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 60 has been known since this Spring. We’ve already seen up-close pictures as they were on display at a few toy shows early this year. There is something for everyone in Elite 60. This lineup is a step up from the weak Elite 59 set.
The WWE Superstars included in Elite 60 are Andre the Giant (Giant Machine), Elias, John Cena, Triple H, Kofi Kingston and Triple H.
Elias – This will be the hottest figure in this set, since this is his first wrestling figure ever. Elias has been a huge surprise since being called up to the main roster. He was basically a lower mid-card guy in NXT, but Vince McMahon saw something in him. He has been in angles against top talent. He gets a lot of time out there by himself and gets a lot of heat. The dude could be a major star in WWE. I love the figure and I expect to see another Elias elite with his Walk With Elias shirt.
Giant Machine (Andre the Giant) – Many may not know much about the The Machines tag team. It was an idea that started in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Andre took the idea back to the States. There were many different Machine characters with Bill Eadie (later known as Ax in Demolition) as Super Machine having the longest tenure in the group. Andre was dealing with some major back issues, so they decided to put him in a tag team to limit his in-ring action. He was kayfabe suspended and he donned a mask as a Machines member known as Giant Machine. Other people to be a Machines member on a limited or one-time basis was Stan Hansen (Big Machine), Hulk Hogan (Hulk Machine), Roddy Piper (Piper Machine), George Steele (Animal Machine) and The Crusher (Crusher Machine). As for the figure, I love that it comes with an extra head in case you wanted to switch it out. Also, if you take off the singlet, he has a pair of yellow trunks that Andre wore for periods of time in the mid-80’s.
John Cena – This is probably the 20th-ish elite Mattel has released of John Cena. Most of them come with cloth shirts and they usually sell very well. He wore this variation of shirt after Wrestlemania 33 last year. This is a small detail, but I really like the shoe color they chose.
Triple H – I believe this attire is from his appearance at Wrestlemania 33 or Survivor Series (2017). I don’t recall his gear changing much between those events. I think this is the first Triple H headscan to don the longer beard. A basic may have come out with this head, but this is for sure the first elite. There hasn’t been a current Triple H elite in awhile, so this one should sell well…especially if he is on TV more this Summer.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods – This gear is from when they appeared at Battleground pay-per-view in 2017. There will be a Big E released in Elite 61 that will match these two guys. After all the USA themed elites in Elite 59, this kind of feels like overkill. These will hit this Summer, so it will fit the season at retail.
Elite 60 should be found at retail in late-August.
Elite 61’s lineup has leaked, but I will write up a post once MOC pictures are released…which should be before the San Diego Comic-Con.
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.
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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.