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 53 is the first full lineup without any flashback figures in a long time. It’s a smart move by Mattel since there are so many exclusive lines that are only flashbacks. They will eventually run out of older guys if they include two or three per series. Also, it feels like we are a bit behind on elite of some of the guys that appear on TV more since the brand split.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 53 are Alexa Bliss, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, The Miz, Big E and Heath Slater.
We give our thoughts on each figure and include some pictures.
Alexa Bliss – This figure is so damn good. This is from her attire she debuted at ‘No Mercy’ 2016…almost exactly a year ago. Of course Alexa Bliss decided to cosplay Harley Quinn from the DC Universe. Mattel has really been taking the extra time to make the divas figures top-notch. Asuka, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss have been three of the best figures Mattel has released this year.
Chris Jericho – I prefer the recent Jericho ‘You’re On The List’ exclusive elite cause of the creative packaging and the headscan is better. I still like this one, but that exclusive is just on-point. Mattel messed up on this figure as well, by giving it a fist hand…yet it comes with the list and a pen. How is he supposed to hold the pen?! It’s an honest mistake I guess.
The Miz – This ‘Phantom of the Opera’ attire is from Summerslam 2016. I expect a similar Battlepack figure to be released with Maryse in her white attire. I’ve become a huge fan of The Miz since his rant on ‘Talking Smack’ against Daniel Bryan. Mattel always makes good figures of The Miz…let’s hope this sells better than his others have at retail.
Kevin Owens – Mattel has been cranking out Owens figures for the last year. It could start to become repetitive with his attire, but I love this shirt. It pays homage to the old ‘RAW is WAR’ logo used during the Attitude Era. The Universal title will help this one sell well.
Heath Slater – This is his first elite since Elite 16! It was during his run in ‘The Corre’ faction. He hasn’t really done much to deserve (that’s probably the wrong word), an elite in the regular elite series. He did take advantage of the brand-split and scored the Smackdown Live! tag team championships with Rhyno. I loved his skits with his ‘wife’ on SD Live.
Big E – This figure tops off the elite trio of the New Day. Kofi and Xavier Woods were in Elite 52. They wore this attire around a year ago, but really hoped for an elite attire of the New Day from when Booty O’s came out (the blue and pink attire).
Elite 53 should be found at retail in October.
Elite 54’s lineup has already been officially announced (but the lineup has been leaked). 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 recommend them. I’ve been pleased with every purchase.
I should also add TheyreActionFigures.com to my recommendation list. Awesome prices for WWE, Marvel and other toy lines. I’ve bought from them numerous times. A trusted seller and treats buyers well with great prices and fast shipping.
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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.