COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Final Topps Now Card Count for Rousey, Others

So, just how hot is “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey? Judging by sales of her first WWE card, she’s about 400 percent hotter than Charlotte Flair and nearly 3,000 percent hotter than Brock Lesnar.

Topps produced Rousey’s first WWE trading card as part of the company’s Topps Now program. Topps Now basically offers on-demand cards to capture big moments in sports and entertainment. Designs of the cards are revealed and then sold for a 24-hour period for $9.99 each. However many orders are placed in those 24 hours will dictate how many cards are produced.

Rousey’s Topps Now card – card number 30 so far in 2018 – sold out at a whopping 1,342 copies. To put that in perspective, Topps sold 414 percent more Topps Now cards of Rousey than Charlotte Flair, who sold 261 copies – second most of the 19 total Topps Now cards commemorating WWE’s WrestleMania weekend shows.

In fact, Topps sold 1,572 total copies combined of the other 18 cards in the set, compared to 1,342 for Rousey alone. The card commemorating Undertaker’s victory over John Cena sold 145 copies. Topps sold 115 copies of Nia Jax’s card, 93 copies of Daniel Bryan’s card and just 44 copies of Lesnar’s card.

Rousey’s debut card is by far the best selling Topps Now WWE card since Topps launched the line in 2016. Alexa Bliss is typically the most popular wrestler in any WWE trading card set and is usually the measuring stick. To give you some idea of how hot the Rousey card is, Bliss’ first Topps Now card, released in 2016, sold 180 copies. The 2017 card commemorating Bliss’ first Raw Women’s Title victory over Bayley sold 223 copies.

There are several factors that play into the success of Rousey’s debut WWE card. This was her first card, whereas established stars like Bliss, Undertaker, Lesnar and AJ Styles have plenty of cards. Also, Rousey is a crossover star, and it’s very possible that several copies were purchased by non-wrestling fans. From about 2012 to 2015, Rousey’s trading cards were hotter than just about any other athlete’s cards.

More information about Topps Now WWE cards can be found at https://www.topps.com/collectibles/trading-cards/wwe-topps-now.html.

NOW CHECK OUT THE PRIOR COLUMN: COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: Topps Releases Rousey’s First WWE Card