WWE action figures by Mattel

On a recent episode of Smackdown, General Manager Theodore Long was backstage congratulating WWE Diva Maria Kanellis on her upcoming appearance on the "Celebrity Apprentice" reality TV show. Smackdown consultant Vickie Guerrero decided to get involved and asked Maria to demonstrate her business skills by trying to talk up the new line of WWE action figures by Mattel. Maria did a good job of showing off some of the new action figures including Rey Mysterio, Undertaker and John Cena. Teddy Long mentioned Vickie's action figure is probably the biggest one of them all, but once Great Khali entered the picture he changed his mind.

The new lineup of WWE action figures by Mattel was introduced via WWE.com on January 1, 2010. Previously LJN, Hasbro and Jakks Pacific all had contracts with WWE to produce their action figures. The last was Jakks Pacific which handled production from 1996-2009. A deal between Mattel and WWE was reached earlier this year, and there will be several different series of figures created for both kids and serious collectors. The new Mattel action figures look pretty true to form including many of the clothing items, accessories like MVP's gold chains, and tattoos that the current WWE favorites wear.

A WWE.com section showcases gallery pictures of the various series of Mattel action figures including the Basic Series 1, Elite Series 1, Flexforce Series 1, and Entrance Greats Series 1. A Two-Pack series features tag team partners and rivals, including a set of Shawn Michaels & Chris Jericho with HBK delivering a Superkick in the package.

See all action figure photos here

Amazon.com currently sells the new WWE action figures created by Mattel's brand new toy deal. Some of the WWE figures are almost sold out or sold out already. Upon last check, action figures depicting Kofi Kingston, Triple H and John Cena had just 1 more in stock. It's hard to tell if this first series of WWE figures will become rare and a highly sought-after collectible, but many other first series of figures have become so in the past including Star Wars, GI Joe and Transformers toys.

See all available Mattel WWE action figures here.