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.
Every Elite series released this year have been great. The last dud was Elite series 32, but they made up for it with all the recent releases. I believe Elite series 36 was the best series this year, which is a huge feat in such a stacked year.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 37 are Stephanie McMahon, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, Dean Malenko (Flashback) & The Miz.
We give our thoughts on each figure and include some pictures.
I actually pre-ordered the entire Elite 37 set and should receive them any day now. Elite series 38 looks great as well with three Flashbacks. I will write something up about Elite 38 once MOC pictures are released.
Stephanie McMahon – This figure will be difficult to find at retail. This is Steph’s first Elite and Divas as a whole seem nearly impossible to find ‘in the wild’. The attire is from last year’s Summerslam when she faced Brie Bella. The signs are a nice touch since she was making fun of Daniel Bryan’s ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ catchphrase.
Brock Lesnar – The big selling point for this figure is that it is the first Elite to come with the revamped WWE Heavyweight Championship title. It would have been nice to have Brock’s unique championship side plates, but I’ll take the title as is. The headscan is a bit goofy, but they needed a new Brock scan.
Seth Rollins – This is the first non-Shield Rollins Elite. It would have been nice to have the yellow piping on his gear, but they saved that for the upcoming Toys R Us exclusive that is coming out in November. This figure will be a hot seller…until the Toys R Us figure is released.
Dean Malenko – I’m quite torn about this figure. I love that Mattel actually cared enough to make Malenko (I was a fan of him growing up), but he doesn’t have a five o’clock shadow like the figure displayed at SDCC. Also, the box is incorrect because the title in the box isn’t the United States Championship title, it’s the Cruiserweight title. I hope they making a running change and include the five o’clock shadow (and maybe correct the box).
John Cena – If you’ve seen one Elite John Cena figure, you’ve seen them all. I do enjoy that Mattel puts cloth shirts on Cena Elites, but I was hoping this figure would have the turquoise Cena gear. I’m sure that Cena will be released soon, maybe in Elite 40.
The Miz – I don’t care for The Miz on television or in the ring, but Mattel seems to crank out quality Miz figures. I like the entrance robe and assume we will see the robe again when they release a Damien Mizdow Elite in the near future.
I expect Mattel to release some prototype pictures for Elite Series 38 in the next month or so. Elite 37 should be found at retail some time in early-to-mid-September
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.