It was hard trying to settle on my top pick for best wrestling figure this year. Mattel deserves a lot of credit for making this one of the tougher decisions, thanks to some all around pretty strong work on its Elite line. It was a great year to be a WWE collector with some much needed additions to the Flashback and modern ranks.
There were sentimental favorites like Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A. and the superb Harlem Heat, but my pick was practically assured months ago. When Mattel showed protos of its Elite 41 Finn Balor, I thought this could be one of their best figures yet if they pull it off.
While I still don’t buy the rationale for going with a slimmer body, this figure is otherwise a phenomenal effort. From the creepy looking headgear to the arm streamers and pristine paint job, Balor represents some of the best work we’ve seen from the Elite line. There’s a reason this is one of the most in-demand figures on the secondary market and that’s even with a newer version recently released.
The Mattel team had a few misses this year (the GAB Sting anyone?), but this Balor figure was an exceptional piece of art showing the heights of which the Elite line can attain.
Here’s some of the other impressive WWE releases this year: