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 for WWE Elite series 59 has been known for awhile, but they have yet to be released. We’ve already seen up-close pictures as they were on display at a few toy shows this Winter. This lineup might be the weakest in awhile as there isn’t a ‘first ever elite’ in this set and a few guys don’t get regular TV time.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 59 are Kurt Angle, American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan), Finn Balor, Zack Ryder & The Miz.
Kurt Angle (Flashback) – This is the second Kurt Angle elite flashback since he was brought back into WWE. The first one was an Entrance Greats figure from his early days in the WWF. The Elite 59 elite is from Kurt Angle’s ‘Team Angle’ days. This was when he had an entourage of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. Benjamin is back under a WWE contract, so we could get an elite of him during that gimmick, but I doubt we will see a Haas figure anytime soon. I dig this elite and it should be a nice seller.
Chad Gable – This figure is from when Gable was in American Alpha with Jason Jordan. The attire is from either the night they won the Smackdown Live tag team championships, or sometime shortly after. Gable was recently traded to RAW as a single competitor, so maybe he will get hot, and this figure will as well.
Jason Jordan – This elite is from the good ole’ days…when Jason Jordan wasn’t portrayed as Kurt Angle’s son. It was arguably the worst storyline of 2017. I’m not sure where the storyline was heading on the Road to Wrestlemania, because we never really found out. Jordan suffered a neck injury and has been out since around the time of the Royal Rumble. I’m not sure how this one will sell as since he hasn’t been on TV in months. He had ‘turn the channel’ heat before the injury, so this one might suffer at retail.
Zack Ryder – This elite’s attire is from last year’s Battleground pay-per-view when Ryder faced Rusev. His patriotic attire paid homage to Sting (the jacket), Macho Man (sunglasses) and the Ultimate Warrior (trunks and knee pads). It’s pretty sick gear. He hasn’t been on television much lately and that seems to be the biggest factor in retail sales (unless its a flashback…and even some of those died a death on the shelves). Hopefully the cool gear makes this one a nice seller, since we haven’t had a Ryder elite in a long, long time…he was long overdue.
The Miz – Mattel usually does a great job on Miz elites…but I’m not completely sold on this one. The jacket and headscan kill it for me. They’ve had much better headscans in the past and the jacket looks too much like an older jacket that came with an Undertaker elite. There’s an upcoming Walgreens exclusive elite of Maryse coming out in white…but I ‘think’ that pairs with a previous Miz elite, not this one.
Finn Balor – Balor figures usually fly off the shelves, but this one looks a bit too much like his debut elite. They needed to add some white strings on the headdress and tassels to make it more accurate. Also, Balor hasn’t painted up as the ‘Demon King’ in over six months. I don’t know if WWE is trying to get the regular Finn Balor over before they bring back the paint…or if the paint is dead. The fact that he doesn’t paint up anymore could hurt this one.
Elite 59 should be found at retail in early-June.
Elite 60’s lineup is already up for pre-order on some online retailers that get figures early. I will have a post about them in the coming weeks.
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. You can also check out WalkOutWear.com for pre-orders with free shipping.
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.