A SummerSlam Of New WWE Product From Mattel

For the past few years it's seemed as if there are two times of the year when you are guaranteed to see Mattel WWE product stuffing the shelves--WrestleMania season and Christmas time. With the recent rumors that WWE is wishing to transform SummerSlam into a "second WrestleMania" as far as hype, scope, and marquee matches, it's more than likely that merchandise will follow suit. Already, SummerSlam 2015 has been bumped up to a four-hour time slot. Does the recent surge in new product and retail store space reflect this?

Since July, most Target stores have devoted an endcap to the line. The centerpieces have been the exclusive Four Horsemen set as well as the "classic" blue barred steel cage accessory. Basic and Elite figures as well as entries from the newer "Create A WWE Superstar" line have also been featured. Wal Mart stores have received giant blue cardboard displays for Basic, Elite, and Battle Pack figures. Newer series seem to be shipped with the display, but older figures that have been peg-warming for Wal Mart are frequently mixed in. These cardboard displays are far from collector friendly, often smashing the product inside. While no special displays have been rolled out, Toys "R" Us has also seen an influx of newer product, with the "Build-A-Figure" Elite Corporate Kane series being a well-selling exclusive for the retailer.

But what about the figures themselves? Although my wallet can't say the same, I have been very impressed with Mattel's recent additions to the line. For once, the company seems to want to attempt to get everyone a figure, including Divas. The company was infamous for thinking that female figures would not sell in a line traditionally marketed to boys. I'm not sure where their surveying is done, but in my childhood days, the boys were just as excited to have female G.I. Joe figures as they were the males. The same should go for wrestling, especially with all of the "Divas Revolution" talk. Lana and Summer Rae, ironically currently embroiled in a WWE feud, are two of Mattel's newest additions.

One "first" doesn't involve new names, but rather a never-before-done concept in wrestling figure collecting. With the release of El Torito last year, collectors were able to hold the first match between little people when paired against Hornswoggle. Now both have been re-released in the first wrestling figure two-pack of little people. This Battle Pack represents the feud between the two that culminated in the epically entertaining "WeeLC" match. The set even includes a mini table and chair. Torito is featured in his red attire, while Hornswoggle is in his more recent look that, to me, is reminiscent of 70s-90s wrestler Little Louie. His hair is even removable so that he can "lose" a Hair vs Mask match. Even with Lana and Rusev and the first Mattel Legion of Doom two-pack also in the series, the little guys really stand out. A friend of mine has already deemed this Hornswoggle as his "Figure of the Year." I can completely understand why.

The Elite line, figures with accessories and additional articulation, has also seen new faces. Earthquake and Diamond Dallas Page have joined the "Flashback" collection of wrestlers of yesteryear. DDP is a re-release of the WWE Legends figure, while Earthquake is fully new and comes complete with Damien the snake and his bag for the big man to "squash." New faces in the line include Stardust and Bo Dallas, the latter with his "BOLIEVE" t-shirt. Both of these stars saw their first figures in the Basic line a few months earlier. My own personal rule of thumb is to wait for the Elite when this is knowingly the case, as the included accessories are often worth the extra money spent.

Finally, we have received what should be considered the first NXT figure. While we have seen figures of many who began their WWE careers on the NXT roster as well as the NXT Women's Championship being included with Paige, this is a different scenario. Sami Zayn is the first wrestler to have a figure released before an official WWE roster call-up. I'm sure that it will not be his last and the fact in itself will end up rather trivial, but this is indeed a first. As of now, Tyler Breeze and Bayley look to be next in line for figures while still fully part of NXT, but that can always change.

As the hot weather ends and the holidays fast approach, we're bound to see even more Mattel goodies pop up. Favorites such as Charlotte, Hideo Itami, The APA, Dean Malenko, and Randy Savage are all slated to debut or return, and you can be sure that most of them will pop up here. Mattel is continuing to give us reasons to care about their line, and that deserves our support. Happy hunting!

Topps Carries Their WWE Run Into 2014

 After the "Glory" of last week, Topps and their WWE product get some equal time under the bright lights of the blog.  Putting out an average of two sets a year, Topps has had ups and downs with their WWE card series.  Reuse of photos, little variation in design, and a feeling that the company has gotten complacent at times with their WWE product hasn't always helped propel the cards to the tops of collectors lists.  Looking at the box where not much more than the color has been changed doesn't bode well, but let's take a look inside.

WWE 2014 is the first trading card offering of the year from Topps.  A 110-card base set is accompanied by several subsets, base card parallels, and, of course, tons of hits.  From autographs to relics to new championship plate cards, there are tons of hits to hunt for as is usually the case.  The autograph list is rather unremarkable this time around, with Shawn Michaels and John Cena probably being the most desirable.

Opening a hobby box ensures two hits.  Guaranteed are one event-worn relic and one card from one of four categories: autograph, Diva kiss card, championship plate card, or mat relic.  The mat relic cards are the least desirable of these.  They're long overdone in the wrestling trading card world, but are the easiest to produce.  The mat was changed in between each match at WrestleMania 29.  I saw "cleanliness" as a reason given as to why it was done.  I guess the WWE Superstars are allowed to perform dirty at every other show.  The WrestleMania 29 mat relic cards from the previous Topps set is proof positive.

I was lucky enough to pull one of the new championship plate cards.  One of thirty different stars or teams are featured, along with three inset plates of the current representation of the championship that the wrestler(s) held.  With the recent controversy surrounding the "Straight Edge Superstar," there may have been no better plate to pull than that of CM Punk's.  The plates are more than just gold etched foil.  They're what you might see a medallion produced from, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of these cards in the future.

The 110-card base set is full of just about every current WWE superstar that you can think of.  In fact, I think that just a bit too many members of the roster were included.  Jim Ross is said to have written the card backs, and even Good 'Ol J.R. seemed to struggle to think of a few sentences for a number of these stars.  The world really did not need yet another Curt Hawkins or Rosa Mendes card.  The final fifteen cards of the set are Legends, and it's nice to see names like Larry Zbyszko, Diamond Dallas Page, and the Honky Tonk Man in the set.

My favorite subset is made up of twenty cards dedicated to the young talent of NXT.  Names already familiar to the WWE Universe such as Emma, Alexander Rusev, and Adrian Neville (especially after his showing on WWE Network's NXT ArRival) are included as are future names such as Bayley, Konnor O'Brien, and Mojo Rawley.  Interestingly enough, Xavier Woods, who has been on the main WWE roster for a few months now, is featured in the NXT subset while Bo Dallas is in the base WWE set.  Dallas has not been seen outside of NXT since the 2013 Royal Rumble.

Other subsets include WWE Champions, Greatest Contenders, and Greatest Championship Matches.  These cards feature some great shots of past and present superstars and events, including another new Bruno Sammartino card.  In fact, this set struck a special place in my heart with several generations of Pittsburgh wrestling included.  In addition to the aforementioned Zbyszko and Sammartino cards, a Bragging Rights 2009 card (the final pay-per-view held in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena) and a rookie card of NXT star Corey Graves (Pittsburgh's Sterling James Keenan) are also here to represent the Steel City.

Overall, I'm pleased with this set.  You could have skipped every set since WWE Heritage 2012 (my all-time favorite Topps set) and not missed much.  A nice design (the same as that of Topps 2014 sports sets), some new rookies, and Legends new to the Topps collection are definite highlights.  I was even able to complete a 110-card base set from one single hobby box.  That being said, I'd have preferred another non-gloss set this time around, but there's time for that.  A Chrome version of this set is coming in June, which is my least favorite type of card, but that means that there will be at least one more set of product coming in 2014.  WWE Heritage 2014?  Based off of the 1987 Topps WWF design?  Let's do it.

Oh yeah, each hobby box does include two hits.  What was my other hit?  Well.  No "Glory" days here, that's for sure...

The State of Wrestling Collecting Address--2012 Edition

"Out with the old, in with the new."

That's one statement that you'll never see promoted in these pages.  Myself, like many collectors, thrive upon the glories, and glorious memorabilia, of the past.  That being said, longtime readers will know that I frequently review new product and am always open to what's coming in the future.  I decided that it might be fun to once again take a look at what's on the horizon in wrestling collectibles. 

Although nothing like the '80s "boom" period or the Attitude Era, there is a surprisingly large amount of items on the market today.  With the "PG Era" WWE in full-force, it's no wonder that many of these items are geared towards kids.  WWE branded children's books, apparel, and even linens sit alongside merchandise from SpongeBob, Batman, and other kid-friendly properties.  While I hope that we don't see A.J. pillowcases anytime soon, the childlike characters such as Hornswoggle are very prominently featured.  With "Back-To-School" time (thankfully) coming right around the corner, expect to see WWE backpacks and stationary sets once again at retail.

Even in a somewhat milder WWE world not every item is for the youngsters.  BIC has released large lighters featuring some WWE Superstars who aren't as frequently featured on items such as Layla, The Miz, and Eve while apparel in the adult sizes seems to sell briskly.  WWE seems to finally be grasping the concept of fans wanting to have a "wrestling shirt that doesn't look like a wrestling shirt."

While some fans are insulted by the notion, it does make a lot of sense.  Although fans should be proud of their allegiance to the squared circle, wrestling apparel has often been notoriously garish.  This is, in part, due to the fact that the apparel worn by the wrestlers themselves is loud and eye-grabbing.  For a few years now TNA has seemingly understood the "apparel perils" of wrestling fans by offering t-shirts that are simultaneously stylish and fun.  The promotional t-shirt for TNA Bound For Glory 2011 is one such product.  Another innovative example is a shirt for TNA Knockout Velvet Sky which was specifically designed for men.

"Innovation" could actually be used to describe many of TNA/Impact Wrestling's products, but sadly there isn't much distribution for them outside of their own retail website.  Seeing as how the company's trading card and action figure lines frequently sell out, it may not be a bad time for TNA to explore getting more items into brick and mortar stores.  With Hulk Hogan aboard for nearly two years now, it almost seems like a no-brainer.  "Hulkamania" shirts sell no matter which company's banner they are sold under and TNA has even made a stylish new version of the red and yellow.

It's hard to believe, but there has not been a time in nearly three decades that wrestling action figures have been absent from store shelves.  In fact, I'd wager that many of you are reading this blog because of a love for them.  While Mattel continually floods today's stores with countless re-releases of Randy Orton, fans clamor for figures of new talent, both male and female, as well as legends.

Another blow to collectors was delivered this past week from Mattel.  It seems that the long-awaited Miss Elizabeth figure, slated to be released through their Mattel Collector's site, is now scheduled to be released in one of the standard "Elite" lines.  This ensures that the figure will be next to impossible to find at retail.  The previous Legends figures released through the Collectors site, while around $28 after shipping, were at least easily obtained.

This is just another blunder in what could be a great line if it were not impossible to collect thanks to issues such as these.  While some Jakks figures were harder to find than others, most "limited" figures were at least repaints and not long-awaited characters like Elizabeth.  Hopefully Mattel realizes their mistakes before it is too late.

In a more positive area, WWE Home Video has released another winner with their recent Best of WCW Clash of the Champions DVD and Blu-Ray.  Although full Clash releases would be preferred, WWE whipped up a very enjoyable collection of matches from the entire run of the Clash.  Making it even better is the fact that WWE recently had it, as well as many other DVD and Blu-Ray releases from their library, available at rock bottom prices through their website. $9.99 new release wrestling...err...sports entertainment Blu-Ray discs?  I'm there.  In a related note, it appears that the Blu-Ray release of No Holds Barred recently mentioned here has been delayed or canceled.  The DVD was in fact released, but I have a feeling that we'll be seeing this one for under $5 sooner rather than later.

With events like San Diego Comic Con as well as the holiday buying season coming sooner than anyone would want to admit, more new and exciting products will be flying onto shelves.  Will there be more cool wrestling t-shirts?  More legendary matches on DVD?  Mattel figures that aren't Randy Orton?  Time will tell.  The only thing we know at this juncture is something that we have learned after a painful lesson this past Monday night...

Even Brooke Hogan makes more sense as an authority figure than...Hornswoggle.