WrestleMania Classics: A Look Back at the Greatest Matches in the Showcase of the Immortals

 by Mike Stencel

When the bell rings on the Grandest Stage of Them All, history is always in the making, but only a select few matches become truly immortal. Last year, WWE cemented one of those legendary encounters in the annals of wrestling history; the brutal, bloody, and unforgettable Submission Match between Bret "Hitman" Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin from WrestleMania 13 was officially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

NYCC 2025: Major Collect and Those Big Rubber Guys

In the world of vintage wrestling toys, there's mainly LJN's and Hasbros. Hasbros are smaller pre-posed wrestlers with some action feature allowing "kids" to recreate their favorite fighting moves. LJN's are big rubber guys you can defend your house with! The latter is what caught my eye from across the room while hunting for the DC booth...because big honkin rubber guys are what Major Collect excels in! Let's catch up with the company that loves wrestlers, run by wrestlers!

Toy Fair 2025: Mattel's Rockin Wrasslers

The popularity of WWE among adults and children alike shows no sign of slowing down, bolstering camps like AEW and Ring of Honor to new heights of fandom. The economics of this is not lost to anyone who has bought a 30 dollar "Hot Rod" T Shirt to celebrate their favorite wrestler from days long past, and so, with the growing popularity of each individual wrestler, we look forward to their little plastic counterpart. Mattel has raised the art of wrestling action figures to MUSEUM quality, with detailed, fully sculpted ring gear, identical tattoos and a face not only their momma will love. Let's celebrate these perfect lil wrestling stars at Mattel's WWE Toy Fair 2025 display...

Netflix Celebrating the Spooky Season

Netflix is bringing equal parts chills and thrills this Halloween season. Whether it’s a call from beyond the grave or coming from inside the house, Netflix has all the hair-raising, door-locking, keep-the-lights-on treats to get you in the spooky mood this fall. We dare you to watch it all, but be warned, you may need to sage your stream thereafter.

SDCC 2021 Exclusives: Mattel Masters of the Universe, WWE, Jurassic Park & More

San Diego Comic-Con remain virtual or "@ Home" this year so we all don't get our dirty germs all over each other, but that hasn't stopped companies from pumping out their own waves of SDCC Exclusives!! Today we dip into Mattel's lineup, just in time to get our pre-orders in at 12pm eastern, 9am pacific time at the Mattel Creations website (https://creations.mattel.com/). Let's dig in... 

Toy Fair 2019: Fisher-Price Little People Add WWE and The Beatles

There are some toy lines where you just expect you are going to see more of the same from year to year....but this year....things are a little crazy. Mattel's Fisher-Price Little People have entertained Disney princesses and their buddies, and even raced through the streets of Gotham with Batman and friends, but beyond that, what we'd expect were happy, chubby little people in a happy, cookie cutter little town. Welp, this year, the design crew had some fresh, radical ideas. Prepare your minds for unacceptable levels of adorable...

Toy Fair 2019: TOMY Wrestles With the WWE

Seems like this will be the year of shifting licenses! It's funny...you expect things to be a certain way from year to year to the point where the news becomes a little stale. Then one year, McFarlane gets to make DC action figures, Hasbro takes over Power Rangers, Super 7 is driving the reins on Masters of the Universe and everything that was old is new again! Sometimes it takes a new perspective from a different crew to breathe new life into a property. Now TOMY steps up to see if they can make something extremely fun with a WWE license...

Game Changer: Mattel Introduces Destructible Vehicles to their WWE Line

For toy photographers, it's a matter of "we'll take it where ever we can get it." Anyone who has been involved with toy photography for a year or more knows that the right accessories can take a shot from mundane to magic in seconds. I'll also point out that anyone out there hunting for accessories for their figures and dioramas has most likely found that the WWE line is a treasure trove of oddball items and must have gems. From busted toilets and the BEST dumpster you'll ever find, to things you'd expect like ladders, tables and chairs..and the completely unexpected like brooms and mops, weights and a mattress that looks like it came straight from a crack den..I've found some amazing accessories for many photo shoots and a great deal of them came from the land of World Wrestling Entertainment. Now Mattel has incorporated some pretty simple "destruction" gimmicks into a full size sports car toy and anyone looking for a little extra WOW in their Spider-Man vs Anyone city street battle is going to lose their minds!

Ready For Another Round of WWE Zombies Figures?!

Zombies. Love em or hate em... well, enough people still love them that you still have to live with them for the forseeable future! I used to buy every new zombie figure that got released, but now that we live in a world overrun with zombie toys, I'm a little pickier. It takes a more than a green skin complexion and painted on wounds to activate my undead love! Mattel has been releasing their zombified versions of WWE wrestling stars for some time now, so they've had more than a minute to take in feedback from fans on what works and what doesn't. Have they taken this input on board and created a meaner, bitier, more monstrous zombie squad for their latest release? Let's find out...

Mattel's WWE Superstars Get Monstrous

It's becoming an annual thing now! Or a bi-annual thing? Not entirely sure. The fact is this...Mattel loves surprising us with wrestler-creature mashups. We walk into a local Walmart and bam, there they are, with no warning...crazy and ridiculous and ...hey only 12 bucks. SOLD! This year, we kick things off with our favorite WWE superstars genetically spliced with the most iconic monsters from film and literature. Some utilize color and design in an impressively engaging way. Others are just so damn funny, you'll want to insta-buy. Let's check out the monsters!!

Nickelodeon and WWE's John Cena Prep Three Projects for 2018

Nickelodeon announced today that WWE Superstar John Cena is returning to host the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for the second time, while also breaking new ground at the network with two firsts: Cena will get into character by lending his voice to an original villain named Baron Draxum in the brand-new 2D animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiering late 2018; and is executive producing the brand-new competition series, Keep It Spotless, where teams of kids go head-to-head in a battle to stay clean.

Mattel Rolling Out WWE Superstars Women's Wrestling Toy Line

Building on the massive popularity of their DC Superhero Girls Doll and "action doll" line (no idea if they are still running with that latter product name), Mattel appears to be ready to take the next step and acknowledge, to the horror of prepubescent men of all ages, that WOMEN WATCH WRESTLING!! Following very near to the game plan of the previously mentioned DC Superhero Girls line, we can expect dolls with cloth outfits and action figures along with a playset and a roleplay set.

S.H. Figuarts WWE Action Figures Cue Their Entrance Music

Bluefin, the leading North American distributor of toys, collectibles, and hobby merchandise from Japan, steps into the ring with new S.H. Figuarts WWE action figures from Tamashii Nations featuring iconic professional wrestlers The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H.

Tamashii Nations’ new 6-inch wresting figures are their first products developed for the WWE Universe. The figures are fully poseable with over 30 points of articulation and each figure makes use of Tamashii’s proprietary Digital Color Technology on the head sculpts, resulting in portraits with an uncanny lifelike resemblance to the WWE superstars.

All S.H. Figuarts WWE figures are packed with signature accessories, optional expression parts, and interchangeable hands.

SDCC 2016 Exclusives: Mattel's 2nd Round with Suicide Squad, Thundercats, Hot Wheels & More

In one month, we'll be neck deep in the biggest gathering of geeks the world has to offer at San Diego Comic-Con 2016! In the lead up to the show, many a company will be taunting you with exclusive items threatening to tear your bank account asunder. Mattel is one such company who was not satisfied with one helping of exclusives. OH NO! Today we take a look at a second round of exclusive collectibles from the worlds of DC and Marvel Comics, Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Masters of the Universe Minecraft, Star Trek and HALO! Grasp your wallet tightly and dive in...

WWE Superstars In Surfs Up 2: Wavemania

No, my friends, you are not on The Onion...and none of this should be a surprise. Ever since the WWE invaded the worlds of Scooby Doo and The Flintstones, it was clear...no animated universe was safe. Still...I keep checking the date....and it's not April 1st.

Sony Pictures Animation and WWE Studios announced today an animated sequel to Surf's Up, the 2007 Academy Award nominated action-comedy about surfing penguins. The companies are co-financing and producing the movie which is expected to release in 2017, in time for the original films' 10th anniversary.  Surf's Up 2: WaveMania will be distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment with WWE Studios providing marketing support by leveraging its extensive multi-platform reach.

NXT Takeover: Unstoppable - Underclassmen Outshine WWE Superstars

Kevin Owens, with chair, looms above injured Sami Zayn

Kevin Owens is not the sort of person the WWE used to hire. Let alone shine the spotlight on. He’s not especially tall. He’s overweight. He has a face and a beard that you'd expect to pass on the street, not see on your TV. But when you see him wrestle he makes you into an instant fan not in spite of all that, but because of it. It would be wrong to say Kevin is unassuming, because if you spilt his drink at a bar you would likely be terrified of what this guy might do to you, but his stamina and athleticism far surpass what you’d expect from someone with his physique.

Build The WWE Wrestler Of Tomorrow

The newest trend in kid-centric action figures is the build-a-figure model. Don't get this confused with the scheme to get collectors to buy a whole wave of action figures by putting bits of a slightly bigger (or sometimes tiny) figure in each package, allowing you to assemble your bonus character 1 foot at a time. These are figures with less articulation and paint applications, often implementing a chunkier feel, with body parts you can pull off and swap with another character's appendages. So far Hasbro has released Transformers, Star Wars and Marvel Comics characters with plans to add Jurassic World Dinosaurs to the mix, while Playmates has adopted the format for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now Mattel jumps in, allowing kids of all sizes to build the ultimate WWE Superstar with action figures that can battle right alongside their pre-existing collections!

Classic, Unhinged Roddy Piper Sings 12 Days of Christmas

There are several things you can count on happening every year around the holidays. There's the constant bombardment from your favorite (and not so favorite) stores having SALESSALESSALES, the Hallmark channel and an endless parade of recognizable folks in Christmas movies you never knew got made, and new Christmas music sung by top pop stars, awesome wizards, and sometimes, the unlikeliest of heroes. Today, we pay tribute to one of my heroes...Rowdy Roddy Piper, who proves he can still channel the bat-shit crazy when ever he feels like it...and there's no better time than the most insane-making time of the year. Presenting...Roddy Piper singing the 12 Days of Christmas....the violent version...

WWE and Warner Bros Team Up for WWE Immortals

WWE and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are creating WWE Immortals, a free-to-play mobile game that will feature epic Superstar battles in a fantastically re-imagined WWE world. WWE Immortals is being developed by NetherRealm Studios, the creators of the best-selling Mortal Kombat franchise and Injustice: Gods Among Us, in conjunction with Phosphor Game Studios, and will be available worldwide on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices in 2015.

SDCC 2014: Mattel's Special Events

San Diego Comic-Con is now DAYS AWAY. You'll know your geeky friends who are attending this event by their tell-tale facial twitches and sudden outbursts about not being able to get anywhere near Hall H. Be gentle with them. Team Mattel is gearing up for their usual MASSIVE showing and has just dropped details on all their events for the week. Dig in!

Fan Panels

Thursday July 24, 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Room 6DE

Mattel and WWE®: Over-The-Top Action!

Two of the world’s top entertainment companies have teamed up for the ultimate panel at SDCC. WWE® Superstars and Mattel designers will talk about the all-new WWE Network and give exclusive sneak peeks of Mattel’s upcoming WWE figure releases! Incredible guest appearances: Hulk Hogan, Daniel Bryan, Michael Cole, Paul Heyman, and you never know what else will be unveiled. This is a panel you won’t want to miss, brother!