Tag Archives: Kevin Owens

Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 61

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 61 feels a little ho-hum since there are so many recent repeats. I guess the bar was set high after so many great sets to start 2018. This is a set that gets Mattel ready for the Holiday season, since it’s important to get popular guys on the shelves this Fall.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 61 are AJ Styles, Fashion Police (Fandango & Tyler Breeze, Shane McMahon, Big E and Kevin Owens.

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Daniel Bryan Betting Odds Skyrocket to Win Royal Rumble

Daniel Bryan hasn’t been an active wrestler in the WWE since early 2015. He has been on the shelf since WWE’s doctor (Dr. Joseph Maroon) has medically disqualified him due to concussions. He has fought back with dozens of other doctors clearing him to wrestle, but WWE fears an NFL-level concussion lawsuit, is being cautious when dealing with concussions.

Bryan has been a character on WWE television the last 18 months or so, but he’s just a power figure as the Smackdown Live! General Manager. He is just marking time until his contract ends this September, since he has no guarantee he will wrestle for them again.

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Top 10 WWE Matches of 2017

I started to compile a list of the ten best wrestling matches of 2017. The list of contenders was loaded with New Japan matches, a couple from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and not many from WWE.

This year has just been an insane year for great matches all over the world. I decided to save that list for later this month and just focus on WWE with this post.

I was surprised there weren’t many top matches with women wrestlers in WWE. The top ten matches in WWE the last two years had plenty of contenders from the women’s division. I think when you have a belt on Alexa Bliss for most of the year (on Smackdown and RAW), and every brand PPV usually only has one women’s match (usually just the title match), you’re cutting down the opportunities for women to have great matches.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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Wrestlemania 33: A Marathon of Mediocrity

Wrestlemania is the biggest wrestling event in the world. Every year, tens of thousands of wrestling fans cram into a huge stadium or dome and watch as the WWE trots out what they believe is the best overall wrestling card of the year.

This year’s 33rd installment of Wrestlemania occurred on Sunday in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. Stars like John Cena, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar were put in matches with weeks-long build ups.

It should have been a home run, right?

Well, unfortunately, the 7 1/2 hour show fell flat time and time again.

I thought about writing an in-depth match-by-match review of Wrestlemania 33, but I really doubt it would have been very entertaining. Many matches lacked quality wrestling and focused more on ‘entertainment’. I will instead just mention a few thoughts about each match and give my opinion of the overall state of ‘wrestling’ in the WWE.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 47

The lineup in Elite 47 is amazeballs. You have the three ‘First Time In Line’ figures from AJ Styles, Asuka and Tatanka, and solid figures of Big Boss Man, Kevin Owens and Cesaro. This lineup could be the best of the year.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 43

Elite 42 was bit of a disappointment, even though I was glad to see the Nasty Boys get some figures. The lineup in Elite 43 is just beyond amazing. You have the first elites of three different superstars. The WWE Superstars included in Elite 43 are Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Alberto Del Rio and Kofi Kingston.

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NXT is Great, but WWE Still Needs Indies

One of the smartest things WWE has done in the last decade was to open the WWE Performance Center to cultivate the stars of the future at NXT (formerly known as Florida Championship Wrestling). Dean Ambrose and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins both came from NXT…although one could argue that they would have made it to WWE without NXT.

Dean Ambrose was a star in the indies at places like Combat Zone Wrestling as ‘Jon Moxley’ and Seth Rollins (formerly known as Tyler Black) did fantastic things in Ring of Honor prior to signing with WWE. Both could have made the jump the old school way with an immediate spot on WWE’s main roster.

If you look at the top stars at NXT, most made their name prior to signing with WWE.

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Which Wrestlers in NXT are Ready for WWE’s Main Roster?

Pro wrestling is cyclical. Major stars tend to have 10+ year runs at the top and then fade into the mid-card. WWE had issues in the past trying to build homegrown young talent able to take the next step when the time is right.

Triple H is semi-retired from competing in the ring and is now the Chief Creative Officer for the WWE. He decided to focus on talent development. They opened the WWE Performance Center and rebranded their developmental territory (Florida Championship Wrestling) into NXT. The results have spoken and it has exceeded all expectations.

Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Paige have all had success since graduating from NXT to WWE’s main roster. Which stars are ready to take the leap?

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