WWE Legends Series 22 Sultan review
After trying to make a difference Sultan had a longer than I remembered stint terrorizing some of the WWF’s biggest stars in 1996 and 1997. He’s one of those gimmicks that isn’t fondly remembered even in the era of awful gimmicks during the New Generation era.
Mattel’s WWE team has done a good job of incorporating some of these lesser gimmicks into the line. And with so many of Rikishi’s sons dominating the WWE right now it makes sense to get another of his characters to the Legends series.
As underwhelming as Sultan’s run might have been, this might be one of the more impressive Legends figures of 2024. Let’s see if this will be a standout or quickly forgotten.
Packaging: We’re onto the new packaging design for the Legends line with an hourglass shape. This is to limit the amount of plastic used, but it makes it hard to clearly see all the figure’s accessories. Both sides feature artwork of the figure making it very easy to see the respective figures on higher pegs.
Over on the back is a fun bio that keeps the mystery of Sultan’s identity intact while hyping his big WrestleMania 13 match against Rocky Maivia.
Likeness: Sultan’s scope is really amazing. This is a ton of effort for Rikishi’s fourth or fifth most popular gimmick. I love the intense eyes, which convey plenty of emotion even with the mask covering so much of his face. The sculpt on his mask was well executed.
Sultan switched his attire often, but Mattel opted for his more ornate top. It’s got plenty of intricate patterns throughout as if Sultan is wearing armor plating. He’s got the flared baggy pants that taper into his curved boots like his mentor, The Iron Sheik.
Scale: At 6’1″, Sultan wasn’t towering over any of his opponents. He was more of a stout wild fighter who was just thicker. He was the same height as Ken Shamrock. Sultan looked up at the 6’2″ Dude Love, the 6’4″ Rocky Maivia and the 6’6″ Goldust.
Mattel is largely good about scale though at times they can get a little wonky with the proper height for larger characters.
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Paint: Sultan is a sneakily complicated figure paint-wise. His outfit has so many details. To Mattel’s credit, most of the details like the mask and belt are painted.
The biggest area lacking paint is Sultan’s torso. The buttons and pattern lining should be painted. Fortunately, that linework is big enough that it’s an easy quick paint fix-up. I was pretty impressed that the striped pants were accurately painted.
His boot kick pad occasionally had a crescent moon on the front. Sultan’s gauntlets are painted. Sultan has so many paint app demands, and Mattel gets about 85% of them. No, it’s not perfect, but this isn’t Cody Rhodes or the Ultimate Warrior where missing paint apps are going to be heavily criticized and noticed.
Articulation: As Sultan, Fatu wrestled more of a power style. He didn’t bust out as many of his flashy moves. This figure easily allows for that big bruising brawler move set.
Thanks to his girth and lack of butterfly shoulders, he can’t effectively do a belly to belly suplex and there is some slight limitations to pulling off the Camel Clutch.
Sultan has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- bicep
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- waist
- hip (hinge)
- thigh
- knee (double-jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: Mattel went all in for Sultan to complete his full look.
He gets his pointed hat, which also has a surprising amount of detail from the pattern, the black ring around it and the patterns on the flaps on the side. Even though the hat has a notch inside to latch onto the top knot, it still won’t rest flush against his head and tends to pop up.
Sultan also gets his cloth robe. Going with soft goods here instead of hard plastic makes a big difference as it drapes along his shoulders instead of being a shell that restricts his movement.
Finally, he gets a swappable set of grasping and clutching hands.
Worth it? By now you know the deal with WWE Legends figures. Target sells them at $22.99 and quickly starts having sales before straight up putting them on clearance. I got Sultan for $11.99, but he’s gone as low as $6.49. For this much effort into such a mid-grade character this is well worth full price. Getting him for cheaper is an even better value.
Rating: 9.7 out of 10
Sultan is a great addition to the New Generation lineup. He’s an Elite that really would have benefitted from the Ultimate Edition butterfly shoulders and a snugger fit for the hat.
Where to get it? Target is the home of WWE Legends, but with a new set of Legends now in stores finding Sultan might be tricky.
Pick up Sultan and other WWE Legends at Target.com.
As a Target affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.