SDCC 2026 Mattel/WWE Preview Day - My thoughts

Once again, we have been show many figures that will be upcoming from Matte/WWE in the coming 12 months or so, some we knew about and some surprises. I first want to say, all images used in this blog are thanks to My Damn Toys, he’s on the scene at SDCC, make sure you follow him on all the usual social media platforms for great updates.

I won't go through everything and I don't think I will be able to do a blog on the other reveals either as I am about to go on holiday but I'll still be commenting on social media, facebook, Instagram and X  - @WrestleFigsUK, please follow on all accounts.

So, let's start with my favourite line, the Legends. At WM weekend we saw some prototypes of a future Legends series and at SDCC, we saw those complete, I believe this could be series 33, and they are Rick & Scott Steiner, Tonga Kid and Undertaker, the BAF will be Mike Rotunda, also known as IRS in the WWF and VK Wallstreet in WCW. The look he will have in this BAF is based on his late 80's NWA/WCW run where he was part of the Varsity Club. The Rick Steiner is based on about the same period, Rick was also in the Varsity Club with Rotunda before his brother Scott came to WCW. Rick comes with the TV title of the time, we first saw the belt with Elite 100 'Stunning' Steve Austin but that was on a red strap, and it looks like Rick's will be on a black one. Once again though, like the one that came with Austin, the belt looks oversized which is a shame. It's a massive bug bearer of mine, over and under sized belts, really grinds my gears. Oversized TV title, oversized US title, undersized WCW title, no doubt there's more. Anyway, enough moaning, we're getting Tonga Kid for the first time in the Mattel line which is cool. The Undertaker is a bit meh but it is what it is, it's the Legends series so I'll have to pick it up. I think that's it for Elite Legends shown so far, hopefully there will be more today/tonight, a Rick Steiner to match Scott with the tag title and maybe a Scott Steiner with the 92 TV title that we have yet to get in the line, I believe he won it from Ricky Steamboat, I recall Austin wearing it too when he was having a singles run after his 'Hollywood Blondes' days.

Onto the Monday Night Wars line, we were somewhat aware of what we were going to see we were just not aware of the attire we were getting, so we had, as you can see pictured, Shawn Michaels with his Texas Wrestling Academy t shirt, it was the TWA where he made his in-ring return following his lay-off after Wrestle Mania XIV but his WWE return was at Summer Slam 2002 in a great match against Triple H. We also got a Kurt Angle and on the WCW side we got 3 figures, one being the BAF, first we got a Terry Funk which is a repaint with new shirt but more importantly, for the first time in the line the WCW Hardcore title, we also got Sister Sherri, Sherri Martel when she was the manager/valet of the Harlem Heat, I don't really collect female figures but may keep this one and finally, the BAF is an nWo Stevie Ray which looks cool as it's not like a figure in black gear with nWo on the front like the Bryan Adams and Ray Traylor we have previously had.

Sticking with Elites, we got to see some Royal Rumble and Wrestle Mania sets, 4 figures each with a BAF, I'm going to talk about the WM set first. I don't always buy the full sets of these even though there is a BAF, take the latest Survivor series set, not that they were readily available anyway, but I only picked up the Undertaker as it was different as he had the strange looking trousers (pants if you're American) so it was different. The BAF was a modern day Michael Cole, now, I may pick it up if I see one for sale complete, the Undertaker I bought didn't have the BAF parts. This WM set I will look at getting complete because I will want the BAF, onto that shortly. First and foremost, when this set was leaked some weeks back I must admit, I got a little excited as there was a figure in the set I have wanted for a long time and I may have tagged Bill Miekina and Steve Ozer in posts on instagram a few times over it and that is the Diesel from Wrestle Mania X, he didn't wrestle on the show but he accompanied Shawn Michaels to the ring where he was to face Razor Ramon in a ladder match which we know went on to be a classic (watch it on my YT playlist here ➡️ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP_J7rIPh_DDRsj8PPd07ASNO1NBspW1y&si=GSt7yVSwqJSkyAAX), we have had the Michaels (twice) and the Ramon so now we have the set complete, thanks Bill/Steve or whoever made the decision. also in the set, the first Mattel produced Joe Hendry figure, we have another Umaga an CM Punk, who like Cody Rhodes, they are pumping out. The BAF was Armando Estrada who was the manager/handler of Umaga.

The Royal Rumble set, well, it doesn't get my juices flowing like the WM set but it has a great BAF. In the set are Sid Justice from the 1992 Royal Rumble and I am not going to lie, from the images I have seen, something seems off with it, it has been a long time coming, a basic of it was released of it some time ago so now people have the chance to get an Elite of it if they so wish. Also in the set, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Owens but the real star of the set is the BAF and that is Dr Harvey Wimpleman, the glasses on him look strange from the image I have seen but let's see what it's like in hand. I am not sure if I'll be able to pick the BAF parts up on the aftermarket so I guess I'll have to buy all 4 figures in the set, damn you Mattel!

Onto some other Elites that grabbed my attention. I see there will finally be a re-release of the 2002 RAW return Triple H, it originally came in the Defining Moments series and was/is, very sought after and, although I don't collect for future sell-on value, it was one of, if not, the last Mattel figure I have in the collection that has a higher value being as they have already re-released the SES CM Punk previously. I saw an AJ Styles in shorts, not watching the product any longer I don't know where it was from, the attire, I'm sure most of you reading this will know, feel free to let me know, but it looks great and I will hopefully pick that one up. We had another Cody elite, as I mentioned earlier, we know they pump them out along with Punk but this one has a really cool mask with it, I'll be grabbing this one too. Another cracking figure shown was one of the Repo Man, another gimmick portrayed by Barry Darsow who we have had back in the line as Demolition Smash, I wonder if we will get anymore of Darsow's previous gimmicks? This Repo Man looks outstanding, as you can see from the pictures provided by MDT, the work on the back of his coat are outstanding. I imagine this will be in a future Legends set, I can't wait for it.

I am sure there were other Elites shown which were outstanding but now I am going to move onto Ultimate Editions. We got to see some we knew were on the way like the Monday Night Wars X-Pac which I think I read is supposed to run alongside the Kane that came out in the Coliseum Collection but I am not sure on that, Looking forward to picking up the X-Pac but at first glance, the thighs look a bit thin, maybe it looks worse because of the DX shirt he's wearing, we shall see. There was a new sub-line of Ultimate's shown, they are calling them the 'Ultimate Moments' pictured you can see an SES CM Punk which will come with a masked and unmasked head and, like the PENTA figures, will come with changeable mouths for the masked head. Also in this series will be a Dominic Mysterio which also looks great. We also got to see a Target exclusive Legends Kane, we had an Elite version of this many moons ago. 

And to close, I have to talk about the TOTALLY AMAZING looking PENTA Ultimate Edition, I think it was designed by Magic at Mattel and he really has worked his magic on this one, WOW, what a figure. I believe it will be a Mattel Creations exclusive, if it's a made to order one we'll probably have to wait a while for it which will be a shame but it'll be well worth it. Just look at it guys, it's amazing.

OK, that's it, thanks for reading if you have got this far, if you can, please share the piece with your wrestling collector friends.

Once again, thanks to My Damn Toys for the images, follow him on X/Instagram/facebook and of course, Youtube as he will have more to share from SDCC over the coming days.