By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

Card Show 34: Robert Maillet (Kurrgan)

In Brief: No longer an oddity, the former Kurrgan has become a promising actor and has some cool cards out there.

“He is Here.”

It sounds like a classic pro wrestling promotional tactic, perhaps teasing the latest return of Sting, Chris Jericho, or The Undertaker. However, “He is Here” is a tag line for Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Strain,” a new series that premiered on FX on July 13.

The main antagonist of the series is the Master, an ancient vampire who will unleash a strain of vampirism on New York City. The Master is played by Robert Maillet – better known to Attitude Era wrestling fans as Kurrgan.

Maillet spent some time wrestling in Japan and in the USWA before debuting in the WWF in 1997 as the Interrogator, a member of the militant group known as the Truth Commission. Before long he broke out on his own as Kurrgan the Interrogator, then just Kurrgan. With the Attitude Era at its peak in 1998, Kurrgan joined the Oddities, a group inspired by some of Howard Stern’s guests and the Insane Clown Posse.

Kurrgan’s run in pro wrestling wasn’t long, and he had just one wrestling trading card, appearing as a fun-loving member of the Oddities in the 1998 WWF Superstarz set from Comic Images.
Since retiring from wrestling, Maillet has carved out a niche in Hollywood, landing prominent roles in big box office flicks like 2007’s “300” and 2009’s “Sherlock Holmes.” He’ll also star opposite the Rock in “Hercules” later this month.

In 2013, Maillet was cast as Samuel Blackwell in “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.” Leaf Trading Cards produced a series of collectible cards for the movie, which includes Maillet’s most collectible cards to date.




Maillet appeared on several basic cards in the series, but more importantly, Leaf also included his autograph and a piece of his costume from the film. There are three key cards of Maillet found in this set: a basic autograph, a jumbo relic card containing an oversized piece of black material, and an autographed relic card.

Fans of the “Mortal Instruments” books and movie were more interested in autographs and relics of main characters played by Lily Collins and Johnathan Rhys Meyers, so Maillet’s autographs and relics are still very affordable. The basic autograph can usually be found for $5-10, while the autographed relic piece usually sells in the $10-15 range, sometimes lower.

If “The Strain” catches on in the same way that shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Dexter” have, there is definitely room for Maillet’s cards to increase in value, especially since he plays such a major part in the show.

Whether you’re a fan of “The Strain” or “The Mortal Instruments,” or a wrestling completest looking for obscure autographs, you’ll be able to find a signature from the one-time Kurrgan at a very affordable price.

PWTorch Collectibles Specialist Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MMooreWriter .

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