Nostalgia for the 1980s and 1990s has taken hold of culture as a whole, and for wrestling fans, that's no different. Memories of those decades have materialized in recent years in a number of ways, some good and some bad. What started life as a fairly throwaway piece of merchandise has since taken on a life of its own and grown a cult following. No piece of wrestling merchandising has ever quite had a following like the WWE's ice cream bars.

Though the more recent callbacks may be what fans know most about the WWE's trademark frozen treat, the fabled ice cream bar has a surprisingly long lineage that many might not be aware of. Going from a popular wrestling dessert before slowly fading out of the sweet limelight, before later coming back into the forefront of wrestling nostalgia, the WWE Ice Cream Bars have a story worth unpacking from the freezer.

UPDATE: 2024/02/23 20:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

Nostalgia can be a powerful thing. Throughout professional wrestling history, there have been some truly iconic pieces of merchandise that gain an incredible amount of iconic status. Whether that be t-shirts or action figures, anything can hit that certain part of nostalgia. That even includes WWE's ice cream bars. Even in the 2020s, they continue to hold a special place in the hearts of fans. The sweet treats were a staple of WWE concession stands for decades.

WWE Ice Cream Bars Emerge Amidst the Heights of Hulkamania

They Initially Ran From 1987-2008

• They were initially produced by Gold Bond Ice Cream Company.
• WWE trading cards were packed in with the ice cream bars.
• Good Humor continued the partnership in 1989.

WWE Ice Cream Bars first hit concession stands in 1987, a partnership with the Gold Bond Ice Cream Company based out of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Together, the two would produce the first series of WWE Ice Cream Bars, which would end up as the most iconic range the deal had ever put out. The premise is fairly simple; a loving serving of vanilla ice cream, sandwiched between a layer of solid chocolate and a cookie, which had designs of the company's biggest superstars printed on top, all together on a stick.

The first series included obvious choices like Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Andre The Giant, but also some more puzzling picks like the tag team Strike Force, Tito Santana and Rick Martel. Each bar would also come packaged with a WWE collectible trading card, sweetening the deal. In 1989, the Gold Bond Ice Cream Company was bought by Good Humor, but the partnership continued thereafter. Whilst the earlier editions of ice cream bars were the most fondly remembered, they continued into the New Generation era and beyond.

Though perhaps not quite as popular as its first few years, moving away from the arenas' concession stands to home freezers, the WWE kept producing ice cream bars throughout the 1990s, and even into the 2000s. Superstars all the way from Diesel and the 1-2-3 Kid to The Rock and John Cena all found themselves emblazoned on the cookie layer of a famed WWE Ice Cream Bar. The final series of WWE Ice Cream Bars would come out in 2008, featuring superstars like Carlito, Bobby Lashley, and even the man that would help spark its resurgence, CM Punk.

The Resurgence of WWE Ice Cream Bars

The 2020 Series Featured John Cena, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, And Randy Savage

• CM Punk was a vocal advocate of WWE ice cream bars returning.
• They returned in 2020 for a brief time.
• The 2020 revival only ran for one series.

Perhaps the moment that WWE's Ice Cream Bars are most famous so far is their reference during CM Punk's segment in Mr. McMahon a few weeks after winning the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank in 2011. In it, listing his demands, Punk proclaimed that he wanted his very own ice cream bar. What could have been an easily forgotten line ended up resonating with much of the WWE audience, and the joke ended up revitalizing the fandom for WWE Ice Cream Bars.

They would appear more and more, being featured on the poster for 2011's TLC pay-per-view, referenced in WWE's Slam City animated series and through some pieces of merchandise. But, WWE's interest in the ice cream bars soon waned, and Punk would be gone without a frozen treat to his name. Wrestling's favorite dessert would live on in the hearts of fans though, and it was their continued desire for more that WWE would eventually buckle.

Once again partnered with Good Humor, WWE brought out another series of superstar branded desserts in 2020, though in a slightly different form from what fans had fondly looked back on. Gone were the wooden sticks and the layer of chocolate, instead, opting to venture into the world of ice cream sandwiches. The selection was only out of four superstars; Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns, John Cena and Randy Savage once again. They were a good try, but they just weren't the same.

Ice Cream Bars Come To All Elite Wrestling

CM Punk Finally Got His Ice Cream Bars

• CM Punk returned to professional wrestling in 2021.
• Punk hired Pretty Cool Ice Cream to produce CM Punk ice cream bars.
• They produced 15,000 ice cream bars for fans at the United Center for AEW's The First Dance Rampage Special.

But, in 2021, the legendary ice cream bars found a more faithful revival. All Elite Wrestling's The First Dance edition of Rampage will forever go down in the history books for the monumental return of CM Punk after years away from the wrestling business. As part of his return, as well as speaking from the heart and calling out Darby Allin, Punk had one last gift for the fans. Before walking back up the ramp, he implored those in attendance to grab an ice cream bar on him. In a total surprise, Punk had hired a local Chicago company, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, to produce the dairy delights. Pretty Cool, a company of less than 10 employees at the time, produced 15,000 ice cream bars for those at the United Center, before making even more for their own shop, and some for Punk's later appearances.

The First Dance was proof of how WWE's classic ice cream bars had become so integrated into a bizarre wrestling fandom. Immediately after the event, ice cream bars, and even CM Punk wrappers, flooded eBay for hundreds of dollars. A price tag like that would never have happened if it weren't for all the nostalgia of the original bars, and their brief resurgence in the 2010s. All that hype for just an ice cream, there are wrestlers out there who wish they were that over.