WWE Retro - General Discussion

That’s an incomplete picture. This line definitely gets the least amount of attention without question - that part is true. But Mattel has a history of going silent when things aren’t going well. It happened to this line once before. Steve championed this line and worked hard towards making it a reality again. But now, for various reasons, he is on here considerably less than before. That doesn’t spell out the end for the line but he is/was pretty much the only voice we have behind this line.

Secondly, the lack of RSC exclusive retros this year shouldn’t be ignored. We might see some at SDCC…or we might not. Hard to speculate. But this time a year ago, we already had nWo in hand.

There is a lot of criticism that gets launched at Mattel for some of what we have seen take place in this line: questionable choice for molds and bad head sculpts are probably the most common offenders. But there is also a feeling amongst collectors that this line could disappear at any time (like it did before) and therefore they want as many missing pieces as they can get. However, the Mattel strategy often seems to go against that. I’m not saying they are outright stringing people along as much as possible but many were not clamoring for Cowboy Bob, Volkoff, Wendi Richter, or Phantom Undertaker. All decent figures but considerably less desirable to the majority (I assume).

It makes sense in order to have a “theme” for each set. It’s probably far easier to market it that way too. It potentially keeps the line going longer which I appreciate (if that is working). I can’t image how poorly a Phantom Taker, Cowboy Bob, Richter, and Volkoff set would sell on its own. We would probably be like “Retros have jumped the shark; they’re out of good ideas!” Though I agree that I want more of the names people have been asking for for years, I’m not completely against including these less-desirable names.

Reusing parts is just good business sense. The line wouldn’t continue without it. There have been a few new molds used here and there which is fantastic to have more choices but I will not give them a pass on how bad some of the faces have looked. Not a majority but definitely several fell short. I have been saying it for a while now and I will continue saying it until changes are made: the heads on the Superstars line are closer to what the Retros should look like. That line is so much closer to the quality that I have been wanting and hoping for. I don’t want anyone to lose their job as a designer - or maybe this is a team effort - but this is one area in which Mattel can really step up their game. I say that as a someone who has always and will always support this line. But just because you love something doesn’t mean you can’t discuss its shortcomings and I think that is what a lot of in this thread are doing. It would be nice to see people post more positive things - share their setups and their collections. Discuss their favorite figures. No argument about that.