Food Review: The RETURN of the WWE Ice Cream Bar

Written by Stu Cooper

With summer quickly approaching, the brain runs wild with nostalgia. People are reminiscing about old vacations they took, pool parties they attended, or even how good it felt drinking a Mondo Cooler in the sweltering heat. But for myself and many others, summer reminds us of a simpler time. A time when your favorite childhood figures were plastered on the side of an Ice Cream truck. Whether it was a Ninja Turtle face, a Flintstones push pop, or the infamous googly eyed Sonic The Hedgehog; we had some remarkable choices. If you were a wrestling fan growing up, the choice was obvious. The WWF ice cream bar! It is almost legendary in it's popularity, more so than most ice cream I know of. Whoever heard of Ben and Jerry anyways?

The bar first surfaced in 1987, created by the Gold Bond Ice Cream Company. The original bars were essentially ice cream sandwiches on a stick. It would be vanilla ice cream sandwiched between a chocolate layer, and a vanilla wafer layer. On the wafer layer would be the image of a current WWF Superstar! Some of the superstars featured on the bars were Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Hillbilly Jim, Andre The Giant, The Honky Tonk Man, and the list goes on. There were tons of options for characters. Each bar was individually packaged and came with an exclusive WWF trading card inside the box. I'm not sure if they were sold in bigger boxes in stores at the time, but I imagine the individual packaging was so they could sell the bars at WWF live events.

The bars were HEAVILY featured on WWF television at the time. The audience would often be treated to a superstar ravaging a bar into pieces during a promo, or in some cases the bar was featured in actual on-air segments like Jake The Snake's Snake Pit. Any chance the company got, they plugged these bars which is partially why they probably have such nostalgic value to wrestling fans today.

In 1989 The Gold Bond Ice Cream Company was bought out by Good Humor, who still remains a juggernaut in the ice cream world to this day. Good Humor continued producing the bars into the 90's, keeping the formula for the bar the same. The only things that changed were the packaging which now featured a superstar cut-out on the back, and a little cartoon preview of the trading card inside. It was a fun little keepsake for the fans. Throughout the early to mid 90's they produced such characters as Yokozuna, Lex Luger, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, and Diesel! In my opinion this is where the bars peaked. Not only did they have a fun superstar line-up, but each box sent you home with two souvenirs! The bars continued to be produced into the Attitude Era (1998) and featured characters like Stone Cold, Triple H, and The Rock. This is unfortunately where my memory of them fades.

I don't recall seeing any WWE (formerly WWF) related ice cream after the mid-90's. Apparently Good Humor stuck to their guns and continually released updated rosters on the bars in 2000, 2004, and 2008. 2008 was evidently when the bar officially stopped production. Though I suspect they were regional. The last set featured the likes of John Cena, Carlito, Bobby Lashley, and ironically enough CM Punk. Why is that ironic? Well in 2011 when CM Punk was reaching his pinnacle of popularity, he requested on live television that Vince Mcmahon bring back the WWE Ice Cream bars, and he demanded he be featured on these new bars. Little did we know, he had already had a very limited run at his own bar. From all accounts I could find online, the later in the life of the ice cream the bar was created, the harder it was to find. This would explain why I don't recall seeing most of these despite being a life-long pro wrestling fan.

Now that brings us to present day. The WWE is going through a hard time right now, but one thing they did right was...bring back the ice cream! That's right, it's 2020 and the WWE Ice Cream bar is back! Kind of. I had a lot of trouble tracking these down but once I spotted them, I couldn't resist. But instantly by looking at the packaging you will notice they are not the same fudge ice cream sandwiches of old. These are newly designed. Gone is the stick and now the “bar” is in the shape of a Klondike Bar or small ice cream sandwich. It's a delicious square sandwich with vanilla ice cream wedged between two vanilla wafers!

After years of anticipation, WWE finally delivers a new ice cream bar. But is it any good? Well if you've had one ice cream sandwich, you've had them all. But the gimmick of them being WWE sandwiches makes all the difference. You see, this time around four superstars are featured on the bars. I wish the roster on the bars was more in-depth, but it's a ice cream sandwich so you can't expect too much real estate. The four superstars are John Cena, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, and Macho Man Randy Savage. Sadly there are no trading cards to be found, just a cut-out of Roman Reigns. I looked at several boxes and they all featured the same cut-out. So that's all you get! But it is still better than just a plain sandwich. I was honestly the most excited about the bars featuring Becky Lynch and Macho Man Randy Savage. In my opinion the best current performer and the best legendary performer both in the same box! That is exciting stuff!

The price point is $3.99 so you're essentially paying a dollar a sandwich. I would say they are worth trying if you are a wrestling fan, but if you are looking for the bar you grew up on, it is somewhat different. Perhaps these bars will see a fair amount of success and Good Humor will expand the roster. Also in terms of bonuses, With so many WWE apps out now, why not include special codes for in-game superstar trading cards? Just a thought. But for now hang onto the Roman Reigns standee that comes with the box! In the end, if you pick up a box you will get a nice rush of nostalgia and some delicious ice cold carbs. With only 4 stars total, all of which are included in each box, you will see all the stars in one purchase. Don't let that stop you from pursuing your dream of getting a more authentic WWF retro bar though. There are actually petitions and even kickstarters trying to rebirth the original designs. Hopefully Good Humor takes note of this high level of interest and continues to produce this yummy nostalgic treat. OHHHHH WHAT A SUGAR RUSH!