Muhammad Ali Joining WWE’s Mattel Action Figure Line
The Greatest of All Time is joining WWE’s action figure line.
Muhammad Ali is the newest member of Mattel’s WWE Ultimate Edition line, Sports Illustrated has learned.
One of the most recognizable athletes of the 20th century, Ali’s impact extended well beyond his success in boxing. The humanitarian also had a cameo in WWE at the inaugural WrestleMania in March of 1985, serving as the special guest outside referee during a main event that pitted Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.
Ali’s figure, which will be unveiled this week at the famed San Diego Comic Con, is the newest addition to the WWE Ultimate Edition line. It is a two-pack that includes Ali’s boxing torso and WrestleMania referee torso, as well as multiple heads, swappable hands, and authentic attire like his boxing robe—and packaging inspired by throwback pro wrestling and boxing magazines from the 1970s and ‘80s.
Bill Benecke, who is Mattel’s manager of product design, noted that he and his team were thrilled to be tasked with bringing Ali’s figure to life.
“The chance to create a six-inch action figure of someone as monumentally influential as Muhammad Ali is an amazing honor,” says Benecke. “We knew our WWE action figure fans—and action figure fans in general—would be incredibly excited by the opportunity to have a figure of someone as iconic as Muhammad Ali join their collections, and interact with the rest of their collections. So our biggest design goal was simple, with no wiggle room: do it right. A great portrait, multiple interchangeable heads for storytelling, fabric entrance gear, and all the articulation you need for authentic posing and photography—we aimed to deliver the most ultimate Muhammad Ali figure we could for our collectors, and fans of all interests.”
Ali’s time with WWE was brief, but he did have a few different forays into pro wrestling. He had a boxer vs. wrestler matchup against Antonio Inoki in Tokyo in June of 1976, a draw that had a lasting impact in the crossover of sports. Another memorable moment took place during the buildup to that bout, when Ali stepped into a WWWF ring and threw a few punches at Gorilla Monsoon. Those shots never connected, but the crowd at the Philadelphia Arena erupted when Monsoon put Ali in an airplane spin.
The totality of Ali’s time in pro wrestling, including that epic bout against Inoki, is captured in his new action figure. It contains versions of Ali in his boxing attire from the quintessential boxer vs. wrestler match, as well as his WrestleMania referee gear.
“Early on in going down this path, we had a lot of discussions about which version of Muhammad Ali to do here,” says Benecke. “This is a WWE figure, so it made absolute sense to celebrate him in the role of special guest referee at the first WrestleMania—but how could we not deliver on his in-ring look from his boxer vs. wrestler matches? After a lot of conversation, the answer was obvious: both looks were the best, so we did exactly that, and created an Ultimate 2 Pack.”
Courtesy of Mattel
Later this week, WWE and Mattel will hold their popular SDCC panel on Thursday, revealing new action figures and featuring surprise guests. Yet it will be hard to deliver a bigger addition than Ali. PJ Lewis, Mattel’s VP and Global Head of Action Figures, shared his enthusiasm about the latest addition to the WWE line.
“The Ali figure was something we long discussed and had a desire to do,” says Lewis. “We were in full agreement that this was the right time, and it’s very special to create a figure of ‘The Greatest of All-Time.’
“We wanted to deliver everything we could to bring forward Muhammad Ali. In terms of articulation, ring gear, and iconic accessories, we aimed to bring joy to WWE fans.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.