By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Each year WWE issues special WrestleMania commemorative plaques. Most have increase in value very quickly.

WWE has been offering commemorative WrestleMania plaques since 1996, when Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match for his first WWF Championship. That year, the then-WWF issued 4,800 of these plaques for $49.99 each. Today, those plaques can fetch as much as $300 at auction.

WWE now charges around $99.99 for each plaque, but the majority of them appreciate in value very quickly. The Edge plaque issued after WrestleMania 27 for $99.99 is already selling in the $250-350 range just one year later. The only plaque that doesn’t seem to bring much interest from collectors is one of Kane from WrestleMania 24. That particular piece often sells at auction for less than its original retail price.

Most plaques contain a signed photo of that wrestler from WrestleMania, an engraved plate with the wrestler’s name and the plaque’s individual serial number, and a piece of the ring from that event. The majority of the plaques feature a swatch of mat, but WWE occasionally uses a piece of rope in its place.

Over the last few years, WWE has sold similar plaques from events like SummerSlam and Survivor Series, but the WrestleMania plaques are the pieces that draw the most interest and command the highest prices on the secondary market. Plaques of CM Punk and Sheamus from WrestleMania 28 are being sold now (as preorders) at wweshop.com.

Here is a list of some of the more popular WrestleMania plaques.

- Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 12). The WWF issued a whopping 4,800 of these plaques, commemorating Michaels’ first WWF title victory. It’s hard to believe they sold that many, especially during such a down time for business. Regardless of how many were sold then, today the plaque usually sells in the $200-300 range.




- “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (WrestleMania 15). Austin launched the Attitude Era and turned the tide in the Monday Night War with his victory over Shawn Michaels. The WWF issued 5,000 of these, but they don’t pop up for sale very often. Those that do sell usually command $300-400.

- Triple H (WrestleMania 18). Beginning with this plaque, WWE severely cut down on the number of each piece produced, as only 500 were made. Triple H is a notoriously tough signer, which has helped drive the price of this plaque into the $250-400 range.

- Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 19). This is among the scarcest of all WrestleMania plaques from WWE, with just 250 copies available. At $200-300, it’s a relative bargain given its scarcity and the fact that Lesnar didn’t sign much WWE merchandise during his first run with the company.

- Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 20). Like the Lesnar piece from the year before, only 250 of the Benoit plaques were made. Benoit added a nice touch to each signature with the inscription, “WrestleMania XX World Champion.” Benoit’s signature is arguably the most valuable autograph from a wrestler ever; this particular plaque, which doesn’t surface often, usually sells in the $500-700 range but can command as much as $900.

- John Cena (WrestleMania 21 and 22). WWE made 400 and 300 of these plaques, respectively. The WrestleMania 21 plaque usually sells for $175-250, while the WrestleMania 22 plaque can go for as much as $300.

- The Undertaker (WrestleMania 23). This was the first of several Undertaker plaques, and features one of the best looking and most valuable autographs out there. There were 500 of these made, and today they sell in the $175-300 range.

- WrestleMania 24 Winners Plaque. This is one of the more valuable plaques ever sold by WWE, limited to 500 copies and featuring a piece of ring rope instead of mat. It features seven autographs: Randy Orton, Kane, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Melina, Beth Phoenix, and C.M. Punk. Even though it is missing signatures from top stars like Cena and Undertaker, this piece usually sells between $400 and $500.




- Randy Orton (WrestleMania 24). In addition to the winners plaque, WWE also offered a solo Orton piece. There were the standard 500 of these made, and today they sell for $175-250.

- The Undertaker (WrestleMania 25 and 26). Taker and Shawn Michaels stole the show with their first match, and collectors snatched up both of these. There were 500 available of each, and today they sell for $175-350, usually toward the higher end.

- Triple H (WrestleMania 25). “The Game” beat Randy Orton in a lackluster main event that had the misfortune of following the first Undertaker and Michaels classic. There were 500 made, and they usually sell for $175-250. This piece sells for slightly less than the Triple H plaque from WrestleMania 18, but with his signature, it still commands a good amount of money.

- John Cena (WrestleMania 25). Cena keeps signing, and fans keep buying. There were 500 of these plaques. While that is more than each of the WrestleMania 21 and 22 plaques, it sells for around the same amount, usually $175-250.

- Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 26). For someone who has been around for so long, Jericho doesn’t sign much. It took until 2010 for Jericho to sign his first trading card, the same year this plaque was issued. There are 500 available, and they usually sell for $300-400 each.

- The Undertaker (WrestleMania 27). The most recent Undertaker plaque features a cool shot of him diving over the top rope onto Triple H, and includes a piece of rope. There were 500 of these plaques made and like the other Undertaker pieces, most sell in the $175-300 range. It is worth noting that more of these show up at auction than any other Undertaker plaques, so this might be your best bet to find one for slightly cheaper.

- Edge (WrestleMania 27). In just one year, the plaque commemorating Edge’s final WrestleMania match skyrocketed from the $99.99 retail price to as much as $400 on the secondary market. What makes that even more impressive is that WWE issued 1,000 of these, not just the typical $500. If you’re looking to pick one of these up, expect to pay at least $300.




- The Miz (WrestleMania 27). As Miz spent the last year reminding fans, he defeated John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania, even though he was the third wheel in the Cena-Rock program. Collectors seem to love this piece, and have been paying $250-350 to get one. WWE produced the standard 500 copies of this plaque.

Sloppy Signature Trivia




This wrestler’s autograph was included on one of WWE’s commemorative plaques. Can you make out the sloppy signature? Send your answer and your full name to michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. The names of those who correctly identify this sloppy signature will be included in next Tuesday’s Collectibles Column.

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