WRESTLING MERCHANDISE 101: New Dark Order figures arrive, AEW World Championship belt now available, more

BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR


SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

New Arrivals

DARK ORDER AEW FIGURES

A set that I’ve really been looking forward to arrived last week: Series 3 of the AEW Unmatched Collection. This series features five members of the popular AEW faction The Dark Order: Anna Jay, Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, John Silver, and the late Brodie Lee. I really like that Jazwares made a series that consisted of an entire faction. They really hit it out of the park with this set. Here’s the rundown:

Brodie Lee: The Dark Order leader has a spot-on face sculpt and is taller in scale to the other figures. He is wearing black and grey attire and includes the TNT title belt, a paper stack, and a rolled up paper (as seen on Being The Elite). I expect this to be the most popular figure from the set. Be on the lookout for a chase version of Brodie Lee in alternate attire.

Anna Jay: “Number 99” of the Dark Order has purple, silver, and black attire, three extra hands, and two interchangeable heads (one has a frown and the other is smiling). There is a chase version of Anna Jay available as well.

Stu Grayson: Comes with his entrance attire, two interchangeable heads (both have face paint– one is smiling, one has his mouth open), and three extra hands.

Evil Uno: This masked figure includes a detailed version of his ring gear, an AEW microphone, and four extra hands.

John Silver: The figure includes a full length entrance robe, two heads (scowling and yelling), and four extra hands.

As if that wasn’t enough, each figure comes with a three-pack of AEW Upper Deck trading cards that are unique to the figures. They are like the regular trading cards except they have yellow accents.

It’s going to be interesting to see if this set sells very well, since (with the exception of Brodie Lee) most of these wrestlers are “new” to the national scene. My guess is since the Dark Order faction is popular through TV and the Being The Elite YouTube show, they will do well. Having the cards included will be a big help as well. If this set succeeds, we will hopefully get the remaining members of Dark Order.

For now, you can find this set at ringsidecollectibles.com, but eventually you will find them at the usual outlets such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Game Stop.

WWE ELITE SERIES 89

Stores in my area are finally starting to receive WWE Elite Series 89. This is the first set of Elites with the revamped packaging. The new color scheme is blue and black and it’s a nice change of pace. The lineup for this series is Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, Sgt. Slaughter, and Nia Jax. For now, I picked up Drew, Priest, and Mysterio.

Drew’s figure is his first to include the kilt and sword and it’s very well done. The Priest figure has a black jacket, purple tights, and silver boots. It’s a vast improvement over his basic figure that came out last year. Mysterio is a must-have for collectors who want to have figures of the current roster. It’s Dominik’s first figure. It includes extra hands and a kendo stick.

The Lashley figure includes his updated look with the long tights and includes the WWE title belt. The Sgt. Slaughter is pretty good. He is wearing the ring attire from his run as an Iraqi sympathizer. The Nia Jax figure includes a WWE Women’s Tag Team title and is likely her last.

In The News

-AEW has it’s highly detailed replica World Title belt available at shopaew.com for the princely sum of $799 (Dear AEW: let’s mix in some lower end replicas!). The belt is made with simulated leather straps, 868 simulated jewels, and includes a cloth carrying bag. For an additional $34.99, you can get a name plate of either Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, or Adam Page.

-Mattel announced some figure reveals for the upcoming year. Topping the list was a set of WWE Elite Legends (a Target exclusive) featuring Stacy Keibler, Kane, DX Army X-Pac, and NWO Wolfpac Lex Luger. WWE Superstars Series 2 (which look like the old AWA Remco figures) includes Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash. There will also be new Elites of Bret Hart, British Bulldog, NWO Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, and Stephanie McMahon. Upcoming Ultimate Edition figures include Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan (1984 era), and Mr. T. The first figure of Omos is on the way also.

-Wweshop.com posted new shirts of Shinsuke Nakamura, Rhea Ripley, and Alexa Bliss.

-Shopimpact.com has a bundle sale to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Impact Wrestling. For $40, you get a white Impact 20 t-shirt, 5 DVDs, and one collector’s pin.

Coming Up

-AEW star Tay Conti has a virtual signing with Highspots on Thursday, February 17th at 7pm EST. Photos, trading cards, and figures are available for pre-sale. Go to highspotsauctions.com for more information.

You can find Darrin Lilly on Twitter at darrin_lilly and on Instagram at dklstl


CATCH-UP: WRESTLING MERCHANDISE 101: Kris Statlander contends for Figure of the Year, January 2022 Pro Wrestling Crate detail, more

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