Shawn Michaels SDCC 2024, some thoughts.

I haven't wrote a blog about the 2024 SDCC exclusive (that will be available from Mattel Creations so not sure how that is a SDCC exclusive) and before I go on, yes I will be ordering it, it's an Ultimate and I have all male ones that have made it here to the UK so far apart from the re-releases, only one I grabbed was the nWo Hogan re-release.

I am glad I didn't blog straight away because I have listened to podcasts and watched YT videos about the release and it put stuff in my head that I want to cover here.

So let's talk about the actual figure, we have had it in basic form, Elite form and there was also an entrance great version way back when which was a basic figure with the entrance gear. On the subject of entrance gear, this Ultimate Edition one comes with it but it's a strange set up. Has removable chaps like his previous UE figures but the top half is moulded plastic and so, comes with removeable arms, one set for the jacket and one set for in wrestling gear. Also comes with a gimmick to recreate him coming down from the rafters at Wrestle Mania XII, no zip wire but I am sure anyone that wants to make a display will find something for that.

As you can see from the pictures, comes with the bells and whistles that most Ultimate Editions do but we can't move on without talking about the choice of torso for this figure. His previous two UE's were fine as far as the torso goes, picture below with the comparisons but this new one, reminds me of the first Eddie Guerrero one, just seems way too big. Edit - after posting the comparison picture the new one and the previous Amazon exclusive one maybe have the same torso, not sure if I’m honest. There will no doubt be some collectors who are well-versed in customising figures may change it, I guess, if the ring entrance gear is left on then it may not matter as much. I prefer his figures without the chaps on, I just think those soft good chaps don't look good at all, I do have mine displayed with them on but the lower half of most figures can't be seen anyway the way I have them displayed, see a video HERE of how I display mine.

So there is a bit of talk of the figure not coming with the winged eagle world title belt, this is of course the show where he won it for the first time after he bested Bret 'Hitman' Hart in extra time after a stalemate in a 60 minute iron man match. The 'boyhood dream came true' I think was the tag line and the images even show him at that point when he was on his knees looking down which in the actual match, it's the belt he's looking down at. Maybe with all the extra bits Mattel just left the belt out for costing purposes, most will have one in their collection if they wish to display him that way, I am guessing though, most will display him with the entrance gear on, maybe even on a zip wire and if so, it would make no sense to have the belt on him as he went into the match as the challenger.

Finally, some have talked about this being a bit of a letdown for a SDCC exclusive, maybe it could be an Amazon exclusive and the SDCC one should be like a pop culture cross over as previous ones. So, last years one was the 2-pack of Muhammad Ali, as a boxer to recreate his match with Antonio Inoki and as a referee as he was at the very first Wrestle Mania but this one hasn't been a massive seller compared to the rest and I believe is still available from Mattel creations. There is talk though, and I don't know and unless Steve Ozer (or someone else) from Mattel comes out and says otherwise, that this figure may have been a replacement for what they were originally going to do, I don't know but it would be interesting to know and also know what was the plan if there was a plan for something else.

There was a thought that Sylvester Stallone may have been a choice for the SDCC exclusive as apparently, he has featured in the WWE video game, I am not into video games so I am out the loop but this got me thinking, youtuber Kyle Peterson thought with it being the 40 years anniversary of Hulkamania, and yes, we have had a bunch of Hogan figures already this year and more to come, but still, despite having 6 Ultimate Edition figures already, I can't argue with the fact of maybe this SDCC one should've been Hogan again. You may ask yourself what Hogan could they do this time, well, linking it with the thought of Stallone maybe coming to the line, I was thinking a 2-pack of Hogan as Thunderlips and Stallone based on the match he had with that character in Rocky III, there's the pop culture cross-over. Now, I don't know if they have considered this and if they did attempt it, maybe it was too tough to pull off due to licensing issues or Stallone himself, we don't know and maybe never will but that would be great and yes, I know when Hogan played Thunderlips, Hulkamania wasn't a thing but still, it would've been great.

That's it then guys, are you picking this Shawn Michaels up or passing?

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All the best, Stu