After I reviewed the comic book IWF: Intergalactic Wrestling Federation, a friend on Facebook commented that while he was searching to buy a copy, he found a comic book titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Intergalactic Wrestling, published by Random House in 1991. This comic looked especially cool, in my opinion, because it was packaged and sealed along with an audio cassette so readers could listen along to the comic. These types of audio books were especially popular when I was a kid, back in the 1980s and 1990s, so this really hit my nostalgia sweet spot. Of course, I immediately turned to eBay, to see how common, and how expensive, this audio comic book is, and of course the sealed in package version is more valuable, about $40 USD, while you can buy the open comic alone for about $7 USD.
While I was considering whether I should buy a copy, because of course I need to read it – for research purposes – another friend and author of TrumpMania, Lavie Margolin, sent me a message that he had just purchased a copy of the recently published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures Compendium, Vol. 1, and lo and behold, within this massive tome of 72 TMNT comics, the Intergalactic Wrestling comic was reprinted.
I considered buying, or at least lending, a copy of the TMNT compendium, but first I was curious if any other issues of this comic involved wrestling, or if it was merely a one-off, and of course there’s an exhaustive website titled Turtlepedia: The TMNT Wiki, and Intergalactic Wrestling conveniently has its own entry. According to Turtlepedia (never cited that source before), Intergalactic Wrestling appeared in several issues of Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, published by Archie Comics, so I was now on a mission to find and read these comics (preferably for free).
I’m a librarian, and whenever possible, I attempt to acquire these sorts of things from my library, unless I want to add it to my personal collection, so I was happy to learn that just about all of Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics were available for free via the Hoopla app. They didn’t have the new compendium (yet), but they had the full run of comics in multiple separate volumes (known as trade paperbacks), so I downloaded the volumes that included the Intergalactic Wrestling stories, and began to read.
Issue six of Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures includes the first reference to Intergalactic Wrestling, but issue seven is where it becomes the focal point of the story. To summarize, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are transported to Stump Asteroid, where they’re introduced to the characters of Stump and Sling, who explain to the Turtles that they have been chosen to “represent their quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy” in a wrestling tournament. Their opponent, in a four-against-one handicapped match (which doesn’t feel too heroic), is a four-armed alien dog named Cryin’ Houn’. At the same time, a second match features the character of Leatherhead, a giant mutant alligator, versus Ace Duck, a muscular, anthropomorphic duck in a red speedo. If this sounds like nonsense to you, it is, but it was created for children (young and old) to enjoy, so don’t worry too much about the logic. Anyway, the Turtles and Leatherhead defeat Cryin’ Houn’ and Ace Duck, and the Turtles demand to be sent back to Earth, but Leatherhead decides to stay on Stump Asteroid and become a wrestling superstar, while the Turtles return home.
There are additional Intergalactic Wrestling storylines in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures issues 12, 13, and 37, so while it’s not simply a one and done storyline, it’s not overly consequential, either. Still, there’s apparently enough fondness for this part of the TMNT lore to warrant it’s own merchandise.
Until very recently, I knew nothing about Intergalactic Wrestling in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book, but I was aware of their connection to professional wrestling in action figure form.
Back in 1991, as part of the Sewer Sports line of TMNT action figures, Playmates created a “Shell Slamming Mike” toy featuring Michelangelo reimagined as a pro wrestler. The original toy included a cape, a Mutant Wrestling Federation championship belt, and even a “sewer snake buddy” to wear over his shoulders. I know, that’s a lot of gimmicks for just one guy. I was lucky to receive this figure as a gift back in 1991, and I still have the loose figure, sans accessories, in my collection, but now that I see it again in all of its “mint on card” glory, I’m adding it back to my wishlist.
Decades later, in 2016, Playmates reimagined more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as professional wrestlers, but this time, they partnered with WWE to release a line of TMNT figures designed as WWE characters, officially called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles WWE Ninja Superstars. The first wave of figures included Donatello as Undertaker, Leonardo as John Cena, Michelangelo as Randy Savage, and Raphael as Sting. The second wave, released in 2017, featured Donatello as Ultimate Warrior, Leonardo as Finn Balor, Michelangelo as Roddy Piper, and Raphael as The Rock. I don’t know how they managed to do it, but they made figures of my favorite Turtle, Michelangelo, as two of my all-time favorite wrestlers, Savage and Piper, so either that’s a huge coincidence, or somebody agrees with me that Savage and Piper both have BME (Big Michelangelo Energy). If you have to ask, you’ll never understand.
Then, in 2024, WWE and Mattel flipped the script by releasing two series of action figures with WWE characters dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Series one included Kofi Kingston as Michelangelo, Xavier Woods as Donatello, and Roman Reigns as Shredder, and series two included Cody Rhodes as Casey Jones, Seth Rollins as Leonardo, and Rey Mysterio as Raphael. While I understand the appeal of these to some, to me it feels a little more lame than the previous incarnation, like it’s just grown men dressing as Turtles for Halloween. It definitely lacks BME.
Most recently, NECA released a line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Stump Wrestling action figures. These figures portray the Turtles as they appear in issue seven of Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, in the Intergalactic Wrestling story, and is always the case with NECA toys, they are a beauty to behold. In addition to the Turtles, sold in a four-pack bundle, NECA created new toys for the characters Leatherhead and Cryin’ Houn’, who are each sold separately, or you can buy all six figures together for $224.97. Clearly, this line of action figures isn’t for casual fans, but for TMNT completists, it feels like a must-have.
Until one week ago, I had no knowledge of Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic books, and had never heard about their Intergalactic Wrestling storyline, let alone NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Stump Wrestling action figures. As I previously mentioned, I own the 1991 “Shell Slamming Mike,” and I knew about the WWE x TMNT crossover toys, but thanks to a friend casually introducing me to the TMNT Intergalactic Wrestling audio comic book, I now have a much better understanding of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ storyline connection to professional wrestling. Cowabunga!
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