WWE Elite Collection Royal Rumble Series (2022): Dakota Kai

 

Exclusively at Target, this year's Royal Rumble series features four figures, each with a part for the "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart build-a-figure. The line up features two WWE hall of famers and two current wrestlers, one from SmackDown! and one from NXT. When I first saw these at Target I have to admit I was a little surprised at the inclusion of Dakota Kai, but happy none the less. NXT is probably my favorite WWE brand at the moment.

The packaging mimics the regular Elite Collection with it's angled edge window blister. The back of the packaging features a little bio of sorts for Dakota along with an image of the other figures included in the series. The Jimmy Hart build-a-figure is also prominently featured and shows you the pieces included. Kudos to Mattel for making a build-a-figure wave as such a little more affordable with just 4 figures...Hasbro should take note!

Dakota is sporting her black outfit that she wore for parts of 2021 before she mixed up her look/hair color. I like this gear and always thought her top looked like a skeleton. Her arms and top portion of her torso have been painted black to mimic her black top she wears. Her boots are standard fare, but I love that Mattel included the white knee brace she has worn lately.

Articulation is great. I believe I counted 16 points of articulation, from her neck to her ankles, she has all of the standard fare joints you'd expect out of a modern action figure. I'm also happy to report that she stands very well without any additional support. I'll be using a figure stand that I purchased from Ringside Collectibles, but it's not necessarily needed.

I've been really impressed by the head/face sculpts of most of the wrestlers in both the Basic and Elite lines, but there is just a little something off with Dakoda here. The hair is fantastic as they were able to capture the style she wears her hair. The face though...well I'm not sure what went wrong. It seems that her facial expression was meant to mimic the photo on the back of the packaging. Dakoda is known more for her heel character so the almost cocky like look isn't out of place. Perhaps its the printing of her eyes/eyebrows that throws off the face. I was able to point out these minor imperfections while in the store, but seeing what she commands on the secondary market I wasn't about to pass her up...plus she was the last figure of the series I needed to finish off Jimmy Hart.

Speaking of Jimmy Hart, Dakoda comes packaged with Jimmy's legs. I've never been a huge fan of sculpted pants as such as they look weird with the various articulation cuts, however these get the job done. I was concerned at first with the way the crotch section looked, but later learned there is a sash like piece included with another figure that covers his waist. He has nice matching black dress shoes to complete the look. Keep following the blog as Jimmy will get his own post to wrap up this series of posts.

Overall this is a good figure and worth the purchase, especially if you are trying to bolster your NXT ranks. I'm looking forward to pairing her up w/ the upcoming Raquel Gonzalez figure even though they are now enemies. Unless you must have the Jimmy Hart build-a-figure piece, try to find her loose as you'll save a good bit of money.