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WWE Superstar Zack Ryder got a chance to rip into these awesome new TMNT wrestling figures. Image Source: WWE.
NewsToy/Action Figures

WWE Superstar Zack Ryder Opens Up New TMNT Wrestling Figures

by Justin W
written by Justin W

WWE’s TMNT wrestling figures were one of the biggest announcements made during NYCC 2016. Nobody saw these bad boys coming, and they’re already starting to appear in Walmart stores all over the United States.

The official launch will be in November, just in time for the holiday season, but it would appear that WWE Superstar Zack Ryder was given the chance to check out these toys before anyone else. In the following videos, Ryder literally rips into each and every TMNT toy from this line, even playing with them at times to show off all of the sick moves they can pull off!

To be fair, some collectors probably won’t want to see this guy literally tearing the packaging to shreds. That being said, it’s totally within his character model to do something like this, so I can forgive the action.

At one point, Ryder doesn’t even know what to call the scythe that Donatello/Undertaker is holding. I can’t decide whether that’s just a part of the character he plays or if he really didn’t know what to call this tool. Either way, it made for a somewhat hilarious little moment in one of the videos.

Even if you’re not a fan of Zack Ryder, it’s nice to get a closer look at these TMNT wrestling figures. Ryder appears to be a huge fan of the turtles, and it’s definitely cool to see him getting into the spirit of these awesome new TMNT toys!

Something tells me that a lot of WWE fans will be picking up these awesome crossover figures as soon as possible. As Ryder points out in the video, these appear to be Walmart exclusives, so you should definitely start calling up your local Wally World and asking when they will be getting these toys in!

Personally, I’m more excited to see what kind of crossover toys will come after this line, but I can’t deny that it was a lot of fun to watch a WWE superstar playing with these radical new TMNT wrestling figures!

Will you be picking up these new WWE TMNT wrestling figures? Did you have fun watching Zack Ryder tear them open in these videos? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on facebook/twitter.

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Check out these awesome WWE TMNT toys slated for release in November. Image Source: Playmates Toys.
NewsToy/Action Figures

Playmates Announces Plans For New WWE TMNT Toys

by Justin W
written by Justin W

Remember all of the crazy themed TMNT toys that came out in the 90’s? There were Ninja Turtles figures based on everything from the Universal Monsters to Star Trek! While we’ve seen a few things like that from the latest line of merchandise, there haven’t been many licensed products based on other franchises thus far. Thankfully, that’s all about to change with the latest collection of WWE TMNT Toys that is already starting to hit store shelves!

Even if you’re not a fan of wrestling, you’ve got to admit that it’s pretty awesome to see the turtles branching out like this once again. These figures appear to be aimed at audiences of all ages, as the character designs are based on both modern and classic wrestling superstars from throughout WWE’s history. For those wondering, Raphael is portrayed as Sting, Leonardo is John Cena, Michelangelo is Macho Man and Donatello is The Undertaker!

The packaging for these awesome TMNT figures is fairly nice. Image Source: Toy News International.

The packaging for these awesome TMNT figures is fairly nice. Check out TNI for more pictures! Image Source: Toy News International.

Although some of these wrestlers are still in the business today, they have all been wrestling for either WCW or WWE for decades. Fans from past generations will immediately recognize their likeness and probably be drawn to these awesome collectible WWE TMNT toys. I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s a pretty good business plan! Of course, those of you who aren’t wrestling fans probably won’t care too much about these new licensed TMNT figures. That being said, it’s important to note that this may open the door for other crossover toys in the near future.

Whether you like the WWE or not, this could be very good news if you’ve been wanting to see a return of licensed TMNT toys on the market. These collectible figures were revealed during NYCC 2016 alongside several other notable bits of news. If you want to find out more about everything that happened during this convention, make sure to check out our post about the TMNT panel!

Will you be picking up these WWE TMNT toys? Are you excited to see this type of licensed merchandise returning to the market for another generation of the Ninja Turtles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on facebook/twitter.

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EventsNews

NYCC 2016 TMNT Panel!

by Dan Spitaliere
written by Dan Spitaliere

Nickelodeon and TMNT have made a tradition of coming to New York Comic Con, and this year was no exception. This time taking place on Friday at the Hammerstein Ballroom, the crowded venue witnessed some sneak peeks at some upcoming episodes, the introduction of a big crossover toy line, and a brand new TMNT music video written by Greg Cipes himself!

The panel was moderated, as usual, by the Black Nerd himself, Andre Meadows. Andre does such a great job running the show and it’s great to see him come back every year. He’s obviously a huge fan, but he’s still able to ask questions and move the panel along, all while cracking jokes with the speakers and the fans.

The Panel

The Panel

This years panel was attended by executive producer Ciro Nieli, voice of Donatello (and OG Raphael) Rob Paulsen, voice of Michelangelo Greg Cipes, voice of Shredder Kevin Michael Richardson, voice of Tiger Claw Eric Bauza, and the legendary Andrea Romano, the show’s voice director.

After the introductions, the audience in attendance was treated to a table reading of the upcoming episode “Rise of the Super Shredder.” Ms. Romano acted as narrator, while Ciro Nieli filled in as Baxter Stockman, and Eric Bauza pulled double duty as Tiger Claw in one scene, and Master Splinter in another. It’s so rare to see the artists themselves working on a script, and it was really fun watching them read lines, watching their hand motions and faces contort. It was especially fun seeing Ciro do his best Phil LaMarr impression, and Eric Bauza do his best Hoon Lee.

The Super Shredder!

The Super Shredder!

But the table reading wasn’t our only peek at the Super Shredder. No, we got to see the first clips from the episode, set to debut on November 6th. The clip showed Shredder and his minions confront Karai, who was terrified of her adopted father’s transformation. We also got to see the raw strength of Super Shredder when he takes out the Party Wagon, tossing it down the street like a toy!

We were also fortunate to get a look at two other upcoming episodes this season and the panel was very excited to announce two characters making their debut in each. The first episode features Tiger Claws origin and features the Nick TMNT debut of Alopex! Ciro explained that he was very happy to introduce Alopex because she was the first TMNT character created by Kevin Eastman in over a decade. Bringing her over from the IDW comics is a great addition and I’m looking forward to seeing her feud with Tiger Claw play out in this series!

Alopex

Alopex

The next episode brought back a character from the Archie published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures. While the character was known as Chu Hsi, the Warrior Dragon in the comics, he was known by another name in TMNT: Tournament Fighters; Hot Head. This Hot Head is voiced by none other than Mark Hamil, a truly exciting addition to the voice cast! The clip we saw featured Tiger Claw performing an ancient ritual to summon Hot Head, in hopes of gaining power.

Hot Head

Hot Head

The surprises of the day did not end there! Greg Cipes recounted how he was inspired by the show, and on his spare time started writing music. He asked Ciro Nieli if it could be featured in the show, and when he asked for some examples, Cipes sent him over 50 songs! So a collection of them are being made into an album, and we got to see the animatic (an early animation design) music video for the first track, celebrating Ice Cream Kitty! The video is hilarious. It’s got the turtles playing instruments, ala the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour, sampling based off Ice Cream Kitty’s voice, and a big street dance off between our heroes and none other than the Shredder and the Foot Clan! I never knew I wanted to see Shredder do the Thriller dance, but I do and it’s awesome.

Turtle Dancing!

Turtle Dancing!

Finally, we got to the biggest surprise of the panel. While the TMNT/WWE crossover figures had already been announced earlier that morning, the panel audience got the full treatment, including a giveaway to some lucky cosplayers. The crowd and panel shared their reactions at the reveal of Leo as John Cena, Donatello as the Undertaker, and Mikey as Macho Man Randy Savage, but the real treat came when it was time to announce Raph’s crossover. The lights went out. Music started to swell. None other than Sting, 15 time World Champion, marched through the crowd, complete in his makeup and now signature red jacket.

STING!

STING!

As a longtime wrestling and turtle fan, it was a thrilling moment. Sting played to the crowd, “Woo”ing with glee. Sting came to the stage and greeted the other panelists before revealing the Raph as Sting figure. Before long, we had Ciro Nieli and Sting talking about their favorite wrestlers, and Sting and Rob Paulsen discussing the similarities between wrestlingand TMNT, both in their longevity and popularity, but also the impact impassioned fans can have on artists. It led to everyone on the panel thanking the fans and taking a big selfie from the stage, with the audience behind them. It was an awesome way to end the panel.

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As you can see, there are fun and exciting things on the way for the TMNT community. It all starts with the release of the TMNT/WWE crossover figures and continues through November 6th, when the Super Shredder debuts! The TMNT panel has become one of my favorite traditions of NYCC. If you can get down here next year, I highly recommend it!

Also want to give a special shout out to the TMNT cosplayers I saw at NYCC this year! Check out the Shredder and April looming over the crowd at the TMNT panel, an original Baxter Stockman, and Casey Jones!

@lordoderus on Instagram

What do you think about the future of TMNT? What did you think of Super Shredder, Alopex, and Hothead! Let us know in the comments!

Ice Cream Kitty!

Ice Cream Kitty!

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Movie NewsNews

How Many Stunt Doubles Did Rocksteady Need in TMNT 2?

by Justin W
written by Justin W

At least two stunt doubles worked with Stephen Farrelly to bring Rocksteady to life.

Days before his big win at the TLC match this past weekend, WWE fans were noting something interesting about the wrestler’s first appearance as Rocksteady in the new trailer for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel. Yes, that was him as the human version of the character, but was that him in the mocap suit? If the cast listing is any indication, the answer is no. Although he definitely pulls off the role of the human punk that will become a mutant Rhino, it would appear that Sheamus was not the one performing all of the stunts when they shot the action scenes with Rocksteady.

8ndan9zFCuIOaECnBMVAt1EQ2sLWEBNLsqaDmEmF0nYThis wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen them use more than one actor to capture a character on film, as Leonardo was notably recast just months before the original film came out, with Johnny Knoxville taking over the vocal work. In addition, although Danny Woodburn was originally the only man behind Splinter, they brought in Tony Shalhoub to perform the voice. Could we be seeing a similar decision when it comes to Rocksteady in this movie? Maybe, but we don’t know enough to say for sure. All we do know is that more than one person worked to bring the character to life. Stephen Farrelly was joined by Matt Leonard and Myles Humphus.

Humphus is known for his work as a stunt double, but he also has a few acting credits to his name. In particular, he has done stunt work for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena, so it actually makes perfect sense that he would work with WWE superstar Sheamus in this movie. On the other hand, Matt Leonard has done work on films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers and Iron Man. At this point, it’s fair to say that they spared no expense on getting Rocksteady just right for this film, because they called in some top notch stunt double talent for the role.

I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising that it took three people to fill the role of a gigantic mutant Rhinoceros, but it’s still somewhat impressive. Does that mean Farrelly also had his voice dubbed over? Well, we haven’t really heard him say anything in the trailer yet, so it’s difficult to say whether or not this is the case. What we can say is that it wasn’t just Stephen Farrelly making the character come to life, although his recent match would tend to suggest that he’s tough enough to get that job done. For all we know, they’ll decide to dub over more than just Rocksteady before the movie comes out, because they were working on minute details such as these just a few months prior to the release of the original film.

rocksteadybebop2

What do you think? Are you glad they brought on two stunt doubles to work with Sheamus in this role? Should they give Rocksteady a different voice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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NewsOther News

Will TMNT 2 Stars Clash at Wrestlemania 32?

by Justin W
written by Justin W

If you’ve been paying attention to the development of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, you may have noticed an interesting connection. It all began a few months ago when CM Punk mentioned that he had auditioned for a role in the film. Shortly after, it was announced that the wrestler known as Sheamus had been chosen for the role of Rocksteady, and we got our first images of the actor in costume.

Fans of the WWE were no doubt pleased to see some of the biggest names in wrestling connected with the latest TMNT movie, but at the time there was no indication that there would be any further connection between the world of sports entertainment and Ninja Turtles. Fast forward a few months to present day, and it should be clear that this connection is probably a lot deeper than we had originally anticipated.

Two important events took place last week. First, we discovered that CM Punk had dropped a bit of important information about the plot of TMNT 2. Sure, it may be a detail that we had already expected from the film, but it’s nice to know that we can expect to see our favorite mutated baddies in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. Shortly after this revelation, WWE’s SummerSlam event took place, and guess who had a starring role in one of the main matches? None other than Stephen Amell, who will be playing Casey Jones in the TMNT sequel.

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While I won’t give away the results of his match, it is important to note that he was given the moniker of Green Arrow during the event, indicating a connection to Amell’s popular television series. In other words, he wasn’t at SummerSlam to promote TMNT 2, but the fact that he was given an opportunity to wrestle during this event suggests a closer connection to the WWE than we had previously thought. If you consider the results of his match as well, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Amell make another appearance with the company at some point.

As a matter of fact, there just so happens to be such an event scheduled to take place only a few months before the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, and guess which event that is? Wrestlemania. Given that Stephen Amell and Stephen Farrelly (Sheamus) have both appeared at a WWE event recently and they are both also starring in this TMNT movie, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them get their own matches at Wrestlemania 32 in 2016. Whether they will be fighting in the same match or in separate matches remains to be seen, but at this point it’s fair to expect that the WWE will be promoting this movie at some point in the near future, likely during their biggest event of the year.

caseyjoneswwe

Needless to say, a lot of this is speculation and none of it has been confirmed. That being said, the connection between the WWE and TMNT 2 is pretty strong at this point, so it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them work this angle. What do you think? Do you want to see Stephen Amell and Stephen Farrelly at Wrestlemania 32? Are you excited to see how this connection develops? Let us know in the comments below!

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