By Angel Carreras
WWE and Mattel debuted their newest action figures at a July 19 panel at San Diego Comic Con.
WWE superstars Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Becky Lynch, AJ Styles filled their seats in Room 6A to debut and discuss new Elite Squad action figures from Mattel when a familiar laugh(?) permeated the air– WOKEN Matt Hardy’s. After a minor misunderstanding (“ELITE series, Matt, not DELETE series,” said moderator Cathy Kelley), the panel was underway.
Bill Miekina and Steve Ozer of Mattel showed the crowd TrueFX, a new scanning method that more accurately captures WWE superstars faces for toys. According to Miekina, the tech is “top of the line”, bringing “realism like you’ve never seen” to their toy lines.
Following a short video package of superstars undergoing the new face scan tech process, Ozer and Miekina announced that many superstars would be making their WWE action figure debut (Drew Gulak, Ruby Riott, and Adam Cole among the names mentioned), most notably WWE’s biggest star, Ronda Rousey.
Mattel noted that all male figures in the Elite Series will have swappable hands and with some figures, swappable heads.
Mattel also debuted Chase variants, giving superstars alternate ring gear as well as throwbacks, with Sasha Banks’ Wonder Woman gear highlighted.
While other announcements came and went with light applause sprinkled throughout the room (An Ultimate Edition Series of figures was announced for details to follow; Entrance Greats series; a cartoony, flesh-colored M.U.S.C.L.E. series; a Target-exclusive action figure of The Shark), it was the announcement of the Epic Moments series that brought Room 6A to its feet with thunderous applause.
In this series, the biggest and most memorable moments are recreated by Mattel. To kick off the series? WOKEN Matt Hardy’s Ultimate Deletion, featuring the dilapidated boat and Vanguard 1 with Matt Hardy hologram included. Sadly, no Señor Benjamin.
A quick Q and A followed with cutesy questions ranging from “AJ, what do you use in your hair” (a combo of brushing and straightening, according to Styles) to dream matches the superstars would’ve liked to wrestle, and even some flame-fanning.
“Who would you wrestle from NXT,” a fan asked. After answers from the panel, provocation followed.
“Are the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega there?” Matt Hardy asked. “Not yet,” AJ Styles answered.
