By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Collectors are showing a renewed interest in Sting’s autographs and memorabilia cards.

Card Show #44: Sting

During Sting’s run with TNA, Houston-based TRISTAR Collectibles cranked out as many trading cards of “The Icon” as they possibly could. TRISTAR launched its first TNA product in mid-2008 and, for two years, Sting’s signature was the Holy Grail of TNA trading card products.

That changed when Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, and others showed up in 2010. Still, Sting’s signature remained a key selling point for TRISTAR and TNA through 2013. But more autographs meant depreciated secondary market sales. Sting’s autograph, which regularly sold for $75-100 when TRISTAR first released TNA Impact in 2008, often dipped below $25 during parts of 2011 and 2012.

But, Sting’s new relationship with WWE – even if it has been limited to video games and panel discussions – has created a buzz with card collectors. Sting’s signatures from TNA products don’t pop up for sale nearly as frequently as they did a few years ago. When they do, they’re selling for considerably more than $25.

Here’s a look at five cool Sting cards from TRISTAR’s TNA products and other card sets throughout the years.

(1) 1987 Wonderama NWA #17. Sting’s first card was released shortly after Jim Crockett Promotions purchased Bill Watts’s Universal Wrestling Federation. Sting appears on a few cards in this set with other wrestlers, but card #17 is the one to get. It features a solo shot of Sting in a UWF ring and is probably closest thing to a Sting “rookie card” in existence.

The 1987 Wonderama cards are incredibly scarce. According to WrestlingTradingCards.com, these cards were a test run that were sold only in the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area for a limited time, and Wonderama produced just 113 sets. Sets were released to the public on eBay in 2002. A much more common set of similar cards was released by Wonderama in 1988. The 1987 cards very rarely surface on eBay, and are almost impossible to price due to scarcity.




(2) 1999 Topps WCW/NWO Autograph. Few sets are more revered by wrestling collectors than the historic 1998 and 1999 WCW sets from Topps. The 1999 set featured Sting’s first (and most valuable) certified signature. The card features a crisp, clean, on-card autograph against a picture of Sting at his physical peak, sporting his ultra cool Eric Draven look inspired by “The Crow.” If you’re looking to add one of these cards to your collection, be ready to spend $200-300.




(3) 2008 TRISTAR TNA Cross the Line Autograph. If you’re looking for a more affordable Sting signature, this card is your best bet. Basic silver autographs typically sell in the $40-50 range, with gold parallels (serial numbered to 50) selling for about the same. There are other low-numbered parallels that command higher premiums.




(4) 2008 TRISTAR TNA Cross the Line Authentic Action Dual Memorabilia. TRISTAR was always a cut above (pun intended) other card companies when it came to wrestling memorabilia cards. The company sliced up some unique items, especially for this 2008 set. This particular card features a swatch of an event-worn t-shirt and a piece of the bat Sting used to KO Samoa Joe at the 2008 Victory Road pay-per-view. Basic silver (numbered to 99) and gold (numbered to 50) versions of this card usually sell in the $20-30 range.




(5) 2009 TRISTAR TNA Impact Event-Worn Face Paint. Need further proof of how creative TRISTAR was with memorabilia cards? The 2009 TNA Impact set featured this card, which included a glob of paint that was actually peeled from Sting’s face. There are two cards, white and black, with just five versions of each in existence (plus ultra rare purple parallels of each card serial numbered 1/1).

One of these card will cost you a minimum of $100. If you’re going to buy one of these, know what you’re getting into. The 2009 TNA Impact set also included basic Sting face paint cards that featured a stamp created from the makeup in one of his tubes of face paint, but the event-worn face paint cards also feature a glob of face paint sealed in plastic underneath. The picture accompanying this column is one of the rare event-worn face paint cards.




PWTorch Collectibles Specialist Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MMooreWriter.

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