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.

It took years for this incarnation to make it into the toyline, but he finally did in the form of a two pack which I of course forgot to photograph before opening, so here it is from Ringside Collectibles.

Got to love that "United States of America Flag" up there. So goofy.

Now John Cena figures are a dime a dozen, and this isn't a particularly good one. (I always think his face ends up looking dopey in toy form.) But my 6 year old was happy to have me pass him on to her. I was just here for the other half of the pack and he was a winner.

Warrior has his trademark scream pose the little blue and red warrior marks on his trunk and tons of plastic tassel goodness! The details on his boots are great, as is the usual Mattel arm articulation. Because this is a two-pack figure, it uses the WWE basic leg cuts, so the leg motion is limited on the Warrior here. But that seems almost apt, as Warrior's motions in the ring were always a bit limited as well.

He carried the flag to his match against Slaughter where alas he lost the title (which sadly isn't included in this pack.) So, it makes sense that the flag is molded for his grip. Now I assume WWE figures mostly use the same hands, but I have to say I am okay with that if everyone has this good of grip on WWE accessories. The flag is an absolute perfect fit in the Ultimate Warrior's hand so he can throw it up in the air as he's charging around the ring like a madman.

I am definitely glad the WWE and Mattel are keeping the Ultimate Warrior as a regular part of their collections. He definitely needs to have several of his many costumes available for consumption. But for me, this is the ideal Ultimate Warrior and I'm glad to have him home in my collection.

If you are interested in the toy, the WWE Battle Pack Series #31 - John Cena vs. Ultimate Warrior Two-Pack is currently available at Amazon for a nice discount off the usual twenty dollar price tag you see on WWE multi-packs.