit more 'mullet' styled during the era, but the face sculpting really doesnt represent Bret hart at all, IMO. the sunglasses on the figure, maybe your mind fills in the gaps and you just see Bret Hart, but underneath the illusion those provide, i personally dont see a 1990's era Bret Hart Likeness in the sculpting of this face. this Bret is coming to the ring wearing a black top singlet style top with a pink heart outline on the left chest area, small black elbow pads and classic white wrist tape for upper body gear. the Hitman is also wearing his iconic pink colored leg tights, however these feature a black 'hitman' logo with a small black star on the back of the tights, 4 black hearts on the front right leg and a white/black/white stripe running down the outside of either leg. finishing up this figure are some small black kneepads and his white boots with pink detailing and black 'spat' toe and heel designs.
all in all this is a cool 'early' Bret Hart figure. the headsculpt needs some serious re-visiting, but the body recipe remains unchanged for Bret and frankly they did a great job on the attire. i do wish we got those rad black and pink entrance jackets though.

[MonsoonMan]

Happy saturday Y'all!

just came back from a business trip, hit up 4 wal marts while i was out there and didnt find anything juicy on the pegs 😭 that being said my online purchases have ramped up and ive got a bunch of cool figures in from my virtual shopping.

just really been in this mentality that we NEED a Toys r Us or some similar box box toy store to take over exclusives from now on. Target is great--never have a complaint about getting a Target exclusive but ill be damned these wal mart exclusive hunts have been dragging out for months and frankly im not even excited going into a store anymore as i KNOW im going to be met with disappointment.

ANYWAYS COMING IN WITH A SUCK IT SATURDAY



Elite 23 Triple H

coming in today is an older figure, but the code checks out, its the Elite Series 23 Triple H figure! i love me some long tights triple h, that was his primary look when i was growing up fig fedding and it brings back all those nostalgic moments of him continuing to be a menace even in my fig fed. i purchased this figure loose on ebay and it looked to be in decent enough condition for the price the seller was asking; a little bit of paint wear to the eyebrows and super light wear to the tights design, i didnt even see it in the pics in the listing. The headsculpt on this figure is that of an early era Triple H during the era where he was sporting the braided ponytail over the long hair. mattel did a great job on the sculpting on his hair, the color is a sort of light mustard-y blonde color and--it works. mattel sculpted Tripls in a frowning, disapproving looking scowling expression and wit works great for his heel character of the era. the Body recipe is good for this era of hHh, it is the sheamus/ric flair style torso that they have used for the other long tights era Trips H figures and im not complaining at all. i *believe* mattel was taking a swing at emulating Trips' tights that he wore at Wrestlemania 15? i see what they were going for, but i think the color of the inset area should be a much lighter silver color, its like a steel blue color with white sparkle detailing from the factory and the actual tights were a silver Dichro material. from the factory, this figure came with legsleeve style kneepads----looking at video of the WMXV match, he was wearing slightly larger kneepads than normal, but i think the small style kneepads would have suffced just fine; i removed the legsleeves with that intention. finally finishing up this figure are some medium height boots. for accessories, this triple H figure came with a rubber sleeveless DX shirt, Megaphone and DX army helmet.
all in all this figure is decent enough. if im being critical--this look should absolutely be revisited in the legends line or something similar as the factory color and execution of his tights design is pretty outdated at this point. his tights were a definitive SILVER color with a dichro reflective effect on them, not steel blue with paint deco sparkles?? this was also still during that era where mattel tried to mish mash looks together to try and hit multiple bases at once, so this was a heel turn wrestlemania XV Triple H figure that ALSO comes with kinda sorta not really DX Army gear? 🤔 luckily the Legend line picked up the slack and gave us those DX Army figures we all wanted and needed, hopefully this WM triple H look gets a proper rendition in the line. i feel like Wrestlemania 15 was a huge event during the peak of the attitude era and alot of us probably have vivid memories of the product during that time. as much as i hated triple h as a kid ive grown older and wiser and appreciate the heel work he did to help make us love our heroes by being a perfect foil. id like to have as many of these early looks represented in my collection as possible!

[MonsoonMan]

Coming in today with a GREAT ONE SUNDAY



Elite 22 The Rock

If Ya Smelllllll whats cooking today, its the E22 Rock figure 😎 i was able to SCORE this figure on ebay loose for $9 shipped, he only has a bit of paint wear to his eyebrows, but a little bit of painters tape and flat black acrylic can fix that no problem. This Rock figure i do believe was the first elite figure of the great one after defeating CM Punk and bringing forth the new WWE Championship design. i actually have a vivid memory of buying this figure from my local wal mart back in the day in like 2015 or whenever it was released--it was around the time i had re-started my new collection and i was still very shy about figure hunting in stores. anytime i was in the toy aisle and someone else walked in, especially with their kids i would scurry away because i was in a place mentally where i felt embarrassed to be buying toys. i was in my early 20s and society was slamming me with these 'grow up' messages. my peers were talking about being in their own homes and buying adult life home stuff and dudes were talking about their cars and PC upgrades----and i was buying action figures. there is obviously nothing wrong with doing what makes YOU happy and im so grateful that i finally learned that. but i remember buying the E22 Rock figure and putting it in my cart and actually using my other groceries to hide it incase i bumped into someone LOL. ANYWAYS this Rock comes to us utilizing a new headsculpt--some have said this headsculpt is too big, but i like the proportions of it. the headsculpt is that of a bald great one but he has a determined, serious expression on his face; i can see the likeness to Rock portrayed in the sculpts from any angle. this Rock utilized the heavyweight torso, which was appropriate for the time of his return. this rock comes to the ring wearing some black trunks with Gold logos--pretty sure this Rock was from Elimination chamber 2013, so thats accurate no real complaints there. finishing up this figure are the trademark Rock style open calf wrestling boots.
all in all this is a cool Rock figure to have in the timeline of looks. to be completely honest it is nothing exciting or ground breaking as far as Rock figures go but the headsculpt can be appreciated. as mentioned it is just a great piece to have in the timeline of Rocks looks as him returning to end CM Punks 434 day championship reign AND usher in a new championship design are some pretty iconic moments (even if some of us didnt want it to go down that way 😝).

[MonsoonMan]

well, we're coming up on the birthday of America this week and in the spirit of 1776, lets celebrate the wrestlers from the 1970s in Mattel's Legends of the Territory 4 Figure Set!!

i was level 10 hype for these figures and for this set when it got announced. i really dig the GOLDEN era of wrestling when everything was still so new to the sport of pro wrestling. the moves, the gimmicks, the kayfabe, the finishes, it was all so very special and so very powerful. when mattel announced this legends 4 pack i was mostly excited for the opportunity to own the NWA and the WWWF championship belts 😅 although all of these figures are great additions to the collection on their own. lets dig deeper into this set and all the figures included!






Legends of the Territory
Muhammad Ali

jumping the railing and getting into the ring today is The Greatest, Muhammad Ali! Ali's inclusion in this pack is representative of his run in with Gorilla Monsoon in June of 1976! Ali rushed the ring, removed his suit jacket, tie, shirt and shoes to square up with Gorilla after Gorilla's match. Ali would learn a valuable lesson however as Gorilla would shoulder the man up and give him an airplane spin sure to give him jet lag. This Muhammad Ali comes to us wearing a neat light grey suit. the headsculpt is the same headsculpt we have been seeing come with all of his past releases; it is the slightly smirking, confident faced sculpt and it does hold a great likeness to Ali, however mattel is really getting their mileage out of it. the Greatest is floating around the ring wearing a softgoods light grey suit jacket, a softgoods shortsleeve white undershirt and white tie. the softgoods looks pretty good and fits the figure great, i do often prefer softgoods on our figures but i do see the difficulty of layering softgoods and getting them to remain fitting nicely. underneath the softgoods, mattel gave Muhammad the new Virgil BAF torso and it seems to work pretty good for Muhammad however he really wasnt as well defined as this new chosen torso portrays him to be. cool enough, mattel included Ali's gold wristwatch--i love these accessories as they can be easily transferred to any other figure if need be. finishing up this figure are some light grey colored pants and brown loafer style shoes.
all in all this is a pretty neat figure. i think at this point a lot of collectors are feeling Muhammad Ali burnout and would be relieved to find out his next release is quite down the line. that being said i do believe that i read that without Ali this pack would not have been able to have been made, so its all good. i personally bought a second figure loose on ebay and turned him into a 'stone cold funeral' The Rock custom and im kinda way happier with that figure. this Ali figure is a cool suited figure and as mentioned i do like the inclusion of softgoods on this figure. it poses around pretty decently and does look cool posed with the Gorilla Monsoon figure

[MonsoonMan]

Legends of the Territory
Gorilla Monsoon

Towering in today, coming all the way from a wooded stream in Manchuria is the fearsome Gorilla Monsoon! this is the second time we are seeing Gorilla in the elite line as his first figure debuted many years ago in his announcer garb. this new figure sees the 6'5" Gorilla younger and more closer to his prime. Starting this figure off is a brand new headsculpt portraying Gorilla in a straight-faced determined expression with slicked back hair. Mattel did a great job on the likeness to Gorilla, i can see Gorilla's features in any angle of the headsculpt, especially the eyes. The rest of this figure sees mattel utilize the old Vader formula--Gorilla and Vader were pretty similar builds in their time so it seems to have worked out well. Gorilla comes to the ring wearing a black singlet gear with long black tights that feature a solid red stripe on the outside of each leg. he is wearing legsleeve style kneepads with white detailing on the back to protect his tree trunk sized legs and finishing up this figure are some short red shooter style boots.
All in all this seems like a really straightforward figure. i missed out on the Gorilla Monsoon flashback figure so having this wrestling gear Monsoon was a huge score for the collection. the headsculpt looks great for Gorilla, it truly does capture that younger likeness of the massive man. i do kinda feel like mattel literally threw a new Gorilla scan on a Vader body and was like 'ta-dah!' but once again to that point these are the forefather wrestlers of yesteryear who came before everyone else and are the guys our favorites drew inspiration from. i dont want to go as far to say that if mattel did a WHOLE LINE dedicated to 70s era wrestlers i would be all in, BUT if they opted to do the 'collectors edition' figure in each wave that would see a legend of yesteryear get a figure i would be totally for that, i really enjoy having these guys in my collection!

[MonsoonMan]

Legends of the Territory
Superstar Billy Graham

Coming in today is the man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour; the SUPERSTAR Billy Graham! i was delighted to see an updated Superstar figure in this set and i was well over the moon to see him packaged with the WWWF championship belt finally!!! We previously saw Superstar released as a collectors edition figure a somewhat 2-in-1 figure that saw superstar packaged with a long hair sculpt and a bald headed sculpt; i really enjoyed that figure, im a HUGE Superstar Graham fan! This new Superstar figure has been released with that same long haired sculpt; it still holds up quite well it looks like mattel added some TrueFx paint apps-- i can see the likeness to Superstar portrayed from all angles. Superstar was also given some brown lens sunglasses for entrance gear that we also saw with his original elite. Superstar was given a brand new purple and pink tie die t shirt that has no velcro closure and it looks and fits great on the figure. mattel upgraded the body recipe for this figure, he is still sporting the heavyweight shredded torso but this go around mattel upgraded Superstar with the new Scott Steiner style biceps and they look AMAZING on this figure. when comparing to his old elite, the biceps are honestly pretty similar in size and shape but mattel did the Scott Steiner arms up with better sculpt details on the muscle striations-i had so much fun posing this figure in all of those classic Superstar Graham flex poses. This Superstar is coming to the ring wearing some violet blue colored tights with white clouded designs; another tie dye looking effect for the Icon Superstar Graham. finishing up this figure are some tall red boots with blue laces.
all in all in MY opinion; this face off between Superstar Graham and Harley Race was what MADE this pack. the updated superstar figure was an awesome little get for us as collectors, and as i mentioned the WWWF championship belt was THE grail item. the belt looks great, it looks absolutely amazing on Bruno Sammartino and i did a quick little lineup of all the early WWF champions we have in figure form to this point. im not quite sure how far back id feel comfortable asking mattel to reach back for talent, but i really had a lot of fun as a collector getting this Legends of the Territory pack and id like to see more really vintage talent getting some figures in this line!

[MKSavage]

Jul 5, 2024 9:24:23 GMT -5 MonsoonMan said:

That Billy Graham figure is an all-time great. I also like how you have the champions lined up. You need to get another WWWF championship belt to put with Bruno, then you need to get three of the WWF championship belt that came with the Hogan figure in the WWE 60th Anniversary set to put with Backlund, Sheik, and Hogan.

[MonsoonMan]

Jul 5, 2024 10:49:17 GMT -5 MKSavage said:

That Billy Graham figure is an all-time great. I also like how you have the champions lined up. You need to get another WWWF championship belt to put with Bruno, then you need to get three of the WWF championship belt that came with the Hogan figure in the WWE 60th Anniversary set to put with Backlund, Sheik, and Hogan.

it really is! i love being able to do photos like that lineup, im so happy with the mattel collection/selection right now!


Wrapping up the reviews for the Legends of the Territory set today with a HARLEY RACE SATURDAY



Legends of the Territory
Harley Race

Dropping the fist on the reviews today is the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, Handsome Harley Race! i was pretty hype for this figure dropping, i am a huge Harley Race fan and ontop of getting a new Harley, mattel graciously was able to get us the NWA World's Heavyweight championship belt so rad!! This Harley comes to us with a new headsculpt that brings Harley to us in his curly brown hair and handsome "Lemmystache" beard. Harley is portrayed in a serious, confident straight faced "f around and find out' expression and it fits the legend perfectly. i will say that the head does seem to be a tad bit large for the figure frame, his curly hair plays a part into that but beyond the scale issue the sculpt details looks amazing. Harley comes to the ring wearing a brand new softgoods robe, the robe is high quality split color red and blue with white cuff & collar detailing and a white 'Race' logo printed on the back. the robe both looks and fits the figure great! underneath the robe, the figure utilizes the exact same body recipe as his last figure---no real complaints there. Harley was a husky guy and this body seems to fit him pretty well. we see a return of his iconic Peacock tattoos on his forearms, they are printed cleanly and crisply on the figure also seem to have correct placement. This Harley figure is wrestling hour draws in some dark blue trunks and kneepads and finishing up this figure are some black and white striped socks above some tall black boots.
all in all any Harley Race has a welcome spot in anyone's collection. im so glad that mattel was able to get us this bearded look for Harley as well as the NWA championship belt. the softgoods robe was an ace addition aswell considering the last King Harley release got the dreaded molded rubber cape. i tried watching footage from the match between Harley Race and Superstar but it doesnt look like they were wearing the gear that the figures provided are in, strange. it also wasnt a banger of a match by any means but something with tons of meaning behind it.

Final Thoughts on the Mattel Creations Pack
i really liked this. like---REALLY liked this. i set a timer on my phone and had completed checkout by 11:01AM. This was something really cool because if you look at the pack at its core----the only NEW-NEW things we got were championship belts. Muhammad was a re-use of the new BAF body parts, Gorilla was a Vader re-use, Superstar was a re-release with new arms and Harley was a re-release with new head. these were all things we already have and have gotten but they just tweaked things to make them fresh and exciting for us. we were all willing to pay ~$100 for all this and the cherry on top was as we discussed the new championship belts. i think alot of us wanted/expected the wwwf championship to come with Bruno at some point but it looks like mattel missed those opportunities and slid on out on Superstar--which also worked out great. i have no idea how they pulled off the NWA belt but praise be that we have an official mattel one right now. it looks pretty good i wish they could have made that globe silver and maybe gone extra with the flags on the sideplates, but still not complaining. to be dead honest i really think that the Harley Race/Superstar could have sold like hotcakes if it was on its own. the Gorilla/Ali faceoff i dunno i feel like that is a sort of flop i know alot of people are/were feeling Ali burnout and at the same time i dont know alot of people were clamoring for a Gorilla Monsoon wrestling attire figure. i glad we have one, i have a ton of respect for Gorilla but he is from an era we dont have a ton of other figure representation of. i like that mattel has been taking to MattelCreations to get us some of this product. i am greatly looking forward to alot of their other offerings; headbangers and dudley boyz are gonna be epic. i guess at this point in the game id rather pay mattel directly a bit of an inflated price to get something cool than have to dread hunting around for it and having to potentially pay scalper prices or miss out on it altogether due to shoddy distribution.

[MonsoonMan]

Happy Superstar Sunday y'all!!

i've plowed through my 4 day Independence weekend 😭 did a little figure hunting, did a little photography, did a little re-organizing of my drawers, did a LOT of sleeping. no luck in finding any new figures in stores this weekend. the new Summerslam shipper has been popping up but not locally, ive hit 3 wal marts close to me on the regular this weekend and no signs of it arriving any time soon. i dont understand how all of the sudden million and millions of wrestling figure collectors are on the hunt for the same 4 figures that stores get a limited supply of, gee thanks for that one mattel.

ANYWAYS speaking of millions and millions, i DID pick up a new figure a few weeks ago while hunting for MNW elites......




Main Event 147 Ted DiBiase

Money, Money, Money, Money, MONEYYYYYYYYY HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

flexing his wealth today is the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase. ive reviewed a few M$M figures before but im not quite sure if i really touched on how much i LOVED the gimmick of the Million Dollar Man. A man who could get literally anything he ever could want by buying it. EVERYBODY HAS A PRICE HAHAHAHA. as someone who grew up pretty lower middle class, THESE were the true villains of life. see everyone working hard to have and acheive all that they love and someone like Ted comes along with endless wealth who doesnt have to work for anything and can buy anyone. what a JERK! This Ted comes to us in the main even line with new improved articulation--which i why i bought the figure. Ted comes to us.....once again in his iconic black and gold suit.....i feel like we are WAY overdue for a new Ted DiBiase wrestling gear elite figure. the chase figure comes to us in the green suit that we saw his newest legends figure appear in--doesnt necessarily make sense to me but mattel isnt scared of over saturating those pegs with anyone. the headsculpt on this figure is really good, it portrays the Million Dollar man in a posh, subdued smirking expression and the likeness to Ted is completely there. the hair color, paint apps to the face, beard and hair are all on point, IMO i like this. As Mentioned Ted is coming to the ring wearing his black and gold suit with black bowtie and white undershirt----i dont think theres anything new or exciting here; sculpts all seem to be the same as previous released figures. Gold dollar signs adorn the lapel as well as a large one on the back of the jacket, the gold decorum is accompanied by a gold cummerbund and gold stripes going down the outside of each pant leg. Finishing up this figure, Ted is wearing some loafer style shoes.
all in all this was a cool little return to the Main Event Line by our Million Dollar Uncle, Ted. the added leg articulation to these figures has really breathed a new life into the line and given these figures purpose in alot of collections they were not welcome in before. a tiny part of me thinks that these new main events are the perfect platform for suited figures now as they typically dont need elite articulation in street clothes. i rolled my eyes a bit when they announced another suited Ted DiBiase figure as it seems like mattel has been getting alot of mileage out of that look lately, but this one turned out pretty good. worth a nab if you see it on shelves.

and dont EVER forget.

"youre only as good in this business as Virgil lets you be." - Virgil.

[MonsoonMan]

ARE YOU READYYYYYYYYY

🔥🎆🔥🎆🔥🎆🔥🎆🔥🎆🔥🎆🔥

the second series, the second season, the second chapter, the second installment, the second city saint whatever you wanna call it, im back to share my thoughts and pics from the highly sought after Monday Night Wars Series 2! i found both Rey and Triple H at the same store in northern IL way back in MAY. some TWO MONTHS LATER, i have completed the quest and sourced the goblet and completed the set.

Coming in today with a TRIPLE H THURSDAY




Monday Night Wars Series 2
Triple H

Crotch Chopping into the reviews today is the Degenerate, Triple H. i guess Trips needed some sort of representation in the Monday Night War line, the figure sees Triple H coming to the ring wearing his Corporate Triple H tights when we was pulling away from DX and started his heel run with Chyna; when he became the Game i think the war was fairly winding down in WWE's favor. i do have a soft spot for long tights era triple h figures, but i have to be completely honest and say that this figure doesnt bring much at all to the table. This figure is essentially a re-paint of his past Legends figure that came in the DX Army garb, minus ANY accessories. The headsculpt on this figure IS that sculpt we saw on his legends figure; it seemed like that hair piece was kinda specifically used on the legends figure to accommodate the included helmet--really was hoping mattel would choose something a little better looking but we have this. it is some swept back really wet moppy looking blonde hair--during this time triple h was still sporting that braided ponytail look and he was going hair down but it didnt look as this figure portrays. The facial expression is an opened mouth sculpt almost as triple h is starting the "Are you ready?!" taunt. this figure sees triple h get a little stubble paint apps to his beard and it looks pretty decent, i do say i prefer it to the clean shaven look. Same torso that weve seen on all of the flashback triple h figures-- no complaints from me. As mentioned this Trips is delivering Pedigree performance wearing some black tights with red crotch inset that features a classic HHH logo in the center. finishing up the figure are some small kneepads and medium height black boots.
All in all----man for the most anticipated series of the summer i gotta say this triple h figure is not hot hot hotter than hell. a tiny part of me was excited for this figure because i have a side dream that mattel will release all of the attires from the wwf attitude video game and yes this red tights triple h was one available. im glad to see papa h getting that recognition but i think this figure could have been so much better. there are a litany of much cooler more better tights mattel could have chosen to really make this figure and spot in the line shine, but alas, we get a re-paint from the legends line. a new headsculpt could have really put this figure over pretty well too but atleast mattel did something by giving him some stubble paint apps. i also will add that the blood logo shirt that came with the legends figure looks pretty badass on this figure, accuracy be damned.

[MonsoonMan]

Happy Figure Friday y'all



Monday Night Wars Series 2
Rey Mysterio

popping out the sky today is the CURSED Rey Mysterio figure! As we remember this figure was originally shown to be a super unique Rey Mysterio figure Unmasked with horns in the Filthy Animals gear but "someone" put the ka-bash to that and we then got substituted a Debut look Rey Mysterio. The curse goes deeper with this look even however as this was the gear shown to be worn by the Rey Mysterio Ultimate figure that was scheduled to be released with the WCW Nitro Crowdfund stage that did not meet the funding goal. so there is a little bittersweet representation this pink attire figure brings with it, but lets dive in on the rest of this figure. Headsculpt is....nothing new for Rey Mysterio, we have seen this headsculpt many times before representing the early era of Rey's career and to be honest it seems to work just fine for portraying his likeness. This Rey is flying off the ropes in some Pink, black and silver gear, the mask is pink with silver detailing on the face and a Black Crown on the forehead and black falcon wings on the sides of the mask. body recipe follows that of other classic Rey figures. as usual the scale of the figure aids really well to that 'feeling in the hand' the figure just seems balanced, proportioned and easy and fun to pose. i will call out Mattel's botch on yet another Rey mysterio figure's hands. they gave this rey the Chyna sized open hands and regular sized fisted hands----dont worry mattel Rey has only been in the business for some 30 years, you'll get it right eventually no one is keeping score dont worry. Being a debut look Rey, he did not have any tattoos during this time frame, the figure reflects that. Rey is headscissor'ing in some pink tights with black detailing on the crotch area and thighs and small black and silver question marks scattered about his legs. finishing up this figure are some laceless black boots.
all in all a solid MEH on this Rey Mysterio debut figure. i understand that this was potentially plan 'D' in their gameplan but once again--for the most anticipated line of the summer im not jumping into the sky to reach for the Rey figure. Classic Rey Mysterios are a-plenty, hell even current Rey Mysterios are all over. i mean when you compare this figure to the Elite 100 Rey, the Elite 100 is kinda cooler looking. the Filty Animals---although for ME as a collector is not something i was screaming for to own but it was cool and unique. As a hardcore collector who saw the failure of the nitro stage and then the subsequent pull of the cooler Rey figure this just really seems like a scramble move. i will say this however-----when you have all the figures from the era lined up, this Rey looks great, it looks like he belongs--it fills out the landscape. i have that old Dean Malenko elite and they look great posed next to eachother. i just wish this Rey maybe came with softgoods vest? or something a little more extra to give people the incentive to add it to their collection, not just forced to buy it to complete their Teddy Long figures and then throw Rey up for sale

[MonsoonMan]

Coming in today with a Big Sexy Saturday!



Monday Night Wars Series 2
Kevin Nash

Standing behind Eric Bischoff menacingly today is The Outsider, Kevin Nash! I was able to acquire both kevin nash and fake diesel TWO MONTHS after buying Rey and Trips. To be honest I knew instantly that nash and diesel would be the hardest figures to find regardless—the big sexy posse comes out en masse to stock up on his figures, they are always hard to find and are routinely $50+ on the secondary. Both Kevin Nash and Diesel figures sell well and this was a two headed beast in this series-even given that diesel wasn’t actually kevin in this series it still was desirable for the wrestlecrap folks. Big Kev comes to us today in his WCW Outsiders Debut look in street gear! Mattel came at us with a new technology on this figure—swappable hair! Even though they have been doing it on undertaker figures for years, they decided that this big kev figure wasn’t worth of just getting packaged with a cap accessory, no big sexy’s luxurious locks can not be contained that way and we got a new long hair with flat cap mold that can be exchanged with a non hat wearing long hair piece. interesting! I like the idea—lets be honest even I would have griped about the fitment of a flat cap accessory so sculpting a new hair was the way to go. Interchangeable hair? as long as the pieces fit on the figure properly, they wont look goofy and we all win? Luckily for me the exchangeable hair pieces worked out pretty good and latch onto the figure’s head just fine. I will say that when I was experimenting, I lost all head articulation—I mean maybe I could move it a few degrees in either direction but anything extreme would dislodge the head from the hairpiece. The headsculpt captures Kev in an open mouthed expression almost a still frame from the “look at the adjective” promo. The likeness is spot on, I can instantly see kevin nash from all angles the paint apps look great on my figure. Kev was given a black softgoods collared shirt and the body recipe—seee this is the thing I hate about non-nWo or non diesel kevin nash figures is that the rest of this figure is essentially an undertaker figure. Kevin has some fairly beefy arm sculpts and the tattoos present on his right arm, a silver watch on his right wrist and ‘the undertaker’ style torso. Big Sexy is dropping big boots in some black leather pants and black boots.
All in all a street gear kevin nash caused all this ruckus?! 😝 no it was super cool to get the WCW debut look of Kevin Nash and it was a neat little exhibition of the interchangeable hair technology; Pretty soon mattel will drop a line to rival SH Figuarts style figures. I will say it is kindof a bummer that we got scott hall in the jean attire, because when kevin debuted scott was wearing all black to match--Scott hall chase missed opportunity? As far as a “Monday night war” figure id say this is genuinely one of them. Kevin Nash in any capacity from the wcw side was a major player in the war so showcasing his first appearance on the competition was a great figure idea for the line. I genuinely don’t have any complaints with the figure, the headsculpt and expression looks great, the interchangeable hair looks and fits great on the figure and he follows the classic mattel body recipe they set up for him so there aren’t any discrepancies. He still looks cool posed up next to Scott as the true Outsiders!

[MonsoonMan]

🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛

Wrapping up the reviews for the core 4 figures of the Monday Night Wars Series 2 today 🔥




Monday Night Wars Series 2
Fake Diesel

Coming in today is ……Diesel! Wait is it Diesel? Its Diesel with a different octane rating, its Glen Jacobs as “Fake Diesel”. So I was honestly and truly less than thrilled about this figure.I just thought that Glen Jacobs as Diesel was really stupid. Glen looked so awkward with his curly hair and goatee dyed black and the gap in his teeth and his head just wasn’t the shape for the sunglasses to look cool at all. The way he moved in the ring, the way he sounded, just a total 180 from Kevin Nash and it really buried the Diesel character 60 ft underground. Glen Jacobs as Diesel just gives me the ick 😝 its like bro just take that gear off it just doesn’t look good on ya. I will say though that as far as a “Monday Night War” figure---begrudgingly I have to admit it’s a great choice. It was a move done in retaliation to kevin nash and scott hall thinking that talent had ultimate control in the game but wait we’re dealing with Vince Mcmahon carnie supreme here so he flexed his power and said no I control the characters and their fates and sent out glen Jacobs in the diesel garb. The headsculpt on this figure is brand new and---begrudgingly I admit mattel did a great job on it. they captured Glen’s curly dark shoulder length hair and his round head perfectly. The supplied glasses look and fit the figure great, the paint apps are good enough on the figure’s face that it looks fine without them, too. It captures Glen in a scrunched up angry face expression and the likeness is present from every angle. the TrueFx paint apps were applied perfect to my figure. The rest of the figure is essentially what you would expect from a Diesel figure, there are no changes to the body recipe—maybe the arms chosen are bigger than a Nash but beyond that he comes to the ring wearing a newly sculpted black leather vest with sculpted fringes and silver paint details on the studs. Under the vest he is wearing a black singlet top with a grey block DIESEL POWER logo. He imitates Nash with the black elbow pad on the right arm, however this figure utilizes a small elbow pad rather than a large one a Kevin Nash Diesel would rock. He also has a black fingerless glove on his right hand; mattel added the paint details for his fingers but ignored the sculpt details for the opening on the back of the gloves. He is dropping big boots in the black leather pants with sculpted fringes on the outside of the legs and some normal black boots.
All in all I have bittersweet feelings about this figure because I HATE Glen Jacobs as Diesel but ill be damned if it didn’t fit into the line perfectly and mattel did a good job on it. as I mentioned in the Nash review I knew instantly that this figure would be a massive pain to find and lo and behold it was. I don’t know why but any and all Nash figures seem to sell extremely well and this one is just enough of a weird birdie to be desirable as well. Luckily for me we have interchangeable head technology so guess whos pulling an old kevin nash head out of his drawer and putting on this figure’s body. DIESEL POWER ✊🚛💨

[MonsoonMan]

Monday Night Wars Series 2
Teddy Long BAF

Counting the pinfall today is referee Teddy Long! Our second official WWE Mattel Elite Zebra in figure form and its Theodore Long, Holla Holla! I was pretty excited for this resulting BAF of the wave simply for the fact the John Cone figure was so freaking cool. This Teddy figure is pretty straightforward, seems to hold the same body recipe as John but obviously a different skintone and I noticed that he didn’t come with fisted hands like John did (unless I mixed something up). The biggest change however that I thought was super rad was the change in the WWE logo on the shirt front and sleeve. John Cone features the new network era logo where Teddy has the old scratch logo on his shirt. Beyond that I am happy with the scale and the poseablility of this figure, he comes with open hands, pointing or 1 count hands, 2 count hands and 3 count hands.
All in all im 110% all for more of these guys popping up as Build A Figures in future waves. I cant WAIT for a Charles Robinson figure, hopefully in that Smackdown blue ref shirt. But in all seriousness im not really sure how fitting this Teddy Long referee was in the Monday Night War line. As mentioned on the back of the box he made his reffing debut during the era but I don’t remember him being name checked or used in storylines at that point. If anything referee Nick Patrick would have been a better choice as he was heavily involved in the nWo storylines. Jim Cornette would have been awesome to have (I know, I know) or Commissioner Slaughter would have also been an amazing choice. The series 3 BAF of the Disciple is going to be legendary as far as BAF and a choice for the Monday Night Wars, even series 4’s Commissioner Michaels figure is great for the purpose of the line. Don’t get me wrong im still really happy and really proud to have this Teddy Long Referee in my collection but as a hardcore collector I feel like some of these character choices are suffering from the parallel to the actual wwf / wcw invasion storyline.



Series 2 final thoughts.
SO. Here we are in June of 2024 and we have gotten Series 2 of the Monday Night Wars elites in the books. Figures locked into the collection forever. museum level stuff. Um….i guess if im being completely honest, series 2 seems like the most lackluster of the bunch. The triple h figure was simply a repaint of his legends figure, and a non-iconic look or attire. The rey figure although portraying an important moment in his debut in wcw, we all know it is a consolation prize figure and we all love rey including myself but man there are so many rey figures out and its like do we really need all these? There have been consistent drops of modern rey/flashback rey/modern rey/ flashback rey for the past year now that the market is pretty saturated and this Rey doesn’t really stand out as he comes with no accessories and wrong sized interchangeable hands. The Kevin Nash figure was where series two picks up; it was a hugely memorable moment not just in wrestling but specifically for the Monday Night wars. Mattel also tried out a new technology on the figure and it seems to have worked out pretty well. I really have no complaints on the figure I guess 10/10 for execution and inclusion in the series. “Diesel” was what it was. I just have too many personal feelings about Glen Jacobs DRESSED UP AS Diesel to really see this figure and be like “aah super cool!!!” it just gets a “hmm…neat I guess” from me. Thinking hard about it I don’t know I probably would have passed on this figure for my personal collection had it not been in the BAF wave, I mean honestly I may have bought it because I know weird figures like this become sought after but I certainly wouldn’t buy it coz I like it. lol all joking aside mattel did a good job on the likeness and it was also another great “Monday Night War” character choice. Looking back at series 1 character choice and BAF and looking forward to series 3 and that BAF…. Even series 4, just gotta say in the context of it all I think ranking them I would put series 2 on the bottom.

Who won series 2 wcw or wwf?
I forgot to do this with series 1 but I think for series 2 im gonna give WCW the victory. The Nash figure is A+ and despite it all the Rey figure has purpose as it portrays his WCW debut and he was a player in the wars for sure. The triple h figure was from a random Raw triple threat match and F FAKE DIESEL 😤

[MonsoonMan]

Happy Superstar Saturday y'all


so i ran to Wal Mart last night for groceries. i got to the store super late, like 730pm or something--then i shopped for groceries for like 45 minutes and snaked myself around to the toy aisle. no Summerslam shipper out on the floor still but when i got to the elite section.......I FOUND THE MNW 2 ULTIMATES!!!!! 🏆
gonna be COMPLETELY HONEST, i got a bit of a buzz finding these figures on the shelves 🤪 my head was buzzing and i my body felt really light and breezy, WHOOO WHO ELSE HAS A PROBLEM 😝 i was just laughing to myself the entire way to the register, i literally wasted all day and then obliviously shopped around the store to just find the figures chillin on the shelf. someone had already taken one mankind; there was a mankind and 2 eddies out, i claimed one eddie and the last mankind. STOKED. NOW BRING ON SERIES 3


coming in with a little SHIELD Saturday 😎




Then, Now, Forever
Dean Ambrose


So, as some may remember a while ago I purchased the greatest hits Seth Rollins Shield figure and it spun me out on a quest to assemble all of the Shield figures with those Hounds of Justice Badges on their attire. I ended up scooping up the Elite 31 Dean Ambrose to complete that set but in my quest I had reached out to one of my dudes on Mercari to see if he had one. A few weeks later (after I already had my Dean) he hit me back up and said he was able to find his Then Now Forever Ambrose figure and slid it to me on a deal, so here we are. This Dean comes to us utilizing a new headsculpt seen to his elite figures, this one comes as Dean was becoming more unhinged and settling into his role as the lunatic fringe of the Shield. Compared to the Elite 31 figure, this Dean was given some messy dark brown-almost red hued hair and some stubble, a glaring-teeth bearing bulldog like expression and the likeness to dean is pretty spot on. I do like the pompous slicked back hair and expression of the Elite 31, but this TNF elite has a more realistic portrayal of Dean Ambrose at the time. The rest of this Dean figure is classic Shield Dean, he is wearing a black sleeveless top with the Hounds of Justice logo on the upper left chest, black hand wraps and black cargo style shield pants and boots.
All in All this Then Now Forever Dean Ambrose figure is badass and honestly surpasses the Elite 31 figure as far as proper likeness. The headsculpt portrays a ton of emotion and really focused on the unhinged nature Dean was exposing on screen.

[MonsoonMan]

Happy Legends Series Sunday 'yall!!!!! 👑

OH MAN HOW AWESOME IS TARGET?!!!! Legends Series 23/Ultimate Legends Undertaker dropped today and holy cow how easy were those figures to get!!!!! 😀 Honestly, i missed the initial drop of pre-orders online. i kept checking back on Target.com and was able to secure both Rosey & Jamal online for delivery. 🔒 Big Bubba and Hulkster did pop in stock intermittently but i would have them both in my cart as i would go to check out one would no longer be available and i wanted to save as much on shipping costs as i could. i held out, KNOWING that i could get them on release day and lo and behold my gentlemen we have secured the bag. woke up this morning, opened up the Target app and selected 'Pick up at store' and about 45 mins later we were pulling into the parking lot to get our goods. EZ PZ! NOW, heres the thing, i am a nerd and i get excited and i WANTED to have these figures as soon as possible, i knew also however if things didnt work out TODAY, i could try again TOMORROW most likely seeing success as well. i was 0% concerned at all about the Target figures, just excitement today! super vibes 😎

on another side note i feel the need to announce that i have also secured 🚨 MY GRAIL FIGURE 🚨 YES. THATS RIGHT. MONSOONMAN HAS A #1 ALL TIME FAVORITE MATTEL WWE ELITE AND IT HAS JUST BEEN PURCHASED. with 'grail' figures i prefer them to be MOC so i have that unique experience of opening the figure myself, but this one came up on my radar loose, but it was cherished in another collection so it is still minty fresh. it was a very fair deal aswell i feel like it was a great purchase and im so glad to have this figure (return) to my collection, we'll discuss later 😉

ANYWAYS

continuing on today with a Deadman Sunday



Wrestlemania 32 Series
The Undertaker

Walking from the graveyard today is the undertaker……..from wrestlemania 31! I somehow acquired this figure for ultra cheap on ebay; this figure was MOC and in an auction with 0 bidders. Tossed in a bid and won the figure completely uncontested; The box was just showing its age, no real massive damage to it. Anyways, I gotta say right out of the gate is that this figure is so completely underwhelming. It’s honestly a pretty decent figure but just looking at it subjectively theres not a lot going on here. As Mentioned, this Taker comes to us from his appearance at Wrestlemania 31 against Bray Wyatt. Taker really didn’t look too remarkable during this appearance, he just showed up with short hair and his classic Taker attire in long pants. That being said this figure follows suit, and this Undertaker comes to the ring wearing the classic black brimmed hat and leather jacket for entrance gear. The jacket is a nice softgoods faux leather and I like it. Underneath the entrance gear……….this is essentially any and every ruthless aggression era undertaker that has ever been released by mattel ever. The headsculpt is the one we saw from back in Elite 18, and the body recipe is also the exact same formula from all the way back then too; singlet top and long black leather pants. During the match Taker wore an elbow pad on his right arm, mattel included none with this figure.
All in all I will say that despite not being completely overwhelming this is still a SOLID undertaker figure. It kindof blurs the lines between those Big Evil / Deadman Undertaker looks. I would have liked to see mattel use a new headsculpt for this figure as Undertaker……lets say Elite 18 Taker is from like 2002 or something-Taker was showing more age in 2015 and I don’t think the headsculpt was still applicable.