Tag: WWE NFTs

WWE Moonsault NFT marketplace launching first collection

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s official NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace is launching its first collection.

It was announced today that WWE Moonsault will “debut its first official NFT collection” this Friday (June 3). The launch comes in advance of Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

It was announced this March that WWE was launching the NFT marketplace. WWE has partnered with Fox’s Blockchain Creative Labs to produce officially licensed tokens and collectibles.

WWE wrote:

Tomorrow, Friday, June 3, WWE Moonsault will debut its first official NFT collection in advance of the annual premium live event WWE Hell In A Cell. The marketplace’s launch was announced today by Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development, and Scott Greenberg, CEO of FOX Entertainment’s Web3 studio Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL).

The limited-edition collection will include 10,000+ ‘NFT Flips,’ each featuring a WWE Superstar tied to the Hell In A Cell event. In the days after Hell In A Cell, each NFT Flip will transform to reveal a 10-20 second video highlight of the featured Superstar. The NFT Flips will be sold on ‘Moonsault’ in ‘Cases’ of three, randomized at minting, for $30 per Case. ‘Moonsault’ will be powered by Eluvio’s eco-friendly blockchain technology.

WWE and BCL launched WWE’s official NFT marketplace, ‘Moonsault,’ this past Friday, May 27, during SmackDown on FOX, and promoted the debut across WWE and FOX media platforms, as well as on WWE Discord. The first 10,000 fans to create a wallet on the platform received a free Moonsault Genesis NFT, all of which were claimed within only a few hours.

In the future, more limited-edition Cases of NFT Flips, and other video highlights and digital collectibles centered on WWE Superstars and iconic moments from the company’s history, will be dropped on ‘Moonsault,’ timed to major WWE premium live events throughout the year.

Hell In A Cell streams live this Sunday, June 5, on Peacock.

WWE’s first entry into the NFT market was an Undertaker collection that was released in conjunction with WrestleMania 37 week. WWE also produced John Cena NFTs last August, though Cena said the sales for the most expensive option were “a catastrophic failure.”

WWE announces ‘comprehensive’ long-term deal with Fanatics

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has entered into a major new business partnership with sports platform Fanatics.

WWE and Fanatics announced on Monday that the two companies have agreed to a “comprehensive, long-term sports and entertainment partnership” that ranges across multiple businesses. Those businesses include e-commerce, licensed merchandise, and trading cards/NFTs

The deal includes Fanatics introducing a new version of WWE Shop this summer:

As part of the agreement, this summer Fanatics will exclusively re-introduce a new, rapid e-commerce and mobile destination, WWE Shop, giving fans around the world access to a leading assortment of WWE merchandise across all categories, including apparel, hard goods, such as title belts, headwear, accessories and more. Fanatics will work closely and collaboratively with the talented teams at WWE who have significantly grown this business in-house for decades, and the company will also add rights to design, manufacture and distribute real-time, on-demand merchandise collections to celebrate unpredictable WWE moments and new and emerging Superstars.

Also as part of the deal, Fanatics Collectibles will become the exclusive provider of licensed WWE physical and digital trading cards, That portion of the deal will go into effect when WWE’s existing trading cards partnership with The Panini Group expires over the next few years:

Fanatics Collectibles, the company’s trading cards and collectibles division, will also become the exclusive provider of licensed WWE physical and digital trading cards, which will once again bear the nostalgic Topps logo. Fanatics acquired the legendary 70-year-old Topps brand earlier this year, which previously held a long-term relationship with WWE. That deal will commence when WWE’s existing trading cards rights expire over the next few years.

Fanatics’ Candy Digital is also set to become one of WWE’s primary NFT partners later this year:

Also under the pact, later this year Fanatics’ next generation digital collectibles company, Candy Digital, will become one of WWE’s primary NFT partners. Candy’s team of world-class digital artists, designers, and technologists will curate and build a full range of high-quality trading card NFTs featuring WWE’s biggest moments and stars.

“WWE is one of the most widely admired sports and entertainment properties worldwide, and it made perfect sense to activate many parts of our Fanatics global platform to create a first-of-its-kind, all-in fan experience,” Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said. “From e-commerce and licensed merchandise to trading cards and more, we’re going to offer up an incredible set of capabilities to help WWE’s passionate fans worldwide celebrate their favorite Superstars, marquee events and the WWE brand overall.”

“Fanatics is the industry leader and Michael Rubin is a visionary,” WWE’s Vince McMahon said. “We believe this multi-platform partnership will set a new standard for WWE e-commerce, apparel and merchandise, while providing our fans globally with more ways than ever to engage with WWE and our Superstars.”

WWE launching ‘Moonsault’ NFT platform

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE is launching an official marketplace for the company’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

The platform, which is named “WWE Moonsault,” was announced by Stephanie McMahon on Sunday at the SXSW conference. While WWE Moonsault has yet to launch, those interested can sign up to an email list to receive further details when they become available. 

WWE plans to launch the marketplace prior to WrestleMania 38, which is taking place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3. 

Last October, WWE announced it was entering into a multi-year partnership with Fox’s Blockchain Creative Labs to create a marketplace for officially licensed tokens and collectibles.

“Blockchain Creative Labs has quickly become a leader in the space with an incredible executive team that truly understands the NFT arena and its tremendous potential,” said Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development. “This new partnership allows us to deepen our relationship with Fox, as we continue to explore new and creative ways to engage our passionate fanbase.”

WWE first broke into the NFT space with an Undertaker collection during WrestleMania weekend in April 2021. The company also sold John Cena NFTs during SummerSlam weekend last year.

WWE Moonsault will also be the home of the official WWE Universe Discord community.

The first message posted in the community reads: “Welcome to the WWE Universe. The one and only official WWE Discord server. Here, you’ll be able to discuss your favorite Superstars, get exclusive content from our premium live events every single month and information on our ultra collectible NFTs!”

John Cena says selling 37 WWE NFTs was ‘a catastrophic failure’

Posted on by Josh Nason

During a Q&A session at last Sunday’s Florida SuperCon, John Cena talked openly about his first-ever WWE NFT — something he called “a catastrophic failure.”

WWE and Cena partnered up for the NFT launch on Friday of SummerSlam weekend which included a non-fungible token and a limited edition merchandise box that Cena personally curated. 500 gold tier packages went on the market for $1000 each.

However, the sale of those packages went poorly with Cena saying they sold just 37 of them.

By comparison, the silver edition Undertaker NFTs that went on sale during last year’s Survivor Series sold out in 17 seconds with several releases bringing in a total of over $132,000. 

“I talk a lot about failure. This idea failed,” Cena said.

NFTs are non-fungible tokens: “a collectible digital asset which holds value as a form of cryptocurrency and as a form of art or culture.” On recent investor calls, WWE president Nick Khan has pushed the idea of more NFTs in the future.

When asked about the price by a fan who liked the Super Mario Bros. III homage design of the t-shirt but couldn’t afford the cost, Cena went into detail explaining the rationale.

He said that when WWE looked at the value of all the items, they came up with a $500-$600 retail value and in doing his own market research, he thought the price seemed fair given the value of the items.

“Why was it $1000? Because me and the folks at WWE thought it was a fair price point. We were wrong. We were absolutely wrong,” he said.

Cena said he designs all of his merchandise and was “super proud” of the design, apologizing to the fan for the situation. 

However, Cena used the negative experience and the question and spun it into a positive.

“it’s ok to swing big. It’s ok to be wrong and ok to take chances, but when you are wrong and do fail and you have a moment where you can learn, learn. Course correct, move forward, grow,” he said.