Does the lack of new FTITL Legends/Alumni bother you?

[GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy]

I wonder what the consensus is for current talent. I think the majority of people want more flashbacks compared to current talent, which I'm not against at all. Or do you guys believe it's more 50/50? Imagine if flashbacks were cut off completely, how would that change the game in terms of current talents being in the line? Would Mattel run out of attires or figures to make?

[sandeep]

I don't know about FTITL but exclusion of sting is really hurting me.

[GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy]

Aug 12, 2023 12:11:47 GMT -5 sandeep said:

I don't know about FTITL but exclusion of sting is really hurting me.

D o n' t r e m i n d m e.

[newgenandy]

Aug 11, 2023 20:44:35 GMT -5 azraelms said:

Aug 10, 2023 18:37:50 GMT -5 hollywood4life said:

Of course it does, having 15 hogans,takers and warriors each in a year when you could sprinkle in some of the 150+ guys they haven’t made figs of that jakks did…

I know it’s not on Mattel but there has to be tons of money to be made by wwe if they signed old talent ..what’s stopping them from signed them to small deals?

I’m sure most of the smaller stars would bite ,(they all goto conventions for signings so you know they would jump on a 2 or 3k deal)


Like someone else said these smaller companies are making bank of guys like blue meanie, ahamed, Bundy etc… you can’t tell me it isn’t worth it to wwe to sculpture a deal with these guys to make money

There has to be something else that’s blocking deals besides” it not worth it” like most people say about the smaller names..

wwe most not want a huge roster to be signed at once for whatever weird unknown reason ,maybe to penny pinch BUTTT that’s goes out the window when it’s just tiny legend deal that you makes money off with toys ten fold

Kevin Nash said on his pod his legends contract isn’t what it used to be, that he used to get paid 50k-60k for wwe2k now he’s lucky if he gets 5k….. so they’re saving more money with cutting legends money….

because you know guys like spike dudley,konnan,Kidman,gangrel, Steve Blackman , al snow aren’t turning down a deal from wwe

Mattel knows the reason why wwe won’t sign more guys, wish Mattel would clue us in to what the asinine reason …

I take my legends collecting very seriously lol (I really do 😂)

I agree and I'm sure there are other reasons in the past that some of these guys weren't sign, and my guess is that a big one was simply Vince McMahon holding grudges against former wrestlers.

Some may be due to Vince holding a grudge. Nailz would be one of these guys, I would think.

Some may be due to the wrestler themselves having a grudge against WWE or Vince or both. Sable comes to mind here.

Some are due to controversy. I love the Dark Side of the Ring series, but I would guess a good portion of these subjects will not ever see a figure from Mattel. Look how even Flair and Hogan disappeared when things popped up in their world. So lesser names like Fabulous Moolah, Dino Bravo, and even someone who they made previously like Jimmy Snuka are not going to be made.

Two are obvious - their names are Chris Benoit or Owen Hart.

Some may be for other reasons. Like literally, wasn't there a wrestler (Perry Saturn I think?) who was basically homeless and couldn't be found at some point?

That said, I would not be confident that Mattel would know a reason why WWE would not sign wrestler X when they could. That reasoning would stay within WWE, and depending on the situation, the reasoning may only stay with a select few people. Maybe it is petty, maybe there is another valid reason, but regardless, we will never know reasonings behind these types of decisions.

Aug 11, 2023 6:23:10 GMT -5 newgenandy said:

You also have to consider things from wwe perspective

Legends don’t sell tickets to current events, get people watching current tv upping viewer numbers and rights amounts, buying merch at live shows, attending premium live events etc

There’s a reason why Cena changed his shirt every 4 months, because there’s more hats, shirts, wrist bands snd yes figures to sell.

New / current product is where the big bucks are - how many people bought a Cena shirt v say an iron sheik or even macho man shirt? How many now buy a seth or Roman v a warrior shirt?

They’re not going to put too much time and effort into getting s little back when they could put less time and get more out from their current stars. We get a sprinkling every now and then of ftil but the focus will always be on the current product

Completely understand the focus on the current roster, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I would think that this new Nostalgia contract could be interesting in this. Like wha was said above, that a lot of these guys that are regularly on the convention circuit would most likely take a relatively small payout - $5K or even $10K would be pennies to WWE to give these guys a 3 year contract to allow Mattel to make several figures of these guys, and that would more than pay for itself.

Let's use someone like Hercules. He was in WWE from 85-92. He was also with WCW for a short bit after that, and had brief stints with Crockett, Mid-South, and Florida before hitting the WWE in 85. He could easily be in a Wrestlemania series, a Legends series, but more than likely not a mainline series. Heck, if they were to sign Paul Roma, they could also put the both of them in a SummerSlam lineup. Heck, if they signed Roma they could do a 'wrestlecrap' figure of him as a Horseman, getting two figures out of him. So let's say Hercules was worth a 10K contract, and Roma was worth a 5K contract, getting 5 figures out of those two wrestlers would most likely make it worth it for all involved. Again, this is armchair quarterbacking by me, but logically everyone here would win, I would think.

Even if they don't deem it enough to make a shirt of each legend, (which I don't know much about), but I would think would be worth it to have an official shirt of, well almost anyone, even if it is just to sell on WWEshop.com. It wouldn't have to take up space at live events and such, but having it for the online shop wouldn't most likely hurt much, in my opinion.

I think it’s all the addition possible headaches etc wwe don’t want more than the cost involved and it’s just not worth their time and effort

If they sign these guys they have to have a system of monitoring how well their merch does, deciding if they want to renew, worrying about things they could do / say which could tarnish their image - look at the potential issues with Rick Steiner not long after he signed a deal etc. for marginal amounts it’s probably not worth the effort

Don’t get me wrong, I literally have 1 modern figure (Seth) and everything else is mainly 92-97 so I’d love more legends but I also get why we don’t get more

[Rocket_Fuel_Merchant]

I collect Golden through Ruthless Aggression, so I am completely with you for the most part. The only modern guys I even have are random guys from BAF waves because I wanted the BAF, or the Cody that came with the new Defining Moments Ringside Set, because I'd rather have the whole set....so I hear ya.

However, it also just so happens that some of the guys that get released on repeat I really like....As you can probably tell, I'm a Warrior guy...so as far as I'm concerned, there should be a Warrior in every legends wave...and DEFINITELY a Warrior in every Ultimate Wave (I mean, the entire line is named after him right!?). So in that sense, this topic is a little bit of a catch 22 for me....I want every Warrior attire he ever wore, but I also want MORE Legends just like you, and I understand why someone who is NOT a Warrior guy, or a Hogan guy, or a Taker guy, could think the line is stale

I will also say, that something is sometimes seems (IMO)...off...with Mattel's timing on certain releases though. For example: Ultimate Edition Bret Hart. I will buy every one they make, but it seems like we got slammed with a bunch of announcements...Greatest Hits, Pink Jacket, Monday Night Wars, Coliseum Collection...all figures that are awesome, and should be made, but you (Mattel) obviously knew Coliseum Collection was coming, and Monday Night Wars, so maybe you could have picked someone else for the first Greatest Hits wave with Triple H? Or if you wanted him in Greatest Hits, you could have made him a later wave in Monday Night Wars? Idk if that makes sense?

Also throw in that I've only been collecting for less than a year, so there are A LOT of figures I missed out on. So I enjoy the re-releases as well.

[azraelms]

Aug 12, 2023 12:49:21 GMT -5 newgenandy said:

Aug 11, 2023 20:44:35 GMT -5 azraelms said:

I agree and I'm sure there are other reasons in the past that some of these guys weren't sign, and my guess is that a big one was simply Vince McMahon holding grudges against former wrestlers.

Some may be due to Vince holding a grudge. Nailz would be one of these guys, I would think.

Some may be due to the wrestler themselves having a grudge against WWE or Vince or both. Sable comes to mind here.

Some are due to controversy. I love the Dark Side of the Ring series, but I would guess a good portion of these subjects will not ever see a figure from Mattel. Look how even Flair and Hogan disappeared when things popped up in their world. So lesser names like Fabulous Moolah, Dino Bravo, and even someone who they made previously like Jimmy Snuka are not going to be made.

Two are obvious - their names are Chris Benoit or Owen Hart.

Some may be for other reasons. Like literally, wasn't there a wrestler (Perry Saturn I think?) who was basically homeless and couldn't be found at some point?

That said, I would not be confident that Mattel would know a reason why WWE would not sign wrestler X when they could. That reasoning would stay within WWE, and depending on the situation, the reasoning may only stay with a select few people. Maybe it is petty, maybe there is another valid reason, but regardless, we will never know reasonings behind these types of decisions.


Completely understand the focus on the current roster, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I would think that this new Nostalgia contract could be interesting in this. Like wha was said above, that a lot of these guys that are regularly on the convention circuit would most likely take a relatively small payout - $5K or even $10K would be pennies to WWE to give these guys a 3 year contract to allow Mattel to make several figures of these guys, and that would more than pay for itself.

Let's use someone like Hercules. He was in WWE from 85-92. He was also with WCW for a short bit after that, and had brief stints with Crockett, Mid-South, and Florida before hitting the WWE in 85. He could easily be in a Wrestlemania series, a Legends series, but more than likely not a mainline series. Heck, if they were to sign Paul Roma, they could also put the both of them in a SummerSlam lineup. Heck, if they signed Roma they could do a 'wrestlecrap' figure of him as a Horseman, getting two figures out of him. So let's say Hercules was worth a 10K contract, and Roma was worth a 5K contract, getting 5 figures out of those two wrestlers would most likely make it worth it for all involved. Again, this is armchair quarterbacking by me, but logically everyone here would win, I would think.

Even if they don't deem it enough to make a shirt of each legend, (which I don't know much about), but I would think would be worth it to have an official shirt of, well almost anyone, even if it is just to sell on WWEshop.com. It wouldn't have to take up space at live events and such, but having it for the online shop wouldn't most likely hurt much, in my opinion.

I think it’s all the addition possible headaches etc wwe don’t want more than the cost involved and it’s just not worth their time and effort

If they sign these guys they have to have a system of monitoring how well their merch does, deciding if they want to renew, worrying about things they could do / say which could tarnish their image - look at the potential issues with Rick Steiner not long after he signed a deal etc. for marginal amounts it’s probably not worth the effort

Don’t get me wrong, I literally have 1 modern figure (Seth) and everything else is mainly 92-97 so I’d love more legends but I also get why we don’t get more

I would assume that there is some sort of computer algorithm and program in use that could track the financials of the talent, so just plugging in one more wrestler and their merch would not be too much hassle.

In my opinion, not signing people because they MIGHT misbehave would be silly. Again, just my opinion. Hogan had his cancellation in 2015 when that video was published, and look how many figures we got of him over the last 2 years, and so many more coming in the next year. Ric Flair was 'removed' after the Plane Ride from Hell episode of Dark Side of the Ring, but within 6 months he was placed back in the WWE opening, and I am hopeful that we will see more Ric Flair figures coming soon, as it seems we are starting to see more and more talents in non-exclusive contracts. If anything with WWE, we have seen that time heals all wounds. Bret Hart. Ultimate Warrior. Bruno Sammartino. Big names that had huge grudges that eventually went back. So I think some of these lower tier alumni that ideally signs for the lower limited contracts would be a good thing. Worst case situation, they could be like Rick Steiner - his figure is still coming out, it is just not being promoted by Mattel. That said, his issues have not made the mainstream the same way that Hogan's did, so I don't see parents having issues seeing that figure when it is hanging on the pegs at Target or Walmart, and I bet next summer at SDCC or Ringside Fest after that, enough time will have passed that we will see the WM9 Steiners that everyone wants.

[micco]

Very few were shown at sdcc but it’s not as if there won’t continue to be new ftitl legends showing up in the various lines. I have no worries.

[azraelms]

Aug 12, 2023 11:52:39 GMT -5 GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy said:

I wonder what the consensus is for current talent. I think the majority of people want more flashbacks compared to current talent, which I'm not against at all. Or do you guys believe it's more 50/50? Imagine if flashbacks were cut off completely, how would that change the game in terms of current talents being in the line? Would Mattel run out of attires or figures to make?

As far as current talent, I mainly need to get one of every wrestler. I don't need the Miz in 3 different colored trunks, or multiple AJ Styles, but if a wrestler changes their look substantially, usually cutting off the long hair or something like that, I would then get a new version. We just had Dominik Mysterio in Elite 89, as a face, and we are getting him again in Elite 105. If he was still a face, I would probably not get the second version, but since he has a different look as part of the Judgement Day, I am getting that one.

With the large roster they currently have, we have a number of people that need to be made. The rest of Imperium is probably the biggest need now, and with the added articulation in the basics now, that is a good place for some of the lower card - looking at you Hit Row. As far as Elites go, I like the current mix of 1 Alumni, 1 NXT, and 4 Mainline Roster figures, which usually includes a female in each wave. Rotating in the popular flavor of the month on a more faster basis makes sense. Having Solo Sikoa in 104 and 107 (granted that may be due to the torso issue) makes sense. With the Top Picks and such, we seem to have a pretty consistent stream of Roman Reigns & Cody Rhodes. New Look Brock Lesnar had a decent amount of figures, and seems to have run his course. The Usos, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, all seem to be getting faster figures. So I think the current mainline roster seems to be going well.

NXT though is a different story. It seems that the negative impact of the switch to 2.0 in September of 2021 has rippled through the toy line. It took a long time to get the new big names like Bron Breaker and Carmelo Hayes, but we are starting to see a few more figures coming out from there. I will be honest, I stopped watching NXT when it switched over, and haven't gotten back to it myself, so personally I don't have any complaints about the lack of figures, but I know they have their fanbase and certainly feel for them that they are not seeing the figures they want.

[Apocalypse]

The new "Nostalgia" deals will likely bring in more new talent. We already know the Headbangers are signed so expect them and maybe even Chaz

Hopefully the nostalgia contracts bring in more wrestlers that normally wouldnt have had a chance to have a legends contract.

[pickle]

As long as we get Ahmed Johnson, Koko B ware, jeff jarrett, Haku, Barbarian, bad news brown, Genius, mountie, Luna vachon, Giant Gonzales, Adam bomb, tazz, Dr death, Mr Fuji, bastion booger, Jushin liger, Midnight express, rock n roll express, Raven, Hakushi, Bull nakano, Mantaur and Henry Godwinn in the line eventually, I don't care how long it takes.

[Nivro™]

Whomever the higher ups at Mattel are needs to sit down with WWE and tell them they need to allow Mattel to sign stand alone deal and not have to go through Legends deals. Until then we're going to get the same handful of repaints over and over

[kirk815]

Aug 12, 2023 15:11:43 GMT -5 Nivro™ said:

Whomever the higher ups at Mattel are needs to sit down with WWE and tell them they need to allow Mattel to sign stand alone deal and not have to go through Legends deals. Until then we're going to get the same handful of repaints over and over

As much as we want that, it's been years since they were allowed to sign their own deals. I don't see either company going back to it.

Why would Mattel add more costs when they don't have to?

Why would WWE sign a deal with them to release figures of the current roster and Legends that they have signed when Mattel is just going to release their own figures?

That's going to negatively impact WWE since they are signing people to Legends deals and spots are being taken away from them. Also, WWE doesn't want to do business with some of these people so Mattel would still need their approval.

If anything, I hope that they allow for less intrusive contracts (maybe that's what the nostalgia contracts are IF they are different from Legends) where they can just release X amount of figures over X amount of years.

Not every Legend needs a full 360 merch deal. Just have WWE sign them to a figure deal and game deal and let them make their indy/autograph appearances and sell their own t-shirts on the side. Maybe that will get some of the Legends to sign that don't want to give up their first born in order to sign a Legends deal.


Still doesn't solve the problem though of there only being so many spots that Mattel has to release X amount of figures a year.

I would love if they could do a a new FTIL on Mattel Collections (start out releasing a figure every other month) and then move on to once a month if it does well.

[secondwhiteline]

Aug 12, 2023 11:52:39 GMT -5 GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy said:

I wonder what the consensus is for current talent. I think the majority of people want more flashbacks compared to current talent, which I'm not against at all. Or do you guys believe it's more 50/50? Imagine if flashbacks were cut off completely, how would that change the game in terms of current talents being in the line? Would Mattel run out of attires or figures to make?

The majority of old dudes on a message board want flashbacks. That's likely the opposite case at retail. Like, almost all of the core lines could run forever on current talent; only Ultimate Edition might have a problem. The ancillary SKUs are the ones driven either by flashback product or a 50/50 kind of split.

[secondwhiteline]

Aug 12, 2023 16:27:04 GMT -5 kirk815 said:

Aug 12, 2023 15:11:43 GMT -5 Nivro™ said:

Whomever the higher ups at Mattel are needs to sit down with WWE and tell them they need to allow Mattel to sign stand alone deal and not have to go through Legends deals. Until then we're going to get the same handful of repaints over and over

As much as we want that, it's been years since they were allowed to sign their own deals. I don't see either company going back to it.

Why would Mattel add more costs when they don't have to?

Why would WWE sign a deal with them to release figures of the current roster and Legends that they have signed when Mattel is just going to release their own figures?

That's going to negatively impact WWE since they are signing people to Legends deals and spots are being taken away from them. Also, WWE doesn't want to do business with some of these people so Mattel would still need their approval.

If anything, I hope that they allow for less intrusive contracts (maybe that's what the nostalgia contracts are IF they are different from Legends) where they can just release X amount of figures over X amount of years.

Not every Legend needs a full 360 merch deal. Just have WWE sign them to a figure deal and game deal and let them make their indy/autograph appearances and sell their own t-shirts on the side. Maybe that will get some of the Legends to sign that don't want to give up their first born in order to sign a Legends deal.


Still doesn't solve the problem though of there only being so many spots that Mattel has to release X amount of figures a year.

I would love if they could do a a new FTIL on Mattel Collections (start out releasing a figure every other month) and then move on to once a month if it does well.

I think there's also a question of whether the Legends deals are attractive on the talent side. For someone like Hogan or Austin who sells tons of merch, WWE gives them scalability. They could easily find that with other licensors, but it's the easiest route. But for your average 80-00s midcarder, if the Legends deals are as weak now as what Nash is pointing to, you can probably make just as much or more operating a store on PWTees and doing signings, for the little WWE is going to do with your likeness. I wouldn't be surprised if the Nostalgia contracts are more flexible in that direction.

[Ministry of Darkness]

There's alot of legends that Mattel haven't made so far and that's concerning. Realistically I can't see Mattel making them all but would be nice to get any of the MNW or more "Attitude Era" talent made since that's all I collect.

[The Madness]

It frustrates me, but it doesn’t make me want to collect the line any less.

Like, I’ll buy every Hogan, Warrior, and Savage they can come up with, but the less Golden Age and New Generation figures there are, the less figures I have any interest in buying.

[y2james]

Not everyone has been collecting for years, and I think there are plenty of people like myself that missed the first go round of whomever and are happy to have another shot with a different version of that wrestler. I love to find FTiTL too, but I am still more interested in certain people.

Anyways, not going to happen anytime soon, but I would pay a lot of money for a set of Raven and the flock.

[shanieomaniac]

You know, multiple people mentioning the Islanders on here made me look them up and I guess I have two more customs added to my "to make" list. I just gotta find a good set of 3D printed heads for them and probably a spare pair of Headshrinkers bodies.

So many customs to make, so little energy.

[Rob7274]

Basically Mattel are doing too many re-releases of both modern and legends…
When the Legends who only get a few releases get made they all have the same headsculpt.

And the FTITL Legends who do get made get stuck in a store exclusive series THAT INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS HAVE NO CHANCE OF GETTING! (I.e Ruthless Aggression series)


Way to kill what ever international collectors are left.

[Glorydaysofwrestling]

Aug 14, 2023 4:00:00 GMT -5 shanieomaniac said:

You know, multiple people mentioning the Islanders on here made me look them up and I guess I have two more customs added to my "to make" list. I just gotta find a good set of 3D printed heads for them and probably a spare pair of Headshrinkers bodies.

So many customs to make, so little energy.

This is where I can come in 😄. Message me if you need some customs done.