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 & Elite Series 33 were all home runs (Elite Series 32…not so much). Well, Mattel released images of Elite 34 and they are definitely crazy awesome.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 34 are Doink (Flashback), Hulk Hogan, Rusev, Paige, Bad News Barrett and John Cena.
Here are some pictures and a review of which accessories each figure will come with.
I already pre-ordered most of this series and I may end up picking up all six if I see them for cheap online or at retail. These are due in late-March to wholesalers and should hit retail sometime in April.
Rusev – This will be Rusev’s first Elite figure by Mattel. His Basic was released at the end of last year and it was praised by collectors as being a must-own at the time. His Elite comes with a medal and a medal platform. I would have loved for this to come with a Russian flag, but it already has two solid accessories. I’ll let it slide. His next Elite must have a Russian flag.
Doink – This is one of the figures Mattel released a prototype photo of at the San Diego Comic-Con last Summer. I love the wigs you can swap out and the bucket is also solid. Many have raised a fuss that it doesn’t come with a coat, but I’m a fan of what they’ve done. For being the first Doink figure by Mattel, they knocked it out of the park.
Paige – This is Paige’s first WWE figure. They went all-out with it. It comes with the WWE Divas championship AND the NXT Women’s championship. Mattel decided to honor the moment Paige debuted on RAW and defeated A.J. Lee to win the Divas title. I love it. I definitely pre-ordered this one. It will be hard to find at retail since she’s now on E!’s “Total Divas.”
Hulk Hogan – This is a present-day Hulk Hogan figure. It has his new tattoos and comes with a crazy amount of accessories. I’m not sure why it comes with two shirts. The feather boa is a nice touch. This figure should help curb the Hogan thirst until Mattel releases an NWO Hollywood Hogan figure next year.
Bad News Barrett – This is Barrett’s first Elite since he began his new ‘Bad News’ gimmick. His figures have shelf-warmed at retail, but the look of this one should help it sell. It could have used a new facescan, but the entrance cape is very solid.
John Cena – Yawn. This is Cena’s first Elite series figure since Elite 28. He has been included in nearly every Toys R Us Build-A-Figure series though. I dig the camo shorts and the shirt is just okay. There’s nothing special about this figure, but we all knew we were due for another Cena Elite.
The Elite 35 lineup has already been announced and pictures were just released. I will have a post about that series within the next few weeks. Earthquake finally gets his first figure by Mattel and a few others in the series are getting their first Elites.
You can pre-order everything at RingsideCollectibles.com. I’m not getting paid to plug them. I just highly recommend them. I’ve been pleased with every purchase.
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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.