By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Joe Hennig's lone Mattel action figure (as Michael McGillicutty) tripled in price after he was re-introduced as Curtis Axel.

Apparently a lot of wrestling collectors are also Paul Heyman guys.

On the heels of Joe Hennig’s return to WWE TV as new Heyman client, Curtis Axel, interest in his lone action figure has skyrocketed, more than tripling in price on the secondary market.




Axel’s only action figure was included in Mattel’s 16th series of Battle Packs. The Michael McGillicutty-David Otunga two-pack was released in 2012 and came with WWE Tag Team Title belts.

Axel re-debuted on WWE TV on May 20. Earlier that day, two loose figures sold for around $10. By the time Raw went off the air, figures were selling for upwards of $30.

By the time the McGillicutty-Otunga set was released in 2012, their reign as tag champs was long gone. For many collectors, the most appealing aspect of the set was the inclusion of two toy tag belts. Some collectors bought the set for the belts and then threw the loose figures on eBay.

Since then, the McGillicutty figure has been volatile on the secondary market. Because it is his only figure, there have been points where the toy regularly sold in the $20 range. Over the last few months, however, the figure seemed to have settled into the $10 range. The Otunga figure never carried the same volatility because it wasn’t his first figure.

The McGillicutty figure had been selling for around $10 on eBay in February, including one sale for $11.77 on Feb. 22. In March the average sale price of the figure inexplicably jumped to $22.07 before settling back down to $11.07 in April and May.

In early May, loose McGillicutty figures sold for $12.62 and $10.50. Early in the day on May 20, two figures sold for $9.38 and $11.88, respectively. By the end of Raw, the figure had sold for $24.99, $29.99, $28.99, and $30.00.

At the time this article was written on Thursday night, only three loose figures were up for sale on eBay. One had a minimum bid of $70 and a buy it now price of $100, and two had already topped $20 in bids with several days left to go.

The McGillicutty toy will likely follow the same pattern as the Skip Sheffield figure from 2011. That toy was stagnant at about $10 for more than a year, even after the Ryback character debuted on WWE TV. But when Ryback was inserted into the main event picture against C.M. Punk, kids and collectors went into a frenzy trying to find one. By December, some auctions were ending at over $100.

But when Mattel released the first Ryback toys earlier this year, demand for the Sheffield toy dropped drastically. It’s still a rare piece, but loose figures are now selling regularly for $25-$40 instead of $60-80.

The McGillicutty figure has one advantage over the Sheffield toy. Joe Hennig may have changed his name, but he didn’t change his look. The tights he wore on Raw on May 20 look just like the ones on his action figure. The Sheffield figure looked considerably different from the Ryback fans were seeing on TV, sporting black and red trunks instead of a colorful Rob Van Dam-style singlet.

Somewhat surprisingly, not many sellers have jumped on the Curtis Axel bandwagon. Only a few are offered for sale on eBay, so if you’re looking to sell, now might be the time. If you’re a buyer, you might also want to strike now. If Axel’s association with Paul Heyman leads to a main event push, this figure may very well command the type of attention as the Sheffield toy – at least until Mattel issues new Axel figures.

If you’re looking for a trading card, McGillicutty has plenty. His best cards were inserted into 2011 Topps WWE, including an autograph, relic card and dual autograph with David Otunga. Axel’s association with Heyman has collectors chasing his solo autograph, which sold for around $10 in April but has sold for $24.99 and $30.00 in the last few days.

The fact that the card is signed “Michael McGillicutty” will probably hurt its long-term value. That name is (hopefully) long gone, and card collectors will be keeping their eyes peeled for the first Curtis Axel autograph later this year or early next.

PWTorch Collectibles Specialist Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com .

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