Unsigned legends...wwe's choice or talents?

I'm hoping Cornette will work a deal because in the last couple weeks he said he has another figure in the works, but isn't planning anymore. Says he's getting too old for the lead time and doesn't want his wife stuck with the figures if something happens to him.

I believe Jim cornette commented once on it or it may have been hall of fame - my memory is fuzzy but I think that he said legends contracts (this might have changed since now they’re called something different) had built into them an element of public appearances (maybe things like access etc), potential tv appearances such as one offs etc and he didn’t want to sign up to that.

Maybe people who are older, settled etc don’t want that hassle and are happy to sit by and get lower numbers with the indie companies etc

I actually think the "Lack of New Legends" narrative is a little overblown. I think it feels that way cause we got so many re-releases but just look back at 2023. We Got:

Rick Steiner
Scott Steiner
Shelton Benjamin
Eric Bischoff
Torrie Wilson
Samu
Brother Love
Paul E Dangerously (IF you want to count him)
Zeus
Muhammad Ali
Gobbledy Gooker

That's really not all that bad of a year at all in terms of first time in the line legends.

And we have some new characters lined up for 2024 like Terry Gordy, Lou Albano, Peter Maivia, John Cone, Nicholas. The Sultan is technically a new character at least

Given how little names are left to choose from, I don't think they have done a bad job at all making whoever they have the capability of making. So it sure isn't on Mattel's end, I would guess it is on the talent's end or some legal crap.

Sting fans may or may not want to hear this (I am a Sting fan), but from what I've seen & heard - Sting very much views all of this as a job. He clocks in, does his job, & clocks out. If you watch his WWE DVD, they have him sit & view some of his classic matches & he remarks that this is the first time he's sat and watched them, EVER. Wrestling is his JOB. It's all BUSINESS to Sting.

The times I've met Sting he was very quiet; not very conversational. And I worked an autograph signing where - when the advertised 3 hours was up - he picked up and left. There were still people waiting in line, some kids cried. It was sad.

Not knocking Sting, I'm a huge fan. I have almost every Sting figure they've made. I suspect Sting will go along with whatever company is willing to pay him what he feels he is worth. If WWE offers him a lucrative deal, he'd probably sign. Right now - AEW is offering him a deal that suits him just fine.

From the wrestlers that I've spoken with (and I've spoken with quite a few)..... and I'm trying to word this diplomatically......

The WWE Legends Contract isn't all that lucrative.... and in fact, sometimes it actually LIMITS them from accepting other deals/bookings where they could make money. A few have told me that the wrestler actually sees very little of the action figure money. For example, the Legends contract wouldn't just cover action figures, but probably all merch such as T-shirts. Once a talent is signed with WWE they aren't typically allowed to sell T-shirts on PWtees, where they might stand to make more money than the small percentage WWE would pay them.

I'll never forget chit-chatting with Jeff Jarrett at a convention, we were standing next to each other looking at a merch table covered with figures.... he pointed to the Brian Pillman Elite & said "that's nice, when did they make that?" I told him it was a couple years old..... then I asked him if we'd be seeing a Jeff Jarrett Mattel figure (this was recently after his Hall of Fame induction)..... he actually put his arm around me (it was slightly weird but cool) and said "Not..... part...... of the deal." Reading between the lines..... it wasn't worth it for him to sign that agreement with WWE.

During the period where Karrion Kross was fired from WWE, he told me that Scarlett was making far more money on her "Fans" website than anything WWE was paying them so financially they had zero worries.

I also worked on an Independent wrestling show that advertised D-Von Dudley, but D-Von had to pull out because WWE wouldn't allow him to appear. D-Von had been working for WWE as a producer at the time, he has since left WWE.

Look at Sting/AEW figures.... I'm now hearing from someone who has a hand in AEW merch that they can't do Surfer Sting figures because of some sort of lock that WWE has in that IP. So Sting lost out by signing his WWE deal. Take it with a grain of salt, but that's what I heard from my inside "buddy."

I have seen some wrestlers recently getting "Nostalgia" contracts, I suspect those are smaller scale but also likely less-limiting as far as exclusivity. Perhaps we'll see some headway with the Nostalgia contracts...

There were also all those wrestlers involved in a lawsuit against WWE (I think Demolition was part of that). It makes sense that WWE wouldn't try to market/promote/pay individuals who are actively suing the company.

So.... various reasons. It's between WWE and the entertainers. Now that WWE is under new ownership, it's entirely possible that these contract structures will change - or maybe it won't.

I guess I don't read too much into it one way or the other.  I know plenty of musicians who don't listen to their own recordings or actors who don't care to watch their film beyond the premier.  I don't know that it has anything to do with time or money, per se.  But if you were there, doing it, in the moment, you have a much different relationship with it than a fan who wants to watch back their favorite matches.