WWE Legends Ultimate Edition Yokozuna review

I’ve got a surprising number of Yokozuna figures from Mattel. They’ve all been really fun figures with a great base and all the truly essential accessories he needed. I say all that to say I’m not quite sure why I felt the need to get the Ultimate Edition Yokozuna. Clearly it had something to do with the special price tag, which put him down to cheaper than a standard Elite figure.

As the dominant heel champion of the New Generation era, I did welcome the opportunity to have a super articulated Yokozuna as Mattel has made some significant upgrades since my last one.

Let’s see if this figure makes an impressive banzai or if I feel like I got salt in my eye.

Packaging: For the UE Legends packaging, Mattel opted for a red with white accent color scheme. The window allows for an easy view of the figure and all of his accessories. That’s key since swappers tend to snipe some pieces or outright replace the figure with a different character.

The right side features a portrait of Yoko that conveys his fierceness. On the back there’s the usual dual imagery with the glam shot of the figure and the lower portion shows a reference photo. As always, the bio and stat info are very well done.

Likeness: With each Yokozuna sculpt, Mattel gets it just a bit closer to making these figures look like mini-Yokozunas. The face printing takes the Ultimate Edition version up yet another notch.

I always think of Yokozuna as wider and bigger, which he was later in his career. For his prime, this figure matches up well with his physique.

Right down to the thighs that look like turkey legs. This is a new torso for UE figures with a wider frame and shoulder points for the butterfly joints.

His default head sculpt is irritably neutral. Yoko was never all that pleasant and smiley, so this is a perfect regular expression for him.

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Paint: Yokozuna doesn’t have too much by way of demanding paint applications. He wears red knee-high pants and taped ankles. The lower portion of the pants and tape aren’t sculpted, but the paint line work is sharp so it’s not an issue.

The paintwork on his face was fine. He didn’t have any facial hair and Mattel’s face printing ensures this is rarely a problem point.

Scale: Yokozuna was 6’4″ so Mattel botched his height as he’s about 6’7″. He towers over rivals like the 6′ Bret Hart and 6’3″ Lex Luger while looking closer to eye to eye with the 6’10” Undertaker.

Articulation: Despite his girth, Yokozuna could move around surprisingly well.

He had the requisite power moves but could also bust out quick strikes moves like a thrust kick and sudden Samoan drop to unsuspecting opponents.

Even with the larger than average size, Yokozuna has no trouble finding proper balance points and can be balanced on one leg for the thrust kicks.

With the addition of the butterfly shoulder joints, Yokozuna can now more effectively do bear hugs and nerve vice grips. With the Elite figures it was a lot more of inferring the pose as opposed to actually being able to pull it off.

You’ll also be able to hit the Banzai drop smoother since he can fold his arms closer together.

Ultimate Edition Yokozuna has:

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

Accessories: Ultimate Edition figures get the max number of accessories and Yokozuna gets a good grab bag of stuff.

First are his additional two portraits. He gets a more annoyed expression with more of a snarl. This is the one that no one wants to see as it means he’s had enough and it’s time to flatten an opponent.

The third is a yelling expression that seems perfect for him yelling banzai before crashing down.

Next up is the WWF championship. There’s nothing new with this one and just further adds to the collection of spare belts so all of my WWF champs can hold the title.

Yokozuna also has two extra sets of hands. One is fists and the other is open hands. These can work for delivering a nerve grip, chopping and also spraying salt.

To make that a little easier, he comes with a bucket for his salt. That’s a really fun extra especially with the detailed cord handle.

Finally, he’s got his robe. This is repurposed from an earlier Yokozuna figure, but it’s a welcome inclusion.

The only missing accessories at this point are a Japanese flag and Mr. Fuji! Ok, maybe the latter one isn’t a realistic accessory, but it’s long past time we got The Devious One in the line.

Worth It?  Ultimate Edition figures typically go for $32.99. Target had a sale, so I got Yokozuna for $19.83. That’s a great price for an Ultimate Edition figure with this quality allotment of accessories for the definitive Yokozuna figure.

Rating: 10 out of 10

The head sculpts are a massive improvement over previous figures and all of the accessories truly make this version of Yokozuna the definitive, must-buy edition.

Where to Get It?  The Ultimate Edition Legends wave is exclusive to Target, which tends to keep a plentiful supply. He is starting to get harder to find with the clearance so if you’re interested you should act fast and grab him from your local store or Target.com.

As a Target affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.