AEW Unrivaled Series 9 Powerhouse Hobbs review

Until recently, AEW lacked a true black superstar. That was glaring considering promotions like ROH and even WWE had black athletes as prominent champs. I was excited with the arrival of Powerhouse Hobbs as he seems to have all the potential to be an AEW-homegrown talent destined to be a future champion.

It’s taken nine Unrivaled waves, but Hobbs finally gets his first figure. Let’s see if it brings the power or needs a recharge.

Packaging:  Yep, still nothing new on this packaging — poorly laid out with micro sized side portraits, a lack of personalization on the other side and a barren bio. Oddly the rear reference photo doesn’t even reflect the attire of the figure.

Still, the gold foil helps class up the presentation significantly.

There is a new feature here with the addition of a tab for three exclusive Upper Deck trading cards.

Likeness:  This is a killer head sculpt. It’s got Hobbs’ snarling sneer down perfectly. The hair has good texture, body and height for a faithful likeness as well.

Jazwares has done a good job of diversifying the figure bodies though I’m not sure if Hobbs’ shoulders couldn’t stand to be even broader. He’s thicker than the Young Bucks or MJF for sure, which is key.

Hobbs’ boots reflect a good level of detail and I really love how Jazwares sculpts the wrist tape instead of painting it on.

Scale:  Hobbs isn’t a giant at 6’1”. That’s the same height as Eddie Kingston making him just a tad taller than his former Team Taz stablemates 6’ Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. And shorter than the 6’2” Wardlow.

Jazwares doesn’t have the subtle nuances of height down to an inch or two shorter for some characters, which is why the 5’10” Rey Fenix looks a little too close in height to Hobbs.

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Paint:  Unlike Mattel’s WWE line, Jazwares hasn’t had too many issues with skin tone beyond that abysmal first series. Hobbs’ skin tone is accurately reflected, which is a good thing.

Other paint details are also mostly precise. The lettering on his tights is sharp with the gold outline on the black showing up nicely against the orange shock effect. I loved that Hobbs was the one to actually rock Taz’s colors or black and orange.

The one rough area is the boots. White and black don’t cooperate very well in sculpted detail areas due to the easy bleed over factor.

And white needs many more paint apps to hold the color compared to other lighter options.

Articulation: Hobbs is more of a mauler who utilizes big sudden impact moves to decimate his opponents.

You shouldn’t have too much trouble pulling off his moves.

Powerhouse Hobbs has:

• neck
• bicep
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbows (double-jointed)
• wrists
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hips
• thighs
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: Jazwares is kinda all over with the accessories. Some get the obvious, sensible ones while others get the above and beyond treatment.

Hobbs doesn’t come with a lot, but what he gets are useful.

The first is an alternate portrait. This is a neutral expression, which is fine. Hobbs tends to have a little more personality like a cocky smile so I would have preferred that take. Neutral is the best default though since it works in any setting.

He’s also got another set of hands with taped fists. That’s a nice switch and provides another look for Hobbs.

That does feel somewhat sparse in the accessory department. I’d love to see Jazwares start throwing in tables and chairs for guys that don’t have a lot of baseline accessories.

He also comes with an exclusive Upper Deck trading card.

Worth it?  The Unrivaled line keeps shifting from $19.99 and $21.99. Definitely the better value is the one for $2 cheaper as it matches up better with what you’re getting in figures like Hobbs.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Hobbs is a terrific figure with a great head sculpt that adds another new face to the line and a core member of Team Taz.

Where to get it?  Target is doing an excellent job of keeping AEW figures on the pegs now and Hobbs has been a fairly regular presence. Amazon has him in stock now for retail price.