It’s been over six years since he left the WWE, but Hulk Hogan is back home once again. Hulk opened up last night’s Monday Night Raw and announced he would be host of Wrestlemania XXX. (That seems so appropriate, given Hulk’s sex tape scandal.) During his absence from the WWE, the toy license switched hands from JAKKS Pacific to Mattel – and as such, no Hulk Hogan action figures have been made by Mattel thus far.
This much is certain – the Hulk-sized void in your Mattel WWE action figure collection will be filled. The only question is – when? Is San Diego Comic-Con too soon?
Hogan left WWE rival TNA back in October last year. And while news of his WWE return started surfacing last month, it’s been rumored that he had a contract to return as soon as he had left TNA. If true, there’d be a runway of about nine months to SDCC. Would that make an SDCC exclusive Hulk Hogan possible? Yes. Probable? It’d be a stretch.
I’ve heard from several folks in the business that the lead time for action figures is at best six months – and that is a compressed timeline. For a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive, Mattel (and Hasbro) are known to plan a year in advance.
I’d argue that Hulk Hogan exclusive for SDCC would be very fitting for the Mattel line. Their 2010 exclusive was for Undertaker from Wrestlemania 15. Mattel could make an announcement of the figure to coincide with Wrestlemania 30 – the date for the pay-per-view event is April 6, and Mattel has made previous announcements of their SDCC exclusives (like Undertaker) in April. And Hulk, with his long history, has multiple looks to draw upon, so an exclusive for SDCC wouldn’t preclude many more figures in the retail line.
But if I had to bet, it’s more likely that SDCC will bring an announcement of one or more Hulk Hogan action figures. Perhaps we’d see a videotaped message, like the one Mattel did with Macho Man. Or do you think Mattel has enough juice to get the Hulkster to show up to SDCC in person? That’d definitely be a coup.
Here’s Hulk’s entrance and promo from last night’s Raw. Was his return triumphant? You be the judge.
WWE Hall of Famer returns to a WWE ring for the first time in more than six years.
via The immortal Hulk Hogan returns to Monday Night Raw: Raw, Feb. 24, 2014 – YouTube.
Maybe a Paul Bearer for SDCC. Especially with his death and inauguration into the WWE Hall of Fame. We’ll get Hulk Hogan soon enough, in multiple forms. Classic Hogan, NWO Hogan, and Hulk Still Rules Hogan.