Brand Profile - WWE

The main event

As Cardiff prepares to welcome the first WWE UK stadium show in 30 years, Sam Giltrow chats to WWE’s Vice President of Licensing & Retail Consumer Products, Carl Lawrence, to find out what the big event will mean for the brand, and toy retailers.

Almost a $1b global brand at retail, WWE is a heavyweight when it comes to licences, and it’s sure to get even bigger in the UK with the staging of the first UK stadium show in 30 years.

Taking place on 3rd September at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, WWE Clash at The Castle is set to attract viewers from around 1b households worldwide and follows the hugely successful SummerSlam 1992, held at Wembley Stadium. Three decades on and the evergreen brand has amassed many new viewers, while also holding the appeal of the many fans who have continued to follow WWE action over the years.

“It’s very much a diverse and generational audience – many adults are now bringing their children into the franchise,” says Carl Lawrence, VP of Licensing & Retail Consumer Products – International, WWE.

He tells Toy World that a staggering 59,000 fans signed up within 24 hours of the opening of the pre-sale ticket registration in April and is predicting a “real buzz” when WWE takes over Cardiff city centre for the event.

WWE Clash at the Castle, which will be broadcast live worldwide, will feature all of the top WWE Superstars including the British contingent, led by Scottish WWE Superstar and the 1st ever British WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre.

Although there has not been a big stadium show in the UK for 30 years, there have still been continuous live tours across the UK and Europe. In addition, Carl describes WWE as a “content powerhouse”, with programming running 52 weeks a year. “The September event will bring a moment to the UK fanbase that will elevate us and give us more reach than ever before,” he adds.

Over the past couple of years, the TV landscape has changed in the UK and WWE is now shown on Channel 5’s free-to-air 5ACTION on week nights and weekend morning slots, while BT Sport continues to offer the wider live programming. Carl says: “Those changes have really brought a new audience to WWE, it’s now more accessible to everyone in the country.”

WWE also has more than 1b social media followers across 16 platforms, with WWE being the second mostwatched sports brand in the world across social media platforms, behind only the UEFA Champions League. YouTube has also been powerful in driving content, with WWE the seventh most viewed YouTube channel in the world, with more than 66b lifetime views.

It is this huge, dedicated following which has made the brand so strong, and helped it amass more than 100 licensees in consumer products, including a strong presence in the toy category.

Mattel has been WWE global master toy partner for over 10 years and last October the company announced a multi-year extension of its global master toy licensing agreement with WWE, including exclusive rights around action figures, action figure accessories and kids’ toy title Championships.

Since 2009, Mattel and WWE have developed a diverse portfolio of toys which are currently available in more than 50 global markets, and WWE Action Figures have ranked as the number one action figure property in the US and consistently hold a top ranking around the world.

Carl says Mattel has experienced huge growth with its range of action figures and collectibles, particularly in the last two years, as has Funko which produces its collectible Pop! and Pop! T-shirts with mini Pop! across a mixture of legends and current talent, featuring key moments in WWE history.

“Mattel and Funko really have had impressive growth in the last two years,” said Carl. “You can’t beat how a child can watch WWE and its storyline and then recreate that in toy format. WWE has this amazing connection between the show itself and how you can re-enact that in play patterns.”

“Funko is proud to partner with WWE in bringing fans a constantly renewing catalogue of their favourite WWE Superstars and Legends. We’ve seen encouraging growth in our line of WWE Pop! offerings at Funko and we’re excited to see the continuing evolution of our partnership in the coming years,” Lucy Salisbury, senior Licensing manager EMEA at Funko, tells Toy World.

Carl adds that some of the recent success of Mattel with WWE has come from its extended play pattern. “It’s historically been action figures and a ring purchase, but we’ve introduced vehicles these past couple of years . We have integrated these vehicles into storylines, followed by the toy release.”

The toy vehicles started with a Slam Mobile, a red car which was put into the WWE storyline with one of the Superstars tearing it apart as part of the show. This has now been followed with recreations of a motorcycle, “slambulance” and quad bike, which can all be torn apart and put back together.

This month will also see Panini launch its first WWE sticker collection, with over 400 stickers, to be distributed by Click Distribution. This will be followed with a trading card collection set to launch in August, timed for the September stadium show.

“We have aspired to become a WWE licensing partner for a long time, and so we are extremely excited to be able to deliver to fans around the world an extended publishing programme,” said Panini Group licensing director Peter Warsop.

Carl says the pandemic has not hindered WWE’s growth. In fact it has had quite the opposite effect, as WWE managed to carry on producing content even in the height of lockdown, with filming taking place in the WWE Thunderdome, a bio-secure bubble with fans able to attend virtually.

There are nearly 250 WWE Superstars across the four main programmes - Raw, SmackDown, NXT 2.0 and NXT UK. WWE also recently announced an American collegiate development programme, NIL, to find the best talent from across different sports. This, Carl says, ensures that WWE maintains its freshness, which is vital to keep fans coming back for more and ensuring its popularity.

We ask Carl what it is about WWE that makes it so popular with fans. “It’s the storyline element of the property,” he explains. “WWE is all about storytelling – it’s the protagonist and the antagonist and it’s no different to a movie or TV series, only with the conflicts settled in a ring. It’s the theatre, it’s the drama, it’s the entrance walks, the music, the whole atmosphere and not knowing what’s going to happen. It’s also falling in love with a character, whether they are a goodie or a baddie.”

Following the pandemic, WWE returned to live events in the UK in September and November last year with 12 shows across the two tours. It has also restarted character events at toy shops and recently took WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura to Smyths Toys Charlton in London to meet and greet fans. “It’s great to be able to do these character visits again for the fans,” says Carl.

Mattel has produced a new Rig (truck) as a Smyths Toys exclusive, and WWE is planning on having a lifesize Rig outside the Principality Stadium in September with talent available for meet and greets. “There will be a real buzz and a Cardiff takeover ,” enthuses Carl. “We are taking over the whole city, and it will be a chance to see WWE as its peak for the first time in 30 years. We can’t wait.”

Support for retailers

WWE supports its partners at retail in multiple ways: by helping to pitch for product listings, providing POS, giving access to WWE Superstars and supporting with many of the WWE touch points, including social and digital support.

It provides access to over 250 WWE Superstars by providing meet and greets in stores, video call competitions and piece to cameras showcasing product. It can also provide competition tickets to the WWE Live events, so consumers have their chance to attend a live show. WWE also provides access to its social channels, including both WWE’s main page and WWE Superstar accounts.

“We continually update retail displays with our extensive asset bank, creating best in class displays which can be seen in many retailers such as Smyths Toys, The Entertainer, B&M and Midco Toys - we do our utmost to support everyone,” says Carl Lawrence, vice president of Licensing & Retail Consumer Products – International, WWE. “We believe we go above and beyond to support both our licensees and retailers and offer vital support to the trade.”

During the recent WWE Live shows that took place in the UK in Newcastle on 28th April and London on 29th April, fans at Smyths Toys had the chance to meet WWE Superstars for the first time since the pandemic. Despite some strict Covid regulations, both stores had over 200 fans queuing for a photo and autograph.

Mattel and WWE look forward to another great year in 2023

Mattel has enjoyed a rich and long-standing relationship with WWE since 2009, with the partnership producing a diverse and exciting portfolio of toys, which is seeing strong year on year growth. Mattel’s WWE Basic Action Figure Series is the longest-running continuous action figure assortment in history, and the brand has received impressive support from retailer partners across the board, from the specialist channel to the grocers, as well as online. With WWE Clash at the Castle coming to Cardiff, Wales this September, the momentum continues to build.

Michael Hick, vice president and general manager for Mattel, explains: “We have an amazing history with WWE and were delighted when our licensing agreement was extended in October last year. As a global licensing partner, we have created a collection that surprises and delights fans, bringing the WWE Superstars to life through action figures, as well as action figure accessories and kids’ toy title championships.”

This year’s Mattel range allows fans to bring home the action with its WWE Figure Assortment. Kids can play out their favourite matches in Superstar scale with the 6-inch WWE Basic Figure Assortment. The range also includes the WWE Elite Collection; highly detailed action figures for kids and collectors to reimagine memorable WWE moments. Each highly articulated Superstar figure features True FX technology and authentic ring gear with iconic accessories.

WWE vehicles have been a new segment since the Wrekkin Slam Mobile launched in 2018, adding more variety and fun to the WWE play pattern. Since the successful launch, multiple vehicles have followed, with support from WWE in the form of content integration into the weekly episodes of Raw and SmackDown. Real life versions of the Slam Mobile, Slambulance, Slam Cycle and, most recently, the Wrekkin ATV have all featured in WWE programming, alongside top WWE Superstars such as Drew McIntyre, Big E & Randy Orton.

This year, fans can drive or destroy the Wrekkin ATV, which has real rolling wheels and breakaway pieces and includes a 6-inch Big E basic action figure with 10 points of articulation, TrueFX enhanced facial detailing for life-like authenticity and realistic ring gear. Fans can extend the Wrekkin play with the new colourway of the WWE Wrekkin Slam Mobile which comes with The Rock figure. More fresh product will launch in autumn/winter, including a brand new figure series and Wrekkin Rig playset for fans to wreak havoc and recreate iconic scenes.

Michael continues: “We are really excited about the upcoming WWE Clash at the Castle stadium event in Cardiff, Wales. This is a fantastic way to connect with the WWE Universe and the excitement that the event brings for the brand is a great opportunity for retailers to get behind the WWE toy range. We will be creating best in class retail activities to take advantage of this moment with our retail partners.”

WWE gives unprecedented access to its Superstars, including bespoke content as well as in person retailer activations. With tickets for WWE Live shows and both virtual and physical meet and greets, the brand works to bring the full WWE experience to retailers and fans in a fun and creative way.

Mattel will be utilising all these tools to exploit the brand to its full potential with exciting and dynamic marketing plans to capitalise on WWE Clash at the Castle, including in game video and YouTube, plus some break frame retailer activations such as increased dynamic, premium retail space and even a life- sized Rig.