The hobby is a big place, and has become even bigger over the last few years. For many collectors, it can be difficult to stay on top of everything that will ensure you can participate in the ongoing day to day effectively. For Wrestling collectors, who are usually at an even bigger knowledge disadvantage when it comes to the greater hobby, I wanted to take some time to walk through some of the ways that Prizm exists, ways it has changed the way the hobby engages with a product, and most importantly what to expect over the next few weeks.
The Origin of the Prizm Product
As far back as 1993, Chrome stock cards have existed in the hobby. On the heels of Upper Deck’s creation of the first premium baseball product in 1989, Topps responded with a new technology that would change things forever. Topps Finest Baseball stormed onto the scene, and offered something that collectors had never been exposed to before – trading cards that that werent printed on a cardboard surface, but rather a layer of acetate familiar coating on top of a card stock back. This new “chromium” style coating was shinier than a foil cardstock, and had a much different feel as well. It looked even more premium than Upper Deck’s cards, and as expected collectors fell in love with it.
In the mid 1990s, Topps expanded the line for the first named chrome product, which continued what Finest was all about. Chrome became a new avenue for Topps to repurpose their flagship design in a new premium format, and add exceptional value for collectors focused on both set collecting and adding valuable pieces to their PC.
Over the next decades, Chrome and Finest became the standard-bearer for Topps, and as print runs grew, along side the new focus on autograph and relic content, Chrome remained a product that was free of those restraints. As Topps brought Bowman into the chrome generation, a new facet of the hobby grew out of the seeds planted in MLB licensed products to MiLB licensed draft focused products highlighting the farm systems of a team rather than the main major league rosters.
These sets were delivered to collectors as investors for the first time, offering a way to invest in a prospect the same way someone could invest in a startup business. A new area blossomed, becoming the primary driving force for baseball collecting, and starting a revolution in the other major sports as well. Chrome rookie cards were the thing every collector needed for their collection, and without that investor friendly area of the hobby existing, we might be looking at a very different industry today.
Fast forward to 2012, when Panini begins to formulate their 10 year plan that has shaped the boom in trading cards during the pandemic era. At the time, Panini had no flagship product the way that Topps had, and hadnt quite cracked the code on how to create new legacy products to drive their brand as they expand. Most of their product lines were ports from the days of DLP (Donruss, Leaf, Playoff), leading to some very stale releases. It was clear they needed something big.
With the launch of Prizm football in 2012, they thought they had figured it out. The problem was, it wasnt as good as Topps Chrome Football, which had defined the top rookie cards in the hobby ever since Upper Deck lost their NFL license in 2010. Chrome offered beautiful stock, recognizable parallels, on card autographs, and a familiar design. Prizm offered none of that. It was ugly, it was stickers, and it only had one parallel.
Over the next two years, Prizm football failed to make a true splash the way they had hoped, with most collectors HEAVILY leaning on Chrome Football to build their rookie investment portfolio. The thing is, that wasnt the case in the NBA. The 2012 Prizm launch in the NBA went over like gangbusters, as there was no Topps Chrome to compete with. By 2014, Prizm NBA was one of the most important sets of the year, while in the NFL floundered to match the impact Topps had cultivated. Sales numbers were likely performing at expectation, but secondary market values were not.
The Rise of Prizm
In 2015, Topps lost their NFL license leaving Prizm as the sole owner of the slot Panini had coveted for a few years. They also released their first version of Prizm that truly tried to recreate what Topps had been able to create with Chrome. Easy to digest bordered designs, easy to understand parallels, and full bleed photos over the cropped ones from years prior. For the 2016 season, Prizm was it.
The market reaction was huge, as the lack of competition opened doors never available prior. It was also a time where the NBA had taken off as well, behind the new autograph deals with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James’ success on the court. Big rookie classes spurred huge values that were never even considered possible in the years prior. All of a sudden, Panini had done what they set out to do – created a new legacy set.
Over the next few years, Prizm became the flagship standard for all sets across the hobby. By modeling other sets around Topps’ brand direction (Select as the new Finest, Spectra as the new Bowman Sterling, etc), the hobby couldnt get enough of this new way that Panini was operating in the hobby. Even more importantly, as new collectors were brought in by rising values across the board, Panini was now in control of two of the three biggest licenses available on the planet. Internationally, Prizm was already gaining traction as well, with World Cup prizm driving huge numbers for the first time ever.
The Importance of a Prizm Brand Launch
With the beginning of the boom happening as the world shut down to start 2020, Panini started looking for new areas that they could expand into new licensed brands. Niche brands like NASCAR, WNBA and UFC became huge targets for acquisition as the Panini juggernaut kept rolling. With each new launch, Prizm was the first of many sets to be released in each case, creating an expectation with collectors following along.
Because the hobby was on the verge of a historic explosion, Prizm’s impact grew to an insane degree. The collector favorite gold prizm parallels were regularly breaking records all over the place. High dollar six figure sales started happening in places that no one expected, as well. UFC Prizm was the first brand launch to happen directly in the post boom period, as the investor strategy reached a fever pitch across the world. Instead of struggling to catch on, the product exploded in value from day one, catching everyone by surprise.
For the first time, the loyal Prizm fanbois were following a brand rather than a sport. This was something that happened to a lesser degree with the launch of WNBA Prizm, with collectors buying into a sport that they had never really been familiar with. For the first time in hobby history, the reputation of a brand’s success was more important than a fanbase for the sport. WNBA was a failing offshoot supported directly by its brother league. WNBA yearly salaries were sometimes less than the amount the cards were selling for at the top end of the product.
With UFC, a sport with a gigantic and passionate fanbase, there was a merging of a desire to collect a sport with a desire to collect a brand. UFC collectors had been around for a few years before the launch, supported by Topps products that had started to catch on – albeit quite slowly. Out of nowhere, a sport that rarely offered 4 figure sales, was seeing 5 figure Prizm sales almost out of the chute. This wasnt unnoticed by the base of investors, especially as more expansions would be coming.
The Panini Launch into WWE
At the end of 2021, Panini announced they had acquired the exclusive license to produce WWE trading cards. Given that they had just had the gut shot of Fanatics’ entry into the trading card industry, taking two of their most valuable licenses away in 2026, Panini needed something to bank on. WWE was a hobby that had existed for almost half a century, and had exploded in popularity during the boom. The announcement that Prizm WWE would be coming, the launch of a new brand, the new expansion – collectors and investors salivated at the opportunity to see another chance to cash in the way they had with UFC. It was a perfect storm.
During the 2020 and 2021 rise of trading cards, Vintage WWE cards had a market built around high grade junk wax cards from the 80s and 90s heyday of popularity that wrestling had with American audiences. Stars like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, the Rock, and Steve Austin saw gigantic prices almost overnight for cards that were bargain bin examples a few years before.
Within a few months of the announcement, there were regular instances of record sales pertaining to the existing Topps Chrome cards, as well as some big prices on rare pieces from premium sets. It was clear that investors were showing up early to capitalize on what they saw previously with UFC, but also prepare themselves for the first brand to launch after the surprising performance of MMA in an underdeveloped marketplace.
The Price of Prizm Wax
The biggest point of contention within the existing WWE market is the huge growth in the expected product costs. Right now, the cost of WWE product available to the masses is $250 MSRP with Undisputed. Prizm has been marketed so far as high as 1000 per box, which has led to a huge level of shock from the market.
Most of it stems from a misunderstanding of what drives the price in a product like Prizm. Before, wax cost was an aggregation of the value of the hits, with the availability of those hits. If the autograph values were expensive on the secondary market, the box values would go up. For years and years, that relationship was a negative one. It was rare to see a readily available WWE autograph card approach the cost of a box, let alone multiples of a box. Box costs were cheap, so it was almost a moot point to approach value loss.
With Prizm, WWE collectors did and do not see how this correlation works out, nor have they had the experience with gambling aspect of high end premium wax. For a person that has existed in the wrestling bubble, paying a 1000 dollars and equating that to the value contained in the cards they pull, there is no possible way to grasp how their context fits that mold.
Instead, WWE collectors try to equate a possible loss in autograph hits with the extreme cost of a box. How can one pay so much and feel satisfied with a low quality hit. For people that have existed in the major sports since 2003-04, they know that super premium wax is a super premium gamble. There are few boxes that deliver close to value, and the scale of price is determined by the POTENTIAL to pull extremely valuable cards, not the box to box cost.
There is something else that most WWE collectors currently cannot grasp, and that is the fact that autographs are not the chase in Prizm. We have already seen Topps Chrome WWE color skyrocket in price as Panini collectors arrive to the party early. For Prizm, the draw is the color above all else, and even the most niche Prizm releases represent this fact holistically. More importantly, there are a plethora of cards coming that could potentially set the records everyone has been witnessing over the last few months. The rare parallels of top names will fetch five figures out of the gate, and as we have seen in UFC, will ascend the value spectrum over time. These cards are the tentpoles that drive the box price, not the content delivered in the random box an individual collector struggles to afford.
A High Stakes Game of Hot Potato?
Another common dig from existing collectors is that the investors wont have anyone to unload their wares to at the prices everyone is expecting. To be honest, I was shocked that this objection gained so much traction, especially after seeing the market for vintage WWE and recent modern WWE go ape shit. This is basic economics, supply and demand at its core. Right now, thanks to the history of the brand, there is a wave of people expected to follow the Prizm name where ever that license expands.
Ive said this on a few podcasts at this point, but the cards that are expected to make up this product’s top level will never be targeted at anyone who has been a part of the modern WWE market to this point. The investors will not look to current collectors to capitalize on equity growth that takes place. They will be looking to other investors or new entrants into the HODL market that is created with each Prizm launch.
If the current market, every single one of them, disappears when Prizm launches, the top and intermediate pieces in Prizm that drive the box price, will be unaffected. Not a single value will be impacted long term either. The only thing that will see negative influence will be the low end pieces of the set checklist that are undesirable to an investment crowd. As we have seen in other sports, people rarely buy boxes for those cards at this level. The scale is irrelevant.
Product Engagement
Current WWE collectors are likely feeling the squeeze already across the board. Prices are already high. 2014 and 2015 Chrome wax is close to 800% higher in price than they were a year ago. 2020 and 2021 Chrome and Finest wax is approaching 200% growth. 2021 Undisputed opened for pre-order almost 35% higher than it did the previous years on the market. If its desirable, its more expensive right now as a rule. If its desirable and rare, its factors of x in growth numbers.
This leaves a lot of current collectors feeling like they are on the outside looking in, which is likely the case if they expect to buy whole hobby boxes of product. Even more so if that product is Prizm. The good thing here is that there are multiple configurations for most products, including retail. Additionally, for the first time ever, all group breakers will provide previously unavailable access to product in a compartmentalized manner.
Collectors have brought group breaks to the forefront of wax consumption across all areas of the hobby to combat increasing wax costs since 2009. Most group breakers who will provide WWE breaks will operate their breaks as their sole manner of income. That means professional setups, professional shipping, and lots of help to ensure quick fulfillment.
Singles Engagement
Another misconception is the way the prices will increase in all tiers of the singles market. If we look at the way the boom has perpetuated high sales across hobby, there are still a ton of very affordable cards. Going back to the economics of the matter, the demand for low tier contributors or less desirable targets for investors will be significantly lower.
Just like Lebron James has a VASTLY different price than a bit player on another team, the Rock and Roman Reigns will have a VASTLY different price than someone like Tomasso Ciampa or LA Knight. Not saying those people arent fun to watch, but they are on a different tier.
If your collection depends on the top tiers of the wrestling world to have meaning, life is going to get very difficult until the hobby landscape changes. That’s just reality. If you collection is Xavier Woods, I would say that this whole thing might be something you can handle depending on your budget. Certain cards might be out of reach due to the overall demand for rare Prizm parallels regardless of subject, but most other cards will not be impacted. As we get into later product releases in Panini’s calendar, this will only get more and more evident.
Everyone just needs to understand that prices will go up, just some areas will see much more of a drastic difference than others.
Grading WWE cards
Over the last two years, graded cards have become the vehicle in which value accelerators reach their peak. I do not support the grading business, I do not subscribe to the need to provide a hyper mint evaluation to achieve top value, and I have never done so. However, 99% of the hobby does not agree with me – ESPECIALLY the people about to flood the WWE market.
As Prizm takes off, the level of desire to trade in graded cards will skyrocket. Collectors will not be able to achieve the value they desire without using a grading business partner to evaluate the condition of their item. Achieving “Gem” status or the top level of the grading spectrum is preferred across all avenues, but even big cards will still hold tremendous value without that result.
In the current market, PSA’s place is unquestioned at the top of the mountain, and their pricing reflects that fact. Population reports, investment apps, and speculators will start to make investment decisions based on what they see in the early stages of the market as well, which could lead to a lot of surprises.
If you are unfamiliar with the way graded cards have impacted the major sports, its time to search google and get a crash course. Its also time to start looking at subscriptions to apps like CardLadder and the like to get trending as you start to buy.
The Importance of WWE Rookie Cards
As I close out this guide, I want to drive at something that hasnt really been a factor in WWE until recently. Rookie cards above all else, have seen a massive increase in importance as the hobby has taken off. People love firsts, and a player’s or wrestler’s first card will always be more important than any other card they have. Rookies will play a part in Prizm from what we saw from their preview, with Bron Breakker, leading the charge.
I mentioned earlier that Topps started this craze with Bowman back in the 1990s, and this set will feature a piece of that ultimate result. Collectors and investors alike will want to chase down the rookies they see as the subjects with the top potential to be a long term success, and their prices will reflect value we have never seen before in this area of things.
Conclusions
Ive seen a lot of talk that this type of experience has ruined a fun hobby. I dont agree with that at all. As someone who has seen people of all wealth ranges have fun collecting as the boom has happened, I can verify that money and participation do not necessarily run hand in hand. Everyone can find ways to stay engaged, and a large release calendar will offer tons of opportunities for all types of collectors to participate.
Prizm is just one product and it happens to be the on that most people base their experience on. That’s what flagship products are meant to do. Other super premium products will come with higher price tags, but because they arent the flagship set, they dont have the same negative reaction that this always has.
Its also worth mentioning that the general bitterness over rising costs is not new nor unexpected. Its unfortunate, but it is inevitable. Across every collectible marketplace in the world, values are increasing hand over fist. This is the result of economic changes like government subsidized stimulus, increases in disposable income due to lack of places to spend it on during the pandemic, and general desire for people around the world to feel better about their lives in the face of overwhelming depression. Cards have also shown to be better investments long term than the stock market, so it makes sense that a lot of people would shift their focus.
Overall – there are so many ways to continue having fun. Dont let this be the death blow to your experience in the hobby.