COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Tracking Down Cards of Mae Young Classic Stars

The Mae Young Classic will undoubtedly introduce many of the participants to a whole new audience. And will it will probably be a while before any of these women appear on a licensed WWE trading card, many of them have already appeared in a variety of trading card products.

Toni Storm, one of the biggest stars in the tournament, has appeared in a few trading card sets over the last couple years. Most recently, she was featured in the 2017 Stardom Collection set. These cards were sold directly through the Stardom website and quickly sold out. Storm’s base card usually sells for around $5, and a certified autograph most recently sold on eBay in June for $75.

Kairi Sane, the former Kairi Hojo, has been appearing in Japanese wrestling products since at least 2012. Her first card from 2012 BBM Wrestling True Heart features Hojo surrounded by several skeletons. Stardom also included Hojo in the company’s trading card products from 2015 to 2017. In the 2017 Stardom Collection set, Hojo has two autographs: a solo auto and a dual with Yoko Bito. Base cards usually sell for around $5, but it is tough to price autographs because they surface so rarely.

Several other women from the tournament are also featured on base cards from 2017 Stardom, including Tessa Blanchard, Santana Garrett, Dakota Kai (Evie) and Kay Lee Ray. You can usually find base cards on eBay or other card collecting sites, but autographs are scarce and can be very difficult to come by, especially of the bigger names.

Shayna Baszler was a part of Ronda Rousey’s notorious Four Horsewomen clique in MMA, and appeared in various Topps UFC products throughout 2014 and 2015. You can easily add a certified autograph to your collection for less than $5. Her first certified autograph was included in the 2014 Topps UFC Bloodlines set.

Serena Deeb was once part of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society in WWE. She appeared on a few different cards from 2010 Topps WWE, including two base cards and an autograph. Base cards can usually be found for $1 or $2, and autographs are usually available for under $10.

Many of the women in the tournament have never appeared on traditional trading cards, but were included on cards from various releases from Filsinger Games. Shimmer Vol. 4, the most recent product, included cards of Baszler, Miya Yim and Nicole Savoy. Shimmer Vol. 3 included Crazy Mary Dobson (Sarah Logan in the Mae Young Classic) and Candice LeRae. Marti Belle was featured in the Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment set. These cards can be purchased at filsingergames.com.

Special thanks to Kevin from purocentralshop.com, who was a great help in identifying wrestlers who appeared in Japanese sets over the years.

NOW CHECK OUT THE PRIOR COLUMN: COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Topps Manager Talks New WWE Undisputed Cards

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