Figure Friday
After eating way too much turkey, I have awoken from my tryptophan induced coma to realize that not only is it Black Friday, it’s also Figure Friday! While my travels this week centered primarily on Thanksgiving dinner, I also managed to squeeze in some figure hunting. Let’s talk about what I’m currently looking for as well as a few pickups from this week.
AEW Unrivaled Series 7 is slowly starting to make its way to shelves. This wave features a pair of tag teams and both a monster and a beast from the men and women’s divisions, respectively. Matt and Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, are getting their 3rd figures in the line, while FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler make their debuts. Also debuting in Series 7 are The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer and The Native Beast Nyla Rose, both of whom are also the chase variants this time around (Archer 1:3000, Rose 1:5000). So far, I’ve been able to find both members of FTR and Nyla Rose. Let’s take a look at each and find out if they’re worthy additions to the Unrivaled roster.
FTR: Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler
The Top Guys have been represented in figure form on more than one occasion thanks to their time as The Revival in WWE. However, this is the first time Jazwares has had an opportunity to bring Dax and Cash to the AEW lineup. One of the cool touches that Jazwares does with the AEW line is including the date the figure’s gear is from. This offering of FTR finds them wearing their red and white ring gear from Double or Nothing 2020 (though the back of both cards incorrectly has a picture of the team in green gear). This night would find FTR defeating Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page to capture the AEW Tag Team Championships. For two guys who have made a career by being the definition of no frills, it’s surprising these figures come with multiple accessories in those titles and their red satin jackets. One area I have been less than impressed with so far from the AEW line is the heavy use of soft plastic for jackets. This is also a common practice by Mattel over on the WWE Elite line. While these red jackets get the job done from an aesthetic standpoint, they lock you into a static pose with the arms at their sides. This is a big letdown. With the jackets off, you can appreciate the simple white gear with bold red accents. Both figures are built on what appears to be identical bodies. The only differences are the head sculpts, the graphics on the gear and the inclusion of Harwood’s larger kneepads and knee brace. Wheeler also features tattoos on his ribcage and the back of his left shoulder, though MOC collector’s will never get to appreciate them due to the jacket covering up the detail work. If you’re a fan of FTR, then these figures will check all the boxes for you. Now we just need a Tully Blanchard to accompany them to the ring.
Nyla Rose
Nyla Rose is a woman that I’ve been begging to have in my collection for quite some time. One of the standouts from the women’s division, The Native Beast is an imposing force next to the previously released smaller scaled women’s wrestlers. Nyla comes with a soft goods scarf and the AEW Women’s Championship. Since Series 3 we’ve had three women in the AEW line that have included the AEW Women’s Championship (Riho, Hikaru Shida, Nyla Rose). The only woman released since then who has not come packaged with the title is current Women’s Champion Dr Britt Baker D.M.D. (why you gotta do The Doctor dirty like that, Jazwares?). Nyla Rose is a larger than life character with a big personality. That personality comes through pretty well in the open-mouthed head sculpt. While it wouldn’t have been my first choice for a head sculpt, it’s effective. However, I can see some people not being thrilled with it. Additionally, Rose’s hair is sculpted in a way where you won’t be able to get much head rotation. This figure isn’t perfect, but representation is important and I’m proud to be able to have her in my collection.
Before we go, I want to highlight one of the more frustrating things with several of the AEW figures; the lack of extra hands. All three of these figures come with a partially opened C-shaped hand, good for holding a tasty beverage or a kendo stick. No fists to punch with. No open palms to chop with. Just C-shaped hands. Now, I understand that depending on how much went into creating a certain figure, it’s not always possible to get extra hands. That being said, Jazwares has been kind enough in the past to get us some accessory packs as well as some accessory heavy figures at a premium price (there’s currently an Amazon exclusive Chris Jericho that comes packed with multiple soft goods shirts and hands that retails for $29.99). Is it too much to ask to get us an accessory pack of nothing but additional hands in various skin tones for both men and women? With so many collectors trying their hands at figure photography, it’s nice to have more tools to tell stories with. You can only do so much with C-shaped hands before they start to look out of place. I’ve got a ton of hands from various toy lines, but they aren’t always plug and play. Having more hands would be a welcome addition and I can’t imagine it would be difficult or overly expensive for Jazwares to get something out as a Ringside Collectibles or ShopAEW exclusive. It’s all I want for Christmas, Jeremy Padawer. Can we make it happen, please?
Thanks for checking out the column this week, I’m off to try and find that Lance Archer figure and get home in time for Rampage! Happy hunting and safe travels!
