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. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.
Every Elite series released this year has been great. The last dud was Elite series 32, but they made up for it with all the recent releases. Elite 36 and 37 were two of the best series they’ve released period.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 38 are “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Bradshaw, Farooq, Adam Rose, Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns.
We give our thoughts on each figure and include some pictures.
I actually pre-ordered the entire Elite 38 set and should receive them in late-September. Elite 39’s lineup hasn’t been released yet, but hopefully some of the figures they announced at San Diego Comic-Con will be included.
“Macho Man” Randy Savage – I’m a sucker for Macho Man figures. This figure’s attire is from his pre-NWO WCW days. Also, he wore this outfit in a Slim Jim commercial. I would have loved if this figure came with a shirt, but I’ll take every Macho Man Mattel puts out.
Bradshaw – This is Bradshaw during his pre-JBL days when he was in the APA (Acolyte Protection Agency). It comes with a chair and breakaway card table. I would have preferred if the shirt was either cloth or plastic with the acolyte symbols on his chest. I hope there’s a Battle Pack of The Acolytes in the works.
Farooq – This goes along well with the Bradshaw in the series. It comes with a chair and an APA door. The skin color is a bit too dark, but I just love that there is a Ron Simmons elite from any era. I was a big fan of him in WCW.
Adam Rose – Due to the time it takes Mattel to design and get an elite figure to market (usually 10 to 12 months), a lot can happen. The Rose gimmick never got over…at all. I only think he wore glasses and hat for a couple weeks. I still think the figure looks great. This will probably be the only elite we will get of him.
Daniel Bryan – This is possibly the best Daniel Bryan elite Mattel has ever put out. The face scan is near perfect and the shirt is iconic due to his run to headline Wrestlemania. He hasn’t been on television much due to a concussion/neck issues, so I sadly believe this will shelf-warm hard at retail just like his figure in Elite 32.
Roman Reigns – If you’ve seen one Roman Reigns elite, you’ve seen them all at this point. His attire has only slightly changed since his debut. The new headscan and combat vest accessory is a plus. He really needs to change it up or his figures will collect dust.
I expect Mattel to release information about Elite Series 39 by late-September. Elite 38 should be found at retail some time in mid-October.
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.