WWE Mystery Minis discontinued?

[jimmyk888]

Was there an announcement that this line has been discontinued and replaced with PSH?

[CaseyJones14]

A little quick to jump to that conclusion?

[jimmyk888]

A little quick to jump to that conclusion?

I hope you're right, but Series 2 was announced in Feb 2016.

[CaseyJones14]

I hope you're right, but Series 2 was announced in Feb 2016.

Oh dang I didn't know it was that long ago

[FredKruger]

Plenty of minis have came out since PSH were introduced. Possibly with Funko going public minis could vanish, but doubtful.

[Gothamite]

Plenty of minis have came out since PSH were introduced. Possibly with Funko going public minis could vanish, but doubtful.

It's amazing how a query about one particular line of minis can be taken to mean that all minis were being canceled.

[FredKruger]

Plenty of minis have came out since PSH were introduced. Possibly with Funko going public minis could vanish, but doubtful.

It's amazing how a query about one particular line of minis can be taken to mean that all minis were being canceled.

We love our minis. It is general speculation with Funko going public, and the notion that PSH would replace minis is not a new theory on here.

[Gothamite]

I don't know why people would make that leap. PSH are obviously smaller versions of Dorbz, whereas Minis are their own thing. Funko cancels products that people find repulsive/unattractive and thus don't buy, such as Vinyl Idolz and the "uncanny valley" Wobblers. (One wonders who would greenlight either of those in the first place.)

[Geescube]

Plenty of minis have came out since PSH were introduced. Possibly with Funko going public minis could vanish, but doubtful.

Kill me now!!!!!!!!!! Lol, I was just talking to a friend about Minis. I told him I genuinely think I may NEED minis more than Pops and I never thought Id ever admit that.

[FredKruger]

I don't know why people would make that leap. PSH are obviously smaller versions of Dorbz, whereas Minis are their own thing. Funko cancels products that people find repulsive/unattractive and thus don't buy, such as Vinyl Idolz and the "uncanny valley" Wobblers. (One wonders who would greenlight either of those in the first place.)

I agree PSH are totally different. I think with some series waiting longer for the next one (horror, wwf, sci-fi) people are worried we won't get any more. I'd chalk it up to speculation.

[Gothamite]

I agree PSH are totally different. I think with some series waiting longer for the next one (horror, wwf, sci-fi) people are worried we won't get any more. I'd chalk it up to speculation.

They need to stop causing themselves anxiety, . With regards to wrestling, I think slow sales put a damper on things. I still see the same ones on Target and Walmart shelves.

[KnightsOfRey]

With WWE in particular I think there could be two things going on here. One is that WWE Series 2 is shelf-warming hard in my area. If they view that set as a bust, they may be hesitant to go back for a third pass. The other thing is that they might think they've exhausted all the low-hanging fruit. Can you think of a lineup of 24-ish wrestlers, none of whom were in Series 1 or 2, that compares favorably with the Series 1 or 2 lineups? Certainly there are popular current superstars and maybe B+ list older wrestlers who don't have minis, but are they names that are going to sell like a Hogan or a Rock?

I don't really buy into the "PSH replacing Minis" theory because over the second half of the year it seems like there have been more Mini lines released and announced than PSH lines. The mini lines have become more narrowly focused on specific IPs or movies, whereas PSH are still kind of doing the more generic Sci-Fi/Horror/Disney lines like MM previously did. This suggests to me that they view Minis as an established enough proposition that they can do a set for a single movie and have confidence that it will sell.

[keyese]

I think they have so many different lines going that there's a backlog of series to start and continue. Like I'm shocked they haven't done a series 2 of Princesses and Companions (like animal based ones, Princes, more villains, etc). I don't think PSH will replace minis, since we've seen a couple series now have lines in both.

[Classier]

With WWE in particular I think there could be two things going on here. One is that WWE Series 2 is shelf-warming hard in my area. If they view that set as a bust, they may be hesitant to go back for a third pass. The other thing is that they might think they've exhausted all the low-hanging fruit. Can you think of a lineup of 24-ish wrestlers, none of whom were in Series 1 or 2, that compares favorably with the Series 1 or 2 lineups? Certainly there are popular current superstars and maybe B+ list older wrestlers who don't have minis, but are they names that are going to sell like a Hogan or a Rock?

I don't really buy into the "PSH replacing Minis" theory because over the second half of the year it seems like there have been more Mini lines released and announced than PSH lines. The mini lines have become more narrowly focused on specific IPs or movies, whereas PSH are still kind of doing the more generic Sci-Fi/Horror/Disney lines like MM previously did. This suggests to me that they view Minis as an established enough proposition that they can do a set for a single movie and have confidence that it will sell.

I could easily make a list of 24-ish superstars, but then again, I watch WWE every week, so I'm not the best person to judge on this.

[Quazimoto]

The other thing is that they might think they've exhausted all the low-hanging fruit. Can you think of a lineup of 24-ish wrestlers, none of whom were in Series 1 or 2, that compares favorably with the Series 1 or 2 lineups?

Challenge Accepted...

1. AJ Styles
2. Kevin Owens
3. Xaiver Woods
4. Big E
5. Kofi Kingston
6. Bray Wyatt
7. The Miz
8. Samoa Joe
9. Finn Balor
10. Sasha Banks
11. Bayley
12. Charlotte
13. Alexa Bliss
14. Becky Lynch
15. Nia Jax
16. Dean Ambrose
17. Sheamus
18. Cesaro
19. Matt Hardy
20. Jeff Hardy
21. Jimmy Uso
22. Jey Uso
23. Zack Ryder
24. Neville
25. Barron Corbin
26. Shinsuke Nakamura
27. The Big Show
28. Braun Strowman
29. Chris Jericho
30. Dolph Ziggler
31. Enzo Amore
32. Kane
33. Rusev

And How About Some Legends Too...

1. Eddie Guerrero
2. Big Boss Man
3. Booker T
4. Edge
5. Mick Foley
6. Junkyard Dog
7. Kurt Angle
8. Lita
9. Mae Yong
10. Beth Phoenix
11. Trish Stratus
12. Mr Perfect
13. Paul Bearer
14. Ricky Steamboat
15. Rick Rude
16. Shawn Michaels
17. Triple H
18. Terry Funk
19. Bushwhacker Luke
20. Bushwhacker Butch
21. LOD Hawk
22. LOD Animal
23. Demolition Smash
24. Demolition Ax
25. Tito Santana
26. Rick Martel
27. Yokozuna
28. Bam Bam Bigelow
29. Batista
30. The British Bulldog
31. Christian
32. Eaarthquake
33. Hillbilly Jim
34. Kamala
35. King Kong Bundy
36. Lex Luger
37. Vader
38. Psycho Sid
39. Buba Ray Dudley
40. Devon Dudley
41. Rob Van Dam
42. Rhyon
43. Raven
44. Tommy Dreamer
45. Tajiro
46. William Regal
47. Finlay
48. Kamala
49. X-Pac
50. Road Dogg
51. Billy Gunn

And that's not even all of them. There's literally enough superstars in WWE and WWE History, many with multiple variations possible, to make a full 12 different figure Mystery Mini set every year for more than a decade. There's absolutely no way they simply ran out of viable options yet, so if WWE Mystery Minis are done, it's simply because Series 2 didn't sell as well as they'd like. I could see that as a very real possibility honestly. IMO, Funko made a big mistake going with a mostly black colored series. One of the most alluring things about Series 1 was how colorful and vibrant it was. Series 2 was almost all black attires. Sure, wrestling fans will buy them regardless, but with such a mundane color palate to the base series (ie not the Jake Roberts, Razor Ramon, and Sgt Slaughter Target exclusives), it lacks the pop to draw in the eyes casual Funko collectors who impulse buy based on neat sculpts of great colors (I find there are a surprising amount of them). Not saying it was the only reason for potentially lesser sales compared to series 1, but I certainly think it was a factor.

IMO, it'd be a terrible shame if there are never any more WWE Mystery Minis. Even taking away my bias as a wrestling fan, they were one of, if not the, best produced Mystery Minis Funko's done.

[Squird]

A little quick to jump to that conclusion?

I hope you're right, but Series 2 was announced in Feb 2016.

How old is this thread?

There have been two WWE series. One being fairly current roster, the second being Old School heavy.

[Classier]

The other thing is that they might think they've exhausted all the low-hanging fruit. Can you think of a lineup of 24-ish wrestlers, none of whom were in Series 1 or 2, that compares favorably with the Series 1 or 2 lineups?

Challenge Accepted...

1. AJ Styles
2. Kevin Owens
3. Xaiver Woods
4. Big E
5. Kofi Kingston
6. Bray Wyatt
7. The Miz
8. Samoa Joe
9. Finn Balor
10. Sasha Banks
11. Bayley
12. Charlotte
13. Alexa Bliss
14. Becky Lynch
15. Nia Jax
16. Dean Ambrose
17. Sheamus
18. Cesaro
19. Matt Hardy
20. Jeff Hardy
21. Jimmy Uso
22. Jey Uso
23. Zack Ryder
24. Neville
25. Barron Corbin
26. Shinsuke Nakamura
27. The Big Show
28. Braun Strowman
29. Chris Jericho
30. Dolph Ziggler
31. Enzo Amore
32. Kane
33. Rusev

And How About Some Legends Too...

1. Eddie Guerrero
2. Big Boss Man
3. Booker T
4. Edge
5. Mick Foley
6. Junkyard Dog
7. Kurt Angle
8. Lita
9. Mae Yong
10. Beth Phoenix
11. Trish Stratus
12. Mr Perfect
13. Paul Bearer
14. Ricky Steamboat
15. Rick Rude
16. Shawn Michaels
17. Triple H
18. Terry Funk
19. Bushwhacker Luke
20. Bushwhacker Butch
21. LOD Hawk
22. LOD Animal
23. Demolition Smash
24. Demolition Ax
25. Tito Santana
26. Rick Martel
27. Yokozuna
28. Bam Bam Bigelow
29. Batista
30. The British Bulldog
31. Christian
32. Eaarthquake
33. Hillbilly Jim
34. Kamala
35. King Kong Bundy
36. Lex Luger
37. Vader
38. Psycho Sid
39. Buba Ray Dudley
40. Devon Dudley
41. Rob Van Dam
42. Rhyon
43. Raven
44. Tommy Dreamer
45. Tajiro
46. William Regal
47. Finlay
48. Kamala
49. X-Pac
50. Road Dogg
51. Billy Gunn

And that's not even all of them. There's literally enough superstars in WWE and WWE History, many with multiple variations possible, to make a full 12 different figure Mystery Mini set every year for more than a decade. There's absolutely no way they simply ran out of viable options yet, so if WWE Mystery Minis are done, it's simply because Series 2 didn't sell as well as they'd like. I could see that as a very real possibility honestly. IMO, Funko made a big mistake going with a mostly black colored series. One of the most alluring things about Series 1 was how colorful and vibrant it was. Series 2 was almost all black attires. Sure, wrestling fans will buy them regardless, but with such a mundane color palate to the base series (ie not the Jake Roberts, Razor Ramon, and Sgt Slaughter Target exclusives), it lacks the pop to draw in the eyes casual Funko collectors who impulse buy based on neat sculpts of great colors (I find there are a surprising amount of them). Not saying it was the only reason for potentially lesser sales compared to series 1, but I certainly think it was a factor.

IMO, it'd be a terrible shame if there are never any more WWE Mystery Minis. Even taking away my bias as a wrestling fan, they were one of, if not the, best produced Mystery Minis Funko's done.

Let's just go and add Tye Dillinger to your list there.

In all seriousness, I think the more Muscly guys like Braun and Big Show would look really good in the style.

[Quazimoto]

The other thing is that they might think they've exhausted all the low-hanging fruit. Can you think of a lineup of 24-ish wrestlers, none of whom were in Series 1 or 2, that compares favorably with the Series 1 or 2 lineups?

Challenge Accepted...

Let's just go and add Tye Dillinger to your list there.

In all seriousness, I think the more Muscly guys like Braun and Big Show would look really good in the style.

Yeah, I didn't even include any guys or gals from NXT or recently called up. Point being that Funko running out of options for a WWE MM series is definitely the last reason they'd ever stop making them.

[KnightsOfRey]

I think people have kind of misunderstood what I was saying above. I know there are more than 24 popular wrestlers they haven't done yet. My challenge was, can you come up with a list of just 24 names that you can put next to the list of wrestlers in series 1 and the list in series 2 and say "yeah this is definitely on that same level from a mass market perspective".

That's why I think they might be skeptical. With Series 1 they used up most of the wrestlers that even people who don't watch wrestling are familiar with. They want to create sets that appeal to people who are either wrestling fans or funko collectors. If they have to settle for people who are wrestling fans and Funko collectors, that is a significantly smaller market.

I also agree with the point that Series 2 wasn't as visually appealing as Series 1. I think Series 1 was like a top 5 all time Mystery Mini set, but to me Series 2 is boring at best, unpleasant to look at at worst.

[Quazimoto]

I think people have kind of misunderstood what I was saying above. I know there are more than 24 popular wrestlers they haven't done yet. My challenge was, can you come up with a list of just 24 names that you can put next to the list of wrestlers in series 1 and the list in series 2 and say "yeah this is definitely on that same level from a mass market perspective".

That's why I think they might be skeptical. With Series 1 they used up most of the wrestlers that even people who don't watch wrestling are familiar with. They want to create sets that appeal to people who are either wrestling fans or funko collectors. If they have to settle for people who are wrestling fans and Funko collectors, that is a significantly smaller market.

I also agree with the point that Series 2 wasn't as visually appealing as Series 1. I think Series 1 was like a top 5 all time Mystery Mini set, but to me Series 2 is boring at best, unpleasant to look at at worst.

About half the list I posted above are easily recognizable enough to get both wrestling fans and Funko fans real excited. And there's plenty of names there that would make folks do a double take and say "Hey, I remember watching these guys back in the day" and pick up a few on impulse. Outside or wrestling and Funko fans, no one's going to buy a whole set and wrestling is a niche enough market that you're just not going to draw in a whole lot of casual browsers that buy a few, especially given the mystery aspect. Obviously, no one would expect them to sell as well as something like Star Wars or Disney or Marvel, but there's plenty of quality names left to do to warrant at least one or two more series. After that you might need to start doing more variant of already made characters, but there's plenty of those too... Hollywood Hogan, Ric Flair in different colored robes or just wrestling gear, Jake Roberts with the cobra, ABA Undertaker, different colors on guys like Ultimate Warrior, John Cena, Bret Hart, Macho Man, etc... Plenty of options.

I genuinely think that either Funko is just taking a year off from WWE MM given the PSH came out this year (even though I can't find them anywhere and can't afford eBay prices) or that Series 2 didn't sell so well and is causing hesitation on their part. If it's the latter, going with such a drab color pallet for series 2 really was a huge mistake. Either that or they just made way too many.

One might also consider that Mystery Minis as a whole maybe don't sell as well as other Funko lines. There has been less MM sets that in past years (or at least it seems that way to me - I haven't looked at the numbers to be sure). And with Funko filing an IPO soon and already being significantly in debt, maybe they're dialing back on things that aren't super sellers.

[Quazimoto]

I think people have kind of misunderstood what I was saying above. I know there are more than 24 popular wrestlers they haven't done yet. My challenge was, can you come up with a list of just 24 names that you can put next to the list of wrestlers in series 1 and the list in series 2 and say "yeah this is definitely on that same level from a mass market perspective".

That's why I think they might be skeptical. With Series 1 they used up most of the wrestlers that even people who don't watch wrestling are familiar with. They want to create sets that appeal to people who are either wrestling fans or funko collectors. If they have to settle for people who are wrestling fans and Funko collectors, that is a significantly smaller market.

I also agree with the point that Series 2 wasn't as visually appealing as Series 1. I think Series 1 was like a top 5 all time Mystery Mini set, but to me Series 2 is boring at best, unpleasant to look at at worst.

No, I totally understood what you're saying, I just don't personally think it's too high a factor. Maybe a bit of one, but not the main things. Funko does plenty of things that are not mass appeal popular. About half the list I posted above are easily recognizable enough to get both wrestling fans and Funko fans real excited. And there's plenty of names there that would make folks do a double take and say "Hey, I remember watching these guys back in the day" and pick up a few on impulse. Outside or wrestling and Funko fans, no one's going to buy a whole set and wrestling is a niche enough market that you're just not going to draw in a whole lot of casual browsers that buy a few, especially given the mystery aspect. Obviously, no one would expect them to sell as well as something like Star Wars or Disney or Marvel, but there's plenty of quality names left to do to warrant at least one or two more series. After that you might need to start doing more variant of already made characters, but there's plenty of those too... Hollywood Hogan, Ric Flair in different colored robes or just wrestling gear, Jake Roberts with the cobra, ABA Undertaker, different colors on guys like Ultimate Warrior, John Cena, Bret Hart, Macho Man, etc... Plenty of options.

I genuinely think that either Funko is just taking a year off from WWE MM given the PSH came out this year (even though I can't find them anywhere and can't afford eBay prices) or that Series 2 didn't sell so well and is causing hesitation on their part. If it's the latter, going with such a drab color pallet for series 2 really was a huge mistake. Either that or they just made way too many.

One might also consider that Mystery Minis as a whole maybe don't sell as well as other Funko lines. There has been less MM sets that in past years (or at least it seems that way to me - I haven't looked at the numbers to be sure). And with Funko filing an IPO soon and already being significantly in debt, maybe they're dialing back on things that aren't super sellers.[/quote]

[allcutethings2]

I think they have so many different lines going that there's a backlog of series to start and continue. Like I'm shocked they haven't done a series 2 of Princesses and Companions (like animal based ones, Princes, more villains, etc). I don't think PSH will replace minis, since we've seen a couple series now have lines in both.

I really think a Princess and Companions or Villains and Pets series 2 is in the works - there are so many characters that haven't been done yet, and at Funko HQ, there's a Lumiere next to Belle and Cogsworth in the same style that I've never seen released.

[bspears82]

I hope they keep this going.

[MinisculeWayne]

PLEEEEEEAAAAAAAASE make more WWE Mystery Minis!!

The only batch of the only line of the only toys I have bought in my entire adult life! It's all I want. It's all I'm asking!!

[FredKruger]

PLEEEEEEAAAAAAAASE make more WWE Mystery Minis!!

The only batch of the only line of the only toys I have bought in my entire adult life! It's all I want. It's all I'm asking!!

There are too many more wrestlers to make. They can't stop now.

[MinisculeWayne]

PLEEEEEEAAAAAAAASE make more WWE Mystery Minis!!

The only batch of the only line of the only toys I have bought in my entire adult life! It's all I want. It's all I'm asking!!

There are too many more wrestlers to make. They can't stop now.

That's the right attitude!! Bring on the WWE Mystery Minis!!