Every once in a while, I will outline some recent WWE Mattel purchases I've made, both in stores and on the secondary market. Let's take a look at some of the WWE Mattel figures I picked up in the winter of 2021...
While I'm not always into collecting current WWE stars, the Drew McIntyre figure from the Elite 89 collection is a must-have. Not only is it a much better rendering of The Scottish Warrior than many of the past Mattel releases, but it also comes with a kilt and his sword Angela (plus interchangeable hands to brandish said sword). This is, by the far, the best Drew McIntyre figure I've seen to date.
I also managed to snag an early WWE Legends figure (Series 2) of Superfly Jimmy Snuka. Although my transaction didn't include the jungle-print robe the figure originally came with, this is probably the only Superfly figure that captures his early 1990's WWF run. And if I'm not mistaken... it's the only Snuka figure that Mattel ever made. While long trunks and boots isn't his most identifiable look... it's still a nice (albeit controversial) addition to my 1990s collection.
Back to the present day... I don't believe I've ever owned a Mattel Miz figure and through the same eBay lot as the Snuka purchase, I found this one from Battle Pack Series 67 (originally packaged with John Morrison). It's a fairly basic Miz figure, but it gets the job done... and it actually has a pretty decent face scan, too.
Speaking of Battle Packs, I picked up the newer version (now known as Championship Showdown) featuring both Ric Flair and The Giant. Given I'm trying to build up a WCW Mattel collection... these two were perfect. Granted, they're a bit on the basic side (and it honestly looks like they just stuck long hair on an old Big Show figure), but no real complaints with either of these WCW competitors.
While I have several different iterations of Seth Rollins, his figure from Elite 45 is a standout. Decked out in the white outfit he wore at SummerSlam 2015 against John Cena, the shirt is removeable (it also came with a WWE Championship initially, though I didn't get that one loose) and it's a throwback to when The Architect had multi-colored hair.
Back to my 1990s collection, I've never owned a British Bulldog Mattel figure (despite sharing the same last name). This one was from the SummerSlam basic collection, and it commemorates his SummerSlam 1992 against Bret Hart at Wembley Stadium. Not a bad rendering.
One may wonder how I ended up with a Tucker figure (Basic Series 117), and you wouldn't be wrong to ask that question. I honestly don't know. It must have been a random eBay or flea market find. I mean, not only is it the less-successful member of Heavy Machinery, but he's not even wearing a damn shirt! This may bypass my Tupperware bin and go directly into the trash bin; we'll see....
With Lita recently returning to WWE, it was good timing that I picked up a more-recent version of the WWE Hall of Famer (from Battle Pack Series 64, originally packaged with Trish Stratus). It's not the "classic" look, but rather from her appearance at the Evolution pay-per-view.
Finally... I've been searching for a Vince McMahon Mattel figure and while I would have preferred a younger version of The Chairman, this one (from Battle Pack 23, originally packaged with CM Punk and a pair of kendo sticks) is a good placeholder for now. And there's no chance (in hell) that I wouldn't include Vinnie Mac in my collection - I don't want to join Mr. McMahon's Kiss My Ass Club!