WWE Elite Series 61: Kevin Owens

By Robert Greenwood

The man known as KO has been a fighter for his entire career. He is, by typical fans, not the ideal look of a wrestler. Yet not only has he succeeded in winning numerous title reigns, but has been a part of some amazing story arcs in professional wrestling history.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at Kevin Owens’ own Elite figure. If you have been reading these reviews, you already know what to expect from the packaging and the included build-a-display set, so I won’t waste time on that.

The real question is how cool is this figure? And the answer is that KO is just TOO SWEET!!!!! Wait, sorry, got a little out of control there. This figure is a cut above the rest. His face represents KO at his most vicious. This is the Fight Owens Fight figure, the KO, the man who came to Raw and took over (more or less)!

The smug look on his face says it all. This sculpt really resembles Kevin, even including his tattoos on his shoulder and left forearm perfectly. His massive structure might be a bit bigger than I believe him to be, but the figure is no doubt Kevin Owens.

He comes packed with two great accessories. First, a microphone. Kevin is an amazing talker in the business and can stir up so much just by talking. His second is the United States Championship title and it is a beautiful piece.

My only gripe about it is that Kevin can’t wear it around his waist, but most wrestlers tend to just place it over their shoulders.

If there is one thing I really don’t like about the Elite Series Kevin Owens is the shirt they have him wear. It’s made of a soft plastic and it looks just bad on him. Personally, I would have preferred a paint app making it look like he was wearing a shirt or an actual fabric shirt like Tyler Breeze and Fandango came packed with.

All in all, it’s a great figure and having him packed with the belt helps tell better story.

Huge thanks to Mattel for this review sample.

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WWE Elite Series 61: AJ Styles

By Robert Greenwood

“The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles has had a storied career in professional wrestling and he has now garnered more respect and attention from the “casual” audience. He is simply one of the best in the business right now and his Elite Series 61 figure represents why he is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) at what he does.

Series 61 is the build-a-display set which includes a base and card back so you can display your action figure as if it was a high end collectible.

AJ is boxed in the typical Elite packaging and the window display shows pretty much the whole figure and his one accessory, an extra hood.

The back of the box shows off a brief description about AJ putting up his United States Championship against Tye Dillenger and Baron Corbin.

This figure is designed to represent AJ Styles’ entrance look. Yet even though the package talks about AJ defending his US Championship, it does not include the title belt as an available accessory.

The figure does what it must do and that is: look absolutely amazing! The sculpt looks like AJ from his tattoos on his right side of his rib cage (his initials AJ and his kids’ birthdates) to his “soccer mom” hairdo. Which, no matter how you make it look, it’s just 100% AJ. Of course, with the Elite Series, you get full range of articulation, which is ideal for a wrestling superstar like himself. With these added points of articulation, this figure can definitely live up to the high flying technician that is “The Phenomenal One.”

I want to briefly talk about the hood accessory. At first glance, it seems maybe a bit silly or cheap, but once I added it to the figure, I ended up liking its design more. It simply snaps in and becomes a hood he can have over his head as his music plays then stands at the top of the stage or snap in the hood that is sculpted to be down so when his music kicks in, AJ can lower it down and head to the ring to do what he does best. Either way, it works. Actually this might be better than if Mattel used a fabric hoodie.

Overall this figure is just…(wait for it) phenomenal as is AJ himself. If I had to pick some negative aspects, I guess we could have done without the hoodie and instead included the US title. And the build-a-display isn’t a bad thing, but would have benefited having something more like a static image from his TitanTron entrance.

With all that aside, I am honestly an AJ fan from his days in TNA to his time in NJPW and, of course, how well he has excelled here in the WWE. The figure is a must buy and, being that it’s Summer Slam weekend, the AJ Styles figure will first be released during this time on the Amazon Treasure Truck in Brooklyn, NY.

So, if you are going to be in NYC and attend Summer Slam, try and get him at the Amazon Treasure Truck!

Once again a big thank you to Mattel for the review sample.

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WWE Elite Series 61: Tyler Breeze and Fandango

By Robert Greenwood

Before we do our review, we want to take a moment to remember Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart who passed away on 8/13/18. He was one half of one of the most iconic tag teams pre-Attitude Era, The Hart Foundation.

When the music hits, you just have to dance and make sure you take the perfect selfie! Thanks to Mattel, we have our look at Breezdango, the tag team of Tyler Breeze and Fandango. The “Fashion Police” are here in Series 61 of WWE Elite.

Tyler Breeze and Fandango have been gaining so much popularity amongst the WWE universe as of late that seeing them in the newest wave of the Elite Series was more of just a matter of when. These two Elite Series figures are packed with the build-a-display, which are simply a stand with a cool background image of each wrestler. Now being these guys are tag team partners, you would think that they are perfect to pick up together, but honestly, each separately was the smarter way to go.

Tyler is more than an accomplished singles wrestler, his time in NXT gave him a decent group following. His figure has all that should be expected for an Elite figure. His face perfectly sculpted with the “duck lips” look is absolutely genius because how else do you take a selfie? You can’t have Tyler without his signature selfie stick and cellphone that is attached to the end.

Both figures come with the Fashion Police shirt that simple velcro in the back. They also get sunglasses and sport the “official Fashion Police” caps.

But with Fandango, his sculpt of his face isn’t as exact as with Tyler. Sure you can tell it’s him, but it’s not as accurate as it could be. Fandango seems super jacked, but the paint apps on his pants really capture his ring gear.
Nonetheless, you will need them both to take down ugly fashion trends in the WWE. Maybe even have them give a summons to AJ Styles for the “soccer mom hair” he is always sporting.

These two Elite figures are a must buy due into no small part to not only bolster the roster of tag teams, but add some much needed fashion in the modern era of WWE.

Big thanks once again to Mattel for the review samples.

Check out Rob on Instagram @alternativemindz and on Twitter @AltMindz