Figured Out: Hasbro style WWE figures return next year!

I have to admit it right now: I have been an action figure collector for years but never found the Hasbro WWF figures very impressive. The cartoony designs and super-limited articulation were everything I didn't want in toys of the early 90s. While I bought from several concurrent lines (mostly post-Sgt. Slaughter) G.I. Joe, my WWF fandom was pretty much limited to Saturday morning viewing.

I didn't actually start buying WWE figures until the last couple years. I eyed a few Jakks Pacific toys back in the day, but those didn't even intrigue me as much as the stellar production qualities of modern Mattel releases.

But I know a ton of fans still exist for the Hasbro figures, so the announcement that Mattel will give up on all their other weird variant WWE figures (suck as Slam City) to give old Hasbro fans exactly what they've clamored for makes a lot of sense. They showed off the first wave of figures at Comic Con in July.

Image credit: toynewsi.com

Toy News International got a very good shot of them there, but WWE.com was nice enough to post pictures of all the prototypes on the site. They include a better shot of Undertaker and the unseen Roman Reigns.

Honestly, Kevin Owens might convince me to change my mind on this line. We'll see when a price point is announced.

The figures drop sometime in the spring of next year.

Figured Out: The Ultimate Warrior

I collect wrestling toys now and then as I see figures that I want to add to my weird hodgepodge of coolness on the shelves behind my writing desk. I've got a wide array of heroes, villains, faces, heels and everything in between on display.

But in this first column focusing on wrestling toys, I am focusing on one of the best Ultimate Warrior toys I have found so far.

Now I am an Ultimate Warrior fan. I grew up on him and I still consider him a truly great wrestling character. Because of this, I waited to find the character I like best and it is based on this incarnation of the Warrior, direct from his Royal Rumble battle against the turncoat American hero Sgt. Slaughter.

Still from the 1991 Royal Rumble. Copyright WWE.com.