Adrenaline... in my mailbox... BROTHER! Elite 101 + More!
Jan 27, 2023 19:34:20 GMT -5
Mr. #1derful 🇵🇸, SteveHulk, and 5 more like this
Post by HardyKOfan01 on Jan 27, 2023 19:34:20 GMT -5
So my order of Elite 101 (plus Top Picks 2023 Bobby Lashley) came in early today, and overall, I'm very happy with all these figures! Some I'd even argue are early contenders for figures of the year. Anyway, included here from Elite 101 are Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Mr. America, Johnny Knoxville, and Ricochet, as well as the aforementioned Top Picks 2023 Lashley.
As mentioned earlier, I really like how these came out. Aside from some minor nitpicks, these are all well worth the purchase. Up first, we'll have a closer look at The Allmighty Bobby Lashley!
Top Picks 2023 Bobby Lashley
Not too much to say here. This figure is pretty solid, and is probably my favorite Elite of Lashley so far. I really like how they're starting to detail the unique sideplates for the titles now. Also love the attire on him. Really pops compared to previous Lashley Elites.
Elite 101 Cody Rhodes
Aside from the Kevin Owens figure, Cody was probably my most anticipated figure from this set. I was very happy to see him redebut at WrestleMania last year, and I'm really hoping he wins the Royal Rumble tomorrow night. This figure is really good, but it does have some minor flaws. Like many others have already pointed out, the neck tattoo partially being painted on his head is a bit odd, and it looks weird when you position his head in certain angles. Some others have also complained about the weight-belts in general, and while they could use some reworking, it's fine for the time being. The headscan looks amazing, and I really like the colors used for his attire. I can't wait for his Ultimate Edition to be released.
Ricochet
Right off the bat I wanna say that I am a HUGE Tekken fan. I've been one since childhood. So, when Ricochet first debuted his Jin Kazama inspired attire on TV, I was very happy. I'm even more happy that they made an Elite of it! This is my favorite Ricochet figure to date, no question. Bias for the attire aside, I think the headscan is really good on him. The beard could've been a bit thicker, but it's still much better than previous Ricochets. And yes, the weird "Gargano boot syndrome" does plague this figure, I think it's still a very solid release.
ROUND 1... FIGHT!
Johnny Knoxville
I absolutely loved the feud and match Knoxville had with Sami Zayn last year. It was essentially one big Jackass skit, and it was comedy gold. As for the figure itself, I think Mattel killed it. The likeness in the headscan is spot-on, and the attire is also very well done. I think it would've been cool if he came with some of the wacky objects he used against Zayn like the giant "High Five" hand, taser, bowling ball, etc., but the next Zayn Elite looks to be coming with the giant mouse trap, so that's nice. My only gripe with this figure is that his knees, on mine at least, are really stiff and kind of hard to move. Other than that, I highly recommend grabbing this figure, especially if you're a fan of Jackass.
Imagine if this actually happened...
Kevin Owens
I'm sure you all know by now that KO is my favorite talent right now, and probably one of my all-time favorites. Thus, I buy basically all of his figures, sometimes even multiples. This was the case here, as I preordered two right from the jump. I'm glad I did, so I can display both versions of this figure. Much like the Knoxville/Zayn stuff, I loved the stuff Owens did during his feud with Steve Austin, especially the hilarious segment that this figure is partially based on, where Owens did a glorious parody of Austin. It's funny, because I thought I was gonna hate the match at first (I thought it was gonna be a Rock vs. Erick Rowan style burial), but the match the two had at Mania last year ended up being one of my favorite moments of 2022. As for the figure itself, it's essentially a retooling of his already great Elite 91 figure, with a new head, added left arm tattoos and a different shirt, plus the Austin 3:16 shirt and extra head with the bald cap. The "2-in-1" feature for this figure is pretty cool, I must say, and the new "regular" head is really good looking. It's tied with the Elite 91 head for being Owens' best scan IMO. I kinda wish they went with his "Relentless" red shirt attire instead of the one-off "KOMania 6" shirt, but it's fine. Minor nitpicking. I definitely recommend this figure, as it represents an iconic WrestleMania moment for both Owens and Austin. I also included a comparison picture of my custom "KOMania 6" Owens and the E101 figure, as well as a group shot with some other Owens figures. One day, I'll post an updated KO collection image!
Comparison between my custom I made last year (left), and the new Elite 101 Owens (right).
Here's what the new head looks like on the Elite 91 body.
From left to right: Elite 91, Custom "Relentless" attire (made from Elite 91), Both versions of Elite 101
Mr. America
Last, but not least, we have Mr. America himself, brother! This was the final version of Hulk Hogan that I wanted/needed for my collection, and I'm glad we finally got one. Later on, I do plan on getting the chase variant of him, but for now, this is still a really cool figure! I love the inclusion of the alternate head with the mask pulled up. Very funny moment when that happened in real life. Unfortunately, the same issue with the torso that was present on previous Hogans is still here, but the arms actually move okay on this figure, as opposed to previous ones. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the first ever officially released figure of Mr. America? I know there was that allegedly cancelled Jakks one and that "Create a Superstar" Hogan that loosely resembled Mr. America, but I can't recall another official figure of Hogan in this gimmick being made. Regardless, I'm more than satisfied with this figure, and happy to add it to my collection... brother!
Group shot of some of my other Hogan Elites. From left to right: Elite 96 w/ Survivor Series shirt, WrestleMania Hollywood w/ UE head, Elite 91 w/ WM Hollywood head, Elite 101, and the Mega Powers exclusive 2-Pack (still unopened)
Lastly, for an added bonus, I wanted to show off my custom Day 1 Seth "Freakin" Rollins Elite that I made some minor adjustments to a week ago. I originally posted this in the Christmas thread, as I started working on this on Christmas Eve, but I finished it officially last week. I fixed up the decals on his legs and added the black outline around the green parts of his kickpads to finalize it. Let me know what you think!
Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for viewing, fellow Hulkamaniacs and figure enthusiasts!
As mentioned earlier, I really like how these came out. Aside from some minor nitpicks, these are all well worth the purchase. Up first, we'll have a closer look at The Allmighty Bobby Lashley!
Top Picks 2023 Bobby Lashley
Not too much to say here. This figure is pretty solid, and is probably my favorite Elite of Lashley so far. I really like how they're starting to detail the unique sideplates for the titles now. Also love the attire on him. Really pops compared to previous Lashley Elites.
Elite 101 Cody Rhodes
Aside from the Kevin Owens figure, Cody was probably my most anticipated figure from this set. I was very happy to see him redebut at WrestleMania last year, and I'm really hoping he wins the Royal Rumble tomorrow night. This figure is really good, but it does have some minor flaws. Like many others have already pointed out, the neck tattoo partially being painted on his head is a bit odd, and it looks weird when you position his head in certain angles. Some others have also complained about the weight-belts in general, and while they could use some reworking, it's fine for the time being. The headscan looks amazing, and I really like the colors used for his attire. I can't wait for his Ultimate Edition to be released.
Ricochet
Right off the bat I wanna say that I am a HUGE Tekken fan. I've been one since childhood. So, when Ricochet first debuted his Jin Kazama inspired attire on TV, I was very happy. I'm even more happy that they made an Elite of it! This is my favorite Ricochet figure to date, no question. Bias for the attire aside, I think the headscan is really good on him. The beard could've been a bit thicker, but it's still much better than previous Ricochets. And yes, the weird "Gargano boot syndrome" does plague this figure, I think it's still a very solid release.
ROUND 1... FIGHT!
Johnny Knoxville
I absolutely loved the feud and match Knoxville had with Sami Zayn last year. It was essentially one big Jackass skit, and it was comedy gold. As for the figure itself, I think Mattel killed it. The likeness in the headscan is spot-on, and the attire is also very well done. I think it would've been cool if he came with some of the wacky objects he used against Zayn like the giant "High Five" hand, taser, bowling ball, etc., but the next Zayn Elite looks to be coming with the giant mouse trap, so that's nice. My only gripe with this figure is that his knees, on mine at least, are really stiff and kind of hard to move. Other than that, I highly recommend grabbing this figure, especially if you're a fan of Jackass.
Imagine if this actually happened...
Kevin Owens
I'm sure you all know by now that KO is my favorite talent right now, and probably one of my all-time favorites. Thus, I buy basically all of his figures, sometimes even multiples. This was the case here, as I preordered two right from the jump. I'm glad I did, so I can display both versions of this figure. Much like the Knoxville/Zayn stuff, I loved the stuff Owens did during his feud with Steve Austin, especially the hilarious segment that this figure is partially based on, where Owens did a glorious parody of Austin. It's funny, because I thought I was gonna hate the match at first (I thought it was gonna be a Rock vs. Erick Rowan style burial), but the match the two had at Mania last year ended up being one of my favorite moments of 2022. As for the figure itself, it's essentially a retooling of his already great Elite 91 figure, with a new head, added left arm tattoos and a different shirt, plus the Austin 3:16 shirt and extra head with the bald cap. The "2-in-1" feature for this figure is pretty cool, I must say, and the new "regular" head is really good looking. It's tied with the Elite 91 head for being Owens' best scan IMO. I kinda wish they went with his "Relentless" red shirt attire instead of the one-off "KOMania 6" shirt, but it's fine. Minor nitpicking. I definitely recommend this figure, as it represents an iconic WrestleMania moment for both Owens and Austin. I also included a comparison picture of my custom "KOMania 6" Owens and the E101 figure, as well as a group shot with some other Owens figures. One day, I'll post an updated KO collection image!
Comparison between my custom I made last year (left), and the new Elite 101 Owens (right).
Here's what the new head looks like on the Elite 91 body.
From left to right: Elite 91, Custom "Relentless" attire (made from Elite 91), Both versions of Elite 101
Mr. America
Last, but not least, we have Mr. America himself, brother! This was the final version of Hulk Hogan that I wanted/needed for my collection, and I'm glad we finally got one. Later on, I do plan on getting the chase variant of him, but for now, this is still a really cool figure! I love the inclusion of the alternate head with the mask pulled up. Very funny moment when that happened in real life. Unfortunately, the same issue with the torso that was present on previous Hogans is still here, but the arms actually move okay on this figure, as opposed to previous ones. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the first ever officially released figure of Mr. America? I know there was that allegedly cancelled Jakks one and that "Create a Superstar" Hogan that loosely resembled Mr. America, but I can't recall another official figure of Hogan in this gimmick being made. Regardless, I'm more than satisfied with this figure, and happy to add it to my collection... brother!
Group shot of some of my other Hogan Elites. From left to right: Elite 96 w/ Survivor Series shirt, WrestleMania Hollywood w/ UE head, Elite 91 w/ WM Hollywood head, Elite 101, and the Mega Powers exclusive 2-Pack (still unopened)
Lastly, for an added bonus, I wanted to show off my custom Day 1 Seth "Freakin" Rollins Elite that I made some minor adjustments to a week ago. I originally posted this in the Christmas thread, as I started working on this on Christmas Eve, but I finished it officially last week. I fixed up the decals on his legs and added the black outline around the green parts of his kickpads to finalize it. Let me know what you think!
Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for viewing, fellow Hulkamaniacs and figure enthusiasts!
