I love watching products as they create, expand and define markets, an exercise that has been especially fascinating as we got into the largest boom in trading card history. As the WWE license has shifted over to Panini, we are seeing some crazy things happen with a small niche market that was never a focus for the hobby mainstream. Leading up to the debut of Prizm, we saw massive trajectory shifts, with Chrome and desirable singles taking off in value like we had never seen before. Now, with many more eyes on this dark corner of the hobby, records are being set left and right, with no end in sight.

With that, I wanted to spend some time walking through was we should expect from the best of the best Prizm has to offer, and what that could mean for values as the sales showcase a high market cap for other sales within the hobby.

The Rock

Biggest Card: Black 1/1
Other Notables: Gold /10, Gold Shimmer /3
Price Expectations for Black: $45-50k
Price Expectations for Gold: $20-25k

Here is the thing about the Rock. He is the most famous movie star in the US, and his star power grows continually day by day. If you look back across his wrestling card catalogue, he has had a few big cards across the years of Chrome, but I dont think they will compare to what is coming when the black 1/1 is finally pulled. His major cards for Chrome have already started to approach 5 figures, and I fully expect his gold in Prizm to break every modern record there is. He is the gem of this product, and we havent yet seen what is possible with his stuff, as none of it has hit the market in a listing that makes sense.

Hulk Hogan

Biggest Card: Black 1/1
Other Notables: Black Champions Auto 1/1, Gold /10
Price Expectations for Black: $30-35k
Price Expectations for Black Auto 1/1: $15-20k
Price Expectations for Gold: $15k+

Personally, Im not a fan of Hulk Hogan. He has shown himself to be a pretty questionable person outside the ring, only adding to a reputation of what happened when he was on top in the 80s and 90s. The rest of the hobby still looks at Hogan as a nostalgic representation of their youth, growing up with Wrestling and what he represented. Aside from the Rock, Hogan might be the next man up, given that he has shown massive value spikes for all his cards across the boom. We have yet to see a base gold posted, and I would think his Black 1/1 might end up being one of the most valuable Hogan cards ever. Unlike the Rock, he has a number of autos in this product, so it will be interesting to see how those perform compared to the more desirable base.

Roman Reigns

Biggest Card: Black 1/1
Other Notables: Black Champions Auto 1/1, Gold /10
Price Expectations for Black: $20-25k
Price Expectations for Black Auto 1/1: $15-20k
Price Expectations for Gold: $10k+

Thanks to his current run, we are witnessing one of the most dominant champions of the modern era. Not only is he the first undisputed champ in years, he is sitting at 600+ days for the reign. If he continues through to Wrestlemania 39 as champion, he will have one of the top five longest title reigns in WWF/E history. As a result, he has gone from a person that collectors really didnt believe in, to one of the most valuable superstars in the entire hobby. Roman will be a major collection piece for investors across the Prizm run, and though we have only seen a gold and a gold auto pulled, a major card of his has yet to really hit the block.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Biggest Card: Black 1/1
Other Notables: Black Champions Auto 1/1, Gold /10
Price Expectations for Black: $25-30k
Price Expectations for Black Auto 1/1: $15k+
Price Expectations for Gold: $10k+

I am a huge mark for babyfaces who defy authority. If you were into wrestling in the 1990s, you likely ended the decade feeling the same way. Its the reason I started collecting Becky Lynch, and one of the main reasons that Steve Austin has been so popular despite such a short run on top. Wrestlemania 38 featured his first match in 19 years, and it was so amazing to see Austin get another shot at a big moment. Like Hogan, he has had some trouble outside the ring, and its hard to get past that, but it does seem like he has put a lot of that behind him. More importantly, collectors have finally gotten an opportunity to see him sign for sets again. Unlike the first few people on this list, Austin has already had confirmed sales in some of these areas. His first gold sold at $12.5k and his first gold auto sold at $10k. His Black base 1/1 has already been pulled. Time will tell if it eventually hits the block. When it does, the price will set records.

Gable Steveson

Biggest Card: Black 1/1
Other Notables: Black Sensational Signatures Auto 1/1, Gold /10
Price Expectations for Black: $15k+
Price Expectations for Black Auto 1/1: $10k+
Price Expectations for Gold: $10k+

Putting this guy on the major targets list might be a surprise for some, but Steveson is going to be a megastar in this industry. He has Gold Medals, NCAA Titles and a featured spot on Wrestlemania without even having a match under his belt yet. Collectors are prospecting the hell out of him because of these situations, and I dont disagree with the market’s reaction. His first Gold sold for $14k before the dip started, and Im curious how others might fare. Im guessing they could still go pretty high, as his autographs have yet to see much of an impact overall. He is already getting comparisons to Angle and other amateur wrestlers turned WWE stars, and we could see shortly how this all plays out on TV.

The Undertaker

Biggest Card: Black 1/1
Other Notables: Black Champions Auto 1/1, Gold /10
Price Expectations for Black: $20k+
Price Expectations for Black Auto 1/1: $15k+
Price Expectations for Gold: $10k+

With his recent HOF induction, there is no more fitting star to get a huge bump in value than the deadman himself. I was actually surprised to see two of his golds sell above $10K off the bat, and it shoudlnt be surprising that collectors are reacting to the odd display photo on his base card. Overall, there arent many stars in this hobby that have had a presence like the Undertaker, and I hope we get to see what the Black looks like with the shadow silhouette. Going to be awesome to see how it fares on the market.

There are other major names like Shawn Michaels and Brett Hart who have seen their black 1/1s sell for over $15k each as well, but there isnt a guarantee that their golds and other cards might sell in the same manner of value. This product is top heavy enough to show that the hobby box prices being close to or at $1000 wasnt much of a fluke, and I would guess that once some of these major cards start hitting eBay and other marketplaces, things might change down the line of other parallels as well. Just wait, the true volcano has yet to erupt.

I dont think there has been a WWE product that I have paid this much attention over the five plus years I have been in this niche of the hobby. Prizm is a whirlwind of intrigue, with record sales coming one after the other, and a new frontier of mainstream attention. Funny enough, there are a few things yet to happen that will change the landscape of the product going forward. I want to go through a few of them.

Major Parallels from Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Roman Reigns

As of now, we have seen 4 cards hit $15k on the secondary market, and none of them are the ones that everyone is waiting to pop up. The most desirable base parallels of the top tier guys have yet to hit the block, and its entirely possible that each will set their own new record as they surface. As mentioned yesterday, there are likely a number of reasons for this to happen, including the wait times at PSA.

Once these cards show up and really show the potential of the product, things could get very out of have very fast. There are multiple high end sports collectors waiting for the first Rock Gold to be available for sale, and the Black 1/1 will likely end up being one of the most valuable wrestling cards of all time.

I have started compiling a tracker of the Black Prizm 1/1s, available here.

We did see a Gold Rock base pulled by Santiago Sports early last week, but there have been only friend of a friend reports of any sales for the top gold in the set. I would think the major Rock parallels will continue to be the chase card for this product, long into the future. Weird that we havent seen any pop up yet for sale. Same can be said for Roman Reigns, a gold yet to be pulled on a public page.

The End of the Recoup Scramble

Most Prizm buyers will buy wax and break slots to chase specific aspects of the set that they are looking for. Very few will see their lottery ticket payoff. Left behind is a lot of debt and invested cash that needs to be replaced with returns from those breaks. Prizm features a MASSIVE checklist, and with it, a lot of bulk that will end up hitting eBay en masse to attempt to pay back all the money people have poured into this product.

The result is auction after auction being posted without a true need to get top value for the cards. Right now, those individuals just want SOMETHING, and the market isnt big enough yet to support the massive amount of sales at the value that they deserve. This gives people the chance to get some really REALLY nice cards for a cost well below expectations.

Over the next few weeks, this phenomenon will stop, and the auctions will be replaced with fixed price listings that are more representative of dealers who can wait out the storm. More importantly, as PSA returns cards submitted during these first few weeks, we will start to see a true representation of what the market can support. Pop reports will start to fill up, investor apps will launch their indexes, and all of this will seem like a period we should have all spent some money within.

The Beginning of the Retail Storm

Busting hobby boxes isnt an available option for many collectors, especially as prices climb above $1000. per. Retail is another option that people have tried to use as a replacement, without realizing that the main parallels that make Prizm such a landmark brand are not included. The parallels that are included will be available in quantities that far exceed today, and that side of things will take an absolute dive.

There is an entire contingent of the hobby based around retail sales for Prizm, and even more wrestling collectors who want a chance to rip some packs. This leads to a gigantic flood of base, unnumbered base parallels, retail exclusive unnumbered parallels, and bulk that will crash value on a ton of cards.

As you are looking at the market today, remember that the numbered cards are usually immune to the floods that will rain down upon this niche. Panini printed a fucking shit ton of Prizm, as they know it is a product that has the highest demand across all areas of the collecting population. The cards that will be most impacted by this are the ones that have no limit to their print run. Just be careful.

Ongoing Battles With Hobby and Wrestling Trolls

I have been doing what I can to chronicle Prizm, mainly because its entertaining as hell to see the niche I adopted blow up. Others have huge investments in the product and want it to be successful to ensure those investments appreciate. The cheerleaders like me and the investors all will look at Prizm in a very positive light. On the other side is a group of people who are unhappy that they are no longer able to participate in the fray the way they once used to. They are joined by influencers with ulterior motives around the content of their own collections, and savvy investors who know what is coming and try to drive prices down to buy the dip that will only be available during the scramble drill described above.

Each day, those people will point to the market settling as a sign that Prizm is a bust. They will continue to pick and choose their battles to showcase the data that supports their agenda. In reality, nothing that has happened with Prizm is surprising other than the shocking prices paid already for some of the main product hits. Most are pointing to the dropping values associated with the bulk, and higher numbered parallels within the gigantic checklist. In reality, this happens with every release, and is not surprising in the slightest.

Prizm is already the most successful WWE product ever produced, and nothing will change that. Every day since release, cards have sold at prices that would just not happen in any other product. As Panini gets into other legacy brands, similar things will happen for those sets too. Although the market will settle on a number of things, the existing performance has already cemented everything Panini was hoping to get out of this product.

As more configurations are released, more record sales are achieved, and more eyes land on WWE as a target for investors, Prizm will continue to have a tremendous impact on wrestling cards that has never been available before. Here is the thing, that is a very good situation for a number of reasons – regardless of what the trolls spout from their mountaintops. Panini is going to own this license for the foreseeable future. A huge successful performance will ensure future investment in the brand, above and beyond expected ROIs.

More importantly, the dip isnt going to be permanent on most of the desirable elements of this product. Manufacturer expectation is that 33-50% of the hobby run gets busted in the first few weeks. As that rush tails off, the available inventory will shrink. Less inventory and baseline general speculation creates an outcome that very easy to predict. The trolls may have their day for a bit, but for those who know how Prizm performs long term, its easy to react with a sly laugh.

A Look to the Future

We already know what the next WWE product is, and its one that I wouldnt have chosen as my second in line. Revolution WWE is designed to be a more affordable product in a very expensive hobby, but as with everything, that has changed over the last few years with the other versions Panini has released. Revolution NBA started off as a cheap set builders product with lots of base variations and few autographs. As the hobby took off, it has found a niche market within the NBA of rabid collectors who want the rare variations that come less than one per case.

Because the NBA market is so huge, products like Revolution can be successful in niche collecting communities who have built PCs around the product and certain players/teams. For the WWE, I dont really see that happening in the same fashion. The market is too small, and the box prices are already creeping above $300 dollars in preparation for predicted crossover. My guess is Panini thought that Revolution would be a more affordable option for people priced out of Prizm, but secondary market dealers have already crashed that party with pre-order pricing well above expectations.

Similarly, with Chronicles WWE now confirmed as well, we could see the giant impact that these dealers can have in suffocating the momentum started by Prizm. I understand the speculative drive that leads to ginormous prices on Prizm wax. For non-legacy products outside of Prizm, Immaculate, NT and the like, I think this is a bit reckless with a new market. Then again, with major breakers able to support any price the dealers choose, it might end up being a snake eating its own tail – our Hobby Ouroboros.

Regardless of the future prospects created by Prizm’s explosion onto the market, WWE is on the cusp of the hobby mainstream. With that, the hobby will need to figure out the path before the trolls can derail things. Its so weird to see how this all has played out, because I knew there would be an army of wrestling collectors fighting against the tide. Im just hoping that people can see through the bullshit and really understand what is going on.

I hate graded cards. I feel that the whole business is a conflict of interest riddled scam that preys on collector vanity in a way that was never the original intent of the process. I have a PLETHORA of articles on this site that speak to the major issues with the grading process, its lack of transparency and lack of accountability to the results that drive 50x value in some cases. Over the last 2 years, PSA has seen a massive overhaul in the habits of collectors, driving a business model built on marketing gimmicks and manifested a whole new type of target population.

Background of This Giant Mess

Ill say, that my issue with grading isnt that it exists. There is value in providing a third party authentication of specific cards with a history of fuckery from forgers and other scam artists, as well as a borderline need to provide condition opinions in a world where sales are done almost entirely online. However, the lack of transparency around how those grades and authentications are completed, as well as the artificial creation of a hyper mint grading scale is absolutely fucking ridiculous.

Originally grading was created to add a reliable standard for items sold online, mainly due to the lack of high megapixel camera technology. Now that our phones are built for photos, there is less of a need to deliver this side of things outside of major defects purposefully hidden by shady sellers. That hasnt stopped the grading companies from using marketing gimmicks like “GEM MINT” and “Black Labels” to goad collectors into a practice of paying exceptional amounts of money for hyper mint examples.

There are specific indicators that show this market trend was manipulated into existence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and somehow just stuck due to constant reinforcement from the marketing arm of the hobby and hobby media. The conflicts of interest present in price guides used exclusively during the turn of the century had clear impact as well, being that the grading card niche was so small prior to the launch of a true prospecting subhobby in baseball.

Grading has become a mess of pleasing high profile customers, lawsuits, and scandals, including public relationships with auction houses and manufacturers that speak to giant potential inflection points of market manipulation and public pump and dump schemes. Because the grading companies have no accountability any longer due to the sheer volume of sales and transactions done within the market, they are free to operate without regulation or scrutiny. For a larger rundown of the many conflicts of interest present in the model, just go to the top and search “grading.”

The WWE Anti-Grade Brigade

Most of this new market was originally built around shiny cards, but it has extended to every deep dark corner of the hobby over the last few years – save one. WWE cards have not had the engagement with graded cards outside of vintage cards, whose only major attribute is a high grade in most cases. The older sets are rarely impressive, unlike other examples from the vintage era of trading cards. Most come from a junk wax era where hundreds of thousands of examples were produced of every card, and where few made it through the last 40 years without condition issues.

On the modern side, WWE collectors avoided graded cards in a way that probably puzzled the hell out of every grading company that exists. Basically, up until the massive spike in Chrome from 2014 and 2015, there was absolutely zero reason to grade a modern WWE card at all. It rarely added much value, and only very specific cards popular with crossover sports collectors had any real population reports to speak of.

Most WWE collectors lived in and live in a bubble of collecting, devoid from influence from the mainstream hobby. The community approached their collections in a different way, set collectors operated in a uniquely populated market, and graded cards just never caught on. Some of the most vocal modern WWE collectors made campaigns out of videos cracking cards out of PSA and BGS cases, and the lack of other voices deafened the grading echo-chamber that is so prevalent in the hobby today.

The Prizm Grading Revolution

With the growing crossover crowd coming to join the WWE hobby on the heels of Panini’s announcement of their license acquisition, grading in WWE has started to go in a similar direction to where it has been featured in other areas of the hobby. Chrome and rookie card examples being graded and sold for record prices to a small group of people have built a new branch of the market over the last few months.

With more and more crossover collectors joining the parade with the release of Prizm, a lot of those pre-conceived understandings are following in their wake. Already, we have seen graded WWE Prizm cards show up on eBay, with people taking advantage of proximity to PSA and / or paying for express service to get out ahead of the tidal wave.

I fully expect that over the next three months, there will be more modern WWE cards submitted to the grading companies than they have ever seen in the history of wrestling cards. Bottom line, new management means new rules, and I can guarantee that the new breed of persona coming into this niche will absolutely subscribe to the mainstream hobby approach.

Determining a Plan for Big Hits

Here is the age old dilemma that most mainstream hobby collectors have to consider as they pull cards from next generation WWE products – Do I grade and sell or just throw it up on the block. For most cards, the application of a gem mint label means more value. This includes a 1/1, where there will be no other examples to compare it to.

There is also competing timers at play that speak to the softening of the market in between release and the first graded examples being available. For the average non-connected collector, grading can take weeks to months to years (yes you heard that correctly), and there are huge implications for making a decision to grade versus sell immediately.

In my experience, if a card is one that transcends the softening of a market, its worth taking the time and spending the ridiculous amounts of money to grade it before you sell it. For some of the five figure cards that have populated this Prizm release above and beyond any other product in WWE history, this will include massive upcharges that the grading companies have instituted to further squeeze more money out of their new seat upon the throne of hobby businesses.

If your card isnt immune to the fluctuations in price, which is most of what Prizm is made up of, it becomes a measure of how fast someone needs to recoup cost of ownership in the card. For people that can wait, and have a clean example of a card that should hit the hyper mint scale, it might be worth the submission. There are many ways to do it quickly or slowly, and cost will vary. Collectors will need to figure out a path as the prices and the market settles during the time needed to get your goods back in hand.

Overall, I understand that my thoughts on this subject are largely irrelevant, as my commentary will have zero effect on what the general public decides to do. I am forced, as a captive audience, to make sure that I position myself within the market as best I can, so I will likely not have a choice as I participate in the sales myself. All I have to say is that grading, and the marketing machine behind it, have changed the face of the hobby to an irreparable degree. Most collectors are only aware of what value is created by grading a card, not the aspects of what brought that preference to light. With that, the choice is up to you.