WWE Retro - General Discussion

[briscowins]

i'm freaking thrilled for all these reveals. the inclusion of Elizabeth and Sherri is 5 stars! and i'm freaking pumped for the Bloodline.
i cant believe the push back on the Bloodline. Steve mentioned possibly including newer figures if they were up to the bill to fit and that faction CARRIED WWE into a new era with outstanding programming. This is a amazing effort and cant wait to own them. The ring is cool and i'm happy they're including a figure with it.

selfishly i'm hoping for 1 more 1 figure tease for the next series tomorrow or Sunday.

[jacktunney]

I kinda dig the Uso’s both being jumpers as a nod to the Headshrinkers.

[MKSavage]

Jul 25, 2024 22:39:05 GMT -5 jacktunney said:

I kinda dig the Uso’s both being jumpers as a nod to the Headshrinkers.

With how often they like to use the superkick in their matches, they should have come with that action mold. 

[gentlemanjohnny]

I like some of the things we saw. But I’m going to nitpick because I’m good at it. 

I like the Royal Rumble ring, but I hate that the Royal Rumble sticker has that damn WW logo on it. It should have just said Royal Rumble. I want to see what the box looks like. 

I want Brother Love, but I don’t get why he is packed with a Royal Rumble ring. Howard Finkel would have ruled in that spot. 

Hogan as Rip rules and I love the belt. That could get a few different repaints too. Black strap or even purple for Sgt. Slaughter or Warrior. I wish Hogan had a different move though, we just got that one. 

Now I’m going to bury Mattel. The Roman Reigns set pisses me off. I have every retro to this point, but what is this? Current wrestlers murdered this line the first time. Add these 4 figures to the long list of figures that are being made before a heel Jake the Snake and a Rick Rude WHO ARE BOTH UNDER DEALS AND HAD FIGS SHOWN AT THIS EVENT.

[HHH316]

I’ve been a Retro completist up to this point, but that might be over. I love the 1989 set, but not big on the idea of going back to modern figures. I also don’t want to buy another ring just for a Brother Love.

[drnickriviera995]

Jul 25, 2024 21:11:57 GMT -5 RedDevil said:

Pretty great reveals overall I think - Mattel have been good to us again this year, and I appreciate them for it. Never perfect of course, but we all know the realities at play here so take the positives.

The Royal Rumble ring is something I would've ordered anyway as I have the completist sickness with the line, so I guess I could look at Brother Love as an extra in that respect. I hope that he will be on a separate card in the box like they do with the ring exclusive Ultimate Editions - I want to have them all in my MOC display. I would also will need to buy a second for the loose figure if he does have separate carding in the box. But do I need a third though in that case? One loose, one on display MOC, and one in the sealed box with the ring? Damn that Ozer and his evil marketing genius   

The Bloodline is a surprise - we spoke in this thread about if they could've done a WrestleMania XL main event package to build on the nostalgia of that event, but I didn't foresee them doing this set in the Ringside slot. I wonder if they tried to get a Final Boss Rock in the set, or a Hayman to better bridge the gap between the eras? I like them overall though, but wish that the Usos didn't have the same pose/attack; I get that they are twins but they could still have distinct moves; especially in a two-pack.

It'll be interesting to see how the Bloodline sells - it's a gamble that I don't think will perform as well as say a Nation set or a Hart Foundation set, but there's no denying the Bloodline's domination in recent years, so lets see how the modern fan reacts to the set.

The first 2025 Creations set is little short of incredible: Sherri and Miss Elizabeth!! Amazing. I'd like it if they'd introduced a completely different female body into the mix, but we have to take what we get. Hogan being a repaint is similarly disappointing, but him as Rip and with the title is outstanding. Zeus is a good addition to the line as well; before my time slightly but no doubt in my mind he is worthy.

Most importantly we've seen that there is still commitment to the line - Ringside is getting another set despite the first two still being available; Creations is carrying another bundle of the product, and we've seen them commit to another ring so soon after the last one, as well additional accessories like the belt; so my thanks to Mattel and the team responsible for the Retros continuing.

All good points,yeah the WW logo sucks, but they're stuck with it sadly. And at minimum it would probably be on the belt stands anyway still. I don't really care what the stickers are as I'm sure I'll buy custom decals with the real logos anyway. But, I see the point for those that collect MIB/display as it comes from the company.

[drnickriviera995]

Jul 26, 2024 0:33:51 GMT -5 gentlemanjohnny said:

I like some of the things we saw. But I’m going to nitpick because I’m good at it. 

I like the Royal Rumble ring, but I hate that the Royal Rumble sticker has that damn WW logo on it. It should have just said Royal Rumble. I want to see what the box looks like. 

I want Brother Love, but I don’t get why he is packed with a Royal Rumble ring. Howard Finkel would have ruled in that spot. 

Hogan as Rip rules and I love the belt. That could get a few different repaints too. Black strap or even purple for Sgt. Slaughter or Warrior. I wish Hogan had a different move though, we just got that one. 

Now I’m going to bury Mattel. The Roman Reigns set pisses me off. I have every retro to this point, but what is this? Current wrestlers murdered this line the first time. Add these 4 figures to the long list of figures that are being made before a heel Jake the Snake and a Rick Rude WHO ARE BOTH UNDER DEALS AND HAD FIGS SHOWN AT THIS EVENT.

Yeah, where is heel Jake? And a Rude? And Bob Backlund? I also wouldn't mind another Warrior, we're on the 3rd Hogan now in 2-3 years depending when the 89 set drops.

And how about WCW? I think it's a pretty slim crowd clammoring for the bloodline or any modern day guys.

[hbkjason]

People can like what they want and if you are thrilled with the reveals more power to you and I'm happy for you.

I think this was a terrible retro showing 😕

That HBK looks awful, I was hopeful they would change the old man looking face.

It is great to have Sherri and Liz, but why they hell does Sherri not come with a long tights Macho King??? Plus, Liz looks terrible. Liz looks like she's getting ready to squat and take a dump!

Brother Love is a character that is ideal, but he looks terrible as well!

I'm sick of the there dumbed down to fit in with Hasbros excuse! Hasbros were not these dumbed down things that some people seem to be missing remembering them as.

To be fair, The Bloodline figures look great, but modern wrestlers had no place in this line first time around and I still feel that way now.


Not trying to be a hater and poop on anyone's parade, but I just wanted to share my opinion and I honestly could not have been any more disappointed.

[whybecauseican]

Jul 26, 2024 0:33:51 GMT -5 gentlemanjohnny said:

I like some of the things we saw. But I’m going to nitpick because I’m good at it. 

I like the Royal Rumble ring, but I hate that the Royal Rumble sticker has that damn WW logo on it. It should have just said Royal Rumble. I want to see what the box looks like. 

I want Brother Love, but I don’t get why he is packed with a Royal Rumble ring. Howard Finkel would have ruled in that spot. 

Hogan as Rip rules and I love the belt. That could get a few different repaints too. Black strap or even purple for Sgt. Slaughter or Warrior. I wish Hogan had a different move though, we just got that one. 

Now I’m going to bury Mattel. The Roman Reigns set pisses me off. I have every retro to this point, but what is this? Current wrestlers murdered this line the first time. Add these 4 figures to the long list of figures that are being made before a heel Jake the Snake and a Rick Rude WHO ARE BOTH UNDER DEALS AND HAD FIGS SHOWN AT THIS EVENT.

Everyone been over this so many times current superstars did not murder this line did it? it's just you don't want current so like to blame them. Did Roman, Brock, Cena, bray, strowman, Hardys, randy orton etc kill the line? No. What killed the line was terrible distribution and poor figure choices. It wasn't that no one wanted current superstars it was the fact no one wanted lower / mid card random wrestlers like zack ryder, Elias, Jumping version of goldberg and seth, shinsuke etc. Personally I see a lot more hate for boring people like Bob orton, Wendy, Ali, Nikolai etc and people like that. I think they have decided to go to current because they know it's money and a lot of people want current superstars too. If they keep going with these weird 1980's characters that will kill the line. Infact they have probably seen a decline and have moved to people like the bloodline to increase popularity and a bigger audience instead of a small few who and actually want a Wendy.

[mrh]

Action Figure Attack admitted on here that in the previous version of the Retros, the modern superstars didn't sell well -- that's why everything until now has been a Retro figure.

I hate the Bloodline set -- but I hope if people agree with me, they speak with their wallets.

If there actually is a demand for modern talent, we're gonna be stuck with them.

[hbkjason]

This community is starting to become not fun and that sucks 😞

You can have a different opinion from some one. Life would be very boring if we all just liked the same thing.

However, you don't have to be an bunghole about getting your point across. This is a hobby and hobbies are supposed to be fun.

I could not be any less excited by what was shown, but I still think it's awesome people are excited about it.

[hulkster]

The Bloodline set just isn't for me, but they have done an incredible job on the No Holds Barred set, I can't actually believe we have Liz and Sherri in one reveal!
Will this be it or another teaser today?

[drnickriviera995]

Jul 26, 2024 1:25:17 GMT -5 hbkjason said:

People can like what they want and if you are thrilled with the reveals more power to you and I'm happy for you.

I think this was a terrible retro showing 😕

That HBK looks awful, I was hopeful they would change the old man looking face.

It is great to have Sherri and Liz, but why they hell does Sherri not come with a long tights Macho King??? Plus, Liz looks terrible. Liz looks like she's getting ready to squat and take a dump!

Brother Love is a character that is ideal, but he looks terrible as well!

I'm sick of the there dumbed down to fit in with Hasbros excuse! Hasbros were not these dumbed down things that some people seem to be missing remembering them as.

To be fair, The Bloodline figures look great, but modern wrestlers had no place in this line first time around and I still feel that way now.


Not trying to be a hater and poop on anyone's parade, but I just wanted to share my opinion and I honestly could not have been any more disappointed.

Completely agree on most points here. I buy these because I don't have the option of a higher quality figure from other companies, Mattel/WWE have most of these names locked up. These are a cash grab, that's why you won't see better effort put in, it's bare minimum effort and it shows. Like you said on that Shawn, why does he have an old man head? They could easily just reuse heads from the mainlines, they fit just fine, I've seen tons of headswaps, and the heads work just fine in most cases.

In an ideal world, all these names would be free agents and made by Hasstel, Epic etc, but at this time Mattel/WWE have us by the balls, so yes, I'll continue buying the ones I want, was never and have never been a completionist though.

[hulkjoegan]

Liz has definitely been putting in the hours on the stairmaster, it seems…

[g4]

Making us buy a re-painted ring to get Brother Love is very "Carny" of Mattel.

[kev]

Zero interest in the Bloodline, hopefully it isn’t the start of more modern retros. Very happy with the No Holds Barred themed set though, annoying yet another Hogan repaint, I can understand why they included it though.

[kirk815]

Jul 26, 2024 1:48:09 GMT -5 mrh said:

Action Figure Attack admitted on here that in the previous version of the Retros, the modern superstars didn't sell well -- that's why everything until now has been a Retro figure.

I hate the Bloodline set -- but I hope if people agree with me, they speak with their wallets.

If there actually is a demand for modern talent, we're gonna be stuck with them.

I don't recall anyone from Mattel specifically comparing sales of legends vs. current retros. When they brought it back in limited releases, IIRC they just said they were going to focus on Legends.

And people here were literally only discussing the line ending prior to SDCC due to horrible sales (with no actual access to sales data) since only sets 1 and 2 have sold out (which did take awhile) since they brought it back.

Regardless, things have changed since the failed rollout of the initial line and the current product is insanely popular.

I'm hoping the set does well and it not only grows the fan base of retros (which is never going to happen focusing solely on people from the 80s/90s), but also opens the door for them being back at retail (with the correct distribution and characters).

Bring on more bloodline, judgement day, punk, cody, etc. and that hopefully leads to more Legends at retail.

The initial Mattel line had so many horrible decisions/issues.
1. Initially only a Walmart exclusive and IIRC it wasn't planned as a line to keep going (2 sets and done)

2. Warrior and Taker released later and not in the initial shipment

3. Long delay from the first 2 and Series 3 (open to all retailers), which then seemed to be over ordered/kept getting replenished and the line never recovered

4. Horrible distribution throughout the whole line. I think I only remember seeing one other series (5) in stores (after series 3). I had to buy the rest online

5. Horrible/repetitive part choices/actions - Triple H and Oldberg jumpers, Warrior should have been WM6, etc.

6. Horrible character selection - Oldberg and current (at the time) Jericho/Hardy's instead of flashbacks; jobbers/extremely new talent - Elias, Shinsuke, Braun, Matt Ryder; Kevin Owens in series 1 AND 4; 3 New Day figures in the same series (should have been 1 in each series).

7. Price change from $10 to $13 when adding a stand/mobile game code. Should have stayed at 10.

[whybecauseican]

Jul 26, 2024 5:24:07 GMT -5 kirk815 said:

Jul 26, 2024 1:48:09 GMT -5 mrh said:

Action Figure Attack admitted on here that in the previous version of the Retros, the modern superstars didn't sell well -- that's why everything until now has been a Retro figure.

I hate the Bloodline set -- but I hope if people agree with me, they speak with their wallets.

If there actually is a demand for modern talent, we're gonna be stuck with them.

I don't recall anyone from Mattel specifically comparing sales of legends vs. current retros. When they brought it back in limited releases, IIRC they just said they were going to focus on Legends.

And people here were literally only discussing the line ending prior to SDCC due to horrible sales (with no actual access to sales data) since only sets 1 and 2 have sold out (which did take awhile) since they brought it back.

Regardless, things have changed since the failed rollout of the initial line and the current product is insanely popular.

I'm hoping the set does well and it not only grows the fan base of retros (which is never going to happen focusing solely on people from the 80s/90s), but also opens the door for them being back at retail (with the correct distribution and characters).

Bring on more bloodline, judgement day, punk, cody, etc. and that hopefully leads to more Legends at retail.

The initial Mattel line had so many horrible decisions/issues.
1. Initially only a Walmart exclusive and IIRC it wasn't planned as a line to keep going (2 sets and done)

2. Warrior and Taker released later and not in the initial shipment

3. Long delay from the first 2 and Series 3 (open to all retailers), which then seemed to be over ordered/kept getting replenished and the line never recovered

4. Horrible distribution throughout the whole line. I think I only remember seeing one other series (5) in stores (after series 3). I had to buy the rest online

5. Horrible/repetitive part choices/actions - Triple H and Oldberg jumpers, Warrior should have been WM6, etc.

6. Horrible character selection - Oldberg and current (at the time) Jericho/Hardy's instead of flashbacks; jobbers/extremely new talent - Elias, Shinsuke, Braun, Matt Ryder; Kevin Owens in series 1 AND 4; 3 New Day figures in the same series (should have been 1 in each series).
7. Price change from $10 to $13 when adding a stand/mobile game code. Should have stayed at 10.

Exactly this. Bring on the current superstars and save the line. Exactly, why was everyone so down on the line and saying sales are poor and could be the end of the line, considering there hasnt been a current superstar in the line for years? I thought thats what killed the line? This set will do better than anything else surely which will lead to more and more current. Also it's true about what you said regarding growing the fan base with current. Legends are great but keeps it very niche and the line at risk of folding. Ideally I would like 3 sets a year to please everyone and a ringside set. Maybe one 80's / 90's / Attitude and Aggression and one current. BUT  for All Eras make the right choices. Too many wants and opinions for just 2 sets a year and we all get triggered when we dont get anything of our own taste

[drnickriviera995]

Jul 26, 2024 5:24:07 GMT -5 kirk815 said:

Jul 26, 2024 1:48:09 GMT -5 mrh said:

Action Figure Attack admitted on here that in the previous version of the Retros, the modern superstars didn't sell well -- that's why everything until now has been a Retro figure.

I hate the Bloodline set -- but I hope if people agree with me, they speak with their wallets.

If there actually is a demand for modern talent, we're gonna be stuck with them.

I don't recall anyone from Mattel specifically comparing sales of legends vs. current retros. When they brought it back in limited releases, IIRC they just said they were going to focus on Legends.

And people here were literally only discussing the line ending prior to SDCC due to horrible sales (with no actual access to sales data) since only sets 1 and 2 have sold out (which did take awhile) since they brought it back.

Regardless, things have changed since the failed rollout of the initial line and the current product is insanely popular.

I'm hoping the set does well and it not only grows the fan base of retros (which is never going to happen focusing solely on people from the 80s/90s), but also opens the door for them being back at retail (with the correct distribution and characters).

Bring on more bloodline, judgement day, punk, cody, etc. and that hopefully leads to more Legends at retail.

The initial Mattel line had so many horrible decisions/issues.
1. Initially only a Walmart exclusive and IIRC it wasn't planned as a line to keep going (2 sets and done)

2. Warrior and Taker released later and not in the initial shipment

3. Long delay from the first 2 and Series 3 (open to all retailers), which then seemed to be over ordered/kept getting replenished and the line never recovered

4. Horrible distribution throughout the whole line. I think I only remember seeing one other series (5) in stores (after series 3). I had to buy the rest online

5. Horrible/repetitive part choices/actions - Triple H and Oldberg jumpers, Warrior should have been WM6, etc.

6. Horrible character selection - Oldberg and current (at the time) Jericho/Hardy's instead of flashbacks; jobbers/extremely new talent - Elias, Shinsuke, Braun, Matt Ryder; Kevin Owens in series 1 AND 4; 3 New Day figures in the same series (should have been 1 in each series).
7. Price change from $10 to $13 when adding a stand/mobile game code. Should have stayed at 10.

All valid points, I would really point to Series 3 being the first huge miss-fire, bland figures, all in black/greys pretty much, all modern including OLDBerg. Way overproduced and clogged stores for ages. Therefore it snowballed with the next few waves barely showing up anywhere since shelves were clogged with S3. And then if you were lucky to find S4 or S5, good luck finding Flair and Macho respectively if you weren't the first to find them after the box went out.

Overall such bad choices overall on characters, molds and attire choices. It should have been mostly flashbacks the whole time, maybe do 2 modern guys per wave of 6, and only the biggest current names.

It's insane how long this line has gone on and we still don't have heel Jake, Backlund, Rude, singles Bret, at least one decent Warrior etc, etc.

[sportsmann]

Following the NWO and DX, I've been expecting a Bloodline series for a bit. It makes sense that RC stick to influential stables to make their line just that little bit special. Bummer that the Wiseman isn't included, though.