Remember The WWF?
It's Back - In Pog Form!

Okay, fine... so these aren't technically pogs -- those tiny, milk cap-sized discs that 90's kids used to flip and trade for -- but how else was I supposed to replicate the classic line from The Simpsons: "Remember ALF? He's back -- in pog form!"
In truth, these happy little fellows are "medallions" by a company called Bungeez (everything in the 90's ended with a "z") in 1999.
According to my brief online research, Bungeez didn't make these medallions (medallionz?) for any other company than the World Wrestling Federation. This was one big difference from the Pog Corporation (probably not their real corporate name), which manufactured everything from Barbie pogs to baseball player pogs during those formative pog years.


Another big difference between these and your "official" pogs is that these were made out tinny, metallic substance, whereas officially-licensed pogs were made out of, I dunno, cardboard? What the hell do you want from an old fart like me - I was probably 30 by the time pogs were actually a thing. Doing the best I can here....
These actually look and feel like they would make excellent beverage coasters if your drinking glass was, like, 5 times smaller than normal.

So how did I -- a pog-less old man -- end up with these vintage WWF Bungeez? Well.... besides the fact that I collect all kinds of crazy wrestling crap (which this website should hopefully have shown you by now!), I'm always on the lookout for said crap.
So when I took my kids to a vintage toy show recently, I noticed about a dozen of these on display. For the negotiated rate of $5, I managed to walk away with five of them and - voila - instant Wrestling Merchandise and Memories article!
I do have to say.... I find the backs of these medallions much more entertaining than the front of them. In the example to our right, the powers that be have changed Bad Ass Billy Gunn to the much more PG-friendly "B.A. Billy Gunn". And yet, on Val Venis's medallion, The Big Valbowski can clearly be seen as using "The Money Shot" as his finishing move.
I'm just saying, perhaps their pog proofreader should have brought this up at one point, just to get all the nuances consistent.


So now that we know what are included on these Don't Call Them Pogs... what are we supposed to do with them? That's a great question! Unfortunately, I haven't the slightest clue.
Okay, that's not true. According to the good people at Bungeez, you're supposed to buy some sort of magnetic head (in the shape of WWF wrestlers, of course) and try to "catch" other medallions by holding a rope with your other hand, and then pulling any medallions that have stuck to your head, so.... I have no idea.
So I'm not sure what to do with these medallions, other than whipping them at each other, which makes a very satisfying metallic "CLINK!"ing noise, over and over again until your wife comes down to your mancave and tells you to stop doing that.
Also? I just realized a major typo by either the folks at Bungeez or Irwin Toys: The Rock's catchphrase was never "Can you smell what The Rock is cookin'!" Everyone knows it should be "Do you smell what The Rock is cookin?" or, if you're being faithful to his theme song, it's "If ya smelllll.... what The Rock.... is cookin" Humph!



Can you think of anything that screams "Attitude Era" more than a Droz pog (and as I read that out loud, I kind of think that Drozpog sounds like the name of a dinette set from Ikea)?
I love the descriptor here, how he's nicknamed "PUKE" because he vomits at will - as though this was even remotely normal...


In addition to the medallions displayed here, Bungeez also produced ones for Al Snow (with Head), Too Much (pre Too Cool, I guess), LOD 2000 and about a billion different ones of Stone Cold Steve Austin, because it was The Attitude Era and everything.
These seem like a cool enough 90's era collectible. I'd just hate to drop any of them all over my new Drozpog.