WWE Retro - General Discussion

I think the real test is how things develop

For longevity I think we need a ring (the initial one was fine but I think mattel could improve it tenfold - cloth skirt like the hasbro prototype, a better option for removing the table than having a gaping hole, a big blue cage etc)

I’d love to see say a teal tights HBK with the orange ladder like the network spotlight from Summer slam. A few accessories could really help longevity. Maybe a couple of pegs on the ladder so the figures could be posed there.

The WM carts they did for macho and Andre were great, retro scaled ones would be huge imo as people would buy to use with hasbros and not just retros

Since it’s a Mattel creations line really the possibilities are endless without having to please retailers

It’ll be interesting to see how Mattel tackle guys who have multiple looks that need covering given how limited the number of figures they can release in the line really is, even if the tag team sets at Ringside become an ongoing line.

Someone like Davey Boy Smith we’ve talked about before needing:

i. Biker shorts unbraided hair
ii. Allied Powers (since we have Luger)
iii. Short hair heel (really needs both Camp Cornette long-tights and Hart Foundation trunks, but the latter is more important of the two)

That takes Bulldog from New Generation into the Attitude Era, which I think we all agree is the prime time we want to see represented.

That leaves-out jeans Bulldog deeper into the Attitude Era and SummerSlam 92, which is obviously a favourite look for manufacturers.

Mattel might also want to do a Bulldogs Davey Boy, but with Epic Toys being pretty well placed to actually release a Bulldogs tag set (compared to the Daveys previously announced by Chella, who knows what’s going to happen there) then that should be far down the list.

So what do they do? They can’t really justify giving three spots to any one guy, so who do they make? Do they go with the shorts Bulldog that Hasbro surely would have made in the next couple of series after the orange cards? Do they complete the Allied Powers? But then what about short hair Davey? That might be the single most important one to do if they only do one. Whichever one they choose will leave gaps.

A similar thing could be argued with Shawn Michaels: the ‘92 puncher seems a lock, but we also need a mid-90s HBK either as IC or WWF champ, and then into the early Attitude Era DX Shawn.

We already have a DX Triple H, but we need a Hunter Hreast Helmsley, and can we really ignore The Game Triple H? Or if they do a DX tag set after the nWo set then they’d really need to include him since he is the constant, so another ‘98 face DX Triple H in a set with Chyna?

We all have amazing set ideas, but the reality of working within the constraints must be frustrating.

I'm starting to think some of you guys don't actually know what the color teal looks like.

I was thinking about this just the other day, I really would love to see a crowd-funded retro project.  I'm okay with it being a much-smaller scale obviously than the Ultimate rings, but give us a little arena set up with an exclusive figure or two I think that would be really popular.  Even if they just gave us a couple new options for rings I'd be ecstatic.  The top rope on mine started to sag a bit a couple years ago I'd really like a chance at a minty one, I agree with those saying it's a long-shot though. 

Mattel will know now directly how many Retros collectors there are so should have a decent base to estimate the amount of support such a project could generate.

They could reasonably estimate that our customer base might have higher budgets but they’d still need to game how much of the existing $60 customer base they could expect to respond to say a $300 price point.

And then whatever lessons they’ve learned from the Ultimate line crowd-funder, it would be interesting to know the internal discussions at Mattel about such a thing.

But to me the most important thing would be that any figures they included such have the traditional carding, like the Ultimate figures did. Though I guess there’s the opportunity to put them in plastic bags in homage to the mailaways?

I have a hard time seeing how they could justify a price tag reminiscent of the New Gen Arena for a retro project.  The retro ring retailed for about $20, if you add a figure or two, ideally some kind of electronics, I can see it getting into the $100 range, but they'd have to give me the entire Manhattan Center to justify $200-300.  

I do agree though that the way to really make this a coveted item would be to include one or two of those iconic non-wrestlers.  Bobby Heenan, Brother Love, Howard Finkel all mentioned would be incredible, as would a Monsoon, could we possibly ever get a Vince?  I agree that I'd rather they be carded figures, but I could easily see them paying homage to the mailaways.

You’re 1000% spot on here. Retros are my favorite line, but they don’t need over the top detailed sets. I would like to see a new ring with a different color. Maybe yellow or purple. This time they need to give us the belt. If they want it to include figures, pack it with Danny Davis and Howard Finkel. It would be icing on the cake if they made the flag. 

Fixed up my Bret:

Re-carded a few more Retros plus a ZST tonight:

Hart Foundation looks so much better w/changed out glasses on Bret and 90/91 card photo.