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.
Elite Series 33, Elite Series 34 & Elite Series 35 were all home runs (Elite Series 32…not so much). Even though Elite Series 35 just started to hit retail, Mattel’s Elite Series 36 is starting to come out to collectors that put in early pre-orders.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 36 are DDP (Flashback), Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas, Goldust, Startdust & Dean Ambrose
We give our thoughts on each figure and include some pictures.
I actually pre-ordered the entire Elite 36 set and should receive them any day now. I’m excited for this series, but Elite 37’s lineup looks like it could be one of the best of the year.
Diamond Dallas Page – If you collected Mattel’s WWE line from the beginning, you probably already have a similar DDP in your collection. I only started about a year ago, so I missed out on getting him cheap. IRS was rumored to have been included in this series, but something held it up, so DDP took his spot. I would have liked having an IRS more, but he will probably be in Elite 39 or Elite 40.
Bo Dallas – This figure was probably a no-brainer when Mattel started working on this Elite last year. He just debuted with a lot of buzz around him. He got injured and was off television for nearly six months. He has just started getting back into storylines. I think the figure is great. The BO-LIEVE cloth shirt is a great accessory.
Bray Wyatt – This is Bray’s third Elite figure (Elite 28 & WMXXX Toys R Us exclusive). He’s coming off a nice feud with the Undertaker and his stock is very high. I love the apron since it gives the figure a look closer to what he looked like when he was in NXT.
Dean Ambrose – I don’t usually keep my figures in their box (it takes up way too much room), but the way Ambrose is positioned in the box is hilarious. I’m loving the headscan by Mattel more than any previous Dean figure. This is a must-own.
Stardust – This will definitely be the best-selling Cody Rhodes Elite figure ever. Cody figures tend to warm retail shelves (there’s still a few Cody figures from Elite 32 at a nearby Target store). This character has more appeal and think he will be a fixture in upcoming Basic lines. He changes color schemes often, so Mattel may have found their new ‘throw Rey Mysterio in a Basic series line’ guy, since Rey is no longer in the WWE.
Goldust – I would have loved for this Goldust to be a flashback from the mid-90’s, since we don’t have an Elite Goldust flashback, but I’ll take this figure. The face paint choice is excellent. Goldust wore it during the Rhodes brothers tag title run. I like this Elite better than the one that came in Elite 29.
I expect Mattel to release some prototype pictures for Elite Series 37 soon. Elite 36 should be found at retail some time in early July.
You can pre-order everything at RingsideCollectibles.com. I’m not getting paid to plug them (although it would be nice to get a nice discount – wink wink). 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.