Rattlesnake Mountain Ring

Rattlesnake Mountain Ring

Mattel - Masters of the WWE Universe

Despite the headache of tracking them down, this Walmart exclusive series is still going strong.  A year after the line’s debut with the Castle Grayskull ring, we have a follow up in Rattlesnake Mountain.  Hey, Skeletor and his goons need somewhere to train, right?  Not only that, but it comes with two legendary WWE figures that arguably top the last by a mile:  Stone Cold Steve Austin and the immortal Hulk Hogan!

I get that Austin makes a great snake man in name and attitude, even though I was never fully sold on his total heel turn in the WCW Invasion days.  It was an easy out for Mattel...give him some slightly snake-looking eyes, and clip on snake arm and call it a day.  

Without the clip-on snakes, just plain Austin doesnt look or feel very “Masters of the Universe.”  I mean, they could have at least made his vest fit the primitive-techno theme.  Or given him a suped up version of this leg brace.  Hell, they could have gone full on “Robotic Redneck”, as Jim Ross would say.  In any case, he was a much needed legend that I’m glad secured a spot this early in the line.  Oh, hey...you might have noticed the yin to Austin’s yang here: the most electrifying hero in Eternia, the Rock!

Rock is the lone series three pick up for me.  This wave has been notoriously difficult to find all around.  I am missing the Scare Glow/Undertaker mash-up, but even if I never find him, I still have the great one!  And what a great figure he makes.

They’ve outfitted him with a “Masters” armor, complete with signature brahma bull.  He comes packed with more accessories than most, even if they are reused.  He’s got a black, Man at Arms mace, and clip on electric bolts that date waaaay back to Superman Blue in Mattel’s DC Universe Classics.  Best of all, he has the WWEternia Championship belt!  It looks to be an homage to 2002’s Fisto revamp?  I could be wrong.  

From series four (cherry-picking the legends), brings us Jake the Snake and Mr. T!  Mr. T must have signed a lucrative deal with Mattel/WWE in the last year, because this is the third figure we have had of him in as much time.  No complaints about that here!  I pity the fool who complains about the multitudes of T!!!

He looks so good, so colorful!  Great choice of armor.  And best of all, is the added Fisto/Jitsu, fool-smashing gauntlets!  Not only are these an awesome choice for the character, but they cover up the factory defect of having two right hands on my figure...(sad trombone sound).  Oh, well...I’ll make due, as he has been super hard to find in the wild.

Jake may have the gimmick to top them all in this line.  Appropriately sitting proxy for King Kiss, he has removable armor to reveal his scaly underside.  And....drumroll...a tear away face to reveal his true nastiness!

This works so much better than one would think.  The face overlay isn’t too oversized, and fits perfectly snug.  I like that there is a little piece of rubber hair on his hairline that goes over it to make it look fairly natural.  

Last but certainly not least, Hulk Hogan makes his return to standard toy shelves!  The controversies have died down, and I am happy that they have re-embraced the character.  Legends collecting has felt empty without him, even if they’re giving me an overdose of Macho Man to compensate.  The Rock is the only one that comes close to his status in wrestling, so this has been a long time coming.  I hope the doors to Hulk merch remain open for the the foreseeable future.

Sorry, John Cena, you may have just been bumped from being the proxy He-man for this universe.  The one one in WWEternia that can tame those pythons is the man with the 24-in pythons, brother!  The Horde armor works because of the bulk, colors, and “h” on the chest...but I’m not sure about the “rips” on the back of the armor.  Sure, it replicates Hulk’s tattered entrance gear...but how strong is that armor exactly?  Tin foil?  Or am I supposed to pretend an Eternian dragon could only have made marks like that?  I’m gonna file this under “silly-yet-awesome”. 

The ring playset is a repaint of the first with new “lava” ropes and some towering snake ring posts.  In place of stairs, is a rickety-looking suspension bridge ramp (which I apparently misplaced before this phot shoot) that fits with the original Snake Mountain motif.  I didn’t need another ring taking up space, and I may have bought it just for the figures, but Mattel did a good job with the overall theme.

I look forward to more of these figures down the line, even if they are a pain to track down as store exclusives.  Hey, WWE and Mattel, we’re drowning in series 2 Roman Reigns here!  And no, more Seth Rollins doesn’t help!  Send more Legends, please!  

Take a look back at previous WWEternia figures and the Castle Grayskull ring:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2020/07/masters-of-wwe-universe.html

WWE Motherload!

 WWE Motherload!

Mattel

So the other day, I was at a local second-hand video game/movie/collectible store, and they just got in an assortment of used WWE figures.  I’m not sure how the employees are trained to price certain collectibles, but their system was...a bit off.  The nailed the rarity of a Flashback series 3 wave (that was exclusive to Walmart and eluded just about everybody), but missed a few other classics.  The man on the street recognizes Jake the Snake, but not, say, Bruno Sammartino or All-American Ron Simmons (WCW title run.)  I scooped up the latter two for $8 each, which I thought was a steal.  

 

After an evening of restless pondering, I went back to pick up the rare Jake the Snake (from the birth of Attitude/Austin 3:16) for $30.  But when I went to check out, I see hundreds more WWE figures on the counter being sorted for sale.  I see some oldies that are now pretty rare/pricey...Rick “The Model” Martel, Akeem the African Dream, Hillbilly Jim, etc.  I ask for prices, prepared to blow it off.  “That pile?  $8.”

 

EIGHT DOLLARS?!  WOO-HOO!  I dove in like Uncle Scrooge in the money bin to find more treasure.  All three members of Demolition!  The Bushwackers!  Vader!  The Rockers!  Some of these guys will never be made again for various reasons:  went to a rival company, concussion lawsuits, death/likeness rights, etc.  I’ve filled quite a few gaps in my collection with this stop!

 

Again, the Man on the Street shrugs, slaps the $8 tag on them...then goes to a box of separated out Rocks, Austins, Hogans, and Macho Men to pice out higher at $10.  It’s a bit baffling in the age of EBay and cellphones that you can still score some deals chalked up to just plain ignorance.  Oh well, one man’s trash is second-hand store’s treasure...or trash or whatever...their loss is my gain?  Ooooooh yeah!

 

WWE Howard Finkel Wave

WWE Howard Finkel Wave

Mattel - Walmart Exclusive

We all need a little Fink in our lives...or at least on your WWE classics shelf.  One of the most popular in-ring announcers from yesteryear finally make it to plastic form with the help of Walmart and some notable companions.  Seeing as how poor Howard might pegwarm hard as a solo release, they chopped him up and distributed him piece by piece with a classic wrestler.  What's more, each wrestler is featuring a new outfit that had not been previously done by Mattel!

Not to undersell his career as a whole, but Cowboy Bob Orton was more or less remembered as an accessory to Rowdy Roddy Piper in the WWE.  This might single him out as the least exciting of this wave, but his first figure was waaay back in the early days of the Mattel line.  So, if you dont already have him, he's worth adding to the collection...you may never get another chance!  This one does come with a hat, which is great for me, as my Elite figure was purchased from Ebay missing his.

This is the third outing for Rick Rude in plastic, and only the second in long hair format.  While Elite Series 40 was perfection, ladies and sweat hogs collector's could always use more of the Ravishing One.  The purple tights are nice, but it's hard to do any of his signature posing with basic articulation.  C'mon...he at least needs an ab crunch for all that classic hip thrusting!

Finally!  The Million Dollar Man in green tux!  He might be better off with soft-goods clothing and Elite articulation (as he does look a tad bulky and stiff),  but it's not like he's gonna wrestle in it or anything.  For what it is, it's great for cutting all those classic promos.  More with Virgil later!

The most demanded figure of this wave has to be Iraqi-sympathizer Sargent Slaughter.   I mean, its really the only noticeable costume change for him, and quite an infamous one.   He gets more accessories than your standard basic, featuring removable sunglasses and headdress.  Now we're only missing Iron Sheik redressed as Colonel Mustafa...maybe in a two-pack with crazy Desert Storm Hulk Hogan?

The Howard Finkel figure is a great bonus to this wave.  A black tux may not be all that exciting, but you do get a fully, Elite-articulated figure with a microphone accessory.  And, as I said before, how can you collect this era and pass him up?  These figures do run a couple dollars more than your average basic ($12), but all-in-all its worth it.