I spent a lot of time yesterday writing about the growth of WWE Chrome from 2014 and 2015, mainly because those sets have been the driver of some huge sales that the market has rarely, if ever, seen in modern wrestling cards. I wanted to go a bit deeper into why this is so important, especially as Panini hops in and really gets things going. Three months from now, we are going to be having a very different conversation about the potential that modern Wrestling has, and you can absolutely expect that Prizm will benefit from this as well.

2021 Topps Transcendent Vince McMahon Chrome Superfractor Auto 1/1 – $9,326

We were all watching this card like a hawk, especially as the auction price creeped closer and closer to $10k. When it finally closed a little under, everyone was excited, and everyone knew this was the beginning of something big. Not only was this important because of the value, but it showed that there were some WWE collectors out there who were ready to invest heavily in wrestling, and also that the market had reached a maturity level previously unknown.

Transcendent is the top of the mountain as an ultra premium product, but it hasnt been until recently that value held well on the big hits. Vince McMahon has less than 200 autograph cards available in Topps products, and is of the most important people in wrestling history. Not shocking that Vince’s card was the one that really showcased the highest end of the market. For a while before this, there was a run on the Transcendent Chrome Supers that were turning heads all over the place, as well as the Garbage Pail Kids original art that was going absolutely crazy as people scrambled to pick them up. I think there were quite a few people that expected this to go higher in a bidding war, but were very happy to see where it ended.

2014 Topps Chrome Roman Reigns Superfractor Auto – $15,000

Coming out of the Vince McMahon sale, there were some that speculated it wouldnt be long before another card broke the ceiling. That being said, Im not sure if anyone expected it would be the Roman Reigns that had been sitting on eBay for a year plus with no movement. The asking price was so high, it came up on top of every search that was sorted by highest price in the category. Because the market hadnt caught up yet, there it sat, week after week until the right dominoes fell. This past week, the sale was completed at 15k and everyone’s jaw dropped. If we are going to point to the beginning of the revolution, its not this card, but its definitely the result of what happens when the run begins.

There were three other sales that contributed to this card going as high as it did, and Ill talk about one of them in a second. The other two were the red refractor auto /25 that sold for 2k a week earlier, and a refractor auto at 1k. As 2014 Chrome started to be sold at huge prices, due to some factors about small print runs and legacy I discussed in the previous post, the main autograph on the checklist was going to start to get some attention. I dont think anyone expected it would happen this early. Since the sale, a lot containing another red, base and refractor has sold for $5,000. His rarer 2015 autographs have started selling into the four figures from 2015. That’s FOMO for you. Just remember, there is a gold version /10 from this card that will absolutely pop up here soon. Im guessing that might be 5-6k now on its own.

2015 Topps Chrome The Rock Gold Refractor – $3,200

Lets start by saying that it is beyond rare for a modern WWE card to sell at $3200. Its even more rare to see a raw, non-autographed card out of 50 sell for that price. This sale to a collector on instagram was shocking in its own right, but even more so because it was to someone without a big focus on WWE. The Rock is the biggest movie star in the world right now, and his cards have been setting records since the boom began back in 2020. Lest we not forget that his Miami Hurricanes “RC” sold for over 30k twice, and his Comic Images auto is so expensive that most have stopped looking to buy one.

Even though we know what the Rock is capable of, his cards never got to a point where a sale like this was possible. Ive always said that an auction on eBay needs a good amount of luck and planning to accomplish a showcase of true market value. This is one of those examples that I think might be the epitome of those two things. Luck because so many people saw it and wanted it, and planning because it was listed during a time where not many other big cards were listed or ending, on the heels of other bigger sales. This is the auction that really made that Reigns sale possible, but it is far from the only card that contributed long term.

2015 Topps Chrome Charlotte Flair Red Refractor Auto /5 – $1200

You might be wondering why this card is on the list, but its one that I believe signals an interesting turn for the potential auctions that will turn the tide. Flair is the most accomplished female performer in WWE history. Because of a number of things, she is far from the most valuable female that is available in the market. Fans struggle to support who they see as the women’s Roman Reigns, a star pushed so far down throats that it generates a terrible backlash. Unlike Reigns, who has found new life in a bad guy persona, Flair hasnt found the same success in turning fan appreciation. However, like Roman, her first cards coincide with 2014 and 2015 chrome, which make her a prime target for a run like this.

Her red refractor auto was part of the first Chrome set to feature a real parallel structure like Topps Chrome in other sports, but to this point, her autographs rarely registered on the radar. Of course, with Roman Reigns driving record prices, FOMO starts kicking in for investors watching along, and this sale was completed shortly after. Its the highest sale for her cards, and a direct result of everything we are seeing over the last few weeks. There are higher female Chrome sales to point to, with Superfractors from recent sets in 2020 selling for as much as 1500. Yet, this is the first one to directly benefit from the rest of the cards on this list.

2015 Topps Chrome Hulk Hogan Pulsar Auto /75 – $2200

I am not a Hulk Hogan fan. His public life after wrestling has been nothing short of a mess, and his personal life doesnt seem to be going in the right direction. Unfortunately, his story is a common one in Wrestling, with most people recognizing that the business is a cesspool of terrible people. Series like Dark Side of the Ring has done wonders to showcase just how bad things are and were.

Collectors still love themselves some of the Hulkster, with his cards driving the majority of the vintage wrestling boom that started around the beginning of 2020. As a result of the record prices Hogan was seeing on that side of the market, his modern cards, including his autographs in Allen and Ginter, and his Upper Deck PMGs have shot up in price as well. When someone listed a higher parallel of his 2015 Chrome autograph on eBay at $10,000 no one really took it seriously. At the end of January, someone bought it for $2200. I saw that sale and immediately thought that I must be taking crazy pills. Shortly before this, his graded cards from 2015 Chrome started spiking, and I would guess that there was a reason why someone out there thought this was the right next step. Seeing it now, they were not wrong.

Also worth noting this one is signed “HULKSTER” instead of his normal signature.

2014 Topps Chrome Undertaker Gold Refractor /50 and 2015 Topps Chrome Undertaker Gold Refractor /50 – $1675 and $386

When I think back to what really kicked off this run, there are two cards that really stick out. For a while, the Rock’s chrome sales were the ones that people were watching. In early December, when the raw 2015 Gold Undertaker sold, I almost fell out of my chair. There was no way that this card had sold for THAT much. I remember fire sales on Facebook where that card would sell for ten bucks. For six years, that card wasnt moving the needle, and then over night, it was a 400 dollar card.

Then in January, when the Undertaker’s Gold Refractor from 2014 sold for quadruple that price after being bought for under a hundred earlier in 2021, it signaled a new era was ready to explode. Funny enough, a John Cena gold refractor sold at 1200 at the exact same time, and within minutes, Wrestling Card twitter was seeing lightning on the horizon from the coming storm. I remember talking about 2014 Chrome on a few podcasts in mid 2021 and how important the brand was for Topps to focus on in WWE. I didnt know at the time that Panini was about to swoop in and take over, and I had no idea that this was within reach.

For everyone who has been in WWE cards for a long time, welcome to the thunderdome. I hope you are having as much fun as I am watching this all go down.