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It would be an understatement to say the collectibles space is crowded. There’s a seemingly endless number of companies offering various toys, statues, and other pieces of nostalgia-inducing ephemera for almost any age. This is something wrestling fans know especially well, given the explosion of independent toy companies releasing items directed at that fandom.
Regardless of what kind of wrestling fan or collector you might be, chances are there is something out there that will appear to you. There’s a surprising number of independent toymakers looking to recapture the spirit of the WWF Hasbro figures of the early ’90s, companies like Super7 and relative newcomer PowerTown that are releasing incredibly detailed figures full of articulation, or even the official WWE and AEW action figures released regularly by Mattel and Jazwares, respectively.
In the ever-expanding world of wrestling toys, though, a large number of beloved figures are coming from an unlikely place: a podcast. Major Bendies, the company launched by former WWE wrestlers Matt Cardona (formerly Zack Ryder, now on the independents) and Brian Myers (formerly Curt Hawkins, now signed to TNA Wrestling), was born out of the duo’s Major Wrestling Figure Podcast. The show first debuted in 2018 as a way to celebrate their love of collecting wrestling toys.
As Cardona himself admits, they launched the podcast while still working for WWE and weren’t thinking about how to monetize it right off the bat. “But during the pandemic, we thought, ‘Oh my god, who’s gonna want to listen to people buying collectibles? Who’s going to be buying collectibles?’ It turns out the whole world was,” he told GameSpot.
Due to the rising popularity of collecting, the podcast rocketed in popularity and grew to have a very loyal fanbase. However, both men also found themselves released from WWE at a time when the world was largely closed.
“Once we got released from WWE, we had a bunch of toy companies like Super7 and Ringside Collectibles reach out and want to make figures of us and it was great,” Cardona continued. “But we wanted to be involved with every step and the only way to do that is to create your own toy line.”
That’s where Michael Kanik enters the picture. Kanik, who previously worked for Eagle Moss on the company’s licensed WWE products, was a fan of the podcast that eventually began helping Cardona and Myers with their post-WWE merchandise.
“He was the little devil on our shoulder saying like, ‘I can facilitate this for you guys.’ And he kind of pushed enough that we called his bluff,” Myers said.
With that, Major Bendies was born. The original figure line follows in the footsteps of WWE’s old Bend ‘Ems figures, which were a rather basic toy: a small bendable rubber figure, with no articulation or accessories to speak of.
“I think it was like a low-risk, high-reward situation. We knew people enjoy these kind of easy-to-financially-collect toys from the ’90s,” Myers said. Added Cardona, “It was the easiest for us to make. That was really it. It was the easiest thing to do. We didn’t want to mess with articulation.”
It was a humble beginning, as the duo didn’t quite know what to expect in terms of sales or success with the new brand. Even Kanik, who felt like his dream of being a toy creator and working with his favorite wrestlers was coming true, wasn’t expecting a new career to come from it.
“That was not my mindset,” he admitted. “I thought, ‘Cool, I’ll make maybe an extra couple of dollars. I can buy some Hot Toys.'”
What has followed since then has seen Kanik leave his 9-to-5 job, while working with Cardona and Myers to run the growing toy empire together, with their primary method of company communication coming via a private Facebook group where they share ideas, designs, prototypes, and more. And, thus far, there seem to be no signs of the company slowing down. Following the success of the Major Bendies line, they launched the Big Rubber Guys toy line, which resemble the chunky rubber wrestling toys LJN produced in the 1980s. Now, following San Diego Comic-Con 2024, they’ve added two more lines to their growing stable of products–all featuring officially licensed wrestlers.
And when it comes to those licenses, the team behind Major Bendies is not only able to help the current generation of independent wrestlers take advantage of their growing popularity with their own action figures, but work with older and retired wrestlers on figures that they can sell at convention appearances and online, providing a financial outlet they might otherwise not have.
“It’s so cool and fulfilling because not only is it that I’m talking to my heroes, but they’re looking to me for help,” Kanik explained. “Because they need stuff to go to conventions with and sell merchandise, and that’s how they make their money now. There’s no machine backing them. The machine backing them now is us, is Major Bendies. And we need to provide them that support and providing that support to some of these guys is incredible.”
Those who have worked with Major Bendies range from current indie stars like Danhausen, Effy, and Steph De Lander to legends like The Hardy Boyz, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Ric Flair, Eddie Guerrero, a number of ECW talent, and so many more.
With so many figures made in its relatively short run–nearly 200 since launching–you might be surprised to find that the team only consists of a few other people, outside of Cardona, Myers, and Kanik. Another early acquisition for the company was Ryan Winchcombe, a UK-based artist who goes by TTD and was in management at a bank when he began helping Myers and Cardona design their merchandise and ring gear. He brought his artistic talents to the Major Bendies line, now serving as the company’s art director and the designer behind every figure the company puts out. Like Kanik, Winchombe was a podcast fan who found his niche with the group. The newest addition is Brian Baity, the team’s new digital sculptor. With him in place, the team is cranking out figures left and right, including the new toylines Major Moments and Major Stars.
Major Moments figures are basically a different form of the Big Rubbers Guys line, with the figures posed in iconic moments and moves from their respective careers (Randy Savage performing his signature elbow drop, for instance).
Major Stars, though, might be the thing that helps the company break through to the mainstream. They are meant to be Major Bendies’ more affordable collecting alternative, four-inch figures with basic articulation, a more cartoonish design, and large head. In a way, it feels like Major Bendies taking their own swing at a Funko Pop-style collectible, complete with the windowed box (which is perfect for autographs, if you’re a collector).
Ultimately, it all comes down to what best serves the consumer and the talent the company is working with. As Winchcombe noted, “We want the talent to be so happy with the figure that word of mouth [and] behind the scenes [chatter] and all that good stuff [lead] to more people wanting to work with us.”
And those people don’t have to be from the wrestling industry. Earlier this year, Major Bendies launched its first non-wrestling toys, partnering with Clerks director Kevin Smith on Jay and Silent Bob Bendies. They have a wishlist of other potential non-wrestling figures they’d like to make, including Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, and the movie Tommy Boy, but wrestling remains the first love for everyone involved.
“Matt and I have already lived our childhood dreams of being wrestlers as it is, but this is like even another layer to that,” Myers said. “We’ve been out of our wrestling figure closets now for a couple of years and it feels great.”
And ultimately, it all comes back to the community that grew around the podcast, which still releases every single week. “I didn’t think [the podcast] would be a community or business and it turned out to be both,” Cardona said, before correcting himself that the podcast and Major Bendies are actually two different companies. “Way too many company credit cards to keep track of,” he joked.
Currently, you can order Major Bendies line of toys from the company’s website, along with Big Bad Toy Store.
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