"It Was A Catastrophic Failure" - John Cena Reveals WWE Sold Only 37 Of His Limited-Edition NFT Kits

John Cena has revealed that WWE sold just 37 of the 500 limited-edition NFT and merchandise kits they put together ahead of his Universal Championship match at SummerSlam 2021, calling the venture a 'catastrophic failure'.

WWE announced in August that the company would be making available 500 limited edition kits centred around Cena, featuring an NFT and a box of merchandise that was personally curated by the 16-time World Champion.

Having selected his new shirt, which Cena designed himself as an homage to Super Mario 3, as well as a Championship belt, an autograph picture and an autographed canvas, the sets went on sale at $1000 each.

Cena recognises that the price point was far too high as, while people loved the shirt design, no one was willing to pay that much for the pack.

Speaking during a Florida Comic-Con Q&A, Cena said: "WWE wanted to put together a once-in-a-lifetime fan experience. This kit is not just this kit. It's the belt, the clothing, an autograph picture, an autographed canvas picture, and an NFT. When it came up with the face value for what it cost, it came up around $500-$600 retail value, and then threw in the value of the NFT.

"I talk a lot about failure. This idea failed. Why is it $1000? Because myself and the folks at WWE thought $1000 was a fair price point. We were wrong. We were absolutely wrong.(This shirt) is number zero of 500. I thought, 'with a value like that, the 500 will be gone.' We sold 37 of them. It was a catastrophic failure.

"I design all my stuff. I was super proud of this. I love the design. It's one of those instances where I put my heart and soul and did the design and was really close with the work and pieces and market research. 'Yes, it seems fair, I think it will be good.' It sucked. It absolutely failed.

"I took a chance and missed. I'm sorry because it's obvious that people like the design, but it's way too much."

H/T Fightful