10 Best Action Figures Of WWE's Attitude Era Wrestlers
Perhaps the only era of pro wrestling that rivals WWE's Golden Era is the Attitude Era. Some fans would even go as far as to say that the Attitude Era was the greatest era ever. Regardless, that period in time featured some of the best performers in company history.
RELATED: Top 10 Most Controversial Gimmicks During WWE's Attitude Era
Unfortunately, at the time, the technology on action figures wasn't up to speed yet. This meant Attitude Era stars weren't getting the best action figures possible. Since 2010, Mattel has been righting many of those previous wrongs and producing some incredible Attitude Era figures. A handful of those figures stand out among the rest though.
10 Network Spotlight Mr. McMahon Elite
During the 80s and early 90s, Vince McMahon was a regular on WWE programming. However, that Vince McMahon was very different than the one fans saw during the Attitude Era. In the Attitude Era, McMahon stepped out from behind the announce desk to reveal that he was in fact the owner of WWE.
From 1997 on, the evil "Mr. McMahon" would be Vince McMahon's full-time persona. Surprisingly, there's ever only been one Mr. McMahon elite produced. This Network Spotlight Elite, which comes with a soft goods sweater and a WWE Championship belt, is solid but it's due for an upgrade. Although, McMahon's recent fall of grace might delay that a bit.
9 Ultimate Edition Series 9 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin was undeniably the hottest entity in the wrestling business during The Attitude Era. However, Austin's likeness and ring attire were never exactly "toyetic." In other words, because of the bald head and plain black tights, Austin figures could be boring at times.
When Mattel released this Ultimate Edition Series 9 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, they made sure they didn't have that problem. This figure comes jam-packed with incredible accessories including the first ever soft goods shirt not to feature velcro on the back. If collectors are looking to buy just one Austin figure, this one gets the most bang for your buck.
8 Ringside Collectibles Exclusive Hardy Boyz 2-Pack
By the late 90s, tag team wrestling was sort of an afterthought in WWE. The division had been depleted and no longer featured the talent depth that it did in the 80s. Luckily, in the late 90s, a few young tandems would rise to the occasion and re-elevate tag team wrestling in WWE. One of those teams was The Hardy Boyz.
This Ringside Collectibles Exclusive 2-Pack features Matt and Jeff in their New Brood attire. It comes with soft goods shirts, interchangeable hands, and WWE Tag Team Championship belts. Considering both Hardy's are no longer with WWE, this set's value currently sits pretty high so acquiring it will cost a bit.
7 Defining Moments Series 4 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Some performers lend themselves well to being turned into action figures. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was never necessarily one of those performers because of his plain ring attire. However, this Defining Moments Series 4 Elite Steve Austin doesn't have that problem.
The figure represents one of the biggest moments of Austin's career when he was kayfabe run down by a car at Survivor Series 1999. This figure comes with molded jeans, a soft goods t-shirt, and a jacket, as well as a hat and gold chain. It's arguably the most unique Austin Elite figure, appearance-wise, that has ever been produced by Mattel. Today, this figure is on the pricier side but it's definitely worth the buy.
6 Ultimate Edition Series 3 Triple H
Triple H was one of the most important characters during WWE's Attitude Era. At the time, he was the second biggest heel in the company, just behind Mr. McMahon. Mattel's Ultimate Edition Series 3 Triple H perfectly encapsulates "The Game" during that period of his career.
RELATED: 10 Clean Triple H Losses We Forgot About
Like most Ultimate Editions, this figure came with an abundance of accessories including a sledgehammer, a water bottle, a WWE Championship belt, three sets of interchangeable hands and head scans, and course a steel mesh tank top. Collectors who slept on this figure while it was at retail are kicking themselves now as this figure's aftermarket value has skyrocketed.
5 Ringside Collectibles Exclusive Ultimate Edition Kane
In 2021, Mattel released its first Ultimate Edition Kane figure. While the figure was superb, a manufacturing oversight by Mattel left the first few waves of this figure with missing paint and choppy head scans. While Mattel eventually fixed all those issues, the defects left a bad taste in consumers' mouths regarding the Ultimate Edition Kane.
In 2023 though, Mattel is slated to release a Raw Is War ring set which will include an Ultimate Edition Kane. This Kane will come with "The Big Red Machine's" alternate red-on-black attire rather than his customary black-on-red. Assuming there aren't any manufacturing issues, this Kane will immediately jump to the top of many collectors' "must-own" lists.
4 Entrance Greats Kurt Angle Elite
In 1999, Kurt Angle joined an already stacked WWE roster when he debuted at that year's Survivor Series. Despite being one of the key contributors to WWE's Attitude Era, Angle surprisingly only has two Elites from that era. That's a small number when compared to other stars from that time.
Of those two figures, this Entrance Greats Angle is easily the best. It featured Angle in his debut attire and came with gold medals and a display stand that plays Angle's entrance theme. Mattel needs to release more Angle figures overall but especially more Attitude Era ones. For now, this Angle is as good as it gets, which is fine because the figure is a homerun.
3 Best Of Attitude Era Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho's time in WWE got kicked off with a bang, as Jericho had one of the most memorable debuts in wrestling history. After that though, it took Jericho a little bit to find his footing in WWE. Eventually, he would transform Raw Is War into "Raw Is Jericho." That version of Y2J made the perfect addition to Mattel's Best Of Attitude Era line.
RELATED: 10 Best Chris Jericho Action Figures, Ranked
This Jericho figure came with some great eye-catching red tights with black and silver barbed wire designs. What puts this particular figure over the top is the soft goods "Raw Is Jericho" shirt that it comes with. With Jericho now in AEW for the foreseeable future, this will likely be the quintessential Jericho Elite for a long while.
2 Ringside Collectibles Exclusive 'Taker's Revenge Elite
The story of The Undertaker and Kane is one of the greatest stories WWE has ever told. Ever since debuting in 1997, Kane has been tied to The Undertaker more often than not. One of the most memorable instances of the kayfabe brothers' WWE run came on the 7/6/1998 Monday Night Raw when Kane removed his mask to reveal that Undertaker had been cosplaying as him that night.
That great moment was captured by Mattel with this Ringside Collectibles Exclusive 'Taker's Revenge Elite. The figure came with two interchangeable Undertaker and Kane heads. It also came with a removable mask for 'Taker to be displayed with, as well as a WWE Championship belt. This figure is a gem and will take any toy shelf to the next level.
1 Ultimate Edition Series 4 Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels was a lightning rod for controversy during the Attitude Era, which is impressive considering he retired in early 1998. Regardless, HBK left a mark on the era while he was a part of it. Arguably Michaels' most memorable instance from the Attitude Era came at Survivor Series 1997, during the infamous Montreal Screwjob.
Michaels' attire that night was the inspiration for Mattel's 2020 Ultimate Edition Series 4 figure. This figure is perhaps the best Shawn Michaels figure ever produced. Everything from the head scans to the entrance attire accessories was a hit. This figure was so good and in such high demand that Mattel actually re-released it again in 2022. Mattel pumps out a lot of Michaels figures but it'll be hard to top this one anytime in the near future.
