10 Strangest Places WWE Props Ended Up
Hands off the merchandise!
Zack Ryder's got some cracking collectibles.
If old WWE wrestling figures are your thing (and if they're not, maybe just skim past the next two paragraphs), 'Long Island Iced Z's YouTube videos are better now than when he was at the peak of his social media powers. Alongside on-screen partner and real life best mate Curt Hawkins, Ryder's finally found a way to make his enormous collection work for him with a podcast and WWE mini-series all about the toys he's never been able to grow out of.
As a timestamp for one of the industry's hottest ever periods, the Hasbro WWE figure line remain a firm favourite for fans of a certain age. If a rarity or oddity appears online, it's likely because Ryder's been doing the leg work to get it. Brutus Beefcake in his Megamaniacs clobber or a green Randy Savage only ever seen in a catalogue are the sort of things that have impossibly high financial and sentimental value to those that give a sh*t, so it's likely they'll end up in Ryder's Orlando playroom sooner or later.
The final destination for some of these unique pieces of wrestling history are altogether more surprising...
10. Steve Austin's Boots - With Jim Ross
Jim Ross and Stone Cold Steve Austin's famous friendship was solidified by the time they spent together during 'The Rattlesnake's iconic WWE tenure after surviving the difficult spell after Austin walked away from the organisation in 2002.
It was Ross that brokered a conversation between Stone Cold and Vince McMahon several months after Austin's destructive burnout had subsided, with those discussions ultimately leading to the return of the Attitude Era icon in time for a WrestleMania XIX clash with legendary rival The Rock.
It would be his final proper match.
24 hours earlier, Austin was rushed to hospital with a laundry list of conditions including, most troublingly, a racing heart that gave him fears for his life. JR was with him that night as just he was on the 'Show Of Shows' itself as the only one to know that this match would be his last.
The old tradition of leaving boots in the ring didn't apply to Austin's unexpected retirement - it remained a secret to everybody apart from Ross until after the fact - but the former WWE Champion had other plans for them. He handed them over to the announcer as a ultra-valuable keepsake.