AEW Wrestle Buddies

When I was seven years old, this commercial graced my television screen:

WWF Wrestle Buddies… stuffed animals designed to look like my favorite WWF wrestlers that I could actually wrestle! I wanted one so bad, but for some reason it wasn’t a toy I ever received. Instead, I got a stuffed Magic Johnson that was designed to look just like a Wrestle Buddy.

I wasn’t the same, but as a Magic Johnson fan I wasn’t totally disappointed. It was just a little odd sleeping with a plush basketball player at the foot of my bed.

Time has moved on and plush animals aren’t exactly on my scope of things I’m interested in buying. But earlier this week, I was reading over a wrestling post that mentioned that AEW had just launched their own version of Wrestle Buddies and the first two were on sale exclusively on Amazon; Cody Rhodes and a Kenny Omega.

I don’t know what compelled me to order it, maybe nostalgia, maybe fulfilling the wish of my inner child, but I knew for $25 it would at least make for a good laugh and would be something my wife would find amusing. I ordered the Kenny Omega instantly and couldn’t wait for Amazon to deliver.

I hyped up the surprise to her over the past two days telling her I bought her something for to celebrate the Full Gear pay per view. Luckily for me, it arrived today, when we were both off of work, and I got to see her reaction. She was more than amused.

The Wrestle Buddy is smaller than expected. I’m not sure if I’m just so much bigger than I was when Wrestle Buddies were out or if these are just sized smaller, but it’s a bit smaller in comparison to what my memories serves me. However, this is definitely a Wrestle Buddy for 2021. Not only is it super soft, it also comes with a voice box which is actually impressive. I don’t have kids and I’m not hip to the latest innovations in toys that speak but I was amazed to learn that when you actually pin Kenny Omega or lay him down, you hear Aubrey Edwards making the three count and you “win the match.” If you pull Kenny Omega up before the three count is complete, he says a variety of different phrases like, “Did you think you could win?” It blew my mind. The toy was somewhat interactive and if I thirty years younger, this would have been the greatest toy I ever could have received.

So, yeah, I’m almost thirty-eight years old and I bought a plush Kenny Omega toy. It made me laugh and I’m quite impressed with it. If you have kids who love wrestling, this is a must buy.