By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Autographs from most of TNA's top stars are plentiful, so many of them can be found for under $10.

TNA is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2012. The company held its first pay-per-view event in 2002, and it wasn’t long before fans were able to get their hands on TNA Trading Cards.

In 2004, when TNA was still running weekly pay-per-views and wasn’t on national television, Pacific Trading Cards released a set that included base cards, parallels, autographs, and memorabilia cards with a swatch of canvas from a TNA ring.

Pacific, which once produced MLB, NFL, and NHL trading cards, had lost all of those licenses by 2004 and was struggling to produce whatever cards it could. Pacific went out of business shortly after this product was released. As a result, whatever boxes were left were shipped off to retail stores and sold at heavily discounted prices. A full hobby box, which included two autographs and a memorabilia card, could be found at stores like Walmart for $10-20.

Houston-based TRISTAR picked up the TNA license in 2008 and released two products that year: 2008 TNA Impact! and TNA: Cross the Line. With a deep checklist of autographs and cool memorabilia cards, TRISTAR’s TNA cards were an improvement over those from Pacific in most respects; however, many collectors were less than thrilled with TRISTAR’s sticker autographs, while Pacific had offered big, bold on-card autographs.

TRISTAR has been cranking out two or three TNA products a year ever since, so base cards, autographs and memorabilia cards are plentiful. Because of the mass production and availability of these cards, autographs from some of TNA’s biggest stars can be found at very reasonable prices. Here is a list of 10 autographs that can be found very easily for under $10 each.

(1) James Storm. Storm is one of TNA’s top stars today, but when TRISTAR released his first autograph in 2008, he was the forgotten other half of America’s Most Wanted and was feuding with Eric Young over a toy beer drinking title. Just a few weeks after TRISTAR’s 2008 TNA Impact was released, Storm and Robert Roode jumpstarted their careers by forming Beer Money. Storm has signed for every TRISTAR set to date so there are plenty of autographs out there. Cool card: TRISTAR 2010 TNA The New Era Autograph.




(2) Jeff Jarrett. “The Founder’s” autograph was included in the Pacific set in 2004 and has been a part of every TRISTAR set to date. Jarrett’s overexposure during TNA’s first few years often kept down the value of his cards. Cool card: 2008 TNA Impact! “KOTM” Inscription.

(3) Raven. Arguably the top star from ECW, Raven has been in and out of TNA over the years. He first appeared in the Pacific set and then was absent for several years before resurfacing in TRISTAR products in 2010. Raven’s signature isn’t as plentiful as many others, but it’s still affordable. Cool card: Pacific 2004 TNA Legends and Stars Autograph.




(4) Christian Cage. “The Instant Classic” made waves in 2005 when he jumped from WWE to TNA during the prime of his career. He was a big part of TRISTAR’s first two TNA sets in 2008, and was back in WWE by 2009. He has also signed plenty of WWE cards for Topps. Cool card: TRISTAR 2008 Cross the Line Autograph.

(5) Kurt Angle. A year after Cage arrived in TNA, Angle was released by WWE and showed up on Impact. By that point Angle had already signed plenty of WWE cards for Topps, and his autograph became even more abundant starting in 2008. Angle might be the biggest name in wrestling whose autograph regularly sells for under $10. Cool card: TRISTAR 2008 TNA Cross the Line Autograph.

(6) A.J. Styles. Like Jarrett, Styles has appeared in every TNA set to date. His first autograph, featured in the old Pacific set, is unique in that it is signed on the card, while all of his TRISTAR autographs are stickers. Cool card: 2004 Pacific Autograph.

(7) Bobby Roode. James Storm’s former Beer Money tag team partner has also appeared in most of the TNA sets to date. Most of his cards have been signed “Robert Roode,” but TNA Reflexxions, released late last year, features a “Bobby Roode” autograph. The 2008 Impact! series from TRISTAR includes a dual autograph of Roode and short-lived manager Peyton Banks. Cool card: TRISTAR 2011 TNA Reflexxions Autograph.

(8) Awesome Kong. The former Kharma was one of TNA’s breakout stars in 2008 and appeared in almost every TRISTAR set until her departure from the company in 2010. Many of her autographs can be found for less than $5. Cool card: TRISTAR 2008 TNA Cross the Line Autograph.

(9) Samoa Joe. When TRISTAR released its first TNA set in 2008, Joe was the newly crowned TNA World Champion. Six months later, the Main Event Mafia took over the TNA spotlight and Joe was quickly lost in the shuffle. Joe is somewhat hot again with collectors after so many starts and stops with TNA, but the supply of his autographs greatly outweighs the demand. Some sellers are offering them on eBay for less than $3. Cool card: TRISTAR 2008 TNA Cross the Line Authentic Action Memorabilia Autograph/Shirt.

(10) Velvet Sky. The former (and perhaps future) Talia Madison had just arrived in TNA when the first TRISTAR product was released in 2008. It wasn’t long before her good looks made her a favorite among collectors. Some of her autograph/memorabilia cards are still among the highest sellers of all TNA cards, but basic autographs can be found pretty cheap. Cool card: TRISTAR 2009 TNA Knockouts Signature Curves Autograph.




Before dropping down the cash on any autographs, make sure what you are getting is authentic. All of TRISTAR’s autographs are signed on stickers that are later affixed to the card. If you see a TRISTAR card with an on-card signature, it may be real but isn’t certified authentic. Some wrestlers, such as Velvet Sky (eBay ID skysohigh) sometimes sign cards and sell them on their own.

If you have a question about wrestling collectibles, including the authenticity of an autograph, contact Michael Moore at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com .

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt