WWE Trades Ruthless Aggression For PG | Wrestling Timelines

February 13, 2008 | Mattel

Jeff Hardy Mattel
WWE.com

On February 18, 2008, WWE issues a press release confirming that the company has reached a deal with Mattel which, beginning in 2010, will produce action figures, accessories, playsets and more as part of a “comprehensive multi-year licensing agreement”. Mattel, which after the Lego Group is the second largest toy manufacturer worldwide, is awarded the WWE master toy license. This was previously owned by Jakks Pacific, which will now produce merchandise for Total Non-Stop Action (TNA). The Mattel deal is brokered by Donna Goldsmith, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Products.

This is a big deal. The exact definition of “big” is unknown, but it must be very, very lucrative, since WWE strikes the deal with Mattel under the promise that it will tone down programming and gear it towards a family audience ahead of the 2010 rollout.

In the meantime, astonishingly, WWE posts company-record profits for, of all years, 2007. The profit reaches $52,100,000. This number is bolstered by WWE’s heavy overseas touring, with many punters in under-served foreign markets paying a lot of money to watch WWE live for possibly the first time. This novelty is not a sustainable revenue stream long-term. As impressive as this is, WWE is a publicly-traded company. Even the best-ever number is not good enough. It can always be bigger. Much bigger.

WWE hopes to make more money than ever before, over the long-term, by attracting lucrative sponsors. It has finally dawned on the company that the generational box office pull of Steve Austin and the Rock belongs to a different paradigm, and that a shift is needed.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!