When Immaculate WWE was announced, I knew we were going to be in for fireworks to close out the 2022 card year for wrestling. Historically, Immaculate has been a very popular set with a legacy Panini status, and has delivered some of the most expensive cards available on the market today. In the NBA and NFL, this set is frequently anticipated by premium collectors for the high end content it contains each year, and for WWE, that looks to be the same exact formula.

Because Immaculate is built in a super premium configuration, it was always going to be controversial, just like every set like it always is. The takes were going to range all over the spectrum, and it was clear that the growing divide between modern collectors who enjoy the Panini releases and those that dont would continue to be a factor. Popularity aside, I think expectations were as high for this product as they were coming into the release of Prizm, and for the most part, it really feels like they delivered.

I wanted to take some time to walk through what I found to be successful and what was not, as well as some context of what collectors can expect going forward in the market.

Relic Cards Deliver Historic Highs

Traditionally, the relic cards in Immaculate have always been a main event draw. Hats, shoes, jackets, game balls and many other pieces of memorabilia have been cut up for inclusion in the set. This content has become a huge attraction point because the cards look so different as compared to normal jersey and patch cards.

In this year’s WWE set, we got some of the most insane relic cards I have seen in sports, not just for WWE. Because WWE is known for the colorful shirts they sell as a main feature of their business, cutting them up for use in Panini sets has raised a number of eyebrows in the way the cards have been done. Since the first relic set was released in Select, Panini has shown they were shooting for the stars with the way they are incorporating colorful pieces into their cards.

When you combine those incredible pieces with on card autographs, this whole set just sings with cards that will be statement pieces in almost any PC. There are so many small time cards that will have exponentially higher value on the secondary market just because the relic is a whole face, or something crazy. That’s a big deal for WWE.

Add in that there are also a bunch of Immaculate level unique relic pieces too, and it gets better and better. Leather jackets, basketball shorts, flip flops, its all here. Even though all of it is player worn, this is what the hobby has gravitated towards – cards that look good on display.

Verdict: BIG win

Multi-signed Cards Bring the Heat

If you have been a fan of Immaculate for the last 10 years, the multi-signed cards are a huge reason why the set has reached legacy status. Usually, the cards have great pairings, and in many cases are exceptionally scarce and hard to pull. They have usually been hard signed as well, so its easy to see why many collectors must acquire them for their collections.

Its a bit more complicated in WWE, because in the history of the brand, I can only think of one product that had multi-signed cards andt wasn’t a sticker based release. For a few years, Transcendent collection from Topps had dual autographs signed on card, and the 4 horsewomen oversized quad autograph. That’s all I can remember off the top of my head. It also means that triple and quad hard signed autograph cards are some of the most under-represented cards in WWE.

Immaculate not only delivers hard signed dual, triple and quad autographs, for the first time in WWE we have hard signed dual autograph memorabilia cards as well. Factor in that the 1/1 parallels of this set have shown that they have dual logos, and the stakes become impossibly high.

I think the groupings for these cards were done by someone who wasnt afraid to pull out the big guns, especially for some of the quads that feature DX and the pillars of the Attitude era. Although many are redemptions, there are a few live examples and they look great. I popped for the card featuring Alexa, Bayley, Asuka and Carmella all with their MITB briefcase photos.

Verdict: BIG win

Redemption Cards Create Issues With Wax Rippers

There has been a lot of talk online about how many redemptions are part of this release, and I must say, its a valid point. Redemptions are hard to stomach when a product costs more than $2k per case to rip, and its excruciating to wait for a giant hit for months on end. Nothing I say here will be able to change that.

More importantly, some of the redemptions in this set were also redemptions in Impeccable, which came out months ago. That means in the timeframe between products, those people still havent signed. They arent small names either, with Triple H, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns and others all having major issues getting their cards done. Adding in new redemptions from Hogan, Undertaker and others makes the concern more apparent.

Because these names are big value, and the cards they are holding up are big value cards as a result, collectors have a right to be concerned. At the same time, this is also a natural byproduct of hard signed autographs, and I would much rather wait on a redemption than have that person left off the checklist.

Traditionally, big on card signings are done at events like Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble, because the WWE has usually helped to facilitate making their stars available to sign. If the person isnt at these events, they need to be sent their cards to sign, or be made available at other opportunities to get stuff done. Most of the time that falls on the superstar or their agents to get the signings done, and that can take a while.

For those of us who have spent time in the mainstream hobby, redemptions are a bane of many collector’s existence, but its part of the game. Additionally, the cards that have been redemptions for WWE have been filled more quickly from Prizm, Select, Revolution and other sets, so hopefully the waits wont be long.

Verdict: Loss

Sticker Autos Are a Drag

The hobby loves autographs. Loves them to a fault. Because the demand for autographs is so high, and the production schedules run year round, there isnt always an opportunity to get all autographs on card. Similarly, the companies have shown that they arent always prioritizing hard signed cards because it can create issues with redemptions and timing.

That being said, super premium products are expected to deliver above any other type of product, and Panini absolutely does not have a good track record of having all autographs on card. Usually the only sets that have this feature cost an insane amount of money per box, with even National Treasures featuring stickers in some variety.

WWE being a niche brand means that its likely stickers will creep in places where they arent in the bigger sports. In this set, there are stickers for 4-5 subsets, and that has left a sour taste in collectors mouths as they chase PC cards and rip wax.

Not much else can be said here, and its unfortunate. But the expectations go well past what we are seeing in WWE.

Verdict: Loss

Nickname Cards have No Inscriptions

When Dolph Ziggler previewed his signing a few months ago, we found out we were getting the famous nicknames cards we have seen in many other sets Panini has done. He signed some great inscriptions, which is a piece of unique autograph content I have wanted for ages.

As we saw FOTL and Hobby start to make its way out, it became clear how few of the wrestlers on the checklist got the memo. Most cards just have a normal autograph, and I could not be more disappointed in the one set I was looking forward to. Hopefully in future years, the instructions are much more clear.

Verdict: BIG Loss

Chase Cards Are On Fire

In the NFL and NBA, the chase cards drive product values. Whether its a big rookie, or a 1/1 logo, the chase is what keeps people diving into breaks and hitting refresh on eBay for weeks on end. This is one area that Panini has looked to improve across their entire calendar, and for the most part, have been ultimately successful more than I could have ever expected.

Immaculate is a place where the top cards in Wrestling have been on full display. Every set in the product has some aspect of a chase to it, and with the relic cards driving the majority of the readily available chase elements, it didnt leave much room for error in the bigger elements.

One card that everyone wanted to see live is the booklet featuring the entirety of the Bloodline. Over the last 2 years, Roman Reigns has been the top heel in Wrestling and is involved in the best story in wrestling. It should come as no surprise that this card is one of the top chases in the product. It has 25 copies and no parallels, so collectors will have to battle as the examples are pulled. Its a landmark card, and like the 10 signature cards from Topps 2021, this is among the most autographs that have ever been featured on a wrestling card.

Additionally, most of the relic autograph cards have 1/1 parallels, which all feature some sort of insane swatch or WWE logo. The base autograph memorabilia set is seemingly built around WWE logo relics in the cards, and the dual auto mem cards seem to feature two of the logos. Obviously, this type of content hasnt been available before with on card autographs, so its not surprising how many collectors are hunting these down.

Verdict: Win

There is no doubt that this product has both highs and lows, but I will say that the highs are among the best we have seen in wrestling cards in a long time. Maybe ever. I think Select was a more complete product top to bottom, but Immaculate delivers in a way like I didnt even expect. Pure fun, huge chases, and a checklist full of cards that appeal to every level of the hobby. Cant beat that.

When the Panini era started on 1/1/22, I had a lot of mixed feelings about how things would play out as they embedded themselves within the world of wrestling. Given my history with Panini, mainly my dissatisfaction with design work, set configurations and other things, I was thinking the new world order would be more Mid 2000s WWE NWO, not 1996 NWO.

Much to my surprise, the entire 2022 card year has been one of the most rewarding and fun experiences I have ever had as a collector. I also ended up spending more time chasing down the examples I wanted, made some collection defining acquisitions, and found the standards of the boom era of sports cards coming to WWE being a very good thing.

Given that Panini’s takeover of the squared circle has been controversial among the collecting base of wrestling fans, I wanted to take some time to go through some of the things Panini did really well, and things they didnt come off the top rope for. Hopefully this will provide a balanced look at the debut year of Panini WWE, and some clues to areas they might want to build on as they head into years two through five.

Win – Photography

If I had to point to one defining characteristic of what made this past year of Panini great, its all the photos they have found to showcase the wrestlers. Seemingly each photo is better than the last, with very few duplications, and a focus on the moments that make WWE a worldwide phenomenon.

Starting with Prizm, we saw a focus on showcasing finishers and entrances, followed by one of the most successful products in WWE history in Select. Because there were four levels of base cards to fund with awesome shots, Panini went deep into the WWE annals and found some incredible photos that put the superstars in their top elements.

Although the photos weren’t without discussions or mistakes, I think there were some incredible elements brought to products that we hadnt seen in wrestling cards for a while. Topps had a habit of choosing photos that really didnt represent the best of the WWE, along side photos that were at a high level. Panini seems to have knocked it out of the park across the board.

Win – Heightened Community Attention

As if Wrestling Cards werent on fire enough coming into 2022, I never expected the kind of attention that Panini brought to the fold over the first few months of their license. Even outside the walls of the hobby, we saw cards advertised on RAW and Smackdown, and large hobby accounts on social media bringing wrestling cards into their brand for the first time.

We also saw a ton of new faces join the hobby, especially on hubs like Facebook and Instagram, where slow trickles of fresh people became tidal waves of individuals. Many eventually left during the onset of a new recession, and hobby downturn, but the size of this corner of the hobby ended well on the net positive.

In addition, there were considerably more people creating content around wrestling cards, with growth in youtube channels, podcasts, and all sorts of media related to wrestling.

Loss – Affordable Player and Set Collecting

With more people and more eyes, values increase. What originally made WWE fun was that you could get your share of thrills for pennies on the dollar compared to the stick and ball sports. When I joined this part of the hobby in 2017, a case of WWE cards was equivalent to a box of the main products in the NFL and NBA. Similarly, building a large collection of the people you wanted to collect was easy and generally inexpensive.

For set collectors who were used to having an unimpeded path to completion, there were no gimmicks and contrived scarcity to drive them away. Both of these aspects of collecting in WWE changed, mostly if you were already collecting someone that had a lot of people vying for the cards.

Although there was plenty more variety in the cards available, that set and player collectors could chase, it became exponentially more expensive to do so. For some, this was a huge drawback.

Win – Relic Content Mirroring Other Sports

For years, Topps struggled to add content to WWE products that was relic based. They relied heavily on mat relics, which were single color and boring when presented in large quantities. Collectors started devaluing relic cards in favor of more unique autograph cards, or shiny parallels from Chrome and Finest, much like we saw in the other aspects of the hobby.

From the release of Select onwards, Panini found a way to bring value back to relics in WWE. Focusing on t-shirts worn by superstars during their signings, new colorful swatches became a huge part of what made every relic set so successful. Every set had statement pieces in their midst, and the lower the parallel of the card, the more likely it would have an EXTREMELY colorful relic to enhance the aesthetics of the card.

It also adds a level of personalization to showcase content that is instantly recognizable by fans, who are well known for having entire wardrobes build around wrestling shirts and gear. Impeccable, Chronicles, and the pending release of Immaculate had and will have cards on the checklist that could be some of the best looking wrestling cards ever released, solely because of how cool the relics might be.

Loss – The Hype and Dip of Prizm Wax

When Prizm was announced as the first product for the WWE license, it became clear how much potential this would have in a hobby that was still on the rise. Speculation over a pending gold rush fueled a ton of speculative buying, and Prizm hobby boxes soared to record prices.

Upon release, boxes were cracking four figures as a population of cash rich investors coming off the hobby’s biggest year in history, were hoping to get in on the ground level of a new brand. Within six months, the entire hobby had slumped considerably, and the overheated wax market crashed hard for Prizm. Although other products seemed to perform well, this was a black eye for Panini WWE, and an unexpected loss to kick off their brand.

Although we saw record setting single card sales that might end up being the highest cost in the history of wrestling cards, its hard to get past that Prizm just got way too high way too fast.

Win – The Chase of New WWE Centerpieces

For over a decade now, Upper Deck and Panini have brought a chase element to a hobby originally based around collecting flagship sets with very few bells and whistles. Topps was able to bring some of that to WWE, but as a smaller niche brand in their portfolio, they never focused as much on creating epic cards until the last few years of their license.

From day one, Panini brought a chase element to products, hoping to add fire to entice cross over collectors coming from the NBA and NFL to dive in. Adding onto the existing chase of Prizm Golds/Blacks, things like WWE logo autographs in Select, booklet cards in Immaculate, and cards with gold bars inlayed in the stock for Impeccable were all eyebrow raising additions to the wide variety of set approaches.

Combining these chases with other aspects of relic content discussed above, and many collectors found themselves finally getting a taste of what life is like outside of wrestling cards.

Loss – Lack of Collector Engagement

I really thought that Panini would approach this differently than Topps did and find ways to engage with collectors on their level. I thought that with such a large investment in a small market, Panini would need to find ways to connect with the new faces in Wrestling cards and create new fans to fill the void with fans that many of their products need to be successful.

Instead, things have been largely quiet, with many Panini social media accounts only casually getting involved with WWE releases, and not really connecting with the community in any meaningful way. Lucas Kinser, the product manager for WWE and UFC has done a good job being a featured guest on hobby content, but one man cannot do the work of an entire brand.

WWE builds their entire existence around the “WWE Universe” and to see that Panini hasnt really found a way to bridge that experience is exceptionally disappointing.

Win – Product Variety with Something for Everyone

For every Prizm and Select, there is a Revolution and NXT. For every Impeccable, there is a Chronicles. Basically, this has been a year of many different products with different target markets, and it has worked like a symphony.

I love that there is a mix of different configurations and approaches, as variety is truly the spice of hobby life. If every set was just another copy of Prizm or a lower end product like NXT, this year wouldnt have reached the heights that it did. Similarly, with Wrestling being a notoriously inexpensive corner of collecting, Panini churning out everything like Impeccable and Immaculate would seem quite tone deaf.

The perfect example here was the recent release of Chronicles, which combined the high end chases of National Treasures with the set collector friendly base sets and lower end fun – all in one product.

Win – Set Checklists

Ill close with this, because I have been literally shocked by how Panini has found new signers, desired signers, and existing stars to populate the checklists in the ways that they have. Guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker have become accessible to more people because Panini has put them in more products. Other people like Batista and the Great Khali have started signing wrestling cards for the first time ever.

Although we still havent seen Sable or the Rock sign cards again, every other available WWE mainstay is signing for Panini WWE products, and that is huge. Its hard to put out premium products without a great mix of the stars of today with the stars of the eras that shaped wrestling’s history.

Seeing that Immaculate is bringing some of the fringe ECW stars to sign with previous Attitude era HOFers just seems like a chef’s kiss at the end of the year. I never thought I would see the Sandman signing WWE cards, nor would I think that we would ever get a DX quad autograph with hard signed signatures.

As ive mentioned on many different videos, this year of Panini has been nothing short of incredible. They have done a tremendous job of figuring out what wrestling card collectors would want and finding a way to accomplish it in card format. I can only hope we see similar success with 2023 as we did in 2022.

Since I was a kid, there is one PPV that I always found to be the most consistently entertaining. The Royal Rumble has always been a wild ride of emotions since the 80s, and more recently for reasons that have more impact with cards than any other PPV. Wrestlemania may be the most grandiose and important PPV for the television product, but the Royal Rumble is the most important for collectors. I wanted to share my thoughts on this topic because its this weekend, but also because I love this event so much.

Understanding the Importance

There are a few things that drive value in modern WWE cards. They range from potential, to race, to gender, to accomplishments, to legacy. Most of these things are not able to be changed, while others are directly impacted by on screen performance. Things like potential and accomplishments have always driven value in sports, and I would argue that lately, potential outweighs any other attribute, even if the hobby is functioning on old information or tribal knowledge that leads to bias.

In Wrestling, stars can have untapped potential well into their mid thirties, or even early forties, especially if the TV presentation changes the way they are seen by the public. Look at Roman Reigns as a prime example. Prior to his current gimmick as the Head of the Table, he was a stale babyface who had zero edge. A less relatable John Cena type persona. He was beloved by kids, but unlike Cena, few adults were able to get on board with the big dog. When he adopted his first heel gimmick since the days of the original Shield, everything changed. He went from a lower tier collectible superstar to a highly collectable generational talent.

Even though many collectors may still have well seeded hatred for anything Reigns has done or will do, I am among the converted. I see the potential changing just by adopting a new presentation for the character.

The other type of potential that is subject to the Rumble, is a bit different, and it stems from how the company will view the performers in the coming year. A great showing in the match can signal an upcoming push towards the top of the card, or if the person is truly lucky, a main event type match at this year’s Wrestlemania. Seeing the final four men and women in each event can be a huge signal that potential is about to change, even if they dont win.

Similarly for NXT stars, not being in many collectors purview can change instantly if they are given a featured spot at this PPV. We’ve seen people like Rhea Ripley go far in the match, and then win the title a short time after. There are countless examples of this happening.

The Road to Wrestlemania

Its rare (at least these days) that a Rumble winner ends up being Brock Lesnar or someone who needs further establishment as a star in the business. Most of the time, we get someone like Bianca Belair who started her meteoric rise to the top of the women’s division last year. Historically, the winner ends up being the focal point of TV for months and months leading up to WM, and for collectors, thats a huge indication that things will change on the potential for that individual.

Wrestlemania is the most visibility that Wrestling has on a national level, period. We’ve seen huge stars have game changing performances at Mania, whether its Bad Bunny, Logan Paul or Pat McAfee. For a budding megastar, the Royal Rumble can be a coming out party of sorts. With the right predictions, or widespread diversification in collecting leading up to the PPV, collectors can see huge value shifts if someone new gets their shot at the main event.

If you look at the WWE’s history, being in that top of the card slot has propelled almost every career that collectors latch onto. Hogan, Austin, Rock, Becky, Roman and others have all seen WM main events change their life. In 1997, this match catapulted Austin to the biggest stage wrestling has ever had. In 2019, Becky Lynch’s win cemented the rise of the Man to the first ever Women’s main event. The future of WWE collecting can progress or diminish with one event.

Who is Primed for a Featured Run?

Much like last year, we are in the middle of two historic runs for both men and women leading into this weekend. Roman Reigns has been champion now for two years. Bianca Belair, almost a year. Unseating either one of them could have huge implications for the collectibility of two stars.

For the men, there are three names that everyone needs to have eyes on. First is Cody Rhodes, who’s epic return at last year’s WM sent ripples through the industry. He is the odds on favorite to win after tearing his pectoral muscle and being out a number of months. Because his first cards since the return are just starting to show up in a large group, this could be a huge year for collecting his stuff.

The next person is Seth Rollins, because since the end of 2021, I dont think there is a male star that has grown in popularity quite like him. He has been a major part of WWEs main event scene for a while, but aside from a short run as US Champion late in 2022, he hasnt held a major title since 2019. Rollins has seen more and more collectors see his contributions as vital and his new persona has driven a ton of fans to jump on board.

Last but not least is the Rock, who for months now, has been rumored as the only match Roman Reigns could have that could sell out any stadium in the world. The two of them have never wrestled, and Roman’s identity of the Tribal Chief stands directly in contrast to the Rock’s celebrity status as a worldwide movie blockbuster. The Rock is already one of the most valuable people in WWE, and a win in the Rumble could reignite some of the crossovers from NFL and NBA to again look to get into the wrestling hobby with the great one as their entry point.

On the women’s side, things arent as clear. People like Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley have been the two betting favorites heading into the event, mainly because both have business with each of the current champions that would make for great mania matches.

The feud between Lynch and Flair goes back years, and their offscreen relationship deteriorating led to one of the best women’s matches of the year in 2020. Rhea Ripley is the future of the business at only 25 years old, and already having matches that turn heads. Her potential feud with Belair has been hinted at during multiple Royal Rumbles in the past, and was set for a match earlier this year before an injury made the plans change.

Up and Coming Rookies on the Main Stage?

If there was one thing that I think made Prizm and Select landmark products, it was the rookie class. People like Bron Breakker and Gable Steveson saw gigantic value coming out of the gates for each product. I also have to believe both guys will have a big night for the Rumble, along side other NXT standouts like Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller.

For the women, I have championed the cause for new talent like Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade, both of whom are set to participate. Because the women’s roster is smaller, finding 30 participants on the women’s side forces the writers to use more talent. Others like Tiffany Stratton and Nikkita Lyons might make an appearance as well.

Overall, WWE developmental is in a great spot with both sides of the coin, and NXT is looking like it might be on a path where those new stars might get a fair shake, unlike what we used to see when management was more focused on the main roster product.

Predictions For the Match

I have to go with my gut on this one, and I absolutely believe there will be some huge surprises over the weekend. I think on the men’s side, a win for Cody Rhodes would give the best story heading into the biggest event of the year in Hollywood. I think we get some big moments with the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin as well, as there is rarely a big event in Texas without the rattlesnake making an appearance. I think a sleeper pick could be Sami Zayn, who is one of my favorite new elements of the Roman Reigns storyline that could have a tremendous payoff at WM.

For the Women, my homer pick would obviously be Becky Lynch, but with both champions being babyfaces right now, I dont think that is the right course. For that reason, I think the easy pick is Rhea Ripley, with a hopeful match against Becky Lynch as the payoff, hinted at during Becky’s comeback at Survivor Series and the following few weeks.

Again, the Royal Rumble is so much fun, and sets so many things in motion that collectors always gravitate towards. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I will.

When I heard Panini was getting the WWE license, I wasnt happy. I had never been a fan of much of what Panini had done in the hobby, and I knew my days as an easy going Becky Lynch collector were going to change dramatically. As things got closer to release, I started to warm up to the new era, especially as more and more people jumped on board with WWE cards prior to the first release of the license. Eventually, everything that I was sure was going to happen, started happening, as the price of Prizm wax ballooned to four figures before a box was even ripped.

As the wax was climbing, all I could think about was how crazy things would get for the first gold prizm of the Rock, who had emerged as the top name in WWE cards over the boom. His Miami Hurricanes football “rookie” had sold for high five figures and again to a group of NFL players and their partners. Everyone wanted a piece of the Great One, just as the most hyped set in WWE history was about to land. What I didnt realize, this one card would not be the rallying point I expected it to be, instead representing the worst the boom era had to offer to a small but vocal group of wrestling card collectors.

Before we get to the how and the why, I want to step back and talk about Prizm, and more specifically the golds that have captivated collectors over the more recent investment focused years of the late 2010s and early 2020s. This period of time has been one of the most fruitful in the entire history of trading cards, but also one of the most controversial. Especially since 2020, when the boom really started, cards have become a new asset class, with many new investors invading the space. At the center of this boom is Prizm, a set that became the banner for the hobby day trader.

Back when Prizm originally came out, it was anything but a banner for anyone. Riding the coat tails of Topps’ shiny empire that spanned MLB, MILB, NFL, and NBA, I used to call Prizm “Diet Chrome.” The cards werent as nice as Topps’ flagship product line, the autographs were stickers, and the designs seemed second rate. Upon its release in 2012, many hobby shops struggled to move the product off their shelves. It wasnt seen as a viable chrome style alternative.

The original sets weren’t the woven web of parallels either, they were 3 parallels deep – the Silver, the Gold (/10) and the Black (1/1). Keep this in mind as we get further on. Because the hobby hadn’t found its happy place yet, many collectors just ignored both the initial NFL and NBA releases and went on with their day. As the sets continued to be released in the main sports year after year, they started to gain a loyal collecting base, especially after Topps lost their football license in 2015.

By 2018, the rookie year of Luka Doncic, Prizm had evolved to be Panini’s cash cow. Multiple configurations of box types, pack types and close to 50 parallels in each year’s set. It was close to becoming the hobby standard across many areas of the new investment focused crowd, looking to pad their “portfolios” with the best Prizm cards in the world.

One aspect of this story remains in tact, and this is where our story truly begins. Because collectors continually find themselves fawning over firsts – the legacy of the gold prizm became solidified. If you were going to find the best of the best, the gold rookie of your favorite player was the way to go. If a gold rookie wasnt available, a gold from the first year of prizm became just as important. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James saw their initial gold cards creep into the five figure range. Others like Tom Brady, who was already a decade into his career when Prizm was created, saw their “first prizm” take on an extreme value.

By the time WWE Prizm hit shelves in April 2022, the Golds were the standard across the entire universe of trading cards. These cards were popular enough that Topps Chrome golds started taking on exponential growth as well. Leading into its debut in the squared circle, it was no surprise that many of the collectors who were indoctrinated hobby wide during the boom, were starving to get their hands on a gold of the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.

Unlike launches in WNBA, NASCAR, and UFC, the existing collector base for Panini cards wasnt the same type of collector that was used to this focus on unsigned parallel cards. When word got out that Panini was taking over, the connotations among this group were almost entirely negative. For decades, WWE cards were a dark niche corner of collecting, populated by a community of people who loved the cheap thrills that wrestling cards were all about. As someone who had joined this small community in 2017 for that reason, I get the sentiment. Panini would mean more cost, less focus on what many WWE collectors loved, and being at the back of the line if your budget was dollars instead of stacks of cash.

In addition to this general bitterness and anger, there was also a vacuum of information that prevented the excitement over the new license from permeating the walls put up by the most vocal groups within the community. For collectors in the stick and ball hobbies, crossover between the sports was exceptionally common. In Wrestling cards, that wasn’t the case at all. Many WWE collectors existed as fans of wrestling who collected cards, not fans of cards in general. Seeing modern WWE cards sell for $15,000 like we saw in late 2021 was a foreign concept to most of the community, and very few could fathom an unsigned parallel with 10 copies selling for almost triple that cost.

Leading up to the first sale of the Rock’s gold prizm card, I was beyond excited that we could finally see WWE cards in the spotlight. Unlike most WWE collectors, I was looking forward to seeing the hobby standards I had covered for years on my site finally come to my new collecting home. Even though things were about to get exponentially more expensive for my PC, I saw this as a time to shine. Like finally getting to show off your house to a new group of visitors. I also wanted WWE Prizm to live up to the hype for a number of reasons, especially because everyone wants to see their horse win. My collection had always been focused around chrome cards, going back to the early 90s when Finest and Chrome first became a focus for Topps. Prizm was going to be my new jam, and I was hoping it would be as popular as I had predicted.

This launch wasn’t without anxiety for a number of ‘Prizm-aware’ WWE fans out there, because we knew how much was riding on this release. I remember telling a friend that I hope the first Rock gold would be pulled by someone who knew what they had, because most WWE collectors wouldn’t know that it could be a mid five figure card.

Funny enough, this is where the controversy starts. This is where the real fighting began, because that’s exactly what happened. Because 50% (maybe more) of all product is ripped by breakers, people no longer needed to support the gigantic wax cost by themselves anymore. Prizm was a breaker friendly product, and with the wax price at such a speculative astronomic height, many WWE collectors went that route to get a taste of this new hotness. Sure enough, the first Rock gold was pulled in this way, and the person that pulled it didnt really have the kind of familiarity with the hype train to know they would be holding a card worth the price of a mid range sedan. In addition to this, this new golden owner did something no one should ever do: ask their breaker for advice. Despite facebook groups with posts offering bounties on leads, premium offers for anyone with one to sell, and lots of talk about high dollar buyers on social media, the breaker gave some very low estimates of what it could be worth.

Within a short period of time, the card was listed by the owner on eBay for around $7000, and sold in seconds. For context, most collectors familiar with the modern mainstream hobby had thought the value of this card was closer to $25,000 based on their experience with other Prizm brand launches. Because the hobby is well embedded in the FOMO lifestyle, the fear of missing out on this collection centerpiece pushed a number of people to send messages to the seller detailing their mistake. Within a few days, the original sale was cancelled, and the card was sold to a new owner for $20k. Personally, I didnt take much offense to this. I felt bad for the guy for listening to the wrong voice of reason in picking an original listing price, and knew how many times this had happened for other cards in the hobby. It was a daily occurrence. It had happened to me before. I had won cards for prices that were well below their cost, and sellers cancel the sale citing their mistake. I would chalk it up to “welp, that was worth the risk!” and not take it personally.

Unlike those situation, the difference in cost here wasnt a couple hundred or even a couple thousand dollars. It was 13 grand. We have all made mistakes in our life, but very few of us have ever made one that big. Immediately, the hundreds of white knights of the hobby launched their crusade.

“FUCK THIS GUY!”

“HONOR THE PRICE!”

“OWN YOUR MISTAKE!”

“WHAT KIND OF ASSHOLE DOES THIS?”

People often cite hobby positivity as their mantra, but I saw some nasty things said about the way this went down. Nothing gets people in this hobby fired up like a collector they dont know scorned. I vocalized forcefully that not everyone is part of the Hobby’s version of hammurabi’s code, and the seller shouldnt be skewered for making this call. I probably would have done the same thing – especially if I was acting on information that wasnt credible. If I have learned anything in my decades of collecting, there is only one person you ever need to look out for – yourself. Too much money is at stake to think of it any other way. To be fair, almost a year later, the seller and buyer have faded from memory, and rarely come up in the discussion of this card. Its clear that 13k loss wasnt an ideal situation, but like most hobby scandals, they burn out quickly.

Unfortunately, the scope of the sale wasn’t the only issue with this. Many of the wrestling hobby’s most visible voices refused to believe the card was worth what the speculation said the value was. Most investment grade Prizm cards in the NBA and NFL can reach high five to low six figures. The cheapest card in this segment of the hobby would still be above most (if not all) wrestling cards. It creates a lack of believability that a non-autograph card out of 10 could be special enough to reach this level.

Ill give them their due for the reasons mentioned above, sometimes the context of why the Golds are what they are just isn’t there. Reasons like the drop in wax cost that followed the enormous height at Prizm release, the previous modern sales records, and historical WWE card values all factored into what was discussed. The problem was that none of these data points were based outside of Wrestling cards. This was a card that transcended this corner of the hobby.

The private sale of three Rock golds that followed all reinforced that the card was dramatically undersold. The aforementioned original sold for 20k, a subsequent one sold for 22k, and the final one sold for 18k. These prices were all confirmed via conversations with both parties involved, though weren’t available for the general public to consume. These sales all dwarfed the original sale on eBay, but that was the only comparative value available to the public, until recently.

What most dont know is that the original Rock gold was sent to PSA Immediately and graded a 10, much to the shock of everyone when the pop report was made public. Although I despise grading, its a part of the process for Prizm, and was a catalyst for modern WWE collectors to shed their own hatred of slabs. The shock of the grade stemmed from issues with this release of Prizm, plagued with issues, leading to the “gem rate,” or the frequency a card was graded a PSA 10 vs other grades, to be much lower than expected.

The second one was sent to BGS and graded a 9.5. The final one was sent to PSA and graded an 8. This third copy was the one recently listed with Goldin for their summer auction. The second the listing went live, I knew this whole debate would bubble to the surface again. Because it wasn’t a highly publicized lot, the card moved slowly at first. It was also listed incorrectly in the MMA category, so many auction hawks didn’t see it originally. By the time the ticker crawled to its conclusion the PSA 8 had sold for $11,400 with buyer’s premium. It wasn’t the 18k it was sold for raw, but a vastly respectable number for a card that wasn’t in the gem category the hobby was built on.

As expected, both sides went to war over the price on social media. The story told above was retold, the price was flaunted in the faces of the Prizm fans, and a lot of ice cold takes were shared about the state of the WWE market. In discussing the sale with more experienced people than I, the common sentiment was that a PSA 8 selling for that cost was VERY healthy. It also reinforced that the original valuation was likely correct, as a PSA 9 would likely be valued around 20k based on this price. Similarly the PSA 10 would be multiples of X in its multiplier, especially being the only one on the market. For the general wrestling card community outside of twitter, I dont think many were disappointed at all.

One thing the detractors of the ultra-modern Panini era are right about, this market has gone down. Sadly, WWE cards arent worth what they were at the beginning of 2022, following in the footsteps of just about every other area of the hobby. Prizm wax has reached all time lows, close to MSRP. With the end of lockdown restrictions, a pending recession, and overall economic downturn, trading cards have come down significantly in value. Comparing a sale in late 2022 with a sale from before this dropoff, probably isnt apples to apples. Even so, seeing the card reach the price it did, continues to show there is a gigantic market for Golds.

One thing that hasnt been mentioned much in collector circles is the sale of the Black 1/1 Rock Prizm, which was purchased through ThatsTheOldPrice on Instagram. Rumors of the sale reaching WWE records have been rampant, with my own research putting the sale likely above $75k.

After changing hands a few times, the original PSA 10 now resides with Drake McGruder (who WASNT the person in that controversial story – just to reinforce). Drake has publicly said multiple times that he valued the card at $30k and used that valuation to acquire the card in Q4 of 2022. Seeing a public verification of a RECENT large sale should put the argument to rest, but we all know that’s not how wrestling fans are. I fall into that category as well – tribalism runs rampant in most places on social media.

Prizm is about to be back for the sequel, likely coming up around Wrestlemania in April. This new version will likely be approached with a vastly different plan by collectors, and I assume that the age old argument of its place in the hobby will kick off another war on social media. Panini is likely going to bring back this product a number of times before they give the license back to Fanatics. There will be many more Rock golds to go around. Historically, the first one is always the card to have, but with this never ending controversy swirling, who knows?

When I look back at 2022, I cant remember a year where I had more of a crazy experience in the hobby. Aside from all the news about the Fanatics takeover, the first signs of the bubble bursting in trading cards, and the general craziness of what followed, the previous year was a tremendous time to be a wrestling card collector.

Check out the year in review panel discussion:

The year kicked into high gear in April with an epic Wrestlemania 38, and the first launch of the Panini WWE license. With the new era in full bloom, we saw a growth in the hobby like we had never seen before. New faces, new collecting methods, and a growing divide among the people who had been collecting for years and the perceived threat flooding in from every direction. Because the crowd that buys products like Prizm and Select tend to be of a certain type, the situation provided an oil and water reaction to a part of the hobby who had been used to the dark corner of the hobby populace that had been undisturbed for decades.

Now that we are seven products into the new regime, things have settled down, especially with the enormous success of products that are the legacy staples of the Panini calendar. Although the success was partially driven by firsts, and collector’s love of debuts, year two doesnt seem to be done trying to redefine the potential showcased by what we saw across the year.

Here is a breakdown of what I expect as we get into 2023, and the near future of cards in WWE.

The Next Edition as Compared to the Previous

For those who dont have a lot of experience within the hobby, card years usually run April to April in the mainstream sports, mainly because of how the products are built and produced. Sometimes, with delays, it can be even into May, June and beyond. With this, we should expect that 2022 WWE sets will become 2023 with the release of the next edition of Prizm in April (barring the aforementioned delays).

This also means that all the bullshit and bickering that has happened through 2022, will likely renew as we approach the next version of the set that sparked the battle in the first place. This time should be different for a number of reasons, however. First, the card economy in general has changed dramatically with the economic downturn that has happened since last year’s launch. This will hopefully equate to a more affordable starting point for a product that got way too overheated before the market had a chance to react the first time around.

We are also going to see the Prizm debuts of a number of new wrestlers who have been a prime focus of WWE programming since April of last year. Cody Rhodes, Ronda Rousey, Bray Wyatt, Roxanne Perez, Nikkita Lyons among others will get their first shot at the limelight of Panini’s flagship brand. I didnt think there could be another rookie class like we had for 2022, but some of these debuts could make up for it.

Panini is also known around the hobby for the growth of their approach in every aspect of their products. New parallels, new sets, new card types, new configurations, new designs. They arent going to sit back and just copy and paste 2022 into 2023. I think there is a definite chance that we start to see a growing escalation of content as Panini tries to fund the license cost in a declining market that has struggled to keep momentum in the major sports.

For someone like me, who is entirely focused on a single person in a wide ocean of people to collect, 2022 was a daunting task to keep up with. I am already preparing to see an increase across the new year, where things will continue to escalate as the products grow. A set like Select was already one of the most robust configurations we have ever seen in WWE. 400 cards in the base set, 4 different variations to collect, and up to 10 parallels per variation. It was released months and months ago, and I am still trying to keep up. Despite the challenge to acquire the cards I wanted, Select was one of the most fun experiences I have had in WWE collecting. I put it as one of my favorite sets of all time, and I cannot wait for version 2.0. Does that mean we start to see some of the cornerstones of Select products in the major sports? Die cut cards, additions to the zoo, and other cards are mainstays of NFL and NBA. I have a feeling its going to be a wild ride for this year.

Lastly, as we approach the super premium products of the year, we could see things start to get more in line with what we are seeing in the NFL and NBA. Panini has already started collecting all sorts of player worn material at their signings to include in products, and though its not ring worn, it adds a chase element to products because the pieces are unique and stand out. Immaculate will be the first time we see some of these unique relics, and I dont think it will be the last time.

I also believe the higher end products will increase the content to a point where we will see Panini take more initiative to include cards we havent seen in WWE before. New signature combos, new signers, and hopefully more of the hobby standards that have defined their calendar across the hobby. Even though Im not a fan of the cards, sets like Kaboom! and Downtown are surely going to be coming, as are other elements of their products that have become collector favorites during the boom.

Projecting Value Over the Next Year

To the celebration of some, and the anger of others, prices across wrestling cards have exploded. Even though Prizm wax took a serious tumble off the top rope to the floor, the values across all of wrestling cards has stayed well above 2021 levels, even with the drop from the peak. Everyone seems to have this common misconception that the value in WWE cards is following that of the wax, but there are so many examples of prices that have stayed at an exponentially higher number than they were before this all got started.

Ive said a number of times, the bulk common shit in Wrestling continues to have very little value, and I dont expect that to change. As much as Im sure people loathe pulling people like Ivar and Reggie, their values represent exactly what they have up until this point – very little. However, when you look at the top of the mountain, or head of the table, values remain much higher than they were previously.

We have seen over and over again that records are being set for people who have potential as a prospect for the future, or the top superstars in the promotion. The Rock was the main event for 2022, as were people like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns. I doubt this will change, and as Panini institutes more contrived ways to drive scarcity and chase, the values for the rarest cards and most desirable people will continue to hold or increase.

Funny enough, this is the same thing that has happened across the hobby, where the threshold for a “grail” centerpiece has seemingly increased by the day. When those pieces hit the open market, the values they achieve leave people wondering how anyone could think cards were trending down.

We have yet to see the true power of a product like Transcendent was for Topps, and we have yet to see what Panini can achieve when they have time on their side. Prizm was rushed, as the license started on 1/1 and they were hampered with delays all over the place leading up to the April release. Should we expect better performance with more of a ramp? Logic says we should, but Panini’s history shows its uncertain to be the case.

Will Legends Continue to Carry the Torch?

In the stick and ball sports, it isnt legends that drive a value in any product that is released. Sure, there are always the Tom Bradys, Lebrons, and Mike Trouts that people chase, but it is rookies that drive the tentpoles of Panini’s biggest products. In WWE its the opposite, and likely for good reason. Wrestling was at its biggest cultural influence during the late 1990s, and people from that era remain household names. If you go ask someone on the street who the Rock is, they will know. The Undertaker is still someone that many people know is a wrestler. Not as much so if you ask them who Roman Reigns is.

Based on that, its no surprise that the nostalgia of the attitude era and before is what drives value in WWE products. That being said, up and coming stars like Solo Sikoa and Bron Breakker could be the spark that balances the scale more than we have seen prior. Prospecting in WWE used to be a fool’s errand with Vince McMahon seemingly changing everything fans loved about NXT stars moving to RAW and Smackdown. Now that Triple H is in charge (at least for now), the continuity seems to be much more in tact for the transition out of developmental. As a result, many more collectors seem to have embraced the rookie element than before, as so many of the future stars are continuing down a track to stardom instead of getting rebranded and buried by Vince’s old school tendencies and tired favorites.

Chronicles saw the first examples of autographs from Sikoa, and we should be getting our first run with Roxxane Perez and others coming up. Breakker was the focus of 2022 Prizm, so his cards will be entering their second year of collecting. He has cooled off because his unparalleled trajectory was stalled coming into the new regime, but I doubt there is anyone who thinks he doesnt have the goods to be a future pillar of the company.

Its also worth mentioning that people like Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair are still very young and both have accomplished a ton in their short careers. Add this onto the burgeoning careers of main eventers already established, and I think there is a lot to be excited about for the next year’s worth of releases.

Collectability as Licenses Progress

The thing with any hobby is that time can heal almost every wound. As more and more time passes since a release, the value of the older products usually goes up. This has happened especially with the most collectible products that exist, especially for ones that have become investor favorites. Looking back on the first releases of sets like Prizm, Select and others in the NBA and NFL, all have increased in value to a vast degree.

I was around for the first release of Prizm in the NFL and NBA in 2012, and I promise you the value of those cards was a fraction then as it is today. Its been a decade since that release, and as more of the products were released, they achieved a legacy status that has driven the collectors out there to go back and find the cards they want. Demand has increased price to a ridiculous degree, where some of the more common cards can hit four figures and above on a bad day.

Im not saying that 2023 will be the salve for all that ails some of the perception of the early part of Panini WWE, but I think it will be the beginning of the realization for many of the uninitiated that Prizm isnt going to go away. Neither will Select, or any of the main products on the calendar. As we get to years three and four, before the inevitable takeover of Fanatics in 2026, I think the healing process will be well into its advanced stages.

This hobby seems to function in years that feel much longer than they actually are, as things tend to move quickly and the stigma of previous news cycles tends to be short lived. Hopefully as the attention for Wrestling cards continues to grow, the major pieces of the Panini calendar will start to gain footholds where there were none before.

I think we are all eager to see how this plays out, as the soap opera of the hobby landscape has been just as interesting as the angles in the ring. Hopefully we continue to see the massive growth that 2022 saw, and more faces continue to join the hobby as wrestling continues its time in the sun. I think we have a lot of indicators that show WWE cards are going through the same events that we saw in the other parts of the hobby, giving us a map to plot out an expected course. That map should be invaluable as things progress, and I am confident we will see things get more and more interesting.