There is undoubtedly a section of the geek box audience that enjoys professional wrestling, so I’m taking this opportunity to review the debut box from Wrestle Crate UK.
Now, I say the debut box, but Wrestle Crate has been operating from the US since earlier this year and it has been shipping to the UK. I didn’t subscribe then as both the shipping cost and the associated custom charges would make this prohibitive.
The UK version seems like rather a franchise agreement, with the idea that some of the items will be the same as the US box and others will be locally sourced.
The pricing within the UK is much more realistic. Including shipping, the Standard Wrestle Crate, which is the one that’s reviewed here, costs £15.99 GBP ($24 USD). There is also an Ultimate Wrestle Crate available for £25.99 GBP ($39 USD). Currently, there are no discounts offered for signing up for longer subscriptions.
The box arrived quickly, shipped through Royal Mail. The presentation for Wrestle Crate UK does need some work. The basic packaging was flimsy and damaged in transit (the contents were okay) and the box lacked any type of information card about the contents. I did manage to track down information about the contents and the exclusives on the Wrestle Crate UK website.
Box Contents
Sasha Banks T-Shirt (Exclusive)
Geek subscription boxes often have exclusive T-Shirt designs, using fictional characters as inspiration to get about copyright issues.
This T-Shirt is based around a WWE character, a company notoriously protective of their copyright, so it’s rather a brave choice for a debut box. The design itself is good, with striking white text on a black background.
I’ll value this at the T-Shirt standard of $10 USD.
Preston City Wrestling Who Dares Wins DVD
This is a two disk DVD set from an event held in March 2015.
Preston City Wrestling is an up-and-coming UK independent promotion, with shows featuring top British and international wrestling stars and large crowds.
Some of the international stars on this show include Angelina Love, Davey Richards and Mr. Anderson. There are also top British Wrestling names on the the show.
These disks aren’t available in shops, so they’re only available by mail order and at PCW shows.
On their website, most PCW shows are selling at £10 GBP ($15 USD). This is one of a number of older shows that is reduced, selling at £3 GBP ($4.50 USD) which is the valuation that I’ll use.
Matt Hardy Autographed Photo
This is a great item to have included, but rather dated as it doesn’t include Matt Hardy’s recent win of the TNA World Title.
This is postcard size and printed on photo paper and signed in silver pen. It is a striking pose, even if Matt Hardy isn’t immediately recognisable.
From autographs I’ve received from other boxes, I’d have preferred to have seen this on higher quality stock, perhaps with an exclusive promo card produced. I’d also have liked to have had a certificate of authenticity included (although photos and autographs of this type are commonly found on the independent wrestling scene).
You can buy Matt Hardy items at Amazon.com, including both WWE and TNA figures. To acquire a signed photo of a star of this type at a wrestling show would typically cost around $5 USD.
Stone Cold Steve Austin Artwork
This is also postcard size, but printed on higher quality paper than the Matt Hardy autograph.
The back of the card says that this is an exclusive limited edition from Calling Spots (a wrestling fanzine, which I believe is part of the same company as Wrestle Crates UK). There’s no information about how big the edition is, or who the artist is.
I’ll value this at the artwork standard of $2 USD.
More from this box: all our Wrestle Crate UK reviews.
Box Review
A box full of decent items.
However, where this is lacking is in the quantity of items. Four items just doesn’t feel so much like value for money, even though there’s not much filler here.
I make the total value $21.50 USD, which is below the shipped cost of the box. You could argue that the signed photo is worth more and it’s unfortunate that the PCW DVD was on sale the week that this box shipped.
This is very much a box designed for the hardcore wrestling fan. The British Wrestling scene is great right now and I certainly appreciate the PCW DVD, but I would have expected to see more WWE content to appeal to the casual fan. Even the T-Shirt is rather subtle for non-hardcore fans.
Comparing With Wrestle Crate US
It is also interesting to see how this differs from the Wrestle Crate US. From looking at reviews, the US box contained the same T-Shirt and the Steve Austin artwork. The UK DVD is unique to the UK box (this isn’t necessary as most independent wrestling DVDs aren’t region coded – but I presume that there were good promotional reasons for including this).
The Ultimate Wrestle Crate looked like much better value for money – also including a variant Daniel Bryan Funko POP! Vinyl, a Mr Andersen signed photo, a badge and a wrestling DVD from a small wrestling promotion based in Wales. But, the cost is much more as well.
If I was to buy Wrestle Crate again, I think I’d go for the Ultimate Wrestle Crate. There is fun to be had here, but the overall concept, box presentation and value equation within the UK needs some more work.
Wrestle Crate UK is still running. The subscription link that originally sat here now leads to all our Wrestle Crate UK reviews; current prices are in the box directory.
