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Mattel- WWE Elite Collection: Mick Foley
I have complicated feelings about the WWE, accompanying toys and wrestling in general. Why is it complicated? Well, I was a rambunctious kid of the 80’s and like others my age love the larger than life wrestlers of the time: Hulk Hogan, Andrea the Giant, Jimmie Snookia and of course my favorite: The Ultimate Warrior. The obsession didn’t last long when it was clear that it was “fake” and I eventually moved on to other, less embarrassing, equally fake things like comic books, video games and Star Wars. Fast forward a few years to when I was 19 and was introduced to what was eventually known as the “Attitude era” of Professional Wrestling. The moves were big, the characters were bigger and the stories were as compelling as a Spanish soap opera; it was an amazing time to be a wrestling fan and had set what we know today as WWE wrestling. If you want to hear a great synopsis of the Attitude Era of wrestling then I highly suggest checking out “The History of the 90’s Podcast” available on Apple Podcasts: it’s a fantastic listen and really does a good job in summarizing the sport during that time. Now just to back up my bona fides as a true wrestling fan back in that time: we (my friends and I) religiously watched Raw is War and Smackdown every Monday and Thursday, We watched all high profile pay-per-views live (Hell in a Cell, Death of Owen Hart come to mind) and once outside, while drinking beers in a rented hot tub, created our own wrestling persona complete with backstory and finishing moves that we would perform on each other in bouncy castles and finally, I personally wrestled/got my ass beat on camera, Dianna Heart (Brett Hearts sister, late Davie-Boy Smith's Ex Wife) on a Calgary based, 30 min entertainment show. I even had some terrible “action figures'' called Maximum Sweat that were produced by Jakks Pacific (which I still wish I had). Anyways, shortly after that, wrestling changed and so did my life. The attitude era was toned down to appeal more to a younger audience and I had a kid on the way, so I no longer had the time to keep up with it all. Fast forward to now and Wrestling is as popular as ever on TV, but also in the toy isle and while there are mostly new wrestlers who I’m not aware of there are a few really appealing familiar ones including one of my all-time favorites Mick Foley. Sure, he’s not the great looking, or most in shape, or even a proficiently good wrestler, but he made a huge impact on me over the years as one of the most dedicated athletes / performers ever. I just hope that I can get a few more of my old school favorites from this line, but given that they are produced by Mattel, I don’t like my chances.
Pros: Overall Mick Foley is an okay figure and I’m happy that I have him in my collection. The sculpt has some nice details including parts of his more well-known wrestling looks including a Cactus Jack shirt and trademark finger guns.
Cons: When did Mattel become such a crappy toy company? I mean, were they ever really that good? Ugh, so frustrating. And while I’m not trying to crap all over a figure that I really do like, it is difficult to overlook some glaringly obvious issues. Firstly, the head sculpt and hair. Yes Foley has taken some hits over the years, but to my knowledge he has never looked that rough. I also hate that his hair looks more 80’s trailer park hair salon and less unkempt wrestler. It also prevents him from turning his head, which sucks as it's one of the relatively few articulation points that Mattel gave him. I’m not asking for Spider-Man level flexibility, but some type of ab movement and double jointed elbows should be table stakes for a $30 wrestling figure at this point. Also, he’s a wrestler… why does he not have any closed fists for punching?
