Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
An "Unsanctioned" Interview With Ringside Tom
91 Plays4 days ago
We interview Tom from Ringside Collectibles to get the scoop on everything that went into bringing the Unsanctioned figure line to life!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey Foley fam, we're proud to bring you an interview today with Tom Sanford, Senior Creative Director at Ringside Collectibles. We're going discussing the launch of the brand new unsanctioned line and what's coming next from Ringside Collectibles.
00:00:13
Speaker
Tom was very candid with us on everything that went into bringing this line to life and we think you guys are really going to love what he has to say about the future of an unsanctioned. Enjoy.
00:00:27
Speaker
All right. So, Tom, why don't you start with a little icebreaker? Tell the listeners a little bit about yourself and what you do at Ringside Collectibles. So I'm Tom. Tom from Ringside, as many know. Dramatico, as many other know others know. I am Senior Director of Creative and Production at Ringside Collectibles. And i love Ringside Collectibles.
00:00:49
Speaker
Been... working on and off for the company since 2008. And I get to work on all the wrestling action figures that come in all of ringsides branding, all of ringsides, uh, content on social media. And and now the newly announced and extremely exciting RSC unsanctioned classic superstars line coming direct to everyone from ah RSC toys.
00:01:14
Speaker
So that's me right there in a few words. Yeah. I was, I was going to ask you how long you've been there. because it feels like forever, man. I feel like I don't remember a time on like, you know, like the wrestling figure forums or anything where it's like, you know, you haven't been there.
00:01:24
Speaker
So, uh, I knew it had been a while. Yeah, for sure. It's a wild thought, but it was around two, was towards the end of 2008. My first ringside fest was with, uh, Ric Flair and, um, Funny enough, my first day working with Ringside, I had dinner with Road Warrior Animal because he was also booked for that. So it's...
00:01:41
Speaker
Coming a little full circle for me with unsanctioned now coming out. Yeah. I refuse to believe ah that like 2008 was like, you know, almost 20 years ago. Like that just like, but that that blows my mind. sure you do refuse to believe that. And I also refuse to believe it, but unfortunately, i don't know if either of us are right about that.
00:02:01
Speaker
We're not, we're not getting any younger. Yeah. It's unfortunate. Yeah.
Collector Community Insights
00:02:05
Speaker
So be honest with us, man. The WrestleFigs forums, is it a love-hate relationship or is it just a hate-hate relationship, man? Because I know that's some of the most hardest of the hardcore, like impossible-to-please collectors out there. I'm one of them. I've been on those forums a long time, man.
00:02:20
Speaker
So what is it like? Because I know you're you're like the the main man. you you know Sheena's not on the forums quite as much as I am, but you know Tom, he's like President Jack Tunney, right? Anytime a thread's starting to get a little unruly and out of control, it's like he's coming in to lay the hammer down and and restore order on the on the floor even that you're making me sound a little more uh like kind of uh altruistic than i am know i don't know i'm that much of a hero on the forums but i i you know and i'm i lose my patience i get it but also i totally understand i love i love the forums i've been going on since i you know first joined ringside i understand people have been there even longer than me uh and i that
00:03:00
Speaker
I really think like as far as forums go, like there's nothing else like wrestling figs with any other toy line across like almost all toy lines. I've seen other message boards. like I'm also a big like Ninja Turtles fan, and like I'm into those toys a lot.
00:03:16
Speaker
they don't They don't nearly have the same thing that we do with wrestling figs. So I wouldn't i would say like love and maybe a little bit of hate, and but it becomes kind of like self-hatred because I need to learn to just let certain things go.
00:03:27
Speaker
Oh, yeah. so Trust me. I know when you have any sort of like online presence, you have to just learn to like, you know, release some of the the things that the things that come through there. So were you a collector as a kid? So like what were you know what were you doing that you know was like, hey, you know what? I want to go work for ringside collectibles. How did that all kind
Tom's Journey in Collectibles
00:03:43
Speaker
of come to be? Yeah, I was a collector as a kid. You know, I didn't get into wrestling until a later age.
00:03:48
Speaker
So more like around high school, like was for me, like my age at high school time was right when the attitude era was really like exploding, like middle school to high school. And so that was a really exciting time. And I was buying like Jax figures and stuff like that. But when I was younger, I had like real Ghostbusters, and Ninja Turtles, like all the Toy Biz stuff, like Marvel, um some DC stuff here and there, like just anything I could find.
00:04:17
Speaker
i also love those kind of like weird, obscure toy lines that were just randomly out there. Like one of my favorites is... the, uh, the Adams family cartoon, like, you know, just knowing that like kind of just those random small cartoons had figure lines. I've always thought that was really cool because I used to, used to just see something I liked and get it.
00:04:37
Speaker
And, you know, I wasn't so much like I need every figure in this set, but like, I had a lot of variety when I was buying toys like as a kid and stuff like that. And I love them all for sure. It seemed like the bar to get stuff like on the on the shelf back in those days was so much lower because I remember having some really awesome toys from like the Beetlejuice cartoon, like the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure cartoon. Had some really cool ones like there was just.
00:05:00
Speaker
If you had like the tiniest bit of following, like you would get shell space. and Unless you're like poke yeah unless you're Pokemon or WWE or like Mario nowadays, you're not getting, you're getting in there. Well, you know, the, the cost structure I'm sure on all these is completely different. And right. You know, it's a lot more expensive. yeah Inflation is one thing, but like it,
00:05:17
Speaker
I feel like the price has gone up a little, a little bit. Oh yeah. 100%. Yeah. Which is good. Cause they're made for collectors and kids and then, you know, they're not a necessity, but they kind of are. Cause we need them. I know I do. Oh yeah. Right. So, uh, And shelf space is more limited. We don't, we don't have any dedicated toy stores anymore. You know what I mean? and So shelf shelf space is super, is super limited. And you're like, it's thinking about like, you know, the targets and the Walmarts and, and things like that. So yeah, they're going to stick with what, what they know is going to get out of there, which I understand. But you know, as a, as a collector and as a, you know, person who has kids who I want to be like, you know, collectors and into toys, like, yeah, you're like, dude, I've seen these same toys at Walmart for
Online vs. Physical Toy Stores
00:05:56
Speaker
the last 10 years. oh know and And I think that's kind of one of the things that I like the most about being at ringside is like,
00:06:02
Speaker
that kind of online toy store model and thing and the existence of that especially as specialized as like kind of hyper specialized is this like if you're a wrestling fan almost more like I said I don't you know i don't want to like toot my own horn, but or our own, all tu to baby you do a little bit. Sure.
00:06:20
Speaker
Toot toot. If you're a wrestling fan, like you, you, it's a great time to be a wrestling toy collector. Like you have never been better options at the moment. And, uh, you know, if you're into like a specialized toy like that, it can get really expansive online. And I think we really kind of prove that. So I, I like to think of it that way.
00:06:43
Speaker
Speaking of wrestling figure toys, so we're we're going to jump into the meat
Launch of New Wrestling Figures
00:06:46
Speaker
and potatoes. So the cat is out of the bag. These figures have been blowing up social media. um And the initial run has sold out. And you guys are currently taking back orders, which is just bananas, right?
00:06:57
Speaker
um So, ah you know, we know most everyone is familiar by now. But in case, you know, anyone has been under a rock for the past week, um you know, just give us the elevator pitch for the unsanctioned wrestling figure line. RSC unsanctioned classic superstars, the debut figures, a surprise. It's a two pack of road warrior Hawk and road warrior animal. Now we haven't seen road warrior figures at kind of the modern scale in I think it's like... It's been a while. like Nine years. Nine years. Yeah. Yeah, it's 2014 to 2015 when they were available. and And those were great, but they've been they're kind of long in the past at this point, unless you got the the cheese to throw out to the secondary market, which I know know... The secondary market's insane. It sure is. And nobody really loves to do that.
00:07:39
Speaker
ah So with that in mind, I want to make sure that we're getting some figures out that really excite people. It was one thing to, it's one thing to, you know, for us to be able to put up a a pre-order and whatnot. But I was thinking like, you know, this is an all new wrestling figure line. Let's, let's just like go all out with the excitement and let's see if we can just drop this for everyone and, and see how everyone feels to a week from one week to the next week.
00:08:07
Speaker
not have Road Warriors figures in the modern era and then suddenly have them. And that was such an exciting thing. was insane. Yeah, how did that, what did you guys think about that? Oh, it was, so, you know, we went from just like having a graphic, we were like, oh crap, you know, and like the speculation was running wild. You know, what is this RSC unsanctioned classic superstars? Like what's scale are they going to be? Who is it going to be? What are we talking here?
00:08:28
Speaker
And um then it was just like the figures were here and it was like everybody just lost their minds, you know? So it was, and and the fact that it was, you know, the road warriors beloved, I mean, arguably the best tag team of all time. And we haven't had modern figures of them in so long. Like,
00:08:42
Speaker
It was just electric and awesome. And I am all for more of this. Like, have the figures in hand. Do a surprise hot drop. Like, you know, let them sell out. Like, that's what's so fun. I just think it was so fun. i know there were people that were disappointed that they didn't get them right away. But, like, I think that's part of the fun as, like, a collector is just, like, having that adrenaline and that excitement. you know because we don't really have the thrill of the hunt as much anymore. For sure. For sure. pre-orders and like, you know, the stores, some, some people in certain regions are like hit or miss. They never have anything in their store. So having something like this to get that adrenaline pumping was like so exciting. And we've been conditioned also with these, especially with the more like niche lines like this, uh, that you're gonna have to have wait, right? Like, you know, like love what the Powertown guys are doing those figures are amazing.
00:09:24
Speaker
But, you know, you're you're putting your money down and and you forget about the figures by the time they come in. To put a contrast there. So we got this package in today. um Just revealed. What was it? Thursday last week. Yeah. And um at the same time, I got the ah the zombie sailor toy CM Punk retro figure that I preordered, I think, February last year. yeah Came in on the same day. so Yeah, for sure. Both sides of the coin, which I love that those lines exist. But yeah, the the surprise drop like that was just a great way to kick off the line. and And I'll tell you, you know, we have our our Patreon exclusive a Facebook group, which is like some of the hardest of the hardcore collectors. Right. like these are These are the weirdos that are on WrestleFig's forums at 2 in the morning arguing about you know what biceps piece Mattel used for this guy as opposed to another one.
00:10:07
Speaker
and ah And I think you know just being the kind of you know folks are cynical nowadays. I think people were kind of anticipating to be slightly let down you know just because that feels like that's what we ended up getting a lot of times nowadays with surprises in the wrestling world.
00:10:20
Speaker
Uh, but they were blown away, man. Our group was just going nuts. Couldn't get enough of these, man. Like Sheena said, we had some folks that were salty that missed out on the initial batch. Uh, so I, I, you know, from everything I've seen, these are are smash hit.
00:10:31
Speaker
That's awesome. I'm glad to hear that, uh, everyone in your patron liked it. That's that rules that it gets such a strong reaction from your, uh, viewpoint. I think, uh, I wanted to definitely at least with the launch of the line, build that kind of excitement. So I, you know, who knows, maybe it won't be as exciting the the next drop that we do, uh, because now everyone knows what the line is, but I'm hoping it will be. i mean, I want to continue that, that same kind of energy and, uh,
00:10:59
Speaker
and make people pumped for it to keep going, you know? um Right. So do you think this is going to be more like ah a regular release schedule or are you guys planning to like continue like the surprise drop strategy or kind of like maybe a combination of both?
Development Process & Quality Focus
00:11:11
Speaker
it's It's a good question. It may be, I would say I would lean more air on the the side of caution and say that it's a, might be a combination of both. Like, can I sit here and tell you we're never going to have an RSC unsanctioned pre-order? I can't say that.
00:11:25
Speaker
But what i what I could say is that like the drop worked out really well. I love the excitement that it brought. Seems to me that everyone that went through it liked it, except those that didn't get it. And now that they know what the line is, they know what to expect. And, you know, next time we have like a week in advance tease or whatever, whatever way we decide to do it, like you can be a little more aware of, of what's coming and kind of go with it that way, I think.
00:11:48
Speaker
So Yeah. and And real quick, just to, you you know, you mentioned some of those other like those other lines out there and our strategy is is our strategy. Right. and And it's not to I have no nothing but good things to say about like every other line out there that gets produced because it's so difficult to do it at the level that I'm doing it. It's I know from friends that work at, you know, the the the major toy companies that it's challenging for them. And I know from friends in the indie lines, like it's also challenging. It's even more challenging for them. Yeah.
00:12:25
Speaker
So, you know, thankfully I'm not in quite in a position where I have to like pack boxes myself, but everything other than that, like I can at the moment anyway, But I can relate to all those difficulties. And I, to me, the more lines out there and going through this, the better. I say like, just everyone that's like, give it a shot and and keep keeping trying. Keep at it. That's what i that's how I feel. I don't, I don't like this, man. We, we wanted heel Tom. I want you to come on here and just, just dunk on the other toy line. Yeah. Zombie power town. We're coming for you next. yeah I got a giant box of big rubber guys that I set on fire.
00:13:04
Speaker
Yeah. No, I'm right there with you, man. I try to tell that to people, too. When I see some of the complaints online, I'm like, dude, I get it. Some of the stuff is frustrating with the different things. I couldn't even imagine. You know, we've done some small merch drops. We've done some collaborations with Chalk Line stuff. And even that when we're collaborating with a third party, getting stuff out, it's it's ridiculously challenging. So I couldn't imagine designing figures from the ground up. And I tell folks like, just be happy these lines exist, man. Like 10 years ago, were beholden to whatever, you know, the main companies were putting out. And now there's so many options out there. So, you know, think the minor frustrations that pop up from time to time are definitely worth Because at the end of the day, we just want to get more great figures. Yeah. And I think a lot of people forget, too, that like we're most all of these indie companies have come about in the post-COVID world. We're like manufacturing and shipping and everything is just totally changed from what it was even like eight, nine years ago. Right. Big companies have challenges. Yeah, even the big companies have challenges. So trying to do this on a small scale is just like, you know, I mean, I commend those guys for putting in the work and doing all of that because I can't even imagine the headache that they go through, you know, and even you guys at a larger scale, like, you know, the headache that you guys go through to make us make this possible for us. So I got headaches. All right.
00:14:16
Speaker
I got them. I bet you do. Yeah, but it's all right. You know, it's it's worth it in the end. Like the the the reaction that these the road warriors got, it's it's I couldn't have been more pleased with that. And and I'm pumped that so many people like them.
00:14:30
Speaker
Yeah. I bet it's a huge weight off your shoulders. just I mean, you know, obviously there's still, there's still more work to be done, but just like after getting this initial launch off the ground. constant yeah Yeah, exactly. So knowing what we know about figures and like how, like the development and all of the things, right. Like how long has this been in development? These unsanctioned, has manner sorry you know, I couldn't give you like an exact timeframe on that only because I just don't,
00:14:53
Speaker
it's, you know, it's, it's, it's been a little, show yeah, it's a little fuzzy. It's been a little that time flies You know, when the bell to bell figures started ah getting released, we had a little development time on those. And I've been advocating for like unsanctioned to get released, you know, sooner rather than later. And right. Took a little bit of work, obviously in the beginning, when you're just kind of kicking it off, you want to make sure you're getting everything right. And a huge part of this for me, and I feel like a little bit of a broken record since these came out, but like,
00:15:22
Speaker
making sure scale was on point with everyone's all already massive and expansive collections was, I can't like stress enough how important that was to me. Like making sure that you're not going to just, as I as i want to make sure that I say, like i'm I'm not a mock collector. I'm somebody that collects loose. And when I have something on the shelf,
00:15:46
Speaker
I don't mind mixing up brands and genres like me personally. That's how we are. A lot of people do, but, uh, you know, the people that do, okay, you're going to have a separate shelf anyway, but the people that don't, I think they're playing with them a little more. Like they're collecting them a little bit differently. What have you doing? Photography. and Right. Exactly. So with all that stuff in mind, like, are these figures going to be an eyesore with the rest of your collection? Like I wanted to avoid that from the start.
00:16:14
Speaker
And so, the work going into making sure that happened, you know, it was a little bit more upfront than it would be like, let's say now I don't anticipate the net, like the next figure drop is going to be a lot sooner than I think people realize it may not. Oh, that's awesome. It's not gonna be overnight, but you know, yeah i think,
00:16:32
Speaker
Number one priority for me is quality and number two is speed. And I'm not going to ah sacrifice number one to get to number two. Like I want to, I, that doesn't make speed not a priority for me, but quality quality comes first. Like,
00:16:48
Speaker
Absolutely. If you're paying for something, you definitely want to get what you're paying for. I mean, these are quality figures, man. Yeah, the price isn't bad either, man. The price is insane. I'm glad you like that too, yeah. It's very economical compared to some of the other prices we're paying out there, man. Like, yeah, I thought... I don't think it... Yeah, like said...
00:17:06
Speaker
The biggest thing, I saw so you know some minor like cosmetic complaints and stuff, man, but I don't think... But I mean, that's with all figures. Yeah, that's with all figures. Overall spirit of the line, like I don't see how any... This is kind of hater-proof to me.
00:17:18
Speaker
I'm glad you guys like it. that That makes me really happy. And, you know, especially as you kind of have it in your collection as time and goes on, i'm I'm hoping it fits right in. So,
Competitive Toy Industry Challenges
00:17:27
Speaker
yeah, it does. You know, and, you know, we have the um original LOD figures like the elites. And I mean, dude, it's I mean, these are awesome for the I mean, like you said, for the price, if you go back and get those which aren't as articulated as these like the the to shoulder pads on these are, I mean, to me look way better than the originals, right? Like they have so much more detail and whatnot.
00:17:47
Speaker
Um, but i mean, you're going to pay like over a hundred bucks per figure loose, you know, not, it not, you know what i mean? Not in a, not in package. You're going to pay a hundred dollars loose and you're getting both of these for, you know, under 60 bucks, which is just bananas. You know, that's a good thing. And that avoids, you know, this the secondary market has its pluses and minuses. Right. But at the same time, there's purists out there and we appreciate them too, but you know, All for it with the purists. I have those LOD figures too. I think they're great.
00:18:15
Speaker
I think I still think Mattel like does and has done a hell of a job this entire time. And but those ones in particular, they're like a snapshot in time, right? Like those are very specific looks that Mattel is able to produce and, you know, it works out perfectly for them.
00:18:32
Speaker
We're in a little bit different of a situation. i I do want to make sure that these fit in with your collection, whether it's like Mattel or Jazzwear or whoever you're collecting wrestling figures from. But at the same time, like it does have to have some integrity ah of its own, you know, kind of standing on its own two feet. So because of that, the looks they're going to be, you know, I, I've, I think I've been over explaining a little too much, like where the looks and stuff like that came from. And what I would say to everyone is just like,
00:19:01
Speaker
back up from expecting like specific looks, back up from expecting just like combined looks and let's just see what comes out next, you know? and Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So with that, like, you know, what are the parameters that you guys are working with under like with regards to talent and like, you know, is it like current status with AEW and WWE? Like, you know, and and as far as like the ring gear, like what's allowed and,
00:19:22
Speaker
You know, whatnot. Yeah, I think it's pretty, pretty simple and pretty clear to say that anything AEW or w WWE is off the table for us. So, you know, that kind of doesn't even come into
Creative Design Decisions
00:19:31
Speaker
it. um And then if there's like someone with a dual contract or whatever, we want to make sure we're not, ah you know, over encroaching on our own business with Mattel or our own business with Jax. Like, you know, what that may or may not be.
00:19:45
Speaker
There's no names that I can think of that we have ah that are in that situation at the moment, but you you never know what the future might bring. But the reality is this whole situation, it doesn't, There's no like, you know, a Supreme Court blueprint of wrestling action figure laws. And I think sometimes it can kind of seem that way. So what what I know is that, ah you know, we're not looking to just like straight up copy someone's intellectual property. But at the same time, like...
00:20:15
Speaker
I know that there's things that people do and don't want to see, and we're going to do our best to match what people's like wrestling figure expectations would be. I think that's the best way to explain it.
00:20:26
Speaker
So yeah, the road warriors kind of the perfect Guinea pigs for that because they've worn like matching gear. They've worn mismatch gear. They've worn like, you know, this kind of like label on their pads. They've had like this type, you know, I got a lot of heat for animals haircut. like I keep seeing that like over and over again. Like,
00:20:44
Speaker
well, you know, he's had that haircut on the Indies. He's not had it on the Indies. It's like mostly in WWE. wwe He had that haircut. We went with, we went with the straight up Mohawk. It's like, I didn't miss that haircut, but like when we find opportunities to do something that, which animals Mohawk rules, by the way, and it did that. yeah it It looks awesome. And it did that yeah first night I had dinner with him. he still had a cool Mohawk at that time. This is like,
00:21:09
Speaker
2008. if there are opportunities, we can like mix something up. I think that's, it's, it's probably a good choice to take that opportunity to avoid these things like not coming out or something or getting 100%, whatever you have. It's like, I would, i would rather get these in people's hands. And if you're a stickler for that kind of hair, like, you know, you can either jump to the old elites or,
00:21:31
Speaker
keep, keep your fingers crossed for the future. uh, this is, I mean, then the thing is, yeah, even if you nailed it and did exactly like, if you took a picture of a specific event and you did exactly what that people are going nitpick it and it apart. So, I mean, like you have to take that kind of stuff with a grain of salt, but, uh, yeah, that' okay and mean i'm I'm okay with that. And I, I'm not saying to anyone, like, don't complain or don't, uh, offer your opinions or what have you, but yeah this is what I look at and this is how it's getting developed. And I still think at the end of the day, like,
00:22:01
Speaker
ah different gear or not, like i'm I'm hoping that they still maintain that top quality and they still fit in with the rest of your figures. Yeah, I feel like we've just gotten spoiled over the years because i if you look back back in the history the history of wrestling figures, I mean, there's been so many made-up attires and wrestling figures and everything. mean, where it's just completely like, you know, this is not even close to what this person wore. Yeah, I was like, dude, he had his his boots were laced left over right, not right over left. I can't believe the detail. can't believe this lack of detail. Yeah.
00:22:32
Speaker
And I get it because, like I said, like that that point of ah being an eyesore on the shelf, like that can expand to like, You know, a collection of a thousand figures and it can get as as down to a detail as like you said, like the the the the laces on the boots.
00:22:49
Speaker
So if something bothers you, it bothers you. Like, I'm not going to sit here and say I'm not a person who's like gotten rid of rid of a figure because something about the detail is like driving me crazy.
00:23:00
Speaker
But yeah at the same time, like when you're producing it it's a little bit different. Like your, your options are more limited with respect to that. And you have to be, you have to think ahead too. You have to think like, how else am I going to be able to use this part and this mold? You know I mean? Like it's, it's not like, you know, every single figure has an individual like hand sculpt. You know what I mean? So it's like, you know, like mold costs, they're not cheap across the board, which is why it's such like, it's so challenging to do like an indie line. so challenging to an R line.
00:23:29
Speaker
challenging to do in the big lines. Like you have to budget out your costs. And if you blow all your mold costs on someone that, you know, has like this exactly specific body type, right. Like, you know, right down to like the,
00:23:43
Speaker
you know, the, the, the nipple or whatever, like youre're you're, you're, you're looking for trouble because then like you've spent all your money on nipples and you've spent, you can't spend any more of it on, you know, something new that might be just as cool.
00:23:55
Speaker
So it's a modern modern problem. It's definitely the clip that we're, don't spend all your money on nipples. That's going to be the name of this episode. You may blow all your money on nipples and not have money for something else. That's cool.
00:24:09
Speaker
ah So you kind of alluded to like, you know, these being the perfect guinea pigs. So what was the thought process behind Legion of Doom as the first choice? Well, unsanctioned classic superstars, right? We have RSC toys. Like everyone's like, who makes these Mattel jazzers? Nope. It's RSC toys. Like this is our brand new venture, like brand new toy company. Here we are.
00:24:29
Speaker
ah Here's the line unsanctioned RSC unsanctioned classic superstars. we have to like kick this off with a bang, right? This can't just be like, you know not that I want to knock any of the other available names out there, but the Road Warriors, without figures in nine years, like they're available to us. We can work on them.
00:24:48
Speaker
Seems like a no-brainer to me to you know launch it with As you said in the beginning, arguably the greatest tag team of all time, if not one of the greatest. I say, let's go for it.
Starting with the Road Warriors
00:25:00
Speaker
Let's get road warriors that look like they fit with your figure collections, regardless of which version you're going with or you're a big mix.
00:25:08
Speaker
And let's get out there with two of the most classic wrestling names you can think of. I can't think of anyone more classic than that. So. Yeah, I'd say these guys, they definitely kind of like they cross party lines. right like Everybody wants them. AEW fans, WWE fans.
00:25:22
Speaker
the Them and Demolition have kind of been like the Holy Grail of figures in the modern scale. and it sounds like Demolition may be creeping back towards getting back in WWE's good graces. so Seems like it. That's what it looks like to me, too. so you never you know I don't know. I'm interested to see what happens with them as well.
00:25:39
Speaker
If not, maybe coming soon to RSC unsanctioned. You never know. If I could if i can make you a promise right now, I would, but unfortunately I can't. I feel you, yeah. with as iconic as guy yeah As the Road Warriors have been, like they've had like so few figures. you know They had a battle pack, they had those the old, the black gear and the Legends line, and then The red ones back in, I think that was Elite 31. You know, we're up on ah Elite 116 now. So that's ah way in the rearview mirror for for guys that are, you know, just so toyetic. Yeah, for sure. Toyetic and also just like major names with respect to, you know, that's, it's it's it is a little like mind bending that such ah a huge popular tag team is not signed in that capacity, but it it benefited us.
00:26:22
Speaker
yeah We were able to, we had a lot of like excellent reference material. Bob Mulrennan, legendary wrestling figs photographer, also like one of the most legendary wrestling photographers ever to have lived. Unfortunately, he passed away a ah couple of years ago and he did not get to see the release of these figures, but he was like,
00:26:46
Speaker
just I can't stress enough how immensely helpful he was for me. like I said, Bob, you know we're doing Road Warriors. We need help. He's like, oh, I got you. He sends me a box and it's just like ah DVDs and just discs and discs of photos and just videos and matches of them.
00:27:04
Speaker
you know from they They were extremely active, right? Hawk and Animal, when they were not working for a wrestling company, when they were working for a wrestling company. Just all over the place, those two guys.
00:27:16
Speaker
so And he was there for a lot of it. So tons of different figures that we had from them, ah you know, U.S. based, like internationally, they've they've been up and down, left and right. and Bob's reference material was so helpful for me.
00:27:31
Speaker
There were other things we took into consideration, like, you know, usable reference material. And I just I appreciate. I love the red and black ones. And I know that that's like the classic road warrior style that everyone sees, but the silver variant, the international ones, I love those. You know, my, those are, they look awesome. My first jump into road warriors was the bone crunching superstars. Like when I've really started to love them for me, it was like LOD 2000, which I, yeah I know it's not everyone's favorite, but for me, like that kind of silver look. And I jumped into
00:28:04
Speaker
You know, back then I was like reading like Japanese wrestling magazines and stuff. And so that gear that is in the silver variant version, that's gear that that's like kind of for sure, like very close to me, like near and dear. These are versions of the Road Warriors that I loved, like just as I was getting into wrestling, you know.
00:28:21
Speaker
um So it's really dope to be able to be able to do a version of the Road Warriors like that. Yeah, I think it was cool coming out the gate with a two pack. I'm assuming we're going to see some, you know single figures and things like that. um And go ahead. I was just going to say definitely single figures, definitely two packs. You know, who fits where?
00:28:43
Speaker
It's really just going to depend on on the superstar, or the character. Right. Yeah. um We'll see any chance for ah like a ring or like other play set type.
Future Playsets & Rings Possibilities
00:28:52
Speaker
We've talked about it. We're material. We're talking about that kind of stuff, too. It's not off the table where it fits and where it makes sense.
00:28:59
Speaker
I don't know if we're quite there yet, but ah what that could bring in the future to me is really exciting. So, yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't ah I wouldn't leave that out at all.
00:29:12
Speaker
I just want to know, like, cause it's just, it's just, it's still blowing my mind. I meant to ask you this at the top of the show, but like between like dirt sheets and online forums and like social media, like I feel like like real surprises in pro wrestling are kind of few and far between these days. Like we had, you know, we had John Cena turn heel and freaking unsanctioned figures drop in the same week. And I'm like, what is happening? Like, this is, this is wild.
00:29:33
Speaker
um So like, how were you guys able to keep it under wraps? Like with like, I mean, I did not hear nothing. I mean, even people who are like, I feel like they're always on the leaks. like yeah you see some factory leaks yeah there was nothing yeah it was insane it's it's a fair point i think uh i am a person that works with my cards very close to my chest i don't really you know when i was wrestling as dramatico and training training and stuff like that i was like a little more ah kind of obsessed with making sure that i had some kind of social media presence but
00:30:07
Speaker
You know, I'm like a little semi-retired now, I would say, because the the closest wrestling school to where I currently live is like two and a half hours away. And that's a pretty big hike to dedicate. Yeah, that's that's a commute. time too Yeah, it is it's that's a lot.
00:30:20
Speaker
With that in mind, um I just ever since that has kind of taken a little bit of a backseat for me, you know, just even from a fun perspective, I'm just not like...
00:30:31
Speaker
constantly looking to explain myself on social media, unless I really feel like I have to, you know, like, I like discourse, like, I like to jump into it with everyone. I don't I want to make sure, like, I've been, I've been spending a little too much time on it. So I got to taper that down. well I mean, you had a you had a, you know, a little small launch to, ah you know, to attend to.
00:30:52
Speaker
So and and in na I could have just like kept my mouth shut and let everyone figure it out for themselves eventually. But I see a lot of comments saying like, this is jazz wears in secret. And, you know, they're doing this with jazz wears. And but and I'm like, oh, man, I all right. I'll go and explain in just a couple more times. It's not jazz wears like we have our own factory. You know, it's yes. You heard it here. for Yeah, it's not like not jazz wears.
00:31:16
Speaker
So, you know, as far as secrets go, as long as. I understand like there are people out there that kind of want to open the present on Christmas morning before it's time to wake up and open presents. But like, ah just, I would say if you ever come across something like that, it's probably going to benefit you to leave it alone instead of yeah using it for like clout chasing or something like that. And I, you know, I'm not, I'm not a clout chaser. I'm I, unless like something changes where I have to be like, I'm not going to be, you know, I, I,
00:31:48
Speaker
I'm just a little over that sort of thing. And I think that has really helped me. And of course, like the ringside collectibles branding behind that, like, you know, with all due respect to the guys and the, and the other lines, like some of the smaller lines, they probably need that, right? Like they need that constant fan interaction. I'm lucky enough. Right.
00:32:06
Speaker
You know, there's other, this is like, My job feels like 15 different jobs at the moment because it's so busy, but that's the benefit of like, I still have other things to do at my job, you know, with ringside and there's other, there's tons of other stuff going on. And I just don't really have time to go absolutely crazy with making sure that I'm like teasing things for people or anything like that. Right. Really got to like, I want these to be good.
00:32:32
Speaker
So I have to worry about the, the effort behind the scenes. I want to like, promise that we're doing it well. your effort where matters. Exactly. And, you know, as I said earlier, can't guarantee that we would never have like pre-order of some kind or something. But as of right now, I think this approach really, know, it proves the point that you can kind of work in silence and get something beneficial out of that.
00:32:56
Speaker
Yeah. I think it, like you said, I think it had the impact that you intended. um It was just something, think it was something that we all needed as the, as the ah you know, the the collectors of the world. I feel like we've, like Seth said earlier, we've waited for so long, like we put in pre-orders and then it's literally a year, um sometimes two years before we get what it is that we've, ah that we've paid for. And um just being able to just like have something so tangible.
00:33:18
Speaker
And so like right now with such, I mean, such hot figures, I feel like was just, was the shot in the arm that the figure community needed for sure. That's cool. I'm i'm glad you guys feel that way. And it's, it's awesome to hear it that way. And, you know, I'm, I'm going to continue to hopefully look at it from that perspective too. you know, I'll keep that.
00:33:35
Speaker
I'm obviously going to keep the reaction of all this and, and the, the, the, the way the process worked in mind as we move yeah forward in the future. Definitely. And we understand, you know, if if you got to do pre-orders, I mean that we're used to that too, right? Like we, that's a, that's something that we're accustomed to. But this, this was, this was really cool. You know, we're, we're used to seeing like, you know, the mock-ups and all the things and the renderings at like Comic-Con and whatnot. And then it's like, we have no idea how long it's going to be before we actually see these figures in our stores and stuff. So like I said, this was, this was a cool experience.
00:34:03
Speaker
Awesome. So, What's next for, uh, what's next for
Teasing Future Releases
00:34:07
Speaker
ringside? Any, any, uh, anything else, you know, coming up, coming down the pipeline well that, uh, bell to bell series too, maybe. Well, this is the weird thing. Like, I don't know, like numbering series is a little, even like, it feels like foreign to me at this point, because I feel like there's so many different products going at once. Uh, there, there's more bell to bell to be had. There's more RSC and sanctioned to be had. I would say hopefully sooner than later. And I would say, uh,
00:34:34
Speaker
i would I would even say, i this is what I'll say like just for you guys, and it's not going to reveal all that much, but I would say you're probably you probably don't quite have your expectations set for what's coming.
00:34:47
Speaker
Oh. So I'll leave it at that. I don't, and maybe the way I phrased that sentence is kind of screwy, but. No, I love it. I love a little tease and a little mystery. I'm for anything, dude. I like, I always take more of the mainstream guys. I'm all about, you know, as obscure as you can get as possible, man. Like you guys drop like an elite scale, like Damien Demento, that would just be like chef's kiss. I'm all about the weird 90s characters. That was going to be my question before I left is like what each of your number one picks were, but, you know. Johnny Gonzalez. Okay. Oh, so it's not Damien Demento. No, no, Johnny Gonzalez be number one. Okay. I think I want to, I want to gang grill. We have a custom gang grill, but I would really love like a legit, you know, like a, you know, RSC gang grill. got some really nice customs from the Mad Reaper. If ever seen him. have. Yeah. He does. Oh yeah. He's a friend. Incredible work, but those customs, like it's, you know, I feel like need to put it like behind like museum glass. get you. Yeah. If it ever falls off the shelf, you're like, Oh God. Yeah.
00:35:47
Speaker
Yeah. And that's fair. But at the same time, but those are, those are, those are really good names. I have to say, you know, and there's, there are i mean there's a names everywhere right now. I guarantee, I bet people are throwing names at you like mad right now. love it. i I feel like I'm, I'm like Pac-Man, like just gobbling up all those names. I want to see, I want to see and hear them all. So.
00:36:13
Speaker
All right. So I wasn't going to bring you on here without asking you like some hard press questions. I'm going to put your put your feet to the fire really quickly. Okay. okay i need I need to know for the people, is there any way that the Chick-fil-A ringside code can be get 11% instead of 10%? So um I have been asking for YouTube to be 11% for years and years and years, and I can't even get the 11%.
00:36:40
Speaker
Oh, man. I think i know head to head as you know I might get lucky with like 10.09, but I'll probably never get the 11%. I think you could do like, ah you know, like, ah you know, partner of the month or whatever. Just rotate her out. One month it's Chick-fil-A.
00:36:57
Speaker
Next month, it's the major guys, the fig guys, whoever. Fully poseable and just rotate it around for them to have 11% on. Or do it by release. Maybe Elite 116, Chick-fil-A show is the partner of this drop. So 11% off if you use that code. I don't hate the idea, so I am going to suggest it. So don't worry. They're going to have hire just a person just to keep up with that. Yeah.
00:37:21
Speaker
Tom's going to be put in charge of himself. Yeah, Tom's going to be dang it, guys. Oh, great. Oh, great. Another headache. Wonderful. You know, that sounds great. Tom, you should head that right up. You're like, no.
00:37:31
Speaker
Ah, crap. It's like you guys you guys heel turned on me if that happens. I know. right it right Right at the end, we heel turned on you. ah Before we let you go, I need to know what your all-time favorite match is.
00:37:44
Speaker
You're not going to that. I know. This is like picking. they That's our last question. Anytime we had. here ask man we I wish I realized that. There's no. You know what? There's I always tell people there's no wrong answers. yeah And, you know, it's such a subjective question that like, you know, you don't have to pick one of the top 10 best matches of all time. There's just something that strikes a chord with you.
00:38:04
Speaker
Something that makes you feel kind of warm and fuzzy. yeah You know, ah what? all Sounds like he's ashamed of it. It's going to be like Melina versus Alicia Fox. all Hey, no. no shade alicia fox i saw that tough enough episode so yeah it's the austin what um so yeah man there's so many names like austin's up there like austin and brett is up there for me like my number one uh like my number one all-time favorite of all time is is xpoc and people are like really shocked when they hear me say that but like
00:38:34
Speaker
I can't tell you like how attached I got to him like in around like 1997, 98 from like six, yeah from, from like six to the evolution of like 2002 NWO X-Pac. Those were, that's like, I just like anytime he was on, eleven it didn't matter like how ratty he was being or not. Like,
00:38:55
Speaker
He was my favorite, like hands down. See, I love that. I love it. I love a good off the wall answer, like an unsuspecting answer. So, ah you know, he wasn't yet, you know, X-Pac, but King of the Ring 1994. He's got a match with Owen Hart on that show. The whole match is like five and a half minutes, but it's probably in my like top 10 or 12 matches of all time. And I often bring it up as like the best five minute match of all time. It's like.
00:39:16
Speaker
it's like somebody like the agent told those guys again we're running short on time you guys only got five minutes and they said all right let's go turn off let's go eat yeah it's absolutely insane you know two guys are two of the best technicians really they're probably two the best in the world at the time when that match for sure yeah and uh just a really really fun like deep cut man i'm sure most folks probably like haven't seen that one so that's your retro wrestling recommendation of the week yeah king of the ring 94 owen hart and one two three kid it's a banger For those who haven't seen it, yeah. I don't, I don't, I really don't want to drag it on, but I feel like I have two more things to name. Like, I can't. No, you got it. We yeah got the time, dude. TNA, there's a match between, I think it's some Destination X. Maybe not.
00:39:58
Speaker
i've I'm trying to remember which pay-per-view it's from, but like, Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson were in like a cage match together. And I remember just like watching that live and thinking this is just like some of the best, most insane wrestling I've ever seen. and You're like, how is it going to get any better than this? Kurt Angle does a moonsault off the cage in that. And it's just like, kt he he's still, Xbox is my number one all-time favorite. But if I'm like doing a wrestling Mount Rushmore, like Kurt Angle is probably on top for me. Yeah, he's the man. To me, he's like the best of all time. I know, you know, that's like kind of a dark horse or out off the wall pick. But for me, that's like Kurt Angle is my all time number one. And then yeah I could tell you the craziest match, of the probably the best match I've ever seen live.
00:40:43
Speaker
i was thankfully ah my first WrestleMania with ringside was WrestleMania 25. You know, and there were so many like cool matches that night. Like the the the Money in the Bank match that night. Like I'm a huge fan.
00:40:56
Speaker
ah Christian Cage fan and I was like hoping that he would win. and that like the the arena was kind of there with that air and then CM Punk won. That was also exciting. like All that didn't even compare to ah Undertaker and Shawn Michaels that night. Oh, yeah. That's a lot people's number all the time. second. Like, I hear a lot of people bring up, like, Mania 26. And I was at that one. I thought the first was better, man.
00:41:19
Speaker
So, not only that, I was, like, being in the arena for that match, like... That's cool, dude. I've been in the arena for, you know, I don't, I can't even tell you, like, how many matches at this point in my life, like,
00:41:31
Speaker
I've been in the ring. I've been out of the ring, all this stuff. And so I've got to hear sound and energy from all kinds of different perspectives. And that's some of the the most insane, loudest, most intense, like crowd in the palm of your hand that I've ever, if not like the most that I've ever witnessed was ah Taker and Shawn Michaels from that first show.
00:41:54
Speaker
ah kind of heaven and hell the the heaven and hell like he had like the white jacket and yeah he's like the reverse undertaker exactly like that match pinpoints to me like you know everyone talks about uh hogan and rock like the from mania 18 and that of course that one's like amazing but um taker and sean from mania 25 like that That's a wrestling match if you're like showing somebody a wrestling match. you know Oh, yeah.
00:42:22
Speaker
Absolutely. so yeah You guys are that are listening, you have your homework cut out for you if you haven't seen any of those matches. choices make sure yeah Make sure you ah tune in and let us know what you think. um but Before we get out of here, Tom, is there anything else? you know Anything you want to plug? anything that you know you want Any final thoughts?
00:42:38
Speaker
uh about anything that's it for me i first of all i love you guys keep doing what you're doing like great show and happy that you know it's been so successful for you and that it continues and we need your level of like support and fun to like keep that kind of fun energy going because it does get really like weird and competitive and all these things and i i just like i don't like that stuff and It's like gang warfare sometimes in the wrestling figure world.
Community Appreciation & Closing
00:43:05
Speaker
Let's drop that and just like keep having fun. and And you guys are right at the forefront of that, in my opinion.
00:43:10
Speaker
Well, thank you so much. well Otherwise, you know, at Ringside C, social media channels for for Ringside Collectibles, you always you're always able to order figures from wrestlingfigures.com. That's where you'll see the RSC unsanctioned classic superstars figures released. You can get all your Mattel and Jax there. Jax, geez, listen to me.
00:43:31
Speaker
but What year is it? I feel like, I feel like that. I feel like this has been a big week. to What year is this? You can, you can pre-order your Metallia jazz wares on there at ringside C across social channels, my social media, you know, Instagram is where I'm most active, but you know, right now that's just kind of a way to communicate me. That's at Dramatica rising.
00:43:54
Speaker
And other than that, Stick with us on on Wrestling Figs if you want to get into the discussion because, yeah, there's a lot of a lot of cutthroat, but there's a lot of fun that happens there too. like I got to shout out to Wrestling Figs. I love being on there.
00:44:07
Speaker
so Awesome. And use a code Chick-Foley to save 10% on any purchase at ah ringside, potentially 11% in the future. will keep you keep We'll keep you guys posted. But Tom, thank you so much for your time. i really, really appreciate it. This has been so fun. And, ah you know, keep doing what you're doing, man. You're killing it of course. Thank you, Sheena. Thank you, Seth. It's a blast to talk to you guys. Anytime you want to talk, I'm ready for it.
00:44:32
Speaker
We'll hold you to that, dude.