Every year at San Diego Comic Con, Mattel reveal hundreds of upcoming WWE figures that are on the way. I highly recommend you see the full gallery of what was shown at this link (this is where all these images are from). So many amazing figures were shown and for anyone who is interested, I have compiled my top 10 most wanted from the event.
10. "Ravishing" Rick Rude
Survivor Series Elite Build-A-Figure
Sporting the iconic look he had as DX's "insurance policy", this Rick Rude Build-A-Figure does involve having to collect Drew McIntyre, AJ Styles, Becky Lynch and Ultimate Warrior in order to complete him but that will be absolutely worth it. Rick comes complete with two swappable heads, one with a full beard and the other with just a moustache so you can recreate the events of November 17th, 1997 when Rude appeared on both WWE Raw and WCW Nitro on the same night.
9. Boogeyman
Elite Collection Series 99, Chase Version
I already own Boogeyman's first Elite figure but this upcoming CHASE Boogeymen is both amazing and terrifying! To the best of my knowledge this specific face paint briefly during his time in the relaunched ECW.
8. Dok Hendrix
Royal Rumble Elite Build-A-Figure
Another Build-A-Figure so again this is a result of buying the complete set but another must-have for me. This is a figure I never expected to see. Considering Michael Hayes has been such a mainstay behind the scenes with WWE, it's crazy how few figures he has had over the years. Fantastic looking figure with an excellent Royal Rumble microphone accessory too.
7. Paul E. Dangerously
WWE Legends Series 18, Target Exclusive
Another wrestling star who had never seen a Mattel Elite release is Paul Heyman but this year's Comic Con revealed two versions. Firstly, a modern day Heyman in a 3-pack alongside Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar and then this magnificent Paul E. Dangerously from the early 90s as a manager to the the stars as he rose through the ECW ranks to become a wrestling cult hero. Complete with a fantastic ECW hat and a massive mobile phone from the era. Now, I would love a 911 action figure to go alongside him.
6. Fatu & Samu (Samoan SWAT Team)
WWE Legends Series 18, Target Exclusive, Chase Versions
Whilst their Headshrinker counterparts from the same series may be the more superior versions with their excellent accessories, I'm always going to lean towards the more obscure older incarnations of a wrestler and these WCW throwbacks are phenomenal and something I never expected to see. With these being Target Exclusive chase figures, I don't fancy my chances of ever owning them but these truly are beautiful figures and the more we can pad out our WCW & ECW rosters the better!
5. Ultimate Warrior
Ultimate Edition Wave 15
This is the second time that Mattel is tackling the Wrestlemania 7 Ultimate Warrior (first was the excellent Defining Moments figure) but for collectors that possibly missed out or even those that just want a more intricately detailed figure, this is fantastic news. The coat will now come with the extra layer that fitted over his shoulders and this is the first Warrior figure that has the face-paint worn face WITH the flattened sweaty hair look. For my money, this was the Ultimate Warrior's greatest match so it's nice to see this attire represented a few times over.
4. Chainsaw Charlie
Elite Collection Series 97
Attitude Era action with the maniacal chainsaw-wielding Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk), a gimmick that the wrestling legend did not need but one that he definitely made work. Formed a memorable team with Cactus Jack and some excellent matches with the New Age Outlaws. Absolutely going to display him with stocking head but nice to have a regular Terry head too.
3. Mr. America
Elite Collection Series 101
For a couple months in 2003 Hulk Hogan was involved in a storyline with Mr. McMahon which saw the boss not wanting The Hulkster on his TV anymore and forced Hulk to sit out the rest of his contract. This saw the debut of Mr. America who had very similar theme music to Hogan and also looked eerily similar to the man himself too. The masked man denied all accusations of being Hogan until he was finally rumbled by Vince and subsequently fired. Despite being over in a blink of an eye, we have this beautiful figure on the way that pays homage to that moment in time!
2. Farooq
Elite Collection Series 98
Another Ron Simmons figure to add to your Elite collection and this time he is in his WWF debut Farooq Asaad attire. The man himself moved onto much better characters after short-lived iteration but to have this silly outfit immortalised in figure form is amazing! Two colour schemes of helmet included for maximum WrestleCrap enjoyment! Thank you Mattel.
1. Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Syxx (nWo)
Retro Tag Team Bundle, Ringside Collectibles Exclusive
That brings us to number 1 on my list and like so many others out there, the WWF Hasbro figures were THE toys of my childhood. In all honesty, I think Mattel have been a little hit and miss since first launching their tribute to the Hasbro in 2017 but something appears to have lit a fire under Mattel because these are perhaps the best four Retro figures that they have made to date and luckily for us, they come in the same bundle!
Honourable Mentions
My beloved partner suffers through my love of both toys and wrestling respectfully. I like to involve her as much as possible in my endeavours so I kindly requested her feedback on the entire gallery of WWE Mattel reveals coming out of SDCC 2022. Mostly unimpressed with a hilarious confused face as to what it was that she was seeing, the process was filled with such gems as "what have they done to his face?" and "why are his belly button and willy so far apart?" she eventually managed to narrow it down to her favourites ( which presumably means there'll be no issue when any of them arrive in the post 🤣)
Sami Zayn - Basic Series 134
Rick Boogs - Elite Collection Series 98
Hulk Hogan - Elite Collection Series 96
"Ravishing" Rick Rude - WWE Superstars Series 5, Walmart Exclusive
Bam Bam Bigelow - Elite Collection Greatest Hits 2022
Thanks for reading! Don't forget, you can always use the coupon code CELLAR to get 10% OFF at www.ringsidecollectibles.com