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Premium Toyetic Event: Who Was the Most Toyetic at the 2026 Royal Rumble
197 Plays10 days ago
The 2026 Royal Rumble is in the books, and we're taking an extended look at who we thought was the most toyetic from one of the WWE's big 4 events. This isn't about the best matches, but who we think is most deserving of the action figure treatment from Mattel!
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
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Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Introduction to Adventures in Collecting
00:00:03
Speaker
Are you ready kids? Get your parents permission, check your mailbox and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the Adventures in Collecting podcast. I'm Eric.
00:00:15
Speaker
And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting. Where we talk toy news, culture and hauls. Along with our journeys as collectors.
Royal Rumble Special Edition
00:00:46
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting and a very special edition of Premium Toyetic Event. That's right. ah The Royal Rumble, a divisive Royal Rumble for, all I think, a lot of people.
00:01:03
Speaker
Yeah. um the The Internet is certainly Internetting. The Internet's a buzz.
WWE Elite Stone Cold Giveaway
00:01:12
Speaker
regarding this uh this royal rumble and since uh this is one of our favorite uh events of the year uh we figured we would take a little bit more of a deep dive into it regarding premium toyotic event this time around um there's a lot to talk about but first uh let's get into a little bit of housekeeping uh so it is february happy february dave happy february
00:01:39
Speaker
Somehow it is already two more two months into 2026 already in like a blink of an eye. it's not We're starting the second month. We're not. Yeah. Two months deep.
00:01:52
Speaker
Potato, potato. Yeah. um So this month's giveaway, i don't have a picture of it yet as of the time of recording, but it will be live by the time this is playing. um Roses are red.
00:02:05
Speaker
Violets are blue. Stone Cold Steve Austin is bleeding and he could be yours too. So this month we are giving away the the defining moments, WWE wwe Elite ah Stone Cold Steve Austin. It is the anniversary of the Rattlesnake, I believe. They were saying on the Rumble yesterday. I want to say it's like 25 years or something like that. there's It's some sort of anniversary for the Texas Rattlesnake. And one of our favorite figures, I think it was actually... 96, guess?
00:02:39
Speaker
Yeah, I guess that's right. um we were he He was featured on on Dave's top ah toy picks of 2025. I think he was just on the WWE wwe list.
00:02:52
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ringside exclusive defining moments. WrestleMania was at 13, right? WrestleMania 13. Stone Cold Steve Austin with some color and the the classic Blood from a Stone ah t-shirt, soft goods t-shirt. So um this month you have the entire month to enter to win Stone Cold Steve
Merch Store Promotion
00:03:16
Speaker
Austin. Just head on over to our Instagram account at AIC underscore podcast. where you can enter to win. Look for the pinned post. ah
00:03:27
Speaker
And we'll keep the giveaway train rolling as long as we can. it will at that you He will ah be a perfect addition to the WrestleMania 13 three-pack that is currently hitting some stores.
00:03:43
Speaker
Yep. Yep. Walmart exclusive on that one. So yeah, perfect compliment to that pack. Uh, Shamrock. ken sharock the best Brett likeness we've gotten so far too. And so, um, yeah, so that's our giveaway this month. Uh, as we mentioned at the end of last month, uh, we have a fun merch store. So you can visit a I C podcast dot Um, for some really, really cool swag. We're still adding, uh, new things to said swag store.
00:04:18
Speaker
ah
00:04:21
Speaker
As often as as often as I can come up as often as we can come up with ideas. ah Yeah, so we've got a couple things to choose from. of which I have one to tell you since you like the parody of ideas. all right.
00:04:35
Speaker
all right Do you want me just tell you now? or but No, no, we'll talk about all the time. um but yeah so uh we've got some really cool uh swag uh available in the store so uh you can for for the wrestling fans we've got an archie 316 we've got a peg warmer shirt this one's my favorite personally but uh the the aic gym a crunches since 2019 shouts to to craig for the idea on that um just a toyetic shirt that's probably my favorite maybe
00:05:06
Speaker
in the in the New York City area or used to the I Love and NYC, well, you can love AIC. Vote for Archie. We've got a Collecting Things shirt, which is fun. Then, of course, just our our logo.
00:05:19
Speaker
um And then inspired inspired by the famous Fab Four shirt, you can have the Fab Five shirt, Dave. um Yeah. So come. And the Collecting Things one inspired by, of course, Blayner Things.
00:05:33
Speaker
Yes, um not not anything else. Definitely not anything else. um But yeah, so we'll be adding more. And also, there's if you are not looking for a t-shirt and you're looking for other types of swag, if you click in on the item, it gives you other options. So you know let's say, for instance, you wanted a mug or a travel mug.
00:05:57
Speaker
um you can You can do that too. so Wrap us around your feet. Yep. Lots of, lots of options, hats, gym shorts. um Yeah. And you can also select your color. You know, if you want to rock Archie on a pink t-shirt, you absolutely can. I think it looks actually really cool like that. Or, or even purple. Archie looking, looking good on some purple there. What's that last one? Oh, tie dye. Archie looking good on tie dye, man.
00:06:26
Speaker
Looks, looks great. So, yeah. Archie, get the tables. So you can head on over to AIC podcast.dashery.com and, and yeah, rock some really cool adventures in collecting swag. And of course, you know, support your favorite toy podcast.
00:06:44
Speaker
um So,
Preview of New York Toy Fair Coverage
00:06:46
Speaker
yeah. So, with that, that's the majority of the housekeeping. Last little tidbit. We are all booked and ready to go for New York Toy Fair. There is going to be a lot happening. Lots of coverage. Lots of interviews. Lots of content. That is the week of Valentine's Day. So, February 14th and 15th that weekend.
00:07:05
Speaker
We have got a slam schedule. Yeah, we're going to... Say that we love you with a bouquet of reveals and interviews and booth tours. Yeah, I think I joked around that like well we'll visit a dozen places, but we actually do have more than 12 appointment-wise. A baker's dozen.
00:07:25
Speaker
I think we'll be all right. But yeah, so ah yeah that's it
Ranking Royal Rumble Outfits
00:07:31
Speaker
that's it for housekeeping. So let's let's hop into the actual premium toyotic event part of this. um ah new We're going to start off with a new segment, Dave, before we get into our um our picks.
00:07:42
Speaker
So um there is um I'm to, I'm going to shout them out. They have like millions of foul followers. The last thing they need is a shout out from us, but I am going to shout them out since that's, this is where I got the idea from.
00:07:55
Speaker
um They are called, oh man, the link closed on my phone. I had it open and everything. um It's like something project.
00:08:08
Speaker
Man, ah had it open and everything. Anyway, they keep i keep getting their Instagram, their their YouTube shorts. It's these two best friends, like longtime best friends from the New York, New Jersey area. And it's they're not the first people I've seen do this, but i I see this from them quite frequently, and it's very fun. So they do these videos where they ask each other, and in this case, Dave, you'll be up first here, um to rank five things without knowing what's coming next.
00:08:37
Speaker
Oh yeah yeah. I saw Seth Rollins had to do this. So you've got, going to, I'm going hit you with five looks from this year's Royal rumble.
00:08:48
Speaker
Okay. And you have to rank them best to worst um without knowing what's coming next. Five being worst one being best. Yeah. Yes. And ah these looks do not include any of our picks. Yeah.
00:09:03
Speaker
Okay. All right. that's the That's the one thing I will say is that you are being spared for of ranking your own um your own pick. So um your first one up, Dave. So again, one through five, one being the best, five being the worst.
00:09:22
Speaker
Okay. Okay. And you will you'll get to see your first option here. So your first option is... ah Very tiny Rey Mysterio? Rey Mysterio. Where you going to put Rey?
00:09:37
Speaker
I'm going to put him at four. All right, Rey goes at four. Rey with his... um with his Christian religion logos all all covered up for ah for this exclusive. But I do, i shout out, I couldn't find a good shot of it, but um the Rayl rumble, he had royal spelt with Ray in front of it on his pants.
00:10:00
Speaker
but Yeah, I like that. um All right, your next one is Mr. Iguana. um I mean, it wasn't it wasn't a special look for Iguana, so I'm going five.
00:10:12
Speaker
All right, Mr. Iguana going five. Your next is Roman Reigns. Royal Rumble winner, Roman Reigns. The big three big difference big difference here in his look was the the black and red flipped on the gauntlet. Yeah.
00:10:28
Speaker
All right, your number two is... Charlotte Flair. Or your're yourre you're not your number two. I'm sorry. You're number four. Well, no, she is going to be number two. Oh, she's going to be number two. Okay.
00:10:40
Speaker
Charlotte Flair. and here Here comes the funny one that's going to be won by default. well It's Roxanne Perez. That actually would have been number one on this list. So that's cool. I think he i think he i think he got did a good job with this with this first go around on this, Dave. i So Roxy would have been...
00:10:59
Speaker
I think was the third best gear on the show, to be honest. It was really good. It was really good. um Yeah, I figured for the first version of this list, I i i didn't want to go in and say like I stacked it for you, but um i so I kind of stacked it for you. If there is one I'd change. Because Charlotte's was good.
00:11:19
Speaker
um But if there's one I'd change, I'd probably flip Ray and Roman. Okay. All right. Well, I think I'd leave the rest where they were. Like Mr. Iguana was just in his normal Mr. Iguana stuff as far as I could tell.
00:11:32
Speaker
Yeah, it just looked like normal Mr. Mr. Iguana. Just the fact that he was in the rumble, though, was... And Ray for the rail rumble thing deserved a ah bump. yeah yeah over and it was kind of like it was minimal it was kind of like throwback gear too in in a certain degree because of but you know but he had like the sleeveless tank and the the like baggier pants like he wasn't well he's been going sleeveless shirt for years so yeah but this this reminded me of like like the flash gear rag gear yeah yeah yeah
00:12:07
Speaker
But yeah, all right, Dave, you you survived your first ah your first PTE rank. Oh, it was fun. I'd do that again. Yeah, so... um All right, so with that, let's hop into our actual
Toyetic Figure Picks from Royal Rumble
00:12:18
Speaker
picks here. So reminder for folks that ah maybe you're tuning into your first premium toyetic event, in which case, thanks for joining us. um What we're going to do is we aren't we're not going to discuss match outcomes. We're not going to discuss performances. This is purely a a conversation of who we think deserves the figure treatment from Mattel based on their looks.
00:12:44
Speaker
at the Royal Rumble this year. I mean, that stuff could be part of the reason why. Yeah. Yeah. But it's, it's not necessarily, it's not the, yeah.
00:12:56
Speaker
Yeah. And we're not going to match recaps. So like, if we pick somebody, you know, if we don't pick somebody from a certain match, we're just not going to that match.
00:13:07
Speaker
So, yeah. Like with two of these, there's going to be no way to not talk about the performance. Correct, correct. Well, two mine and one of yours for sure. I will kick us off here um with my first pick, which is the return of Twin Magic.
00:13:26
Speaker
So Nikki and Brie Bella, and I'm cheating right off the bat with my first pick. I'm going main event um a showdown two pack here. i don't think that's even cheating.
00:13:41
Speaker
i I loved these looks and, you know, we' we're not going to get into the culture and or politics commentary here, but like female athletes due to law in saudi Arabia cannot show skin below the neck or above the wrists, I believe is how it's it's kind of.
00:14:03
Speaker
So everybody's in ah in some sort of a bodysuit, right? But I do think this year in general, like for for the first time, like I remember the... The first time, ah you know, there was something similar to this in Saudi Arabia where there was just like a ring filled filled with women. um Everyone decided to wear like some sort of black bodysuit. With a t-shirt over it.
00:14:26
Speaker
Yeah, which made it damn near impossible to like even follow what was going on on the TV. Which match was that? Was that Natty and... I don't remember. Rhea was in it. I want to say it was like a ah tag team match maybe.
00:14:41
Speaker
um No, there was a singles match, like the very first one. Might have been like Natty and Alexa or something. Yeah, but like it was, let' let's just say this row this Royal Rumble, that the like the costume designers and and ring gear designers like really brought their A-game for these these athletes. They had some incredible full body ring gear, like truly, truly remarkable stuff. um So not only did this mark the return of Brie Bella, which people have been wanting for a while, Yeah.
00:15:13
Speaker
The Saudi Arabian audience. Absolutely. Riyadh ate this up. The yes chants. That might have gotten the best reaction of anybody the whole night. Yeah. Yeah. It's up. It's up there. um the the The yes kicks. You know, she was she was definitely channeling a little bit of her ah of her partner in crime in real life there. But it was just really great to see Twin Magic back together.
00:15:36
Speaker
And I love these this ring here for the two of them. I know we're up. Probably never going to see it again. But um yeah, looked looked absolutely amazing. I'm glad they didn't go the route of doing like some sort of hijinks with the actual twin magic hijinks, though it could have been funny. But them having, you know, matching similar, ah you know, ring gear, but still being different. I thought that that was great. I think it's a great move for the the tag team division, you know, having them back in. Hopefully it's a little bit of an extended stay for Bree.
00:16:14
Speaker
Yeah, I would like a WrestleMania match for Brie for the Bellas in Rio. um rio Yeah. And you know what? I think too, one of the other things just generally regarding, like you said, like the biggest pop of the night, eight this conversation goes back to the music. You know, she has a recognizable theme. I think a lot of people still don't have recognizable themes. So when something classic like that hit, like even like Rey Mysterio got a massive pop from the audience because his music is iconic and you didn't know he was coming out in that slot.
00:16:49
Speaker
You know, I, that it's few and far between right like like the the classic classic music that draws that royal rumble pop like i i can't stand jordan grace's new music i reacted once i saw the person in the in the tunnel most of the time like for the for the most part like i don't recognize a lot of these theme songs like i know they don't want her and brawn to have both have sirens but like Yeah, there's got to be something. If CM Punk's standing in the ring and you hear the sirens and if Jade is standing in the ring and you hear the sirens, you know who's coming.
00:17:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But um I digress. ah Bria Bella and Nikki Bella Championship Showdown Main Event 2-pack. That's my first pick.
Sol Ruka's Performance in Women's Rumble
00:17:40
Speaker
Dave, let's let's head on over to yours.
00:17:42
Speaker
So mine, I think, was the MVP of the Women's Royal Rumble. um not Without question. The coolest finishing move in in all of f wrestling.
00:17:55
Speaker
um Sol Ruka. it's What I liked about Sol's gear is that it's... Like the Bellas 100% like is their gimmick with the red and black and white and like the one and two for who was born first. Like, excellent. I love it. Saul's is as well with the whole surfer gimmick.
00:18:18
Speaker
And. um And her father being a ska musician, to be completely honest, also hit here. um and Yeah, I think like it's even though she's like a shorts and um like tank top wrestler, this still looked like something she could would potentially wear on NXT.
00:18:44
Speaker
Like, yeah, there was a lot happening with this gear that like even like the commentating team like didn't quite know how to even wrap their heads around it because yeah, it's feels very her. It looks to me that top piece that she has like the zip up. It almost looks like she's wearing a wetsuit. a Wetsuit.
00:19:01
Speaker
like over it um but also like this was clearly ah a bit of an homage to to lita um you know and yeah her look with the the which they mentioned at one point yep yep um the mismatched vans you know she had two different two different pairs of vans on uh this this this was just screamed her screamed screamed her the checkerboard is ska like Yep. Even if she did not perform well in the Rumble, this still would have been like an absolutely iconic look for her. The fact that she was without question the the MVP of the Rumble without winning it. It gave me the same kind of vibe as that year that Rhea...
00:19:47
Speaker
went to number two, you know, like where she didn't win it that year, but she was kind of in it the whole time. And it was like wow, like this was a performance that that was how this felt like this was a coming out party for her.
AJ Styles' Retirement Match Discussion
00:20:01
Speaker
Really? Yeah. I don't think she'll be back in NXT for long.
00:20:06
Speaker
um If she is at all, like last week, they showed Zarya taking her name tag off the locker. i think she might be called up for real now. And also, if you notice, like, if you notice who she worked with, the majority I couldn't stop. I couldn't, like, keep my eyes off her. No, before Tiffy came out, the majority of the work that she did was with Charlotte in the ring. Yeah. She was... Her and Charlotte were working with each other almost extensively. Or exclusively, excuse me. Almost exclusively throughout the match. Which is a great sign. You know, like, that's clearly, know, a sign of respect. Similar backgrounds, again, too.
00:20:46
Speaker
Yep. But that doubles background the double soul snatcher that she landed on. Unbelievable. Yeah, I'm curious why she tried to do one on the apron, but like.
00:20:58
Speaker
Yeah, there were a couple of interesting eliminations. I think her and Penta probably had the weakest eliminations trying to do something that made no sense for a rumble.
00:21:10
Speaker
Actually, the weakest elimination was Brock, but. Yeah, well, and once I saw it again on replay, it was a little bit better because it was L.A. Knight and Cody working together to take him out. It was just Jay's ridiculous entrance that kind of ruined that moment, I think. Yeah. um Yeah.
00:21:32
Speaker
Yeah. But Saul rules like if she's one of those people, there's a handful of people that are going to be are that are recent NXT call ups. um You know, the the three men, you know, the, I'll call them the former pillars that were in the men's rumble, Javon, Bulba and Trick, where it's like the aura that surrounds them is just unreal.
00:22:01
Speaker
There was one moment where it was in the men's rumble. I think it was like Priest- It was basically all like NXT kind of homegrown Yeah, NXT people. Yeah, we're all in the ring together. And it made me kind of realize like, wow, like there actually is like another class of these, you know, of talent coming through, which is fun.
00:22:22
Speaker
Well, I liked that moment where it was, you know, Trick, Oba and Javon because they had just basically spent the year feuding with each other. Yeah. um Staring each other down like we're meant to do this forever type of thing.
00:22:36
Speaker
Yeah. Trick is over like unbelievably over, which is all three of them. Yeah. Like Oba's entrance translates very well to them, to the, to, ah to a stadium. But, um, I can't sit back to Saul. Like I can't say and enough good stuff about Saul. And i think as a figure, this works really well because of, uh,
00:22:57
Speaker
you know the colors and such the black and pink and uh this has royal rumble wave written all over it like yeah this should one of those royal rumble this should be an elite and it would be a step up from the uh main event that she has forthcoming all right next pick and you can give her the hands too you can give her interchangeable hand to do the
00:23:25
Speaker
The, so the, the, yeah, the shock. Right. That's what called. Shaka. Yep. Um, so my next pick takes us to the, the second match of the evening, which was, uh, the AJ styles retirement match. Um,
00:23:42
Speaker
I mean, I don't, I don't know. i don't know what to say. It was hard to watch. This one hit me harder than for some reason than actually like the Sina one did because Sina, we had the whole run up.
00:23:54
Speaker
This just feels like it happened so quick. And I kind of wasn't ready to be truthful you, especially even after that awesome match but with, with Shin and then CM Punk, you know, the week after that.
00:24:05
Speaker
Yeah. Um, you know, it was a good match. They're, they're, they're making Gunther the biggest heel in the business. Um, and rightly so. He's, he's great.
00:24:17
Speaker
But this, to me, this was a class, like really, really great gear to go out with. Um, on the surface, it looks like his classic blue and black, um, you know, uh, ring gear, but he's got the phenomenal forever on the, the kickers, which I thought was a really nice touch.
00:24:36
Speaker
Um, um yeah i mean we've gotten a lot of blue and black aj styles over the years but you know if anyone's deserving of of that one more elite um it doesn't have oh this would have to be and this could be an ultimate uh it would be great if they did the the made to order ultimate like they did with with the final match cena um but uh yeah regardless of of how they get this out uh know i i think getting aj from his last match is is a must um
00:25:09
Speaker
and like Yeah. Yeah, because you can include the um w WWE Championship, the tag. Yeah.
00:25:20
Speaker
And was that all he's ever had?
00:25:25
Speaker
feel like he had... Wasn't he Intercontinental title? I feel like he had an Intercontinental title. I'm going to be truthful. I don't i don't remember. um but ah But yeah, help obviously, like, hell of a career.
00:25:39
Speaker
um you know, very curious to see what he does post wrestling. Um, know, I think a lot of people are hoping that they, he goes back to TNA for a little bit, but it seems like this is his, it is his final match, even though the the end of the match was kind of strange. Like he took the gloves off, put them back on, came back in for a second round of cheering.
00:26:00
Speaker
Um,
00:26:04
Speaker
you know who knows you know wrestling is unpredictable but this was this was a a solid you know final few weeks of his at least w wwe career and uh yeah thank you thank you aj if he does one more in tna i would love to see like leon slater who's kind of like the modern him there yeah that would be cool
00:26:27
Speaker
I've been, ah so I remember back in college, we're talking like 99, 2000, a little known company from Cornelia, Georgia was on channel 48. It was like ECW followed by NWA Wild Side, which was AJ Styles original promotion.
00:26:50
Speaker
So I've been watching AJ Styles wrestle since like really early on in his career. Like first year AJ Styles. um So it's been really cool to kind of be on pretty much all the journey through here, through, um you know, the cup of coffee in WCW to um dna TNA, early TNA, New Japan, TNA.
00:27:21
Speaker
Now w WWE, like and for it to be basically like 10 years after He debuted in the Rumble. Yeah. That surprise debut. And now a word from our sponsors.
Ad Read: Chubsy Wubsy Toys
00:27:40
Speaker
This segment is brought to you by our friends at Chubsy Wubsy Toys, a traditional mom and pop toy store in Little Falls, New Jersey. Chubsy Wubsy Toys brings you the best new toys from the brands you love without the hassle of pounding the pavement, searching for them at larger retail stores.
00:27:56
Speaker
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00:28:08
Speaker
That's
00:28:15
Speaker
And tell them Adventures in Collecting sent you.
00:28:21
Speaker
And now, back to the show. Dave, let's head on over to your next pick, which is going to take us back to the women's rumble. Yeah. um You know, the forever toyetic. Of course, Chelsea with the newspaper and kind of Statue of Liberty, you know, copper. um We'll say like patina green.
00:28:48
Speaker
Yeah, the patina copper of the. salty air uh liberty state park um you know i mean we need secret we need secret hervis we need secret hervis alva fire too yeah oh that would be great we gotta to get that i would actually also love like if you included like make it a three-pack with ethan page with the triple a titles um But that's that's a different look.
00:29:22
Speaker
I'm thinking more like. ah
00:29:26
Speaker
NXT version of that, but this I mean, Chelsea forever, um you know, I pledge allegiance to to Chelsea Green. um Forever Toyetic, it's like it's like, you know, somebody kind of gave her Give her the wink and the nod to be like, you should wear something that they'll make an action figure out of every time. because she does.
00:29:50
Speaker
And yeah, I this was no exception. Like it was great. Yep. Yeah, really, really, really great. I also love that ah Alba, her secret hervis gear is always generally has some form of like plaid for her being Scottish in it.
00:30:10
Speaker
Yeah. Generally, like I know it did for the rumble. So um but they're the best. I am. And yeah also one of the more um better ovations on the whole night as well.
00:30:26
Speaker
Yeah. Everybody loves Chelsea. Everybody loves Chelsea. She immediately makes every match better when she's in it. She has everything. The face off with the judgment day, which was hysterical, like...
00:30:39
Speaker
The one with Rhea, which was great. um Yeah. And just she's fantastic. She's then she's that person that can be serious or be funny, but she's basically got herself in a position where she could be around forever.
00:30:54
Speaker
Yep. Yep. Would love to see her get a a run at the at the title at one of the titles, though. Well, she's been U.S. s champ twice. No, no. I mean, one of the one of the like like the world titles.
00:31:06
Speaker
Yeah. loved this I would have loved and they could still do it. they They could have it up their sleeves for a certain point. Like if she wins the Royal Rumble by accident.
00:31:19
Speaker
I could see her being Royal Rumble by accident, like knocked out on the outside of the ring, like one one of those types of gimmicks where like, you know, she does she wins it by accident. or she She's basically like, yeah, like knocked out and just outside for the majority and comes in when the last two people are like...
00:31:39
Speaker
flips them like this like the santino finish but for real for me though she's got miss money in the bank written all over her like that oh yeah her torturing people with the money with the briefcase would be great it's gotta happen it's gotta happen even if it even if it just yields a short run with the title um i she she's they gotta make that happen maybe this year maybe this year Yeah. um All right.
Desire for La Parca Figure
00:32:05
Speaker
My next pick. ah So this is kind of cheating, I guess, because La Parca is La Parca. I mean, who cares what version we're talking about? ah
00:32:15
Speaker
This particular version, I love the not thriller theme song. I love this presentation of La Parca. One of the most iconic luchador gimmicks in the history of Lucha Libre. Absolutely. are I remember enjoying La Parca.
00:32:33
Speaker
The chairman? WCW days. i Yeah, would absolutely. Yeah, I would love LaParka figure. um And, you know, hopefully this deal with AAA and licensing, hopefully they can figure this out with Mattel and get cranking on some of these. um In the meantime, though, if there's some sort of loophole where they can...
00:32:54
Speaker
get us laparka backdoored through some sort of wcw deal i'll take that too so i think one of the things that you've got to look out for is there are i think about a dozen or so triple a wrestlers that have wwe wwe contracts now yes vikingo being one of them laparka i think is one um
00:33:26
Speaker
Did they do Iguana, Mr. Iguana? Yes. Iguana, Psycho Circus, like Psycho Clown, and yeah Pagano and all them. um like jerryy There are a bunch who um
00:33:47
Speaker
do. I would imagine that there's something in those. Also, I love that this version of La Parca is 6'1", 220 pounds. I would love a Nino hamburguesa. Like, that would rule.
00:34:00
Speaker
Yeah. If you are not watching the AAA content on YouTube, like on the WWE YouTube, you're really missing out. Honestly, it's the most fun show. It's the most fun show. Like, it's actually surpassed NXT for me as the show that enjoy the most.
00:34:16
Speaker
was just about to say the same thing. like And I told you that, and i'm like, no, you've got to watch this. Yeah, and I watched the one you you told me to watch, too, that particular... And now I'm watching every every week. um El Grande, Ryo, and... um ah ah what's the ah what's and Bravo are the three of the most over people in AAA.
00:34:38
Speaker
And JBL on commentary with Corey Graves and um does ray Ray doesn't do it with them every week. No, Ray was just there for the first show. but um cory graves and jbl do such a good job together they have great commentary chemistry they make it so much fun um while also being like respectful to like the lucha libre culture like it's just it's great well graves is because his brother used to wrestle in mexico so yeah yep um so he's got like knowledge of it and jbl just knows wrestling so Yeah, but I love every time um el El Nino and Bergasa wrestles. JBL just calls him Burger Boy. It's the best.
00:35:21
Speaker
It's the best that they they um and it's weird having like baby face graves. Yeah. Yep. Well, he can't work heel commentary with JBL. That would never work. And also Kingo being becoming the biggest heel in the company is wild. Also, Dom is like Dom is super super over So Undertaker and Jeremy Borash are who are like the main creative for the show. And they're just doing a fantastic job.
00:35:53
Speaker
for For real. For real. Yeah, it's it's so good. I'm actually really curious to see what the one of the surprises from the Rumble being original. Yeah.
00:36:05
Speaker
yeah a lot of people are saying they were building a gimmick for not for wrestlemania but for triple mania like for triple a might be might be all right dave let's head on over to your next pick here um so um royce keys i'm going with um For a couple reasons. One, it was the debut. We had a you know one person finish up their run 10 years after debuting in the Royal Rumble and a new debut in the Royal Rumble. I was very shocked to see like the powerhouse Hobbs come up on the brick wall and then his new name bust through.
00:36:45
Speaker
um That was very smart. That was yeah that was like next level intro IQ to do that. that hearkened back to old nxt like to black and gold nxt when um like kenta debuted as hideo atami they put up the original name the name you know and here's their new name um when finn was uh went from prince devit to finn and kevin owens to uh kevin steen to kevin owens you know like
00:37:16
Speaker
Yep. Yep. So we have Royce keys and, you know, we're going with a similar presentation look wise.
00:37:27
Speaker
But I would love to see magic get another crack it at at this guy. Yeah. and he had great He had great, great presence in the ring, performed really well, looked, looked great. I like the face off with Cody, like, hey, don't I know you from somewhere? Yeah.
00:37:44
Speaker
Could have another one with Punk if he goes to Mondays. Yep. i Having Damian Priest put him over was a good move. yeah Having him get that elimination on on one of the big guys you know in in w WWE. Him and Oba faced off at one point.
00:38:03
Speaker
Yep. yep yeah i People were expecting AEW transfer, but not this one, I don't think. yeah Well, no, this one was also expected.
00:38:15
Speaker
um But ah we didn't break any walls down. We broke a brick wall down. How about that? We broke a brick wall down. And i'm I'm really curious to see him in like what he does.
00:38:28
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I'm I assume he's going to be in the in the on the main roster,
Royce Keys' Royal Rumble Debut
00:38:35
Speaker
right? Like 100%. He roster like penta like gray phoenix um so Yeah, he is. He is 1000% main roster.
00:38:47
Speaker
Yeah. Yep. and i And I like the name, you know, the powerhouse Hobbs is a very wrestling name, but, you know, Royce Keys works. Yeah. You know it's it's one of those names like a Seth Rollins, like a, you know, we got we got used to Ricky Saints. We got used to Ricky Saints pretty quickly so we can get used to Royce Keys.
00:39:08
Speaker
as uh simon miller what culture wrestling right simon miller uh bald guy um my one of my favorite voices in the wrestling community like i could literally listen to that man talk yeah i like simon miller and he's love not a bad wrestler either Love, but love, love his voice. He made a super good point. I was watching a a What Culture video prior to the Rumble that was like 11 last minute rumors or whatever. And one of them was Royce Keys. And he was like, listen, you all are excited and are rooting for a guy named Dolph Ziggler. And you loved that name for years and years and years, even though his name Nick Nemeth, you know, you want him to come back as, as Dolph Ziggler, I think we'll be all right with Royce Keys. Yeah.
00:39:55
Speaker
we We root for a man whose name literally is like is a sentence. Roman Reigns. Yep. Yep. Yep. And even like they managed to get Gunther over, you know, with with not being Walter anymore. I think Gunther got Gunther over. But but yeah, I think I think big things are are are coming for Royce keys.
00:40:21
Speaker
I think so as well. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Yeah, it was a nice little surprise. That was that was good. Yeah, i that for me was actually the thing that got the biggest reaction from me in the um men's rumble, that and the both Americanos. But it was a very.
00:40:44
Speaker
it was a very men's Royal Rumble. Yeah. I mean, if if we want to give, you know, right. Cause this was the last pick. I don't think we have anything after this. Right. Yeah. That was it. Um, I would say let's, let's end this then with a quick, you know, one sentence, each kind of like review of the Royal rumble. Um, I've been thinking about it before asking you this question. So I'll do mine first to give you a moment to prepare yourself. Um, um,
00:41:13
Speaker
I thought the women's rumble was one of the, I think honestly, like truly one of the best women's rumbles. um's It's way up there for me. Their performances, spots, um eliminations, with the exception of maybe one dumb elimination, which was, I thought Sol Rokas exit was a little underwhelming. um But I think you can make the argument too, that it was because she's young, desperate maybe. as i would say it was a desperation attempt to try to win.
00:41:43
Speaker
Yeah. um I thought the Women's Rumble was great. I thought the AJ Gunther match was upsetting, but but good. um I'm not entirely sure what the Drew and Sammy match does for either of them, other than to just be like a strong defense from Drew. um Like, it was a throwaway match. I literally think that was it.
00:42:07
Speaker
Yeah, for gone conclusion. And a chance to get Sammy a... a title shot in front of an audience that like like adores him. So Yeah. Sure. um And I thought the men's rumble was started out scorching hot. Like I was, I was so into it in the beginning. I thought the thing with broad in the beginning, i think the speculation over the mask, man, I know it's like such a trope in wrestling, but like, I think they're doing it really well. I think I have ah a theory of who that is. I actually think it's, it's whether you, whether anyone's going to be happy about it or not. I think it was Jake Paul um under, under the mask.
00:42:46
Speaker
is is what I think. Interesting. He looked a little too small to be Jake. There was a close-up that somebody posted of him on... So that was my initial thought, was that's Jake Paul.
00:42:58
Speaker
Because, like, Logan's going to try to, like... muscle his way and like take over the vision and then you're gonna have seth come back and have to deal with him and it'll turn out that uh that austin theory was basically like seth's plant and you're gonna split that group like just fracture that group into basically like three different factions where brawn and bronson go off and do their thing you got the pauls and then you have seth rollins andpiia and again
00:43:29
Speaker
together versus again. Yeah. That's where I think they're headed. I genuinely think that's where they're headed, but somebody, if you do the polls, if you do the polls and Austin theory, like why not put the three most hateable faces in wrestling together?
00:43:46
Speaker
true. It's true. i've I've heard theories that some people think it's Grayson Waller. um Some people are saying that it's Finn Balor, but there's no there were no tattoos on the hands, so I don't i don't think it was him. They could have been covered up for...
00:44:02
Speaker
Could have been. Could have been. but ah But yeah, I'm maintaining. Adam Pearce is another theory. Interesting. Well, the close-up looks like the person has facial hair under the mask.
00:44:14
Speaker
um Light-colored facial hair. So as soon as i saw that, that kind of gave I felt a little vindicated and like, oh, maybe it actually is Jake Paul and it's not just kind of like a... Because I could see them doing that to work something for a...
00:44:29
Speaker
you know, SummerSlam or Big... He might be done with boxing. I mean, after that last match, he should be done with boxing. Yeah. but ah But yeah, so that's what that's what I'm thinking it is. But yeah, the men's rumble started off really strong, ended kind of weak. um There's a time and place for Jey Uso's entrance, and that was not it in my my book. I love him. I'm not one of those people that that thinks like he's too over. I genuinely love him. that was roman being like what are you doing and that's smacking them was great though that was great that was great when he did the like run it back and then decked him yeah totally fine i'm i'm good with that but uh i don't listen i don't i don't hate no i thought that that part was fine like i think that this is the first real rumble he's won where i've been like all right this kind of makes sense yeah because
00:45:27
Speaker
I don't think there's a scenario where he wins the title from this. He's just, he's going to exist to put somebody over, which I think he's at that part of his career where a win against him means more than him winning actually the title again. And and I can either see Drew beating him or, or punk. I don't know who he's going to go for. It could be punk.
00:45:48
Speaker
I think that's a a really good option too, because, you know, he made some sort of comments, you know, historically that like the title that punk has is like the, the whatever title, like when Seth was holding it, I think.
00:46:01
Speaker
um But he made a comment more recently that like that title would look good on me. So I could see him and, and punk going at it. But I feel like punk him and punk also after the two war games is have kind of like left it as they're good.
00:46:18
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see. We'll
Review of Royal Rumble Event
00:46:20
Speaker
see. We got time. you know, Elimination Chamber is coming up really, really fast. It'll be here like before we know it fast. I think I think we're going to get a like a multi person where Braun wins the title. OK, well, for Punk and Punk doesn't get pinned.
00:46:39
Speaker
Interesting. Interesting. You could also be looking at a multi-person match for the ah the other title too. you know maybe it's Maybe it's Roman, Seth, and Drew.
00:46:51
Speaker
yeah i don't I don't think Seth comes back to do anything other than be involved in that whatever a Raw thing is. Yeah. Yeah, Vision. Well, anyway, that's my that's my quick review of the of the evening. Dave, if you want to put some thoughts together as well.
00:47:08
Speaker
Um, yeah, one of the best women's Royal Rumbles, um, up there with the Asuka one, I think. Um, the right person one, the Becky one was good too, even though we kind of knew, but it was great because it was like the culmination of that whole storyline.
00:47:25
Speaker
Um, but this, this was a great one. Um, the right person one. yeah. interesting nxt cameos saul of course being the best one um i agree with everything he said about the music um i had no idea what kiana that kiana's music was kiana's music um and i watched the product ah product um if if lash legends music didn't have lash legend at the beginning of it
00:47:58
Speaker
Yeah. She was also awesome. She was great. Like honorable mention. Great gear to the like the purple, like purple. Looked good. She's come a very long way.
00:48:11
Speaker
um Since her NXT debut. So it's good. Cool to see how how much she's progressed. ah Similar to Maxine, like you Natty with her raging and not rage against the machine theme.
00:48:26
Speaker
Oh, man, I. I ah man, I totally messed up. I wanted to pick her as one of my things because we you know had a natty figure. But you're better off with regular low key legend that a year.
00:48:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. That's true. um Honorable mention. Honorable mention. Honorable mention to Roxanne as well. um You know, I think we're going to we might see a title change as soon as tomorrow.
00:48:54
Speaker
whereas today, the time of airing. on yeah judgment date Judgment Day is the the the death the death knell is is coming for for Judgment Day in general.
00:49:06
Speaker
Maybe. like they want to make They want to make Finn a babyface. They want to... ah After Monday, do they? That that was the farthest thing from a babyface move.
00:49:22
Speaker
It's true. It's true, actually. I don't know. I don't know. I think you can live without with, you know, no, without ah Raquel.
00:49:33
Speaker
Raquel's the baby face in this. Oh, I guess maybe. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. You're going to get I don't know. is It is the diesel baby face turn.
00:49:43
Speaker
Yeah, but I don't know you're that you're going get people to cheer for Raquel over. They did it. They already have. Really? Really? Yeah, she came in as a baby face. OK, we'll see.
00:49:56
Speaker
But yeah, it is. It is giving me HBK Diesel vibes for sure. And that's got to be the intention because, its you know. Yeah, it's the heater baby face turn. You're right. you know, you're right. You're right. You're right.
00:50:09
Speaker
Especially because as much as everybody loves live, she's a great heel. 100 percent. 100 percent. New Jersey represent, by the way. Yeah. elmo Elmwood Elmwood Park County represent.
00:50:21
Speaker
um So that match was great. AJ and Gunther was great. it's It's an AJ Styles match. What would you expect? And a Gunther match. What would you expect?
00:50:38
Speaker
I think the reliance on the sleepers become a little too crazy. He used the the way that he used it in the rumble specifically was unnecessary.
00:50:50
Speaker
Totally. And and it and it like it almost like lowers his ring IQ that he's like so famous for. like I think the way that he uses it in singles matches, it's he's like an he's literally like an anaconda. like Just attempts to squeeze the life out of you at every... And and it's it's a way more pride...
00:51:13
Speaker
pride um based loss, right? Like he's he's making you either tap out or pass out versus like bombing you into of oblivion. When Saul hit the soul snatcher on JC, I believe.
00:51:28
Speaker
Yeah. And then hoisted her up and hooked her out of the ring like yeah that is like finisher. i just destroyed somebody, but I got to get their dead weight out of the ring ring IQ.
00:51:40
Speaker
Gunther's not getting Roman out of the ring like after he's in a sleeper. It's not like he's putting Spike Dudley in a sleeper. It was Randy Savage trying to pin Yokozuna. Like, yeah, it was silly.
00:51:54
Speaker
I also don't agree with him being number 30 in the rumble. I know he had he had declared and had to enter, but that was such a waste of a of a three. Yeah, especially him losing. Like, what's the point then?
00:52:09
Speaker
yeah they They put him in there to literally...
00:52:15
Speaker
like they What was he going to do in there? like what's What does he do next? And he took the air out of the... I don't know if you realize that like watching it, he took the air out of the building.
00:52:25
Speaker
Because everyone still was still anticipating Jericho. Jericho. So you had at 30, everyone was on their feet, and then when that music hit, and the realization came like, oh wait, we haven't seen Gunther yet? Yeah.
00:52:39
Speaker
And then he came out, not only were they booing him... When he wasn't 29, they knew. when Not only were they booing him out of the building, but like all of the energy from the building was gone. And that's not again, that's not to say that like I don't love Gunther and think he's a fantastic heel. I just think that was not... didn't Did him no favors, did the Rumble no favors.
00:53:02
Speaker
Well, I also... You have been better off having literally anyone else on the roster that didn't get into that rumble, like Dominic, Finn. Tom's still hurt.
00:53:15
Speaker
Oh, is he? Which they're going to have to figure something out soon. Got it. Because he's mega-campeon and intercontinental.
00:53:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. ah ah Uncle Howdy. Like, not none of the Wyatts were in the Rumble. like had I don't think they made the trip. Yeah.
00:53:38
Speaker
Yeah, i don't know. that was That was a weird end to that Rumble. um
00:53:44
Speaker
What's it called? He could have had Tala Hickaleo in it, like, just as another big dude. And their faces were on the the ads, too. Like, they're they're the face painted, like, in that, like...
00:53:58
Speaker
That like big image that they had on the side of the building that showed... They had a lot of they had a lot of NXT people, too, who were not there. like Throw Carmelo Hayes in there.
00:54:10
Speaker
Yeah, well, wasn't Carmelo in this. um Where's Montez Ford? like They're on the NXT tour this weekend. right Grab a couple of those people. Throw them in. But, yeah. But, yeah, it's...
00:54:25
Speaker
And again, like, maybe the, you know like somebody said, i forget who said this, but, like, the only people expecting, like, Jericho were the people who were expecting Jericho.
00:54:38
Speaker
Like, we're just gonna keep, like, until he shows up, just being like, oh, this is the time. But... ye um So I think that's part of, like, just, you know, fan wish casting.
00:54:54
Speaker
But, like... Also, no Joe Hendry.
00:55:00
Speaker
That was crazy. That would have been a good 30, actually. well He would have been a good anywhere. But yeah, I think the the Men's Royal Rumble was a lot of really and um left a lot of questions as to what the direction is for WrestleMania.
WrestleMania Storyline Speculation
00:55:18
Speaker
The Women's Royal Rumble, we pretty much know what stories are coming out of that.
00:55:23
Speaker
The Men's Royal Rumble... I don't know what's going to happen and I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. Yep. Yep. Like, I think we're going to get LA Knight and
00:55:38
Speaker
LA Knight and somebody against Theory and Bronson.
00:55:46
Speaker
don't Or do you load up the elimination chamber with them? Well, no, they've got to have a match like that's their build. They injured him. He came back like that's going to be a WrestleMania match.
00:55:58
Speaker
I just don't know who his partner would be. Because Cody's on not even on the same show like. Yeah, and he's got other things to deal with now because he's still dealing with Drew and Jacob, thought too. Do you do LA Knight and the Usos versus the Vision? Like, that's weird, though.
00:56:18
Speaker
Against Logan. Against the three. Maybe that's it. Maybe. Maybe.
Listener Engagement: Toyetic Picks
00:56:26
Speaker
Well, this wraps up another edition of Premium Toyetic Event, Dave. um As always, we want to hear from you guys. Who do you think was the most toyetic from this ah this iconic Big Four PLE?
00:56:42
Speaker
If you're watching this on YouTube, let us know in the comments below. If you are i watching one of the snippets from this on on Instagram or... You just want to let us know there.
00:56:54
Speaker
Let us know there. We'd love to hear from you. But with that, Dave, I think it's ah it's time to to send us home. Bye, everyone. Enjoy the road to WrestleMania.
00:57:06
Speaker
Thank you for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review this podcast wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Learn more about him in the show notes.
00:57:20
Speaker
Our music is Game Boy Horror by The Zombie Danes. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at Adventures in Collecting, and on Twitter at AIC underscore podcast.
00:57:33
Speaker
Stop by and say hi. Show us your hauls and photos. Tell us your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it on a future episode.
00:57:45
Speaker
um try this at home void where prohibited and some assembly required each sold separately not a flying toy consult a physician if your toy run exceeds more than four hours
00:57:53
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer, Frank Hablaoui. This program and many others like it on the Non-Productive Network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.