Rodney Anoia (RIP), better known to wrestling fans everywhere as
Yokozuna, the behemoth who dominated/eclipsed the squared circle during his reign as (then) WWF champ, comes under TNI’s scrutiny.
The WWE Classic Superstar Series is a godsend to old skool wrestling fans, where true legends (Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Ric Flair)
among others (Triple H???) see the light of day in our favorite incarnation: plastic.
On to the review proper. Yokozuna comes in the familiar CS black and gold package. I personally fancy this package as it looks sleek and if you cut the blister nicely, you can place the figure back, and admire it in its pseudo mint carded glory. This effectively does away with any debate about freeing or keeping this figure in its package.
The back of the card features the rest of the figures in this series, namely Junkyard Dog, Hillbilly Jim, Tito Santana, Roddy Piper and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Glaring typo on his bio though, I believe his favorite quote should read ‘Banzai’, instead of ‘Bonzai’. But hey, he was a Samoan pretending to be Japanese.
His frame looks huge in the card, but when placed next to other figures from this series, his head looks disproportionately small. Perhaps this was a calculated measure to emphasize his bulk.
His body sculpt is a new mould, which is refreshing, considering Jakks’ penchant for repeating similar body types across the board for their figures. (Scott Steiner having the same body type as Brock Lesnar is unforgivable!) The sculptor has detailed fat folds on his arms and thighs, which enhances the depiction of this figure. Boasting more than 15 points of articulation, it’s a stark reminder of how far wrestling figures have come since LJN and Hasbro’s lines.
Excellent paint application has become synonymous with Jakks' WWE figures and this figure does not disappoint in this aspect.
I have two major grouses with this figure. The shoulder joints do not flush nicely with the torso, taking away from the excellent sculpt.
Also, it is
impossible to achieve the sumo stance touted at the back of the package due to the restriction in movement of the left thigh. Any attempt to achieve this stance would result in the figure leaning too much to the right and tempting the laws of gravity.
Yokozuna’s a welcome addition to the WWE Classic Superstars stable. He’s got a decent sculpt and great playability,
if you can get over the negatives pointed out in this review. You’d want him to Banzai Splash your CS Bret Hart figure, trust me.
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