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

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.