For the first time since I was a kid growing up watching wrestling, there is a 1000 day reign to celebrate as part of WWE. Tonight on Smackdown, Roman Reigns will be recognized for his epic feat as the Universal Champion since 2020. The last 1000+ day reign was Hulk Hogan in the mid 80s, reaching its peak at Wrestlemania III with the iconic match against Andre the Giant. Since that time, there have been long title reigns to celebrate, but nothing like what we are seeing now. Adding the epic story of the Bloodline and its rise and fall, and the experience over the last 3 years has been one of the best in wrestling history.
That being said, Roman Reigns has been a part of WWE and a part of Wrestling cards since 2013, before that if you count his FCW cards prior to his official RC. Currently, he is one of the most valuable superstars on the market, with many high profile PCs built around his wide range of collectibles. The funny thing is, despite his mountain of success on the world’s biggest wrestling stage, he has had very little value to collectors before this current reign began.
There is a lot of history as to why this is the case, some of which is related to his fan reaction on TV, and other reasons stemming from the way many collectors approached wrestling cards prior to the hobby boom in 2020.
I think the most interesting place to start is his place among the giants in the history of WWE, as these last few years are not the place where Roman Reigns’ place on top of the world begins. Before the Tribal Chief took his place at the head of the table, he had already been a part of four Wrestlemania main events, won a number of titles, and was the de facto face of the company. The issue is that due to fan revolt against his white bread baby face persona, his Cena-esque run seemed to be clouded in disappointment. Ratings were down, crowds were down, everything was down while he was on top, and it became painfully apparent that although he was immensely popular with the younger crowds at WWE events, the people who bought the tickets for those kids didnt really want anything to do with him.
On the hobby side of it, the value of Roman Reigns cards suffered as well. Most of the modern wrestling collectors were middle aged men like myself, and we were pre-conditioned by the internet wrestling community to hate Reigns and what he stood for. He was Vince McMahon’s golden goose, and he was always positioned to look “strong.” As wrestling faded from the public eye thanks to poor booking from an aging McMahon, Roman was the face of this downturn to the IWC. This was exacerbated by the fact that most of the value in the hobby, at the time, was focused around the female talent in WWE for obvious reasons. Most of the collectors in the hobby only cared about two things, Attitude Era talent that defined a nostalgia associated with growing up and had high value as a result, or the normal T&A that collectors gravitated towards.
As Roman came back from his recurrence of Leukemia, followed by a necessary extended absence during the pandemic era as a result of his compromised immune system, Roman’s rise as the Head of the Table could not have been more perfectly timed. Just as the hobby boom began, Wrestling Card values started to increase dramatically as a result of the announcement that Panini would be taking over the WWE license. Almost overnight, Roman’s cards shot up in value as fans latched onto his new persona, and were being introduced to the vast library of Roman Reigns collectibles already on the market.
In late 2021, right as Panini was set to take over, Roman’s first Superfractor autograph from 2014 Topps Chrome was sold to Drake McGruder for $15,000, becoming the first modern wrestling card to break the five figure barrier. This new era of Roman’s dominance was not only starting to catch fire on TV, but also in the cards that were already in market. Even though his older cards didnt feature the new look, the value shot up as more people looked to establish value for the dominant stars of the current era.
Since 2021, Roman’s cards have stayed white hot as more collectors have started to look at him as one of the top wrestlers of all time. With more collectors joining the WWE chase from other sports as a result of the hobby legacy Panini has created in the NBA and NFL, Reigns has become a top draw in almost every set available for collectors who chase the top of the ladder in those arenas. This past week, a 2022 Prizm Black Champion Insert Autograph 1/1 sold for $3000 as part of PWCC’s weekly auction.
To match his success as the face of WWE, the ratings have bounced back, WWE is selling out buildings on a regular basis, and he has now set the modern record for length of title reign. As his career winds down, its clear his value is solidified for now, and its crazy to believe how far he has come since 2013.
As someone who has a laser focus in the hobby, I dont have many Roman Reigns cards in my collection, but Ive done my share of acknowledging him in the boxes that house my collection. I have always chased the top of each of the sports that Ive collected, so guys like Stone Cold and Roman Reigns are going to be represented in my PC. I also think this story played out on TV and across the hobby over the last year plus has been nothing short of historic, and that entertainment value has a place for me to invest.
I think its easy to say that Wrestling Cards have been on a roller coaster over the last few years, but one thing is for certain. Roman Reigns’ seat at the Head of the Table is definitely acknowledged.
