A Girl and Her WWE Brawlin’ Buddy

Emily and her Rey-Rey

My husband and I are big wrestling fans. We spent our first Valentine’s Day at a WWE house show — after which he asked me to move in with him. We watch live WWE shows a couple times a year, and last year we went to WrestleMania. But we don’t usually watch the weekly WWE shows with our daughter because it can be a little violent. If my husband does watch, he usually fast forwards through most of the matches to get to the talking segments that move the storyline along.

WWE has a large line of toys, most of which are action figures geared towards older kids. My husband likes collecting them, so we have several still “mint in the box.” My daughter also has a few, although she doesn’t play with them very often. But we were in the toy aisle looking at action figures recently when my daughter first spotted the new WWE Brawlin’ Buddies.

WWE Brawlin’ Buddies are soft toys that are designed to look like the most popular WWE wrestlers. Each Brawlin’ Buddy will say the wrestler’s catchphrases when touched in the stomach. It is a great toy for a younger child because it is cuddly but can still be used to re-create wrestling moves. Even though it’s geared to appeal more to little boys, my little girl wanted one from the first time she saw one.

My daughter liked the Rey Mysterio Brawlin’ Buddy the best. I don’t know if she was drawn to that Buddy because it’s very colorful or because Rey Mysterio is one of my favorite wrestlers. He was trained as Luche Libre, which is a style of wrestling in Mexico. Luche Libres often wear colorful masks and part of this style involves a lot of high flying moves, which make Rey Mysterio a very entertaining wrestler to watch.

When the Rey Mysterio Brawlin’ Buddy arrived, he became one of my daughter’s favorite toys. She likes pushing in his stomach so he’ll talk, but she also treats him like her other stuffed animals. This means he has had to endure a few tea parties and dress up sessions in his time with us. But she has fun with him, which is the point.

I’m a firm believer that there shouldn’t be gender discrimination with toys. That’s why I am always happy to let my daughter pick what she wants even if it isn’t geared towards girls. And even though WWE Brawlin’ Buddies are advertised as a boy toy, my little girl loves her Rey Mysterio.

Note: I received this toy  for review purposes.