WWE Ghostbusters

WWE Ghostbusters

Mattel - Walmart exlusives

Who ya gonna call?  No, after them...Transformers!  No....Ninja Turtles!  No...Stone Cold Steve Austin?  GIMME A HELL YEAH! (Cue breaking glass sfx.)  Just when you think a Ghostbusters crossover couldn't get more bizarre than a turtle with a Winston stache, comes a death knell from Mattel.  Gotta squeeze a couple more bucks from a license we're losing to Hasbro, right?  Anyway, weird and goofy?  Yes, but are they cool?

I think so.  The wrestlers they chose to strap proton packs to may not match the characteristics of the true Ghostbusters, but make sense as recognizable faces of the WWE brand: Shawn Michaels, John Cena, The Rock, and Austin.  Solid choices, but I do wish they had thrown in at least one 80's classic.  Or a whole team to be era appropriate.  Maybe Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Junkyard Dog, and Macho Man?  Slimer with the head of George the Animal Steele?  Oh well, I'm happy with the two Attitude era choices.

Austin and Rock get the most costume variance, with full removable jumpsuits and slime-green undershirt decos.  Shawn adds some tan to his already green DX gimmick, plus a name-tagged half-shirt and GB logo hat.  Cena has some GB logo sweatbands and a bigger one on his removable shirt.



















  

GB accessories include the removable proton packs from the Mattel figures at the end of the Mattycollector era.  You know...the ones they released to bait fans into committing to a make-or-break Ecto-1 campaign.  Good times.  The packs are a bit small on these guys, considering they are almost 7-in figures and the Matty GB figures were on the short end of the 6-in scale.  I would compare it to a large man wearing the scaled-down Spirit Halloween pack.  They also have removable belts with walkie talkie, belt gizmo, and such.  Shawn is packed with the ghost trap that has opening doors to plug in the trap effect.  I'm disappointed by the lack of PKE meter.  Hell, they could have thrown in so much more considering they already have the molds:  video camera, tripod trap, sniffer.

These are Elite figures, so at least they didn't go cheap with basic articulation.  They are Walmart exclusives, priced less than your standard Elites elsewhere:  $15.88...not too shabby!  There is a translucent purple, "ghost" Undertaker figure that I missed out on picking these up.  From the wrestling toys forum, I gather that strict wrestling fans poo-poo this GB gimmick save for Taker and his slime-green classic championship belt.  It's easy to say these will "peg warm" when you are helping to ensure that GB and completist fans can't find a full set, you sacks of monkey crap!

In the absence of Undertaker, I threw in some 7-in articulated skeletons to take the smack down.  These are under $5 at Home Depot, and feature 24 points of articulation!  The plastic is flexible, allowing you to pop off joints for customization.  They scale okay with the wrestling figures, and should work great with Masters of the Universe Classics and most spooky NECA offerings.

Bonus:  I also recently picked up an older Mattel Egon figure with removable pack from Ebay to complete the larger No-Ghost Logo build-a-figure (mentioned in an earlier review).  It doesn't do much as figures go, but it looks nice in the background and glows in the dark.  Man, does it glow!

Mean Gene Okerlund, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Jake the Snake Roberts

Mean Gene Okerlund, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Jake the Snake Roberts

Mattel WWE - Flashback Series(Walmart), Hall of Fame (Target)

Three more WWE Legends immortalized in plastic!  Piper and Jake have had several Mattel renditions over the years, with differences in attire and articulation.  Do these have what it takes to make the collection?  Plus, everyone's favorite wrestling interviewer Mean Gene Okerlund finally joins the fray!

Jake is sporting tights from his feud with Ravishing Rick Rude, hence the giant rat in a robe on his left leg.  It was a decent feud, but pretty specific and frustrating for those looking for the definitive Roberts.  (The one that came closest was the All Stars two-pack with Randy Orton.)  It's still a good figure, but may have needed an accompanying Rude with Cheryl Roberts face painted on his tights to really sell it.  You do get two snakes for accessories, but it would have been nice of them to throw in a carrying bag.  C'mon, Mattel...you put a bag in the basic two-pack with Dean Ambrose!  There have been some complaints about the torso on this figure being more defined than the real Jake ever was (and I agree), but the weird body hair stubble paint job is too gross to make you want to look at it too long in scrutiny.

This may be the difinitive Piper for the time being.  It sports the longest hair of the releases so far, and the head sculpt looks pretty darn good.  The open mouth may not be everyone's cup of tea for display but, c'mon, Rowdy Roddy rarely kept his mouth shut for more than a second or two.  The cloth shirt is nothing new, but It's kind of puzzling that they didn't go the same route with the kilt.  The rubbery material cuts down on some of the leg movement when on and it can be difficult to fasten again once removed.  Still, all-in-all, this is my go-to for awesome backstage promo-cutting Piper.

Did someone say promos?  You can't cut a classic promo without Mean Gene Okerlund reigning it all in.  Like Howard Finkel, they originally planned to cut him up and distribute him as a build-a-figure some years back.  This wave made it out with limited distribution (maybe overseas), leaving a lot of fans in the cold.  Thankfully, we got another shot at him as a Walmart Exclusive...single packed...with accessories!  With additional arms and blazer (red), you get two different display choices.  He also comes with a big production light to help assemble your backstage area.  Oh, and of course he has his microphone to catch all that beautiful wrestling prose.

These are great figures of the greats of wrestling.  The only one I could see passing up is Jake because of the specific attire.  Though, to be safe, pick him up...you never know when it might be your last shot at this era.

RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper...RIP Mean Gene Okerlund.  Gone but never forgotten.

Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon

Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon

Mattel - WWE Entrance Greats, Elite

Kurt and Shane were always so much fun during the Attitude Era, it's no wonder why they're back in the mix with the WWE today.  Both are fabulous heels, good at getting heat with pompous, overblown egos.  Kurt's got his gold medals to wave at the "professional" wrestlers while he spouts the three "I"s (Integrity, Intensity, Intelligence), and Shane's got daddy's money and trickle-down authority to push people around with.  Neither one afraid to take a bump to sell a story or push a "face" wrestler.

"Entrance Greats" base plays theme "Medal"...but sadly cuts out before the famous "you suck" part.

Milk not included...courtesy of "Gotham" Selina Kyle

I waited a long time to get the right classic Shane O Mac for my collection.  I went with the jersey-ed King of the Ring 2001 edition, because who can forget the bump he took from Angle that night?  They even included the famous plexiglass to suplex him through!  



Since WWE is a "family-friendly" company now, you'll have to custom up your own blood and battle damage.  I had a good time trying to pull off that moment with the pose-ability of these figures and was happy with the results.  Speaks highly for the articulation of the Elite figures.  I only wish they had some extra, interchangeable hands and maybe an alternate expression head.  Mattel is just now rolling these extras in with current releases, so maybe we'll see some re-releases with improvements?  Shane was a Ringside Collectibles exclusive, still available on their site along with Entrance Greats Kurt.