According to the “Official History of the WWE,” Stephanie McMahon decided it was time for women to get their fair shake in sports entertainment. It was time to give divas a chance. There wouldn’t be any more models or billion dollar princesses masquerading as wrestlers. No more hastily thrown together multi-women matches with no story to them. The former divas were going to be treated just like everyone else in the WWE. Yes sir, Stephanie McMahon, for all intents and purposes, invented women’s wrestling.
Snark aside — and a complete willingness to ignore the past where Trish Stratus, Lita, Jackie, Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, and Victoria delivered great matches — a new era has arrived in women’s wrestling. The call-ups of essentially the entire NXT women’s roster has led to a lot of new faces and fresh stipulations. As far as match quality? I’d put the NXT matches as a step above as it came with 70 percent less WWE patting themselves on the back for females headlining shows.
When Mattel got the WWE license, women’s wrestling was in a weird phase. Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Layla, and Mickie James were being phased out and the WWE was entering its “All Things Bella” phase. The Divas era matches were … OK, but nothing anyone would remember three months after it occurred. Mattel was gun-shy about releasing a lot of female figures, sticking to the tried-and-true mantra of “females don’t sell.”
But Mattel definitely has gone all-in with the Women’s Revolution era. Now it’s hard to find a Basic Series that doesn’t have at least one female figure. In several cases, there’s more than one. Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks have both already had three different head sculpts. That’s impressive considering female figures rarely got a second go after Mattel scratched them off the list. It took the Bellas way longer to get a second portrait.
That faith in the females has paid off. Rarely will I see members of the women’s roster lingering on the pegs. Fans and collectors have bought in and Mattel is happy to see its “gamble” paying off. So why is Mattel still delivering the same outdated, antiquated articulation model for its female figures?
The biggest distinction between Mattel’s Basic and Elite lines is the increased articulation on the Elites. Have you tried playing/posing a Basic figure for anything more convincing than a punch? It’s challenging, to say the least. That’s the main reason I don’t buy many Basics unless I’m cannibalizing them for parts.
Mattel’s female figures offer the illusion of Elite-like articulation in a basic frame. And it oddly comes down to Mattel using the outdated Divas mindset for its current-day female figures.
All of the females feature ball-jointed hips. That allows for a decent split. The thigh twist is better in theory than execution. That’s the main area that separates them from Basic figures. It’s a plus, but the females quickly slide right back in to Basic territory on every other front.
Maybe the most problematic articulation point is the lack of a worthwhile mid-torso joint. The natural spot is underneath the sports top/bra, but that section has little give and barely twists. Readjusting that to have some up/down and back-and-forth movement would allow something as simple as a back suplex to look convincing. For Brie Bella, that’s fine, but not so much for Bayley.
Secondly, the single-joint knee articulation is awful. Try a figure-four with any female figure. It’s pretty much impossible. Good luck trying Charlotte’s figure-eight. The single joint is so restricted and limited that the female figures can’t even be posed on their knees.
About 90 percent come with the giant pimp-slap left hand. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so comically oversized. Despite the ball hips, the range is limited preventing much movement. A straight kick can reach above shin level, but hardly with the same ease as a Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I recently got the Carmella figure. Her articulation was so limited, I didn’t have much fun at all posing her in the ring. The likeness is pretty awful too. Due to the underwhelming articulation, I really just got Carmella to be at ringside with my Big Cass and Enzo Amore figure. It seems a little ironic to get a female wrestler in 2017 just so she can be the valet. But thanks to the Mattel articulation scheme, that’s probably their best use.
Hopefully Mattel starts making some changes. I’d happily pay the higher price point for true Elite-level articulation and details for the female figures. At this rate, beyond the latest Charlotte with a better head sculpt and the upcoming Elite Alexa Bliss, my days as a WWE female wrestler collector may be over. So much for a revolution.
