The Weird World of Wrestling Tie-Ins – Pro wrestling has long blurred the lines between sporting discipline and pure fantasy, so its no wonder it’s become so intertwined with pop culture over the decades. Promotions like WCW, WWE and World Xtreme Wrestling alike have held audiences captive with their theatricality and, of course, those larger than life personalities.
Being such a pop culture staple, the world of wrestling has spawned many a tie-in, ranging from video games to truly appalling adventures on the silver screen. On the gaming side of things, we’ve had mammoth franchises like WWE 2K right the way through to highly successful online slots that are wrestling themed, such as PokerStars Casino’s popular title WWE Legends. As for wrestling movies, well, it would be pretty difficult to write any article about the industry’s place in the cultural zeitgeist without at least mentioning No Holds Barred.
Released at the height of 1980s Hulkmania, Thomas J. Wright’s celluloid fever dream follows the trials and tribulations of Rip Thomas (Hogan). While it’s a chore to get through nowadays, it certainly stands up better than Ready To Rumble (2000), which many a fan still claim brought about the demise of World Championship Wrestling.
Wrestling’s leading lights have also lent their likeness to an array of products, from lunchboxes to bedding. Naturally, these tie-ins have served as pretty effective marketing tools for pro wrestling promotions, and also help solidify each wrestler’s status as a household name. In recent years, though, wrestling tie-ins have taken on an increasingly bizarre form. Let’s explore some of the weirdest pro-wrestling tie-ins to have emerged in recent memory, from officially licensed merchandise to bootleg but nonetheless unforgettable products.
WWE Superstar Fruity Pebbles Cereal
Let’s kick this list off with a real doozy. In a collaboration that left wrestling fans and the average consumer scratching their heads, in 2011, World Wrestling Entertainment officially partnered with Post Foods to release a limited edition Superstar Fruity Pebbles cereal. While featuring a wrestler on the box of a breakfast cereal wasn’t necessarily unheard of at the time (see 1991’s WWF Superstars cereal) the choice of a stony faced John Cena to be front and centre on the sugary snack campaign nevertheless was.
The Undertaker Wines
Love him or loathe him, there’s no denying the longevity of The Undertaker as one of pro’s wrestling’s most famous characters — or should that be infamous? Given his high profile status, the four-time WWE/F World Champion has been immortalised in all manner of memorabilia and merchandise since he first hit the ring in the late 1980s, including a nice Cabernet Sauvignon!
That’s right, in the 2000s, a vineyard in California unreleased a diabolical line of wines inspired by the legendary wrestler, with red grape varieties like The Last Ride and Dead Man Walking epitomising his dastardly ways. Keen to capitalise on the emerging trend for wrestler-themed libations, the WWE soon jumped on the train and have since released the succinctly named The Undertaker, a 2018 vintage with a glow in the dark label (a must!).
Hulk Hogan’s Pastamania Restaurant
We’ve gotta hand it to Terry Eugene Bollea,, there’s very little this man hasn’t done in the name of self-promotion! As well as being an icon in the ring, Hogan was one of the most commercially-aware pro wrestlers of the 20th century. During the midst of yet another career peak in the 1990s, he would go one step further than simply lending his visage to merchandise and open up a restaurant.
Imaginatively named Pastamania and located in the Mall of America (Bloomington), the eatery served up delectable dishes with names as appealing as Hulk-Us and Hulk-A-Roos. Sadly, after a short-lived run the restaurant had to close its doors for good, but we’re still talking about it here in 2024 so its legend lives on!.
Macho Man Randy Savage Slim Jims
You only have to glance at a pro wrestler to see how seriously they take their protein intake, so becoming the face of a meat-based snack probably isn’t all that far out in terms of merchandising. In fact, Macho Man Randy Savage’s endorsement deal with Slim Jim didn’t just result in a truly unforgettable wrestling tie-in, it even gave him career progression by facilitating his move to the WCW. According to Eric Bischoff, former WCW head, Savage’s move to the promotion and subsequent first contrast was “entirely subsidised by Slim Jim”.
The Weird World of Wrestling Tie-Ins
