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.
The lineup in Elite 50 is overall pretty darn solid. Four in the series are the wrestler’s first ever elite and the accessories are fantastic…especially and entire announce table with Shane.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 50 are Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Baron Corbin, Rhyno, Warlord and John Cena.
We give our thoughts on each figure and include some pictures.
Shane McMahon – This is Mattel’s first Shane McMahon figure. He is in the gear he wrestled in during his match at Wrestlemania 32 match with The Undertaker. We usually get relatively small accessories with elite, but Shane gets a freaking entire announce table. This might be the largest accessory to come with a single elite in recent memory. This is a must-buy.
Stephanie McMahon – This figure is from Wrestlemania 32 when she accompanied Triple H in the main event against Roman Reigns. The skull face mask fits the recent Wrestlemania Heritage Triple H with the skull accessory. Stephanie’s headscan is great and a total home run.
Warlord – He wasn’t exactly an enduring character, but Mattel made sure to do the extra work needed for it to fly off the shelves. The face mask, chest piece and ‘W’ wand are awesome. I’m glad they released a Warlord, but sadly I doubt we will ever see a ‘Powers of Pain’ Warlord & Barbarian. I have my fingers crossed.
Baron Corbin – This is Corbin’s first elite and should sell well. The tattoo detail is pretty solid. He just recently started wearing a t-shirt, so Mattel didn’t have time to work on it. I’m sure his next elite will have one.
Rhyno – This is also Rhyno’s first elite…and actually, it’s his first Mattel figure. It is also the first time a Smackdown tag title has been included with a figure, so this one should do well at retail. Heath Slater is rumored to have an elite out in Elite 52 or 53, so this will be its counterpart. The arms on Rhyno is a bit weird, but let’s face the facts, Rhyno has an oddly-shaped body. Mattel was going to struggle making a good Rhyno figure.
John Cena – Mattel has heard out complaints and after not getting a t-shirt with the last two Cena elites, they hooked us up with a cloth shirt with Elite 50. This attire is pretty solid and some big moments occurred in it, like his first set of matches with A.J. Styles.
Elite 50 should be found at retail in June.
Elite 51’s lineup has already been announced, but haven’t seen any images of figures. Once MOC images are released, I’ll write something up for the site.
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.