{"id":37813,"date":"2017-01-20T14:40:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T20:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=37813"},"modified":"2017-01-20T14:41:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T20:41:13","slug":"collectibles-column-interview-pwg-bola-card-designer-brian-ubben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/20\/collectibles-column-interview-pwg-bola-card-designer-brian-ubben\/","title":{"rendered":"COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Interview with PWG BOLA card designer Brian Ubben"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1049129823\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Pro Wrestling Guerrilla\u2019s Battle of Los Angeles is arguably the hottest ticket in independent wrestling year in and year out. It should be no surprise, then, that a limited edition trading card set from PWG\u2019s 2016 Battle of Los Angeles has become white hot with collectors of wrestling trading cards. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But designer Brian Ubben never thought the cards that he modeled after an old WCW set would demand the kind of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/martyscurllfront-WEB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-37817 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/martyscurllfront-WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"179\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/martyscurllfront-WEB.jpg 464w, https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/martyscurllfront-WEB-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 179px) 100vw, 179px\" \/><\/a>attention \u2013 and money \u2013 they do now. The cards were handed out for free, but complete 28-card sets are now selling on eBay for upwards of $150, with single cards selling in the $8-$15 range. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cI didn&#8217;t realize how much of a demand there was going to be or how much value they would have,\u201d Ubben said in an interview with the Torch. \u201cI started realizing it BOLA weekend, when people were offering money for them. I settled for pitchers of beer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Ubben, who has attended 67 consecutive PWG shows, has used his talents in graphic design to create artwork of individual wrestlers over the last two years. He was scouring the Internet for a vintage Dusty Rhodes T-shirt when he stumbled upon pictures of the 1991 WCW Premiere Edition trading cards from Impel. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIt suddenly hit me that this would be a perfect concept to use for BOLA,\u201d Ubben said. \u201cInitially these were just going to be online graphics to spread around, but Chris Smith (@one2follow) reached out to me saying he&#8217;s a fan of PWG and of my work and offered to print them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The 2016 PWG Battle of Los Angeles trading card set is comprised of 28 cards: one card for each of the 24 entrants in the BOLA tournament, and four \u201csecret\u201d cards of Super Dragon, Excalibur, Mount Rushmore (Adam Cole and the Young<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/codyrhodesfront-WEB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-37818 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/codyrhodesfront-WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"185\" height=\"255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/codyrhodesfront-WEB.jpg 464w, https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/codyrhodesfront-WEB-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 185px) 100vw, 185px\" \/><\/a> Bucks) and Legion Larry. Each card has a color photo on the front \u2013 most by photographer Mikey Nolan (@Mikey_Nolan) \u2013 on top of a bright yellow background with red confetti shapes splashed all around. The four \u201csecret\u201d cards were designed with different colors so that they stood out from the rest of the set. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cI love that throwback, off-centered \u201890s look with all the weird shapes and colors,\u201d Ubben said of the design. \u201cI thought it would evoke some nostalgic reactions from people, which it did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The 2016 PWG Battle of Los Angeles set includes a card for each wrestler who competed in the tournament in September. This includes WWE signees and other wrestlers who appeared on WWE shows recently, including Jack Gallagher, Chris Hero, Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne, Tommy End, Zack Sabre Jr. and Cedrick Alexander. The set also includes top British wrestlers like Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay and Mark Haskins, Ring of Honor\u2019s Dalton Castle, Lucha Underground stars John Hennigan (Johnny Mundo), Jeff Cobb (Matanza Cueto), Fenix and Pentagon Jr., along with cards of Kamaitachi, Trevor Lee, Jushin Liger, Matt Sydal, Riccochet, Cody Rhodes, Sami Callihan, Kyle O\u2019Reilly and Matthew Riddle. <\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-294294086\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Ubben, who collected Pokemon cards as a kid, distributed the four \u201csecret\u201d cards much the same way rare Pokemon cards were distributed.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanfront-WEB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-37815 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanfront-WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanfront-WEB.jpg 464w, https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanfront-WEB-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWhen the first Pokemon (movie) came out, there were exclusive cards you could only get by buying a ticket to the movie,\u201d Ubben Recalled. \u201cThere were four cards and I remember wanting all four. I had to trade with a bunch of kids before the movie started to get all four, and I did.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This experience gave me the idea to have the four secret cards in the BOLA set that I didn&#8217;t reveal until the weekend of BOLA itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cI saw people trading to get the secret cards they wanted most and that just warmed my heart. That&#8217;s the kind of experience I wanted to recreate from trading Pokemon cards as a kid and I achieved that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And, Ubben added, \u201cthe most sought after card was Legion Larry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Smith printed 150 BOLA sets. Most were given out to fans who attended the BOLA shows; Ubben kept some for friends and fans who couldn\u2019t make it to the show. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Ubben\u2019s personal favorite card in the set is that of \u201cSpace Cat\u201d Sami Callihan, which features a unique photo from Mikey Nolan \u2013 and a special cameo.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanback-WEB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-37816 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanback-WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanback-WEB.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/samicallihanback-WEB-300x218.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThat picture with him sitting on that dude&#8217;s lap drinking beer next to Dave Meltzer with my boy Skits throwing up the \u2018W\u2019 in the background \u2013 there&#8217;s so much going on in that picture,\u201d Ubben said. \u201cIt&#8217;s awesome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This was Ubben\u2019s first trading card set, but it won\u2019t be his last. He\u2019s already designed a Queens of Combat trading card set, and has plans for next year\u2019s BOLA event as well. <\/span><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3638367780\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Follow Brian Ubber on Twitter @BrianDaBrain; a link to his portfolio is available on his profile. More of his work can also be found at pwponderings.com\/store. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">PWTorch Collectibles Specialist Michael Moore can be reached at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com\"><span class=\"s2\">michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com<\/span><\/a>. Follow him on Twitter @MMooreWriter.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>NOW READ OUR PREVIOUS COLLECTIBLES COLUMN:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/13\/collectibles-column-new-figures-big-markdowns\/\">New Figures and Big Markdowns<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2760304766\"><div id=\"pwtor-2655811307\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Pro Wrestling Guerrilla\u2019s Battle of Los Angeles is arguably the hottest ticket in independent wrestling year in and year out. It should be no surprise, then, that a limited edition trading card set from PWG\u2019s <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/20\/collectibles-column-interview-pwg-bola-card-designer-brian-ubben\/\" title=\"COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Interview with PWG BOLA card designer Brian Ubben\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,52,27],"tags":[2155,4647,1271,916,4000],"class_list":["post-37813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-specialists_collectibles","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","tag-battle-of-los-angeles","tag-brian-ubben","tag-collectibles","tag-pro-wrestling-guerrilla","tag-sami-callahan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/CollectiblesCodyPWG_3x2_900.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37813"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37820,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37813\/revisions\/37820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}