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COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Details on WWE & TNA offering new Trading Card sets, Question of the Week

Jan 5, 2012 - 1:36:14 PM
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By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Topps's new WWE Classics is live, while TRISTAR's new TNA Impact Wrestling Reflexxions is scheduled to be released on January 25.

Wrestling card collectors have been waiting since late summer for something new. Unlike collectors of other sports cards, wrestling fans aren’t given a new product every few weeks.

Those who have been waiting patiently for something new are in luck: Topps just released its latest WWE product, and a new set of TNA cards is on the way from TRISTAR.

Topps released its latest wrestling offering, WWE Classics, during the final days of December 2011. The name is quite misleading; Classics focuses on current WWE wrestlers and personalities, not stars of the past. Despite the confusing name, Classics is a solid product that delivers some cool autographs and unusual memorabilia cards.

Each box delivers one autograph and one memorabilia card. Many dealers are selling boxes on eBay and other sports card sites for around $50 plus free shipping.
santino.jpg

Since taking over the production of WWE trading cards in 2005, Topps has been guilty of producing very boring memorabilia cards that have contained almost exclusively pieces of T-shirts. Even worse are cards that contain a small piece of gray canvas, which collectors simply don’t care about. But, Topps has included some unique pieces in its Classics memorabilia cards, such as a piece of Alberto Del Rio’s scarf and Santino Marella’s green cobra sock puppet. The Santino card has been selling as high as $20.

Autographs are inserted one per hobby box and many of them are selling extremely well. Autographs of C.M. Punk, Zack Ryder, and Daniel Bryan have been understandably hot, while autographs of Mason Ryan, Hornswoggle, A.J. Lee, and Jinder Mahal also have been selling at surprisingly high levels. Collectors have been lukewarm on autographs of Santino Marella, Jack Swagger, Johnny Curtis, and Justin Gabriel.

reyauto.jpg
Classics also includes an autograph from Rey Mysterio, who until now has been a tough signature to obtain. Topps last produced a card with Mysterio’s signature in 2009, and overall he has only a few different autographed cards. Mysterio’s Classics autograph has been selling for around $50-75.

TRISTAR’s latest wrestling product, TNA Impact Wrestling Reflexxions, will be available to collectors sometime around January 25. According to early sell sheets, hobby boxes appear to be loaded, including three autographs numbered to 99 or less, one memorabilia card or autographed mat card, one foil card numbered to 40 or less and two parallel cards numbered to 40 or less. Only 100 hobby cases (2,400 boxes) are being sold.

Since releasing its first TNA product in 2008, TRISTAR has continued to improve many aspects of its cards, such as overall design and photograph selection. With Reflexxions, TRISTAR is presenting fans with pretty cool new offerings, such as cards that feature an autograph on a huge piece of canvas.

sting_1.jpg
TRISTAR isn’t including any prices in its previews of the new product, but hobby boxes in recent releases have been priced at about $80.

More information about TNA Impact Wrestling Reflexxions will be included in a future column upon its release.

Question of the Week

The inclusion by both Topps and TRISTAR of so many autographed cards of top stars is a double-edged sword. Autographs of wrestlers like Sting and Rey Mysterio used to sell for hundreds of dollars. Because so many certified autographs have been made available, values have dropped drastically, leaving collectors who spent substantial money quite frustrated. On the other hand, the increased availability has given more fans a chance to own a signature from their favorite wrestlers.
Has the widespread availability of autographs of wrestling’s top stars hurt or helped the wrestling card hobby? Submit your answers of 250 words or less, along with your name, to michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. Selected answers will be published in next Tuesday’s collectibles column.


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