By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

"WWE: The Ultimate Poster Collection" from Insight Editions takes wrestling fans on a trip back through more than 50 years of WWE history via the company’s promotional posters. The publication features 40 removable 12x16 posters from WWE pay-per-views, live events, DVD collections and more.

But, The Ultimate Poster Collection is more than just a collection of colorful posters. For students of pro wrestling history, this publication provides a fascinating look at the evolution of the way WWE has presented, promoted and marketed wrestling throughout different eras.

The first thing a reader sees when opening the book is a black and white sketch of Andre the Giant towering above the New York City skyline. The poster is a testament to Andre’s drawing power as a special attraction. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, a simple poster like this was all it took to get fans into the building. People would gladly pay for the rare opportunity to see Andre in person.

From there they posters are presented mostly chronologically. The earliest poster is from a Madison Square Garden card on July 11, 1964. It is a very simple yet effective poster, with black and red text against a white background and a black and white picture of a very young Bruno Sammartino. Advertised on the poster are Sammartino vs. Fred Blassie, Golden Terror vs. Bob Brazil, Bob Davis vs. Wild Red Berry, the Graham Bros. vs. the Mortier Bros., and “other good bouts.” Tickets to this historic show were $1.50, $2, $3, $4, and $5.

The publication jumps forward 20 years to the first WrestleMania. This poster features the matches listed in bright text designed to look like marquee lights against a black background. The poster lists every match, wrestler, manager and celebrity who appeared on the show, which was headlined by Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.

Other notable posters from this era include a crisp, highly detailed black and white photo of a stare down between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant for WrestleMania 3 and the colorful WrestleMania 6 poster advertising Hulk Hogan vs. the Ultimate Warrior.




A rare WWF house show poster from 1991 spotlights one of the earliest matches between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair on Dec. 14 at Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium. Tickets for the event were $8-$20.

Somewhat surprisingly, posters from the Attitude Era are few and far between in this publication. There’s a horizontal poster of artwork for the first Attitude Era DVD collection, an illustrated poster of Steve Austin and SummerSlam 1999. Also included is a poster of WrestleMania X7, with Steve Austin and the Rock towering over the Houston Astrodome.

Fans will notice in this book that WWE’s promotion/presentation changed quite a bit as the Attitude Era came to an end. The first half of the book includes posters that promoted matches with a big fight feel in order to sell tickets: Sammartino-Blassie, Hogan-Andre, and Austin-Rock, to name a few. But post-Attitude Era promotional posters are less about selling big matches and more about establishing the WWE brand.

Of the 22 post-Attitude Era posters, only one - John Cena vs. Rock from WrestleMania 28 - promotes a single match. The other posters are all very creative and many are eye catching, but they clearly weren’t designed to sell tickets (or pay-per-views) the way posters from the 1960s and 1980s were.

There are some really cool posters from this period, such as Edge doing his best Jack Nicholson impression and peering through the doorway on the poster for Backlash 2007, and the Extreme Rules poster from 2010 that showcased Sheamus’s bright red hair against a stark black and white poster.

The posters that are bound to induce some eye-rolling are those that feature Kane (standing in a pit of fire for Judgment Day 2007 or working in a blacksmith’s shop for the 2008 One Night Stand), Triple H and/or Shawn Michaels (both dressed as the founding fathers for the 2008 New Year’s Revolution, Triple H dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit for the 2008 Judgment Day and Shawn, and Triple H playing army soldiers for the 2009 Survivor Series), and Stephanie McMahon (hovering above an entire arena full of wrestlers and fans for the 2014 Elimination Chamber, reminding everyone who the real star is).




"WWE: The Ultimate Poster Collection" is a great book for fans who want colorful pictures to hang on their walls, and even moreso for those who want to take the time to study and appreciate how pro wrestling has changed from a marketing and promotional perspective. It would be great to see additional publications like this include posters from various territories and eras, such as World Class Championship Wrestling’s 1984 Parade of Champions or WCW’s Starrcade ’97.

WWE: The Ultimate Poster Collection is available for $24.99 at live events and through various online retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.com.

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

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