WWE Elite 108 Terry Gordy review
It’s taken Mattel a bit, but with the arrival of Terry Gordy now we’re 2/3 from completing the Fabulous Freebirds. That’s pretty exciting.
Mattel went a little above and beyond to provide one of their always fun two in one option so we’ve also got the New Generation Era’s Executioner to hang out with Mankind and Paul Bearer. My buddy picked up the Michael Hayes figure for me and I still haven’t grabbed him so this review will be sadly lacking tag team Freebirds vs. Von Erichs action. But there’s still a few UWF guys to add in this mix.
Let’s see if Bam Bam delivers or if he’s the figure equivalent of pebbles.
Packaging: Mattel has gotten into the limit plastic footprint on the packaging. It’s not as effective with Elite figures like Gordy that have a bunch of accessories. The window is cramped so it’s hard to see if everything is intact. The front features a nice wide portrait of Bam Bam with the welcome ‘First Time in the Line’ tag.
Over on the right side, we get the peg-friendly large portrait. On the back there’s a high-quality reference photo of Gordy heading to the ring. As usual, the bio is excellent properly summarizing Gordy’s career. There’s a smaller strip on the left side with his stats. There’s a mention he’s in the UWF Hall of Fame, which is probably true though I wonder if there was a mistake in missing that he was a UWF Heavyweight Champion and a WWE Hall of Famer?
Likeness: Gordy was wide and thick, but he wasn’t fat. That made finding the best available Elite mold for Gordy tricky. The Mattel team opted for the barrel-chested mold first seen with the Iron Sheik.
It’s not the most accurate to his physique and I wonder if the Keith Lee mold, which is even less defined, would be a better fit for a burly guy like Gordy.
Gordy’s expression makes him look like a big baby. I would have loved a bit more intensity, but it’s not ruining the figure by any means. The hair sculpt is great in capturing his fluffy, curly hair style. That’s tricky and Mattel’s sculptors knocked it out.
His legs seem a little skinny and it seems like the Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine figure would have made more sense here. He’s got the smaller kneepads so they don’t affect his knee articulation.
Scale: At 6’3″, Gordy wasn’t a giant. He was just an inch taller than Kerry and Kevin Von Erich. He’s also slightly taller than the 6’1″ Michael Hayes and Ted DiBiase. Finally, he should be eye to eye with the 6’3″ Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
Paint: Gordy doesn’t require an intricate paint job. He was a simple wrestler attire wise barring those occasions he was rocking face paint with a flag that wouldn’t fly in 2024.
His hair color is like a light coffee brown. That’s not inaccurate, but it would benefit from a darker black wash around the roots to avoid making it look like one flat base color.
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Articulation: Bam Bam was a bruiser with a brawling style that incorporated a shocking level of grappling acumen. I’m definitely partial to the Ultimate Edition articulation scheme now as the butterfly shoulders should really be the norm for any and all wrestling figures.
The good thing is Gordy’s ring gear doesn’t require much for an Ultimate Edition conversion.
For now, the Elite version will do just fine. Gordy could basically do it all in the ring using his weight advantage to pummel smaller opponents and outwrestle other brawlers.
He used heavy impact moves like shoulder tackles, clotheslines, powerbombs and his signature piledriver.
The barrel-chested mold doesn’t limit many moves and the double-jointed elbows aid for submission moves Gordy applies.
Terry Gordy has:
- neck
- shoulders
- elbows (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- waist
- hips
- thighs
- knees
- ankles
Accessories: Gordy comes with probably the best accessory roll out for any Elite so far in 2024. He’s got all the parts necessary to create Gordy’s New Generation character, The Executioner.
The Executioner head sculpt is great with that pouty face expression Gordy would frequently show. He also has the cloak, which is pretty elaborate with the collar flaring and raised positioning of the hood. That’s not all as there’s a full sleeveless bodysuit with red flared cuffs.
Even better, the Executioner head is fully sculpted. No need to try and force a soft goods mask over Gordy’s head. This also provides all the parts necessary to just make Executioner a separate figure if you’ve got a spare Elite body lying around.
Additionally, he’s got two separate grabbing hands for The Executioner’s axe. The exe is pretty accurate to the source material save the gold at the top of the staff.
While the box art has him pictured with the UWF title, he doesn’t actually come with it. You’ll have to wait for the Big Bubba figure in Legends Series 23 for that title.
Worth it? WWE figures are still cheaper than Hasbro’s offerings as they’re $22.99. That’s definitely a good deal for a figure like Gordy who offers that 2 in 1 flexibility.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Gordy is a solid figure who just needed a better torso match and a wash to his hair. I love the Mattel WWE team made the extra effort to include everything needed to make The Executioner as well.
Where to get it? Elite 108 is just now showing up in stores. I got him from Target although the website says he’s sold out at the moment. You can also try Amazon, which has had him in and out of stock for standard retail price.
As an Amazon and Target associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.