SDCC is kind of like Christmas for us figure collectors. And the wait for Preview Night can seem longer than a thousand Christmas Eve nights or the hours before you can open your birthday presents.
Inevitably there’s some disappointment following the reveals. With so much anticipation building up over the course of a year, it’s hard to avoid some sort of letdown. Hasbro has been killing it with their Marvel Legends line. They’ve achieved a rare status for me — confidence that I’ll buy about 90 percent of what they reveal.
One of my other great figure obsessions is Mattel’s WWE line. They’re a bit more unpredictable. With a wide pool of Legends/Flashback characters to choose from, it’s harder for them to announce “misses” for me. Yet the letdown has been more significant with this line. That’s why this year I decided to take a different approach — determining how Mattel’s WWE SDCC reveals could have me feeling like they won this year.
Clearly my extensive wishlist from the ’80s, ’90s and beyond can’t possibly be revealed in one year. I came up with a not-at-all-scientific formula for WWE success this year. I grouped wishlist figures in various categories. All Mattel has to do to “win” is knock out one of these demanded characters instead of, say, Owen Hart, Hollywood Hogan, Goldberg, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, etc. Got it? Here’s my breakdown — let me know if you agree:
WCW Monday Night Wars:
- Goldberg
- Ric Flair
- Lex Luger
- Konnan
Beyond filling out the n.W.o. ranks, there’s still a few more prominent WCW stars from this time frame that are needed. A ’97/’98-era Flair and ponytail Luger to fight them would be especially helpful.
WWE Monday Night Wars:
- Triple H
- The Undertaker
- Y2J
- Mr. McMahon
Mattel has done a fantastic job hitting the available Monday Night Wars top stars. But a 2000-era Triple H and ’98-style Undertaker definitely top the list. And at this point we really need a younger, suited version of Vinnie Mac to unleash the troops on Stone Cold.
All-Time Tag Teams:
- Midnight Express
- The Steiner Brothers
- The British Bulldogs
- The Freebirds
As a big tag team guy, there’s more than a few legendary tag teams awaiting their turn in the spotlight. If Mattel revealed either The Steiners or Midnight Express, the rest of its SDCC reveals would be gravy.
ECW:
- “The Franchise” Shane Douglas
- Raven
- Sabu
- Sandman
Mattel has teased more ECW figures with a brand-specific packaging for the Elite 41 Terry Funk. Only problem is he needs more people to fight. Sabu and The Franchise would be great options, although Raven’s recent involvement with the ECW suggests he could be in the running as well.
’80s stars:
- Greg Valentine
- One Man Gang
- Nikita Koloff
- Rock n Roll Express
With a Magnum TA figure coming, we kinda need one of his major rivals. Nikita also would complete the Super Powers with the upcoming NWA Dusty Rhodes and complete three War Games teams.
Tag team finishers:
- Haku
- Dan Spivey
- Rick Martel
- Scott Hall
It’s a little frustrating looking at the collection knowing it’s just one more guy away from another tag team joining the collection. The Outsiders seem the obvious pick here, but eventually we need Colossal Connection, the Skyscrapers, and Strikeforce completed too.
Faction members:
- Syxx
- Ken Shamrock
- Mark Henry
- Stunning Steve Austin
Factions played a major role in wrestling in the ’80s and ’90s, but good luck assembling a full stable beyond DX. Any of these four would provide welcome supplements to the n.W.o., The Corporation, The Nation of Domination, or The Dangerous Alliance.
Wildcards:
- 2 Cold Scorpio
- Doom
- Varsity Club
- Jeff Jarrett
After getting a Shockmaster figure, I’m not writing anything off. Doom was a dominant tag team that battled Sting and Lex Luger, The Four Horsemen, The Steiner Brothers, The Road Warriors, and the Rock n Roll Express in the same year. The Varsity Club is one of the all-time underrated great tag teams and 2 Cold Scorpio was one of the original high-flyers in American wrestling.
Divas/Women:
- Sable
- Alundra Blaze
- Wendi Richter
- Jacqueline
Trish and Lita need sparring partners, but a Blaze figure could easily be repurposed to be the Dangerous Alliance’s Director of Covert Operations.
Redos:
- Jimmy Snuka
- Surfer Sting
- Shawn Michaels
- Jerry Lawler
A barefoot Superfly would atone for one of the great Mattel snafus, but that mess that was the first Elite Surfer Sting was an even greater travesty. HBK needs a better mid-’90s face head sculpt and dedicated boots. The Elite 18 Lawler wasn’t much of a Flashback and definitely didn’t capture the king of Memphis look especially well.
So that’s what I’ve got for my picks. Lemme know who you’d choose or if you’d break it down differently.