I been buying and collecting wrestling action figures since the LJN era. My collection of JAKKS I’m very proud of but backed off when I found out Mattel took over the WWE license and thought I might as well stop with JAKKS because I really don’t want to rebuy all these figures over again… Until I bought my first Mattel and I was hooked once again. My first figure came from WWE Legends Series 5 with Macho Man Randy Savage. JAKKS never had a Savage figure and I couldn’t pass him up!

These are my Top Five favorite WWE Mattel action figures.

5. Becky Lynch (Elite 49)

I’ve always been 50/50 on Lynch but came around a year ago. I picked up her Elite 49 figure on clearance, it just looks good. She has her steampunk top hat, goggles and duster.

4. Razor Ramon (WrestleMania 32 Basic)

When I was looking for a Razor there’s a Defining Moments figure with purple ring gear, but I wasn’t looking to get anything fancy. So I found a basic with black and gold ring gear which to me is the classic Razor look. Sure he didn’t come with a vest but still a nice figure to add to my Kliq/New Generation Era collection.

3. D’Lo Brown (Elite 52)

D’Lo was my favorite wrestler in the Nation and he’s a bit underrated, he’s one of a few people in the Attitude Era that wasn’t named Hardy doing high flying moves. The Elite 52 figure is spot on, down to the protective vest.

2. Dusty Rhodes (Target Exclusive)

I skipped on buying WWE Legends Series 1 Dusty Rhodes to buy Randy Savage, years later when Target had Rhodes packaged with the WCW ring I couldn’t pass it up. Rhodes was in his NWA era ring attire with the big gold belt and by this time I was already three rings deep and having one more couldn’t hurt. But it’s the classic Dusty that I like about the figure. Cowboy ring boots, birthmark and one elbow pad. Classic!

1. Bret Hart (Defining Moments 5)

I gotta have my all time favorite wrestler. This figure is from In Your House: Canadian Stampede. Everything about this figure is awesome, he comes with a Canadian flag, sunglasses, and a leather jacket with the Hitman skull logo on the back. Everything you need to make a perfect Bret Hart figure.

Who’s Next? At this point Mattel is making everyone, as of this year X-PAC has four figures floating around and one of them is Syxx from his WCW run. But I really want to see a Gorilla Monsoon figure because Bobby Heenan has a figure out and one on the way, and I need a Prime Time Wrestling duo. Another figure I would buy is Haku in his King of the Ring attire.

And now a word from Lawrence of The Awesome 80’s Podcast on his top 3 favorite wrestling action figures.

Thanks Doiner for including me in this column. I was a hardcore collector from 1990-2005. Although I do have some of the early WWF figures they didn’t capture my heart at the time. After I was collecting for a few years I stopped opening all figures and kept them in their packaging. If I really wanted to open one I would buy doubles but even then I found I would have a tough time allowing myself to open the package. I found I got more joy out of holding the unopened package and looking at them than I did playing with an opened one.

If anyone is looking for gift ideas I have always regretted opening the 1990 WCW set and am willing to take donations of any of those figures. Enjoy my Top 3 list below and feel free to comment about your favorites. My favorites are all about sentimental value and not which ones looked the coolest or had the best moves.

3. Shawn Michaels (Road to WrestleMania 22 – Series 1)

Shawn Michaels as Hulk. This figure makes me laugh and reminds me of the promo HBK delivered right before their 2005 Summer Slam match where Shawn over sold everything and made Hulk look like an asshole. If you haven’t watched this match or haven’t watched it in a while as a wrestling fan you owe it to yourself to check it out.

2. Mick Foley’s Triple Threat

I was a huge Foley mark since his 1991 WCW run. So I was the worst to be around when he was at his peak in WWF from 1998-2002. I loved everything Foley did and I wasn’t shy about telling everyone I saw. When this set got released I was full on mark mode. It is of course still sitting in my collection, unopened.

1. Jim Ross (Ringside Collection Series 2)

I was also a big JR mark. This is my #1 because I searched for over 6 months to find this figure. Every Wal*Mart or Toys R Us I passed I had to stop to try to find it. The fleeting moment of joy I had when I found it and held it in my hands was a euphoric feeling for all of 10 seconds. I have four of this figures currently sitting in my basement you guessed it all unopened. Special shout out to my college girlfriend who also had to stop at everyone of those Wal*Mart’s, Toys R Us and oh ya I forgot we also stopped at every K B Toy stores.

Honorable mention to the WCW 1990 set. This was the first set that I hardcore collected. I still have the entire set in my collection but I opened them all to book shows using the WCW ring I had. Special shout out to the spring loaded ring platform.