All Elite Wrestling (AEW) might have only been around for 5 years, but it has left an impact on the wrestling industry with fresh faces to the worldwide company facing off on the company’s AEW Dynamite & Rampage weekly shows (A new show AEW Collision is debuting on June 17, 2023). Along with the live action of the wrestlers on TV, kids and collectors all around the world are able to get their hands on the men and women of All Elite Wrestling via the Unrivaled and Unmatched action figure lines.
Today we get to have a look at AEW Unrivaled Series 8 of the long-running action figure line, featuring the grouping of The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent, Orange Cassidy, and Kris Statlander), Jon Moxley (Previous to him joining/founding The Blackpool Combat Club), and “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho.
Kris Statlander
Born: August 7, 1995
Billed from: “Andromeda Galaxy”
Debut: November 2016
Joined AEW: November 19, 2019
Stable: The Best Friends
Accomplishments:
- All Elite Wrestling
- Second-ever TBS Champion (Current)
The recently returned Kris Statlander is a great-looking figure, which is good to see as the AEW Unrivaled line doesn’t have a lot of females from the roster in the collection. Statlander appears here with her pre-injury look (Statlander got injured with a “completely torn ACL and lateral meniscus” back in August 2022, returning in May 2023 at AEW Double or Nothing), the same look that will appear as her default outfit in the upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game.
Statlander shows the basics of the AEW Unrivaled line with her mold being the same as everyone else: ball-joint neck, 360-degree rotating shoulder joint, triple ratchet for elbows and knees, ankle tilt, double chest joint, and rotating thigh joints. This is standard across the AEW Unrivaled line, showing that AEW not only pays attention to what works in the wrestling business, but also what is the best molds for the toy business.
Orange Cassidy
Born: May 4, 1984
Billed from: “Wherever”
Debut: March 13, 2004
Joined AEW: May 25, 2019
Stable: The Best Friends
Accomplishments:
- All Elite Wrestling
- AEW All-Atlantic/International Championship (1 time, current)
The current AEW International Champion is up next, and I’d say that Orange Cassidy has been given the “star treatment” here by being the only figure in the line that was given a lot of extra accessories to use with the figure. Orange can change hands, from his default setting of a thumbs-up pose to one where you could make it look like he has his hands in his pockets (However, you can’t actually do the whole pose as the figure does not have pockets, a big mistake in my opinion). Orange also has his single elbow pad available, which you would usually see when he doesn’t have his jacket on. Speaking of the jacket, you can remove the t-shirt and jacket from the figure in a single piece of clothing, allowing you to see a topless Orange if that’s how you want to see him wrestle… And his glasses come off, as they do pretty quickly during a match.
Given that Orange Cassidy is AEW’s main guy these days, it doesn’t surprise me that this figure seems to have had all the detail and care put into it. What does surprise me is that this is the only figure I’ve seen so far that has a cloth clothing accessory with it, making it easier to take on and off, whereas other characters either have molded plastic or hard rubber/leather jackets which are hard to remove and harder to get back on.
Trent
Born: March 30, 1987
Billed from: Long Island, New York
Debut: July 10, 2004
Joined AEW: February 7, 2019
Stable: The Best Friends
Accomplishments:
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (4 times)
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- Super Jr. Tag Tournament (2016)
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (2014)
Trent, or Trent Baretta (depending on what name he is using at the time due to legal reasons), is one half of the tag team of Best Friends, which eventually evolved into a stable when Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander (Danhousen joined later) joined the group. This version of Trent is from very early in his AEW career, as his long hair was something he only had for a while before changing to a more closely shaved look (Something you can see in his photo on the box) which he still has to this day.
As for the figure itself, it’s the same construction as everyone else. However, it was with this figure that I found some flaws in the packaging and figure design. The first is the packaging, which requires you to rip the whole box to bits to get to the figure. This is a shame because these boxes are really well designed and display the figures really well. A simple sliding tray would be awesome in future boxes so I can put the figures back and display them this way. The other flaw I found was that, unlike The Flash figure series I recently reviewed, the chest joints were really loose and easy to snap apart. Luckily the snap was more of the ball joint popping out of place and was easily fixed, but when you have multiple connections done in this style, you need to make sure they are not going to pop out with slight pressure.
Also, special edition Sue with Van coming when?
Chuck Taylor
Born: April 22, 1986
Billed from: Murray, Kentucky
Debut: 2002
Joined AEW: February 7, 2019
Stable: The Best Friends
Accomplishments:
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- PWG World Championship (2 times)
- Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (2014)
The other half of Best Friends is again a very basic figure. To be honest, Chuck gets the most basic look out of every AEW Unrivaled figure with way too much black happening with the boots, kick pads, “jeans”, and jacket. Even Trent got some color in his tights and knee pads. So speaking as someone who is a collector, this is the figure that doesn’t appeal at all and is probably the worst one in this series. Best Friends as a team has had a lot of great colorful outfits, evolving more and more over time. But this time in their careers wasn’t a long one, which makes me wonder why these looks were chosen over the other ones. Hell, even the grey suits from the “Sue with Van” video linked above would look better than this. But hey, they match, which is something good for a tag team.
Jon Moxley
Born: December 7, 1985
Billed from: Cincinnati, Ohio
Debut: June 2004
Joined AEW: May 25, 2019
Stable: The Blackpool Combat Club
Accomplishments:
- All Elite Wrestling
- AEW World Championship (3 times)
- AEW Interim World Championship (1 time)
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- WWE
- WWE Championship (1 time)
WWE Intercontinental Championship (3 times)
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (2 times)
WWE United States Championship (1 time)
- WWE Championship (1 time)
Now I’ll be honest here, this one is a bit of a “blind review” since the Jon Moxley I got in my review box wasn’t the Series 8 version, but a Series 5 version with the AEW championship. I already have a Series 2 version with the same belt, so guess which version got opened up? The Series 5 version. The only real difference between the multiple versions of Moxley that have graced the AEW Unrivaled collection is his pants, which have some version of full pants with “MOX” on the side, or shorts with “MOX” on the side. It’s the same rubber jacket (For god’s sake, get some fake leather at least) for every figure, and you’ll either get a clean face, bloodied face, or scarred face for the figure. I have no issue with any of these versions of Moxley as he is just a really good character who has done great things in the business, but at the same time, I think we don’t need any more of these Moxley figures including the “1 in 5000” variations.
The only thing that I get to talk about with Moxley is the AEW Championship belt itself, which is not with the Series 8 figure as he wasn’t champion at the time. For a small plastic plated belt with rubber straps, there is a lot of detail in the gold-painted plastic, creating an almost perfect replica of the AEW World Championship belt… If it has just a small amount of silver detailing on the AEW logo to make it perfect. I’ve also got titles with other figures, such as the first version of the AEW Women’s Championship and AEW Tag Team Championships. Those belts have amazing detail and paint jobs done on them, giving them an almost perfect look to the belts, something WWE championship belts have never done.
Chris Jericho
Born: November 9, 1970
Billed from: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Debut: October 2, 1990
Joined AEW: May 25, 2019
Stable: Jericho Appreciation Society
Accomplishments:
- All Elite Wrestling
- AEW World Championship (1 time, inaugural)
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- ECW World Television Championship (1 time)
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Championship (1 time)
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)
- WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
- WWF/WWE
- Undisputed WWF Championship (1 time)
- World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- WCW/World Championship (2 times)
- WWF/WWE Intercontinental Championship (9 times)
- WWE United States Championship (2 times)
- WWF European Championship (1 time)
- WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times)
- WWF/World Tag Team Championship
“The Aiatola of Rock and Rolla”, “Y2J”, the curator of “The List”, the man who defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock in one night, the GOAT… Chris Jericho has done a lot in his time in pro wrestling, and as a wrestling fan who has been watching him since 1996, it’s been amazing to see this master of reinvention change himself time and time again to become better over the decades the point where he is one of the best of all time has been great. I have nothing but respect for Chris Jericho the man, the wrestler, and the performer. So to have not one, but two Jericho figures in Series 8 of AEW Unrivaled are an awesome couple of things to add to my collection. Yes, not only did I get the “The Painmaker” version from New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is the standard version for some reason, but I also got the “1 in 3000” AEW version of “The Painmaker” to review… Except the “1 in 3000” is going to stay unopened and is added to my personal collection.
As I stated, we have two versions of Jericho’s “Painmaker” gimmick, one he created as a parody of Kazuchika Okada’s “Rainmaker” gimmick when the two faced off at NJPW Dominion 6.9 In Osaka-Jo Hall in 2019. Jericho revived this gimmick a couple of times in AEW, showing that he goes to a dark place at times when the situation requires it. The figure shows all of that, with the rubber jacket having some solid spikes on the whole jacket, with each version having its own unique head mold with the standard version having the face paint on it with a cloth scarf & rubber hat, and the chase version being a more clean version but with wilder hair molding and a small neckcloth. The chase version also comes with his beloved baseball bat, called Floyd, which you can give to the figure if you want to use it in a match.
I know I said that I think there are too many versions of Jon Moxley in AEW Unrivaled, knowing full well that there are just as many Chris Jericho figures in the line. However, the difference here is that Jericho has so many versions of himself that AEW could license and make into figures that when this is done it is a very welcome thing for the fanbase as a lot of Jericho’s previous gimmicks are either things that WCW/WWE didn’t put out or have been long out of print. Since Jericho owns his own gimmicks, he is free to license them out to be made into figures if he wants to… And I hope he does.
AEW Unrivaled Collection: Action Ring
Play and display your AEW Unrivalled Collection figures with the AEW Unrivaled Action Ring! Face off with Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho in the center of the ring, or send the Young Bucks flying into action against the Lucha Brothers with the flexible action ring ropes!
Features:
- The Ring measures 14″ x 14″
- Flexible Tension Elastic Ropes
- Figures are sold separately.
Well, it would be obvious that if you have so many wrestlers on your roster, you would want somewhere for them to wrestle right? That’s where the AEW Action Ring comes into play.
As far as replicating a real wrestling ring, the AEW Action Ring comes up really short since it doesn’t involve any of the design of a real wrestling ring. (Meaning no compression spring or flex beam system, foam turnbuckles with leather covers, cloth ring skirts, wood/canvas base, etc) But what you do get is the more basic version of a wrestling ring that has been done for decades with all other wrestling companies, dating back to the early 1980s with Hasbro’s WWF line.
The AEW Action Ring has a hard plastic shell that forms the ring base and side skirts, 4 plastic ring posts, and three elastic ring ropes. Combining all of these together with the included sticker pack creates a fairly accurate recreation of the actual AEW wrestling ring that you would see on TV each week on Dynamite and Rampage. When slamming figures down onto this mat, you get a deep plastic thud sound that almost sounds like the real thing but sounds very hollow. The ring ropes look good but do not have enough tightness to pose figures or make them look like they are bouncing off.
The AEW Action Ring can be used more to pose static parts of matches or for showing off your AEW Unrivaled collection, but as a functional piece of wrestling kit to make actual matches with, it does fall short. But since most of the AEW Unrivaled Collection is more focused on collectors, it makes a great addition to any wrestling figure setup… Though if you can find it, and want to spend a bit more, there is an AEW Authentic Scale Wrestling Ring that you can find online, which is also official and comes with AEW Head Referee Aubrey Edwards, that you might want instead.
AEW Unrivaled Collection: Pop-up Entrance Stage
Make a grand entrance with the AEW Pop Up Entrance Stage for all your Jazwares AEW wrestling action figures! This massive pop-up stage is 22″ tall by 36″ wide and features incredible detail like painted lights, stage scaffolding and logos.
Features:
- Add the Medium AEW Action Ring for a full setup! (Sold Separately)
- Includes 6 Interchangeable AEW Event Screens!
- Scaled for AEW Unrivlaed / Unmatched Figures
- 22″ Tall x 36″ Wide
Along with a wrestling ring, you would also want to give your AEW Unrivaled collection that big fight feel by adding the AEW Pop-Up Entrance Stage. Bring all your entrance dreams to life through this HUGE replica of the original AEW Entrance Stage! With this massive cardboard stage, you can recreate all your favorite entrances with your favorite heels and faces coming out through the two tunnels and out onto the main stage. (Some imagination and a speaker from your PC with the wrestler’s theme going is required) While you might not be able to get a version of a wrestlers entrance video running on the screen, you do get to theme the whole set with some of the Pay-Per-View logos from some of AEW’s biggest shows along with weekly shows like Dynamite and Dark.
Outside of that, there really isn’t much to this Entrance Stage. I will warn you that the stage does take a bit of time and patience in order to get it assembled as the included directions aren’t too good, leaving you to trial-and-error some of the more fiddly pieces together. Though once you are done you are left with an impressive stage on which you can work things, and with a small modification/fortification, you could add an iPad to the video wall and play some of the AEW Entrance music videos from YouTube to make things look as authentic as possible.
We really have come a long way from the single-action gimmick wrestlers of the WWF Hasbro days. Today’s AEW Unrivaled wrestling figures look just like their real-life counterparts, with enough pose-ability to recreate moments from the AEW show of your choosing. AEW Unrivaled Collection shows that you can have Elite level detail and articulation without the high price tag. Combining these figures with the AEW Action Wing and Pop-Up Entrance Stage makes a complete setup that other companies haven’t done in many years, once again showing that AEW does all it can for its fans, both for the actual promotion and those who love wrestling figures. I highly recommend that if you haven’t started an AEW Unrivaled Collection of your own that you go out and start building one today.
Review Disclosure Statement: AEW Unrivaled Series 8, Action Ring, and Pop-Up Entrance Stage were provided to us by Banter Collectables Australia for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please go review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info. AEW Unrivaled Figures, Action Ring, and Pop-Up Entrance Stage are available worldwide through all toy and collectible retailers or ShopAEW.com.
