S.H. Figuarts WWE Stone Cold Steve Austin Review

Two Steve Austin action figure reviews within the same month? What in the hell is going on around here?

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock are the first two figures to usher in Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts WWE line. Bandai appears to have big plans for this series as there is also a Triple H to be released in March, and following that The Undertaker and Vince McMahon have also been revealed for a future date. While this is all very exciting I can’t help but feel like there is something missing. What could it be? How could there not be a JOHN CENA in the pipeline yet Bandai? Give me a Big Match John with “you can’t see me” hands and then I can officially retire from wrestling toy collecting!

Do you like accessories? Stone Cold has a whole mess of them. So many, in fact, that it finally drove me to invest in a tackle box to keep all of my Figuarts accessories in check and organized. Austin comes packed with a total of four heads, three sets of hands, two beer cans with splashing beer effect parts, and a removable vest. The open hands are jointed at the knuckles which isn’t one of my favorite looks, but if I need to make a fist he comes with hands for that. One set of hands has an extra joint cut into the knuckles to allow him to flip the middle finger. That’s certainly dedication to the character, I will give Bandai that!

Austin also includes two beer cans that can peg into his ‘middle finger‘ hands. Each can also includes an effect part to represent the beer being poured out. It was actually a really smart idea to put the pegs on the hands capable of flipping the bird. Since now he’s able to hold a beer can in his hand while flipping you off!

Probably one of the biggest reasons to buy this figure is the articulation. I’m not going to bother going through a rundown of it all because there’s a ton. There most likely are joints I haven’t even discovered yet! Unlike the Mattel figures, he can get into some pretty convincing wrestling moves and poses. I’d love to say this is what I spent the most time doing with him, but it isn’t. Instead I’ve spent the past week trying to find the best beer-drinking post for Stone Cold. I’m still trying to find the one that works best for me, because that is the one that goes on the shelf!

Stone Cold’s likeness is pretty good all around. The printed face detail generally works well for most of his heads. Uniformly, if you try to examine it too closely the dots from the print can become visible. I’ve also found that with both him and The Rock, the more squinty a look gets, the darker the details around the face are. The alternative to this the Mattel method of a completely flesh tone plastic face with minimal paint applications, so of course I prefer the Bandai’s work.

If Bandai’s intention was to make a splash with their first set of WWE figures, then I think they succeeded. Stone Cold is absolutely stellar to mess around with. I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface as far as posing him. It’s going to be really great as they flesh out the roster more, because having Steve Austin fighting Vince McMahon on my shelf will be amazing! I do hope that the demand for these figures at least sees Bandai stray out from the Attitude Era. As I mentioned I’d love to see John Cena and other more modern characters join the Figuarts collective.

Unlike Star Wars, S.H. Figurarts WWE figures are not limited to overseas release and Bluefin/Tamashii Nations is distributing them in the US. Amazon is probably the best place to purchase him.

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