Sting

Sting

WWE basic figure

Mattel



 

This! Is! STING! WCW's answer to Hulk Hogan... until they bought Hogan out, that is.  Okay, maybe, with the facepaint and wild colors, he was the answer to his Blade Runner buddy, the Dingo Ultimate Warrior?  Oh, wait... they bought him out, too.  Man, Sting deserved better than to be pushed into the background!  I actually really enjoyed WCW before Ted Turner went nuts with the pocketbook.  Sting, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, The Horsemen, The Rock and Roll Express, the Midnight Express, the Fabulous Freebirds, The Road Warriors... heck I would even say that the brief tenure of the Shockmaster was more fun than years of NWO repetitiveness. 

Sting was the anchor, the crowd favorite.  And he was never better than in his earlier, surfer look era.  Sorry, "Crow" fans. While not quite as eclectic as the Macho Man, Sting had quite a number of costume changes.  This is the third Surfer Sting from Mattel, and it is so far the best.  The head scan on the previous releases really failed to capture Steve Borden.  Even though this one lacks the screaming intensity, it's pretty spot-on with who it's supposed to represent. 

 

This color scheme also has the other Sting figures beat.  The orange and blue really pops... so "90s!" The scorpion graphic is clean and clear.  Paint all around is pretty good on this figure.  The only downside I can see is that it's a basic figure and not Elite articulated.  Although it means giving Mattel easy outs with paint redecos, I would gladly welcome more surfer variations into my growing Sting army.

WWE Mystery Minis

WWE MYSTERY MINIS

FUNKO

Yep, I fell for another "blind box" line.  Sort of.  I mean, these figures come in a case of twelve that are all packed the same way.  And somebody online is always kind enough to share the packing order to save you the headache of searching for your favorite Superstar and ending up with Roman Reigns over and over again. (BOOOOOOOO!)  Also, someone had already opened all the boxes when I found this crop. These are a little under six bucks at Wal-mart.  Not bad for sturdy, cute little caricatures.  They stand at an average of 3 inches high.

Bret "the Hitman" Hart is the most colorful of this second wave.  (So much black throughout.)  There are some nice details on his tank top and tights.  Also, pretty rad that his shades are translucent plastic, and they actually painted his eyes back there.

It's strange that they went with a more classic Dusty Rhodes over his yellow polka dot look he had during his time in the WWF.  A missed opportunity to bring some color to this series.  I would also take this variation, but I'm sure that's off the table.

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted Debiase at least has the Million Dollar Championship belt over his shoulder to brighten things up.  The black suit might be his standard, but there are other choices that would have been better here.

I guess if you gotta go with "Crow" Sting, the only real color variation would be Wolfpac Sting.  No thanks.  I'm gonna hold out for multiple Surfer Stings!  Oh well...at least the paint on the face and scorpions is crisp and clear.

I've seen Wave 2 on shelves at most Walmarts now, with remnants of Wave 1 scattered here and there. There are supposed to be a couple of exclusive minis in assortments at Target, but I have not been able to find these in my area yet.  They're holding Razor Ramon, Sgt. Slaughter, and Jake the Snake ransom at my most hated of chain stores?!  Ugh...character exclusives...

Sting, Lex Luger, and Macho Man

WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 Three-pack

Sting, Lex Luger, Macho Man

Mattel WWE elite - Then, Now, Forever (Wal-mart Exclusive)

July 7th, 1996 - These WCW superstars were set to face off against the Outsiders (WWE turncoats, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) and a mystery sixth man at pay-per-view, Bash at the Beach.  The reveal of the sixth man would set up story-lines for years to come.  Am I allowed to mention his name?  To be safe, let's just call him "Hulk H."  No, that's too obvious...let's say "H. Hogan."  Anyway, Mr. America (spoiler! Doh!) turned heel and the NWO (New World Order) was born.  That nugget of information is what makes this 3-pack noteworthy in the history of wrestling, but not as exciting as it could have be had it been released as a 6-pack with the Outsiders and Suburban Commando.

This is the first release of this look for the Stinger.  It was kind of short lived, between surfer-blonde Sting growing his hair out to become Crow Sting.  Anyway, its a new head scan, and it looks pretty good.  There have been some complaints out there that his head is a lil over-sized and that he has no neck.  Still, the eyes and paint are great.  The painted rainbow scorpion on his pants is great, too!

Another new head sculpt for Lex Luger.  All pony-tailed and smug looking!  The only strange thing is the face paint.  While it is accurate to the match, it was a one-time thing.  Some sort of team solidarity with Sting as the leader?  No worries.  I'm sure that this head will be used again sans paint very soon.  Mattel: "Don't like it?  Well, here...buy it again!  And again and again!"  Also, the boots should be white to be accurate..."Buy it again when we make a running production change!"

Oooooh yeah!  He's back in the blog again!  Another Macho Man for the ever-growing collection.  Like Luger, the face paint look is lost as a fleeting moment in time but still looks great.  I just wish that he had picked a more colorful bandanna to go with the rest of the outfit.  It is the sole accessory in this set.

Another Wal-mart exclusive, this may be a hard one to find in the wild.  However, since it is a very match-specific theme, it may be an easy one to pass on for even hardcore wrestling fans.  Price might also be a deciding factor.  It retails for $49.99, which is ten dollars cheaper than buying three separate elite-articulated figures.  On one hand,  it only has the one accessory.  On the other...it's a new Macho Man.  Sold!