All Elite Wrestling has finally made it’s way to the 2020 edition of the New York Toy Fair this past weekend and debuted their toy line to the press and the mainstream audience. Their toyline is produced by Jazwares has a series 1 and series 2 and they will both be released in August of this year.
Of the series 1, it will consist of the AEW Superstars Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and The Young Bucks. There will also be a “Chase Edition” of series 1 that will feature Chris Jericho in his “Inner Circle” outfit with the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, and one with Cody Rhodes with is outfit from the All Out event.
Series 2 will consist of Jon Moxley, Dustin Rhodes, “Hangman” Adam Page, MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman), Rey Fenix, and Pentagon JR. The “Chase Edition” has two names that will not be revealed yet until the spring. There will also be two versions of the ring itself as one is an action ring, and the other, will be a full scale ring that will come with 35 pieces. Also, the full scale ring will be packaged with a Kenny Omega figure with his black and green outfit.
There will also be a toy version of the AEW World Heavyweight Championship as well and I spoken to a representative of Jazwares to inquire if there will be plans to have more toy versions of the other championships and I was told that there will be and that will be previewed later this year around New York Comic Con time.
Here is the video of what was displayed at the AEW location at the Jazwares booth along with Kenny Omega and Adam Page’s reaction to seeing their figures for the first time.
And here are my interviews with AEW Superstars Ortiz and Santana, MJF, Darby Allin, and “Hangman” Adam Page as we all talked about the figures and about the upcoming AEW Revolution PPV.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com
February 19, 2020 — Jazwares, a global leader in play, and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the new professional wrestling league that is taking America by storm, are tag-teaming on AEW’s first line of action figures and role play collectibles. Featuring AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, Cody, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley and more, the new AEW UNRIVALED line will be on display at Jazwares’ booth at Toy Fair New York on Feb. 22-26, and will hit retail later this year.
AEW UNRIVALED collectible action figures will boast 25 points of articulation, real 3d scanned likenesses and a variety of accessories and authentic ring wear. With multiple Waves per season, fans can collect the stars of TNT’s new, popular weekly show AEW DYNAMITE, including MJF, Darby Allin, Dr. Britt Baker, Brandi Rhodes, Hangman Page, Jurassic Express and many more.
Each Wave will include limited edition and rare variants to add chase and elation to every release. Other authentic items for Fall 2020 will include the AEW UNRIVALED: Action Ring to play-and-display UNRIVALED figures and the AEW World Championship Title Belt, with even more formats and innovations in development for future seasons.
“AEW has very quickly become one of the most provocative, engaging and relevant wrestling brands of all time. It is a league embraced by generations of fans and collectors in a genre with a huge appetite for authentic product,” said Jeremy Padawer, EVP / Partner Jazwares. “We plan to build out the kind of program that can appeal both to the display collector and also to younger fans who want a tangible way to play and interact with their heroes,” said Michael Rinzler, EVP / Partner Jazwares.
AEW is a new professional wrestling promotion headlined by members of The Elite (Cody & Brandi Rhodes, Matt & Nick Jackson, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page) and Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley. For the first time in many years, AEW is offering an alternative to mainstream wrestling, with a growing roster of world-class male and female wrestlers who are poised to bring new spirit, freshness and energy to the industry. The inaugural event under the AEW banner was DOUBLE OR NOTHING in Las Vegas in May 2019. AEW is broadcasting two-hour weekly shows on TNT on Wednesdays from 8 to 10 p.m. ET. The action- packed matches take place in different cities across the nation each Wednesday. For more info, check out @AEWrestling (Twitter), @AllEliteWrestling (Instagram), / AllEliteWrestling (FB), AllEliteWrestling (YouTube).
Kris Statlander is the newest member of the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) roster and she made her debut not too long ago on AEW Dynamite as Brandi Rhodes wanted to recruit her to her stable The Nightmare Collective. As she is there now, we look to her brief past on her time training at Create A Pro, traveling the road, and her tryout match on WWE Smackdown in this exclusive interview!
You are the first female graduate of Create A Pro. How does it feel to have that honor of being the very first of many females to graduate from the class of wrestlers over there?
KS: “Well honestly, there have been a few girls that have been training there before I have. But I was actually the first one to completely get through the training and it’s a very proud title for me to have for myself. I’m hoping I was able to set some sort of standard for the female and male trainees that come through the school.”
I must say, you and the rest setting the standard opens the door for future women that will go to the school. What was your first few months like over there and do you have any funny stories with Brian Myers? (Curt Hawkins)
KS: “I wish I had some funny stories, he got resigned with WWE shortly before I had debuted so I never got to go on the road with him like some of the other students have. But he’s been like a wrestling dad to me, as have everyone else at CAP. The first few months were incredibly challenging as have the rest of wrestling is. Wrestling itself is like the hardest thing ever. But everyone was beyond supportive and basically made sure I wouldn’t give up or quit because they all believed in me so much. It really became a family for me very quickly. “
I have seen you wrestle at places such as Beyond Wrestling, Chaotic, and Limitless Wrestling. How far in your training did you adjust to the travel schedule in the northeast for these promotions?
KS: “There’s no really way to adjust, at least there wasn’t really for me. I just started saying yes to everybody and kind of had to just deal with it and figure it out as I go. There’s nothing to prepare you for all of the driving and travel you have to do, it’s just sort of part of the job if you want to make it in my opinion.”
You also appeared on Smackdown Live a few months ago going against The IIconics. What was it like for you to finally be seen on television that is watched by millions and did you tell anyone that you were going to appear on Smackdown before the match happened? Or did everyone found out as they watched?
KS: “I was told the match would happen shortly before they opened doors to that episode of Smackdown. I didn’t tell anybody at home or anything I don’t think because I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew my family would be watching anyways. It was amazing to be on TV, although going into it I wasn’t really focused on that and I was focused and making sure I did my part to make sure the math went as well as it could have. It was also amazing to see how many people online knew who I was even though I wasn’t in my alien form haha.”
Outside of the ring, what do you like to do on your spare time? and how has life for you changed since you started your journey as a professional wrestler?
KS: “My life is always changing and I’m always adding new things in my life. The major change in it, is the amount of traveling I’ve been doing, which is exciting but also very tiring. I just like my time at home to be just time at home. With my dog and my loved ones. Get some good workouts in and just relax during some time off the road.”
Who do you see yourself having a match with in the future since you are now in AEW? And what are some locations around the world that you would love to wrestle at?
KS: “I just want to wrestle anyone and everyone everywhere, I love meeting new people and I love getting to create something new with somebody new. But Rhio is the Women’s Champion and she would be a great opponent!”
Fresh out of All Out, All Elite Wrestling is set to make their New York Comic Con debut this month with their own panel. TNT released the information today with their plans of their lineup for the week of NYCC and AEW is one of them from what you can see below.
All Elite Wrestling on TNT with Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Brandi Rhodes and more
Friday, October 4 from 4:15pm to 5:15pm at the Javits Center in Room 1A10
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s a movement fueled by fans, offering fun, gripping and authentic athletic matches every week. AEW’s diverse roster of world-class wrestlers is poised to bring a new spirit, freshness and energy to wrestling. Join Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens), Nyla Rose and Jungle Boy (Jack Perry) for a ringside view of the revolution on TNT, which premieres live on Wednesday, October 2 from 8:00pm to 10:00pm ET.
About TNT
TNT, a WarnerMedia Entertainment brand, is basic cable’s #1 network in primetime among young adults and is home to some of television’s most popular slate of original series, including The Alienist, Animal Kingdom, Claws, I Am the Night and the upcoming sequel The Alienist: The Angel of Darkness. TNT’s forthcoming, premium unscripted series include Shaq Life and the live, multiplatform event Chasing the Cure. TNT also presents popular shows such as Bones and Castle; primetime specials and sports coverage, including the NBA and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships and the forthcoming, professional wrestling league All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Chicago is always a great place to visit every year no matter if it is windy or not. The weather will go right out the way once you make your way to the Mccormick Convention Center for C2E2. C2E2 is the biggest comic and entertainment convention in Chicago and it will keep on getting bigger for the years to come. In fact, this year is their 10th year anniversary and it was clearly celebrated during the three day show whether if it was a panel, or fan meetup, screening, cosplay, and gaming, you name it. I have seen it all over my three days over there and here is my recap of this year’s edition of C2E2.
First, I would like to thank ReedPop for approving myself and Fidelina Roman with a media badge as we alway love to cover your shows. This year, the show felt more bigger than last year’s there were much more space dedicated to gaming as well this year and I believe that happened due to the fan feedback from last year’s show. There were gaming tournaments that took place over there as well. At the booths where comic books were being sold, there were many people looking for vintage comics (especially the Marvel line based on the people that I have spoken to since Avengers: End Game is coming next month). Also to add, I heard that someone was stealing comics from different vendors over there and I did not know it was true until it was reported on the news that it actually did happen (https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/indiana-man-accused-stealing-rare-comic-books-c2e2). Friday and Sunday the crowd was decent in many areas. Saturday however, was the most crowded. I am used to this type of crowd now since I have covered different shows for the last seven years so it did not bother me. There was also a blood drive that took place during the convention too that took place right by the entrance. The big panels took place at the main panel hall at room S406 and it filled up each time with the big name panels but I will get to that in a few paragraphs. Overall, between navigating each area from the panel rooms to the show floor, it was easier this year than any other year.
There were many panels that took place during C2E2 and there was also my panel. For the first time ever, I host a panel and it was Wrestling Soup featuring Anthony Missionary Thomas, Jon Draper, and myself as we took the stage on Friday to give our predictions of WrestleMania. We also talked about Captain Marvel, Avengers End Game, and The Punisher. We even gave away prizes to members of the crowd and it was a very fun experience to see about 100 people showing up to see us. It felt very satisfying that it happened and I would do it again.
All Elite Wrestling members The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega also took the stage that morning to talk about AEW and many questions directed towards them that many fans wanted to know were addressed. They addressed the fact that there will be no contract tampering with current WWE Superstars, but they did say that they have a wishlist of who they wanted to be signed with AEW. They also said that All In 2 will take place this year in Chicago in the same arena it took place last year. They also talked about how Brandi Rhodes came up with the idea to tackle sensory issues that is often never taken care of on WWE programming and Kenny Omega answered a fan question about an AEW comic book and video game. There were more questions that were answered and they made it clear that CM Punk will not wrestle at AEW. Great panel from the three of them and you can check it out right here.
Another great panel featured the writers and artists of DC Comics that featured Cecil Castellucci, Marv Wolfman, Robert Venditti, and Tim Seely as this panel was titled “Super Heroes of DC”. This panel featured a discussion with the four about the DC Comic stories that impacted the industry from their time, to the current. The panel was interesting to get an insight of what they were thinking at the time and how those stories shaped for the present day in the comic book world.
One of the biggest panels at the show was the Clueless reunion panel that featured Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Breckin Meyer, and Donald Faison as they took the stage to tell funny stories of their time on the movie and what did they do on their break time away from filming the movie. Breckin Meyer was also very funny during this panel and I loved it. Paul Rudd was also flooded with Avengers: End Game questions since he will appear in the movie as Ant Man once again and I knew from the start that many Marvel related questions would go his way and he even told a heart warming story about Stan Lee. This panel is a must watch.
My press coverage over there was great and it begins with Into The Badlands. I was also supposed to attend the screening of the newest episode, but I had time constraints. So a key takeaway here is that the creators already had an arc for the 16 episode season that would end with a conclusion that would, by their words, “reboot” the series and “take it in a different direction”. They go on to say, however, that they saw the writing on the wall about cancellation as they were writing the back half of the season and realized that they’re most likely working towards a conclusion instead of a continuation. They assured people that all major questions and plot/character arcs will be resolved, but left some doors open, which I assume is for the possibility to continue the story should they get picked up by another platform. If you want to watch the response yourself it is at the 10:48 time-stamp. Daniel Wu is very passionate of the series so I could not blame him of his frustration since I am also a fan of the show.
The cast and the executive producer of NBC’s The Blacklist were also in attendance at C2E2 as they spoken to the press at the roundtable interviews.I can also say that I stumped Jon during the interviews three times but he was great to speak to. I see how popular the show has gotten over the years and they appreciate the fan feedback from across the world. The talkers of the press roundtables are Jon Bokenkamp, Harry Lennix, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq, and Clark Middleton.
I also interviewed legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette as we talked about Mid South, World Class Championship Wrestling, his trouble getting to the arena at Keystone Comic Con compared to C2E2, and much more in this quick, fun, and entertaining quick interview.
The cosplay at C2E2 was great and this year’s big influence is Captain Marvel since the movie was released a few weeks before the show. I have seen really good ones raging from different genres and fandoms of Mortal Kombat, Overwatch, Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Super Mario, and much more. I even made a best of cosplay video for you to see along with some the photos below.
C2E2 was great this year as usual and I would cover it again next year! I do know that it will be in February next year so it will be a challenge. I would recommend the show for anyone in the Chicago area. Now here are my final pictures as I fanboy with CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Eric Bischoff, and Amir Arison.
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