Triple H was one of those guys who needed a lot of help getting to the top of the WWE — after The Rock and Stone Cold left — despite some revisionist WWE history. Mr. Hughes, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws all played a role, but Chyna was undoubtedly the game changing presence that helped his ascension.
Mattel continued the Chyna carrying young Triple H with this two-pack featuring half of the founders of Degeneration-X. Are you ready?
Packaging: Mattel always does great work with their special packaging. The standard is fine, but you can see the extra effort they put in for the deluxe/exclusive sets.
This is set up in DX colors complete with the light pulse going through the typical Elite packaging in a really cool touch. Also, the DX spotlights are in the backdrop. The sides feature an action shot and portraits of Triple H and Chyna.
The bio is written from the perspective appealing to most collectors here with the focus on Chyna and her role with Triple H in forming DX with Shawn Michaels and Rick Rude.
Likeness: The Triple H in this set is a repaint of the Elite 23 figure so I’m not gonna spend a ton of time on him in most of these categories. His head sculpt is fine and fitting for the early DX era. Mattel gave him a smaller torso although the British Bulldog was probably more fitting since he was bigger than Shawn by this point.
Chyna us the selling point here and Mattel delivered.
This is Chyna in her original incarnation with the bangs and thicker jawline and bigger muscle mass. I love the stoic expression as that fits Chyna from this era. She largely showed no emotion and was Triple H‘s bodyguard. Chyna drastically changed her look and leaned down over the course of her WWE tenure, but this is pretty accurate to her original appearance minus the enhanced chest.
Mattel gave Chyna an original sculpt and subsequent looks would feature her boob job and slimmer waistline so it’s fine to cheat here to accommodate other figures. The open boots are nicely rendered and Chyna’s arms are well developed. She definitely shouldn’t have the scrawny arms most of the women figures get in this line. Her studded choker collar is also superbly done.
Scale: Chyna was 5’10” compared to Triple H at 6’4”. Shawn Michaels was 6’1” so the figures match up well with each other. I do need Mattel to hurry up and release a suited and beared Rick Rude to complete the original DX now.
Paint: Triple H has a simpler attire with some blue accents in the inner leg portion.
His kneepads reflect his logo at the time and that tampo is nice and clean. Again, Triple H is pretty boring here in most categories yet I can’t complain about any of the paint work.
Chyna stands out in this category as well. Not so much for the all black attire, but the work on her pants with the slits down the side. The black plastic still creeps through on the flesh colored paint, but the placement is clean and conveys the look well.
Chyna wasn’t rocking makeup besides a little lipstick so the head sculpt is very accurate.
Even her rose on her left shoulder is included.
Articulation: Triple H is your regular Elite figure. Ultimate Editions and the AEW line have spoiled me on wrestling figure articulation so this isn’t’ as exciting as it was in the past. This figure can pull off most of Triple H’s move set with ease however.
Chyna is also more of the standard Elite articulation model, which is a positive since the women figures tend to have articulation restrictions. She can punch, kick and do a low blow with the best of them.
Triple H and Chyna have:
- neck
- bicep
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbows
- wrists
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
MORE:
Accessories: Here’s a category where Triple H beats Chyna. He comes with his fancy entrance robe he was wearing after becoming King of the Ring and moving away from being a snobby aristocrat. The robe isn’t nearly as fancy — or sparkly — as Triple H’s actual gear, but it’s good enough.
He comes with an alternate set of “suck it!” hands.
Chyna doesn’t really come with anything besides an alternate set of fists. She’s packed with another WWF world title and the European title, which she would typically drape over either shoulder during DX promos.
The European title doesn’t look as good since it has a big red blot that should have the WWF scratch logo. Even if it isn’t accurate, putting a different WWE logo would have been better.
Worth it? I got this set for $30 essentially making both the same discounted standard price from Walmart. Triple H is probably still overpriced considered the wrong body or at least wrong torso.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Mattel had to make a few concessions with Chyna to allow for easier reuses of her original sculpt yet they don’t compromise her original look too much. Triple H is a boring figure and only useful if you missed out on earlier versions.
Where to get it? This is an online exclusive although there are plenty of solid options including Amazon and Entertainment Earth.