WWE Legends Series 12 Billy Gunn review
Billy Gunn helped provide some much-needed credibility to Degeneration X ver. 2. Along with X-Pac, Billy provided the excitement in DX matches while Triple H finished honing his main event skills.
To commemorate one of DX’s most memorable moments that’s been history-washed into being a far more significant incident than it was beyond a silly skit, Mattel decided to do a DX WCW invasion set. Instead of tying up one wave, Mattel smartly rolled it out over the course of the next few Legends series.
Billy gets the honors of going first making his debut (surprisingly) in the Legends line. Let’s see if this take is legendary or sucks.
Packaging: The Legends line is my favorite of the WWE package set ups thanks to the gold, brown and yellow color combination. The iconic portrait of the character also adds a nice, classy presentation.
Just like the nWo, the DX logo is spray-painted over Legends for a specialized unique touch even though this version is the one from the DX reunion with just Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
The bio nicely summarizes Billy’s DX run with a focus on the DX Invasion of WCW.
Likeness: Mattel hasn’t had a problem capturing Billy’s likeness with previous figures, but the True FX sculpting easily makes this the standout. This is one of those eerie likenesses that perfectly nails Billy’s mischievous smile.
Billy’s hair is too short — it should be down to his shoulders. I’m torn on the torso.
Billy was in fantastic shape though he wasn’t bulky muscular like Triple H in 2000. His boots are an appropriate replica of the side strap versions he wore.
Scale: Billy and Triple H stand at 6’4″ while Road Dogg is 6’2″ and X-Pac is 6’1″ followed by the 5’10” Chyna.
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Paint: Billy’s hair was dirty blonde. It’d be nice for Mattel to incorporate hair gradients into their paint scheme. Most of the paint work is dead on right down to the correct color lips on his kneepads.
The only downside is Mattel has to be PC for the figure based on a dude whose catchphrase is “suck it!” and ditch the lips on his crotch.
That’s worse in this case since the figure’s tights are hidden in the packaging by his ring gear. And really if some kid would want a Billy Gunn figure in 2022 it’s because their folks showed them WWE Attitude Era footage, which is far more offensive.
Articulation: Legends Series 12 is the last one to feature the older articulation scheme so no double-jointed elbows for this one.
That’s a little bummer as Billy would truly benefit from it in re-enacting moves like his Fameasser, piledriver and Stinger Splash.
You’re still able to pull off these moves with the base Elite body, but just not as convincing.
Billy Gunn has:
- neck
- bicep
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbows
- wrists
- wrist hinge
- waist
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: The big draw with this Gunn figure is being able to re-enact his attire from the DX Invasion.
He’s got the helmet with branches. It’s got some very cool detail like duct tape keeping the branches up.
Of more useful note is the cloth Degeneration X shirt. Mattel has been improving its cloth shirt approach so there’s no Velcro. Now you just fit the shirt over the figure for a snug fit.
It looks a lot better and is a significant improvement.
To complete the invasion look, Billy has a pair of camouflage pants. These are a longer size the older camo pants model so they’re not riding up on his ankles.
Finally, he’s got a pair of swappable hands.
Worth it? I grabbed Billy for $21.99 although I had some coupons to knock him down to the lower price. Paying $21.99 is tough, but Mattel is trying to enhance the value so it’s not as rough as some other lines.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Mattel’s efforts to crank out unique and memorable moments for figures while still having them functional in wrestling attire is appreciated. Billy Gunn is a great start to the DX Invasion and it’ll be fun adding to this take on DX.
Where to get it? The WWE Legends line is exclusive to Target. Billy is still available on Target’s website, but Series 13 is showing up in stores so it might start to get tougher to find this wave if you don’t grab ’em quick.