I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month.
WWE Elite Series 30, Elite Series 31 were both home runs (Elite Series 32…not so much). I mostly skipped Elite 32 (only purchased Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio) because I knew Elite 33 would be crazy awesome. They knocked a few of these figures out of the park. The Mattel design team did some great work.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 33 are X-Pac (Flashback), Junkyard Dog (Flashback), Batista (aka Bluetista), Cesaro, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
Here are some pictures and a review of which accessories each figure will come with.
After buying a few Elite 32s and most of Elite 33 (I pre-ordered them and received them today), I’m getting used to the small boxes. They keep everything tidy and the graphics are growing on me.
X-Pac – This figure is the one many collectors have been wanting for since Mattel took over the WWE license from Jakks Pacific. They’ve been putting out Elites of members of Degeneration X and X-Pac was the only one without one. I noticed this figure has a new kickpad design that I like a lot. The bonus of this figure is that it comes with the defunct WWE European championship belt. You can now complete your DX Army.
Junkyard Dog – As a vintage WWF LJN collector, I’m all about Mattel releasing as many 80’s wrestlers as possible. Junkyard Dog was one of my favorites growing up. The head scan is great. I also like the special touch of adding ‘THUMP’ on the back of the trunks. It was a given that they would give him a dog collar and chains. This one is a must-own for any wrestling collector.
Batista – When Mattel released the prototype images of future action figures at San Diego Comic-Con, this figure was one of the most talked about. His ‘Bluetista’ outfit he wore at Payback PPV kind of took on a life of its own. The Internet went crazy with videos like this and memes like this and this. I am so happy they made this figure. Batista had a figure released in Elite series 30 and I purposely didn’t buy it since I knew this one was coming out soon. This figure has a bald spot, which I’m sure Batista is super happy about. This is a great figure to add to your collection.
Cesaro – This is the fourth figure of the group I pre-ordered. I mostly ordered it for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy, but also because I missed out his earlier Elite. I didn’t start collecting newer figures until well-after its release. This Elite isn’t a huge upgrade over his recent Basic releases. If you have his earlier Elite and can live without the trophy, I’d recommend you’d pass on this one.
Seth Rollins – You might notice a huge flaw in this Rollins figure right away. It’s not exactly ‘current’. I’ve explained this before, but it takes months to develop these figures and sometimes figures get released months after wrestling gear changes. This does come with a removable vest and tag team titles, which is a plus from his first Elite. I’m sure we will see another Rollins Elite with fresh gear and a gold Money In The Bank briefcase. This is a pass for me.
Roman Reigns – You can basically read my Seth Rollins post and it would also explain this figure. They improved the head scan and that could be enough for people to buy this Elite. Reigns hasn’t updated his ring gear much since he was in The Shield. I expect a change when he returns from injury. Since I own his earlier Elite, I’ll probably pass on this one.
The Elite 34 lineup has already been announced, but only two prototype images have been released (Paige & Doink). I already pre-ordered those two, but I’m waiting on more images before I decide on the rest. I will write a post about them before they hit retail. You can pre-order them at RingsideCollectibles.com and get them early to mid-March (about a month before they hit retail).
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.