WWE Elite Randy Orton figure review Elite Series #49

Mattel can be a little dense at times. For years, Elite collectors have been clamoring for an old school Randy Orton figure from his days as the smug, privileged heir apparent in Evolution. After years of making collectors wait, Mattel relented and made a Randy Orton figure almost exactly like all the others. Ugh.

In protest, I wasn’t planning on picking this figure up, but the good folks over at 3 Count Wrestling Merchandise sent me along some figures to review. With March Bashness 2018 approaching, I actually had a use for this Randy Orton look so this came right in handy.

Packaging:  While it was once fresh and dynamic, the standard Elite packaging got old pretty quick. Blame the dominant red color scheme as it muted the presentation of the figure and didn’t spotlight it as nicely as some other colors.

Check out the Hall of Fame or any of the exclusive figures with this package set up. The colors mattered.

Likeness:  Unlike say Surfer Sting who is comprised of awful parts, Mattel has the correct formula for Randy Orton. He’s got the lean and lanky look befitting The Legend Killer.

I like the head sculpt as it’s neutral and somewhat calculating. It’s odd to have an Orton figure with more than a buzz cut. If Mattel ever does go back and give us an Evolution era Orton, that would be a good time to providing a smirking expression like the package picture.

Scale:  Orton is 6’4″ putting him six inches shorter than The Undertaker and the same height as Triple H and an inch taller than Batista. He’s pretty much dead on and Mattel continues to do a great job with the scale.

Paint:  Here’s where Mattel annoyed a lot of collectors — including me — with this figure. Since he’s been The Viper, Orton has largely traded away any useful variations to his attire. It’s black with a slight accent.

Back in his Evolution days, Orton wore much more colorful attire. If you’ve gotten a few Orton figures, you’ve got them all. An orange, lavender or blue would have been great to further distinguish this figure from all the others.

Instead, we get black with a white accent. The paint applications are fine if a bit boring. As an earlier Orton, this figure only has a few tattoos on the arms instead of the full sleeve.

Articulation:  Mattel found a great articulation mode with the Elite line. It’s not perfect, but for the most part you’re not going to miss out on any moves Orton could pull off besides some of his more submission-oriented maneuvers.

Randy Orton has:

• neck
• shoulders
• elbows
• wrist
• torso
• waist
• thighs
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories:  Orton comes with a cloth rKo shirt. As far as nWo rip-offs go, I always thought this was pretty timely and clever. I’m a big fan of the cloth shirts as they always fit and look so much better on the figures.

Worth It?  The Elite 49 Orton will run you about $25 these days. That’s not the best price for an Elite figure with one accessory unless you’re a big Orton fan.

Rating: 10 out of 10

For this very specific era this is a solid Orton figure even if it’s not the one a lot of fans want to cross off their list.