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COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: How much would it cost to build a WWE Hall of Fame Autograph Collection?

Mar 13, 2015 - 5:19:54 PM
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By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: What could you buy with $1,000? How about a sizable collection of signed trading cards of WWE Hall of Famers?

For sports card collectors, the ultimate chase is trying to obtain a signature of every member of a sport’s hall of fame. Baseball collectors, for example, could spend a lifetime trying to track down a certified autograph of each of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 306 members. Football fans have no less a daunting task, as there are just about as many Pro Football Hall of Famers.

But what about the WWE Hall of Fame? What would it take for a wrestling collector to obtain a signature from every WWE Hall of Famer?

The easiest, most affordable and most reliable way to collect WWE Hall of Fame signatures is to focus on certified autograph cards made by companies like Topps, Leaf, and TRISTAR. Of the roughly 115 WWE Hall of Famers, approximately 62 (or 54 percent) have signed trading cards for major card manufacturers.

Most of those are fairly easy (and mostly affordable) to obtain, with a couple of exceptions. Because of their deaths at a young age, Eddie Guerrero and Curt Hennig only ever signed for the 1998 and 1999 Topps WCW sets. These cards are incredibly scarce and sale prices are extremely volatile, but you can expect to spend a bare minimum of $250 for each signature.

Road Warrior Hawk also only signed for just one product, the 1998 WWF Superstarz set from Comic Images. This card can be every bit as difficult to find as those of Guerrero and Hennig, but usually isn’t as expensive. If you’re able to find one of these, expect to pay around $100.

Who’s Worth What?

With those three Hall of Famers aside, there are at least 59 others who are relatively easily obtainable and mostly affordable. Keep in mind that the values presented in this card represent the minimum you can expect to pay for a pack-certified autograph, determined by the lowest completed auction sales on eBay for the three months ending March 13, 2015. If you’re looking to establish a more valuable collection, there are plenty of scarcer autographs of almost every WWE Hall of Famer.

Of those 59 WWE Hall of Famers, the most expensive to obtain will be Stone Cold Steve Austin. Surprisingly, Austin has only signed for one set: 2001 Fleer WWF WrestleMania. The card is serial numbered to 500 and signed “Austin 3:16.” The lowest completed sale in the last 90 days was $100.

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The Ultimate Warrior’s autograph from 2008 Donruss Americana was already a popular card, and after his passing in 2014, the value soared. While this card is still expensive, if you’re patient you can probably find one for around $75. Other higher-end Hall of Fame signatures include Randy Savage ($75), Sgt. Slaughter ($50), Shawn Michaels ($45), and Hulk Hogan ($40). The abundance of signatures from top stars like Hogan, Ric Flair, and Bret Hart has driven down the value of their autographs, especially those in less popular non-wrestling products.

Of the 59 Hall of Famers, 30 (or 51.7%) can regularly be found for $10 or less. The cheapest cards you’ll be able to find are Leaf Originals Wrestling autographs of Gerald Brisco ($2), Rikishi ($3), Wendi Richter ($3), and Jimmy Hart ($3).

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If you were to buy a certified autographed trading card of each of these 59 Hall of Famers at the absolute lowest prices based on the last 90 days of sales, you could expect to pay at least $1,001. The average price for an autograph of these 59 Hall of Famers is $17.26. However, the mean price is $10, meaning half of them are above $10 and half of them are lower.

What About Everyone Else?

While just about half of the members of the WWE Hall of Fame have certified autographed trading cards, that leaves the other half (about 46 percent) who do not. So how should completists go about obtaining these autographs?

Some of the Hall of Famers who have not signed trading cards are still alive and make the rounds at conventions, such as Harley Race and Bill Watts. Most of these wrestlers charge very affordable prices. However, many collectors don’t leave in an area that regularly hosts wrestling collections.

The biggest challenge that many collectors will face is that the majority of WWE Hall of Famers who have not signed trading cards are deceased. There are probably a handful of autographed items from wrestlers like Yokozuna, Junkyard Dog and Kerry Von Erich on eBay at any given time, but be very cautious before spending the money. Look for items that have been authenticated by a reputable service, such as PSA or JSA. If that’s not an option, look up examples of a wrestler’s signature and compare that to what’s being sold.

Major card companies like Topps and Upper Deck have helped solve this challenge in other sports by offering cut signatures of deceased athletes. To do this, a company will obtain a signed item (such as a used check or a photo) from a reputable source, cut out the signature, and insert it into a card the same way a relic card is created.

This has been done only a few times with wrestling signatures by Leaf Trading Cards and TRISTAR, but Leaf CEO Brian Gray stated in an interview with PWTorch earlier this year that his company has obtained several autographs for a wrestling cut signature product.

“I think in the first half of the year, you’re going to see a cut signature wrestling release come out of Leaf,” Gray said. “We bought some major accumulations of cuts of deceased and some living-but-rare autographs.”

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


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