By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Santino Marella's increased popularity has led to a surge in prices for his trading cards and action figures.

For years, Santino Marella was saddled with the label of “mid-card comedy act,” and the level of interest in his collectibles reflected that. Collectors of trading cards and action figures were much more interested in finding the latest merchandise of Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Kelly Kelly, and C.M. Punk.

But, over the last few months, fans and collectors alike have developed a new love for all things Santino. Week after week, he gets one of the biggest reactions from WWE crowds, regardless of where he is wrestling. WWE recently rewarded him with a U.S. Title victory over Jack Swagger. Now, wrestling collectors are willing to spend more money than ever on Santino merchandise and memorabilia.

Trading Cards




Santino has been included in various Topps sets dating back to his introduction to WWE in 2007. Topps has produced several memorabilia cards that contain a piece of a t-shirt worn by Santino, most of which were met with disinterest from collectors. Those who pulled a Santino memorabilia card from 2009 Topps WWE, for example, were lucky to get $5 if they wanted to sell it.

That all changed with the release of 2011 WWE Classics from Topps. Instead of cutting up another t-shirt for Santino’s memorabilia cards, Topps decided to chop up a green cobra sock puppet worn by Santino. Collectors have gone gaga for this particular card, especially those with multi-colored pieces. Whereas relic cards featuring a piece of Santino’s t-shirt usually only sell for a couple bucks, collectors are forking over as much as $30 for one of the cards that includes a multi-colored piece of his Cobra.

Santino’s signature also has become more valuable over the last few months. He has signed several Topps cards over the years, and his 2011 Topps WWE Classics is one of his most popular, selling in the $15-30 range. A lot consisting of his autograph and relic cards from WWE Classics recently sold for a surprising $53.

Santino’s signature also was included in the 2011 Topps WWE Champions set. Autograph cards from this particular product were much tougher to pull than in other Topps WWE sets, so they don’t pop up for sale nearly as often. Santino’s autograph from this set has recently been selling in the $30-40 range.

Action Figures




Jakks-Pacific released the first Santino toys in the late-2000s, and during that time it was common to find them sitting on retail store shelves. A two-pack with Maria was mass produced and released to little interest from collectors. In fact, these figures – which originally retailed for $14.99-16.99 – collected dust for so long that some Walmart stores began selling them as low as $2.

Santino’s Mattel figures are considerably more popular than his abundant Jakks figures. Mattel included him in its third series of Elite figures, and unopened figures have been selling in the $20-30 range as of late. Santino also was included in the Best of 2011 line from Mattel, and his figure has been selling for around $10 loose and $25 packaged.

Santino’s most valuable figure was released in an Unlikely Allies two-pack with Beth Phoenix. This series was among the first released when Mattel took over the WWE toy line in 2010. Although not initially a popular item, this two-pack has been selling as high as $55 in recent weeks.

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Collectibles Trivia

Peyton Manning has been the talk of the sports world after signing with the Denver Broncos this week. Which former wrestler was featured on a Topps NFL trading card while playing for the Broncos? Send your answer and name to michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. The answer and the names of those who got it right will be included in next Tuesday’s collectibles column.

Full disclosure: The author of this column is a lifelong Denver Broncos fanatic who believes the Broncos made a huge mistake in trading Tim Tebow.

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