WWE Network Spotlight Vince McMahon figure review
It seems kinda crazy that it’s taken this long to get an Attitude Era Vince McMahon figure in Mattel’s Elite line. Mr. McMahon was the Attitude Era’s most enduring and despised heel thanks to his relentless tormenting of stars Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. With this latest Network Spotlight figure, we get Vince from the 1999 Royal Rumble.
Father’s Day: 30% off Orders w/ code DAD AT shop.wwe.com Valid 6/9- 6/11
Packaging: The Network Spotlight line stands out from the regular Elite and specialty packaging with its red and black color scheme. Like the other specialty lines, the bio is fully fleshed out and explains the purpose of this look. Hopefully that will be the norm for all Elites with the 2018 packaging update.
Likeness: Vince gets the shredded, ripped torso, which would probably still be accurate today. Vince loves that ICOPRO. The cocky expression is the best head sculpt Mattel has done for McMahon. It captures his ‘I got one over on Austin’ look beautifully.
It’s always amusing seeing the side package portrait show the more definitive look for the wrestler than the figure itself. The more agitated and put upon expression probably works better for wrestler Vince while this would be ideal for a suited Mr. McMahon figure.
This attire choice is based on the 1999 Royal Rumble and not the more traditional tank top Vince would wear in his matches. I thought Vince wore sweat pants as opposed to the dress pants this figure is wearing.
Scale: Vince is 6’2” putting him an inch taller than his nemesis Steve Austin and three inches shorter than The Rock.
Mattel completely Jakks’ed this one up making Vince nearly as tall as the 7′ Kane. This is a pretty terrible mistake and one that Mattel absolutely can’t make at this point in the line.
One of the main reasons I was drawn to Mattel’s WWE line was their attention to scale. These kinds of mistakes from simply choosing the wrong body parts is inexcusable. Mattel needs to rework its pants mold as it makes wrestlers too out of scale with the other figures.
Paint: Vince is rocking all black here so there’s not a lot to tackle.
In a crazy bit of attention to detail, Mattel added the gold label to the back of Vince’s pants. I thought that was a mistake until I saw reference pictures. I’m assuming that’s just the label for the pants, but it’s such a random thing to include after messing up the scale so badly.
Articulation: McMahon works just fine with the standard Elite articulation. He wasn’t slapping on submission holds or top rope dives. All he really needs to do is be able to do is punch, kick and be able to take a few Stunners.
Vince has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- bicep
- elbow
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double-jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: Vinnie Mac comes with a removable cloth, long-sleeved sweatshirt. It’s a little too baggy and doesn’t fit as nicely as the short sleeve shirts. Still, I’m always a fan of Mattel going with cloth instead of plastic for clothing.
Additionally, he has the Attitude Era world title. This is a weird selection since Vince didn’t win the WWE title at the Rumble. On the other hand, this belt isn’t included as often as the 87-97 era belt so some collectors might not have it.
Worth it? Vince will run you $20. The Network Spotlight figures tend to go on sale like most WWE products. The regular price is fine, but I’d recommend waiting until a sale.
Rating: 6 out of 10
I really don’t appreciate having to cobble through my collection in hopes of finding parts to better scale Vince. Mattel really had one job here and screwed it up. Any time I’ve gotta fix something I paid for, that’s a problem even with a better than average figure from the waist up.
Where to get it? The Network Spotlight line is a Toys R Us exclusive. So that’s your best bet unless you absolutely want to grab him on Amazon.com.