Category Archives: wrestling

Review: WWE Survivor Series 2017

I don’t always review WWE pay-per-views, but I usually do them for the ‘Big Four’ events. ‘Survivor Series’ would need to be a great show to surpass the previous night’s ‘NXT Takeover: War Games’ event that was insanely good.

I didn’t have high hopes for ‘Survivor Series’, but there were some matches that intrigued me. Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles was the match I was most looking forward to watching. I guess there were also certain match-ups in the main event that we’ve never seen before like Braun Strowman & Shinsuke Nakamura and Triple H & Bobby Roode that occurred, which were pretty cool.

Was the 2017 ‘Survivor Series’ worth all the hype?

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 55

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 WWE Elite series 55 is the second series with the new packaging. The lineup is a bit underwhelming. New collectors will enjoy the ‘American Badass’ Undertaker flashback, but it’s too much like the Elite 18 figure. Also, Enzo and Cass have had too many elites in the last year, so these might sit at retail, especially Big Cass.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 55 are Neville, James Ellsworth, The Undertaker, Enzo Amore, Big Cass & Brock Lesnar.

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: 2017 Ringside Fest’s WWE Mattel Announcements [PHOTOS]

There are only a few times a year when Mattel announces and debuts upcoming WWE action figures. San Diego Comic-Con and Ringside Fest are the two of the biggest events with the most upcoming WWE action figure reveals. This year’s Ringside Fest in NYCC did not disappoint.

We already saw some of the figures at San Diego Comic-Con, so I’ll skip most of those in this post. I want to focus on the figures we didn’t know anything about or figures we haven’t seen in prototype form.

We already know that Target has NXT basics and elites and Hall of Fame elite exclusives, Walmart has the ‘THEN NOW FOREVER’ elites and basics, as well as an occasional Build-A-Figure line and Toys R Us has a multiple exclusives per year. It looks like WWE Shop will also get in on the Elite exclusive fun this upcoming year.

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: Fall/Winter 2017 WWE Funko Releases

We covered some upcoming Funko releases back in May. Those figures are already in my collection and look fantastic. Funko is set to release even more pop vinyl figures before Christmas this year.

We have reviewed a lot of Mattel’s WWE Elite figures, but Funko has also released some pretty solid figures in the past. I’m a big collector and you can see some of my collection on my Instagram, @vintagetoybob.

I’ve plugged another site in my previous Mattel/Funko posts, but if you’re looking to order Funko figures, I’d trust DCtoys.net. I’ve bought from the seller before and he is highly reputable. The best of the best for sure. You can use code ‘AAFWWEBUNDLE‘ for free domestic shipping on any order over $36.

Here are some pictures of Funko’s Fall/Winter 2017 WWE POP! vinyl releases.

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 54

The lineup in WWE Elite series 54 is the second series in a row without a single flashback figure. It’s a smart move by Mattel, since there are plenty of other elite lines that they could throw old school wrestlers in these days. Walmart’s ‘Then, Now, Forever’, Target’s ‘Hall of Fame’ and even the Toys R Us ‘Network Spotlight series can be used to do just that.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 54 are Charlotte Flair, Rich Swann, John Cena, The Usos and Bray Wyatt.

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 53

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.

Continue reading →

Sports Crush: Toni Storm

We’ve written over a dozen ‘Sports Crush’ posts since we launched AmericasWhiteBoy.com. We have spotlighted a ton of WWE Divas (Becky Lynch, Lana, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Emma and others). The response has been great. This women’s wrestler isn’t technically signed by the WWE, but Toni Storm is in the WWE’s Mae Young Classic tournament.

Storm was born in New Zealand, moved to Australia at a young age and then moved to England when she was 13. She immediately started wrestling school and debuted soon after in 2009.

She has been a huge part of the resurgence of women’s wrestling in Japan and Europe. She is the current SWA champion in the all-female Stardom promotion. She is also the titleholder in PROGRESS, AAW, British Empire and other promotions.

WWE’s Mae Young Classic was fun to watch and showcased many of the top female talent all over the globe, Storm was one of those women.

The WWE needs to sign her soon. She could be a huge star for them. She’s got the look they love and she can hold her own with the best in the world.

Check out why we are crushing on Toni Storm with our picture gallery, and a very special .gif.

Continue reading →

Review: WWE SummerSlam 2017

After last night’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III, the WWE main roster had to put on a PPV to follow up that amazing show. I wouldn’t say they failed to do so, but the show was too damn long.

If you count the pre-show and the main card, it was SIX HOURS LONG! You could watch two NFL football games, or roughly four football matches (I didn’t want to exclude my International readers). It wasn’t as long as Wrestlemania and thank God.

SummerSlam had five title changes, which could be a record. I know Michael Cole mentioned that this show has the most title matches in one night in the history of WWE. It may or may not be correct since WWE announcers have spewed bullshit records in the past (I’m looking at you Matt Striker).

Continue reading →

Review: NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III

NXT Takeover events are almost always the best show of that weekend. WWE main roster will have a hard time beating NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III when they have Summerslam later today.

Every match was competitive and you can tell every guy wanted to steal the show. Even the guys who lost looked like a million bucks. No one got buried, and a surprise debut, made the show fresh. NXT is in a better place than it was after Shinsuke Nakamura and a few others were brought up to the main roster a few months ago.

On paper, there have been better NXT Takeover shows, but this one kept the crowd’s attention the entire night. The crowd didn’t have any chants that made me think they were bored. I’m sure we will hear a few tonight at Summerslam.

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 52

The lineup in Elite 52 is pretty good. It updates some current guys and two long-awaited flashbacks from the Attitude Era.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 52 are Braun Strowman, Ken Shamrock, D’Lo Brown, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Seth Rollins.

Continue reading →

Sports Crush: Maria Kanellis

We’ve written over a dozen ‘Sports Crush’ posts since we launched AmericasWhiteBoy.com. We have spotlighted a ton of WWE Divas (Becky Lynch, Lana, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Emma and others). The response has been fantastic, so we decided to profile another WWE women’s superstar, Maria Kanellis

Kanellis was first hired by the WWE in 2004 as a member of a ‘Diva Search’ contest. She was released in 2010. She went on to appear in Ring of Honor, New Japan and Impact Wrestling with her husband, Mike Bennett.

Well, she is back in the WWE again, but this time with her husband. I have a feeling she’ll end up on ‘Total Divas’ pretty soon.

Kanellis appeared in Playboy Magaine in 2008…but I chose to not post nude pictures on the site (sorry guys).

Check out our picture gallery, and a very special .gif, to see why we are crushing on Maria Kanellis.

Please click on the thumbnail images to see them full size.

Continue reading →

Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE NXT Series 1

The NXT lineup was announced either at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con or Ringside Fest (I can’t quite remember). Collectors have been anxiously waiting.

When it comes to store exclusives from Mattel, they just all of the sudden appear there without any announcement. That happened with the NXT series at Target, with both elites and basic figures.

Continue reading →