If you thought that Mattel’s WWE Mutants line was insane, here come their newest figures that merge pro wrestling with one of the hottest toy properties of the 80’s. No, not Transformers. No, not My Little Pony, either.
By the power of Grayskull, the WWE and Masters of the Universe have come together as one!
I know that you’re probably thinking, “But like… why though?” when it comes to this line.
Well, it might just boil down to the fact that Mattel has both properties, and someone working there thought it’d be cool. The origins of these bizarre amalgamation was revealed at Power-Con 2019, a convention devoted to everything under the Masters of the Universe umbrella:
Steve Ozer (Associate Global Marketing WWE Brand Manager for Mattel): “Of course, with these two brands, there’s a lot of crossover with the fandom. We know a lot of the WWE Superstars are fans of ‘Masters of the Universe’. Kofi Kingston, for example, sported a few different Masters-inspired gear like this rad Skeletor gear and this Battle Cat-inspired gear (see below). We were fortunate to be able to make figures of this gear, very cool!
We wanted to explore ways to see how we could blend these two worlds even further…” – Mattel/WWE Power-Con Presentation [2019]
Steve Ozer: “As we explored this, probably two years ago, Brandon Sopinsky (Mattel Project Designer), our good friend, was creating what became our MOTU comic con item, the Prince Adam Two-Pack. He also put together a little prototype of Ultimate Warrior using that body type, and it was the perfect time to work together to bring this line to life.” – Mattel/WWE Power-Con Presentation [2019]
I was born in 1984, but I don’t have much nostalgia for Masters of the Universe. I really don’t get the latest trend to force random properties into the He-Man mold (especially after seeing jakked Pinhead from Funko’s Savage World line). That said, these figures are actually pretty cool. The merged world concept totally works in this case, and Mattel went above and beyond with these toys. The packaging and logos are all aces, and the set even comes with a mini-comic book for each wrestler just like the original Masters figures. This is a work of love, not just a quick cash-in. This line is a completely separate, standalone take on Masters of the Universe and as far as I can tell, there’s no mention of He-Man or Vince McMahon in these stories. This a What-If? or Elseworlds take on the property. No real in-depth explanation needed of the going-ons of WWEternia.
Speaking of the comic book, here’s a scan of the cover that showcases the Stinger fighting a monster-sized scorpion. Spoilers on how/why he’s got the claw hand and the scorpion nunchucks, I guess:
I would have loved to have been able to be in the design meeting where this was all originally broken down. Ultimate Warrior as He-Man? Triple H as Skeletor? Those are both pretty easy conversions to see. Finn Balor as the… uhh. I’m not sure which MOTU character Balor is supposed to be. The “Vigilante” Sting as the evil henchman Clawful? Sure, why not!??
For those wondering, the Masters of the WWE Universe figures aren’t a complete one-to-one recreation of the original He-Man line (thankfully). The legs aren’t as wobbly and loose. You can actually move the arms out to the side as opposed to just up and down. Posability (a word that only exists when nerding out about toys) is still limited, but these are all pretty neat regardless. Quite frankly, I’m considering going back to Wal-Mart to grab this entire line just to hopefully seal the deal for a second wave. Mattel has shown a quick preview of what the next batch of figures could be, and I cannot wait to be able to put money down for a toy of Rey Mysterio Jr. as Stratos:
Bonus points for getting nailing that early Rey attire, something that we’ve never even seen in the regular WWE line. Awesome, awesome stuff.
Good on you, Mattel. Please keep this going and give us a Netflix animated series out of this deal too, if you can.
38-year-old World Championship Wrestling fanatic/collector/hoarder. Safety officer by day, scanner of wrestling magazine by night.
He’s got posters on the wall, his favorite rock group’s KISS.
At Walmart??
Yes. Looks like it’s an exclusive to them.
Digging these figures. I like the New Day mashup with Man-E-Faces that was at SDCC last year.
Series 2 is starting to hit stores. Rey as Stratos, Roman Reigns as Fisto, John Cena as Faker, Macho Man-At-Arms.
You really should visit the DVDVR merch thread more we’ve been posting pics and shit.
I’m only there for monthly wrestling pics and sometimes the discussion page!
Local Wal-Marts here still have the first wave. I will get that Rey Rey.