If you watched the end of Wrestlemania and didnt walk away feeling like something fresh was starting, I dont know what to tell you. Everything about the extensive run of the Bloodline remains one of the best, if not THE best wrestling story ever told. Seeing Cody Rhodes hold that title as a new champion for the first time in about 4 years is just a weird but emotional feeling. Not only that, but multiple other new champions were crowned, and we even got a brand new signature open for the program, which was beyond cool in its own right. This feels like the start of a new era, and I must tell you, I am almost more excited to see what comes next than anything.
The End of the Story
Seeing Samantha Irvin, the ring announcer for WWE, struggle to get her announcement of Cody’s win across to the fans is something that showcases how special this moment really was for all involved. This was a historic win, a match that featured a good 3/4s of the WWE Mount Rushmore, and a close on Roman Reigns’ incredible journey as the Tribal Chief. If anything, I think people were just as happy for all he had accomplished as much as they were for Cody to finally get his time on top. The celebration in the ring was something we have never seen on WWE TV before, and it was deserved. The call to keep the belt on Roman another year after WM 39 was the right one, and it paid off in spades.
From a hobby perspective, Roman has seen incredible value increases since the beginning of 2022 and rightfully so. He remains one of the most decorated performers in WWE history, and I would say that even though his cards are insanely expensive already, they are still undervalued. He will continue to be a part of WWE’s movement going forward, and lots of the story with the Bloodline should continue. I think Roman should be in the discussion of top valued stars for a long time to come.
Cody’s cards have had some major ups and downs since his return to WWE, and I think that like Roman, he will see some nice increase in his value as the man to dethrone the Tribal Chief. The main issue is that many of his 2022 autographs are still outstanding redemptions, and that hurts the value with no live cards. For 2023, most of his stuff is live, and after last night there were some interesting sales, but I would expect that as breaks of Impeccable start landing with collectors, they will see some increased value across the board.
As for the Rock and other focuses of this last chapter of the bloodline’s run, he showed this week why he is the Great One. Not only did he put on a great performance in the main event of Night 1, but he also was a primary focus leading up to the show. He was must watch TV every time he was on, and I think we all felt a little bit of that electricity now that he wants to be back in the fold.
His cards have been a controversial topic over the last two years, but undeniably the most expensive. His six figure sale from 2023 will sit alone at the top of the mountain for YEARS to come, and we can all still hope that he will eventually sign for Panini or Topps. Even crazier, as if the fates had decreed his return, Leaf released the first autographed cards of his for the first time in almost two decades, and without much shock, sold for crazy money. I doubt any of his performance here sullies that value, and if he eventually does sign some licensed cards, look out.
Mami is Still On Top
I think there were two predictable outcomes from Wrestlemania, the first being Cody’s win, and the second being the continued run of Rhea Ripley as Women’s World Champion. Let me put this as bluntly as I can possibly put it – as big as Cody Rhodes will be in the future of this company, Ripley will be just as big. I cant state this enough, she is such an incredible presence in WWE, and I expect her to be the top of the mountain when its all over.
Despite Becky Lynch’s best selling book, Rhea remains the champion in one of the only belts not to change hands over the weekend, and even as one of the biggest Becky fans out there – it was absolutely the right call. Even though Becky was noted as having a fever and strep throat through the whole week, they put on a great match to open night one, with Mami eventually getting the job done. Rhea continues her dominance until likely next year, and I think that will be a really fun reign to see carry on. Lots of stones left to overturn.
Prior to the Panini era, WWE cards were dominated by the women, as pervy collectors treated most of the women like Benchwarmers type releases. Their male counterparts saw very little to no value outside of the attitude era stars like Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin. That has changed dramatically, but not completely. All that being said, Rhea Ripley remains one of the top valued stars on any checklist and she undoubtedly deserves it.
I think she also had one of the most interesting weeks from a hobby perspective as well, joining the Fanatics Live stream (as many did) during the festivities at WWE World. As part of the giant convention, Fanatics had many of the WWE’s biggest names sit and sign with them as fans looked on and bid from the crowd or from the app. Multiple pieces of cut up and autographed mat from night one were sold, and multiple pieces sold at close to four thousand dollars to create a new benchmark for items auctioned in this format.
As for Becky Lynch, I think there are a number of question marks on her future, as her contract seems to be up in the next few months. Although I never expect her to leave WWE, I definitely expect some major changes to happen as she continues down her historic run as well. Much to the chagrin of my bank account, her cards are among the most valuable out there, and as her role fades and people like Rhea and Tiffany Stratton shine as the new faces of the company, I think her value will remain high alongside the new guard.
A Woven Web Of World Title For CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins and Damian Priest
Before the end of the main event of night 2, there was no bigger story in wrestling than the return of CM Punk to WWE after a 10 year absence. Right after Thanksgiving at Survivor Series, Punk shocked the world by appearing at the end of the broadcast, setting in motion a CRAZY path to Damian Priest ending up with the title coming out of Wrestlemania.
Without spending pages of text breaking down the story, the feud between Punk, McIntyre and Rollins was absolutely the best TV every week. Actually, let me clarify that – Drew McIntyre has been the absolute best TV each week. There has been no better man on the mic through this whole thing, and I was actually rooting for him to end up with the belt when the music stopped and chairs were filled. Drew has struggled since his own title reign ended during the Pandemic era, and he has found a new life in every part of his game since the Royal Rumble. With his contract coming up, and no solution in sight, he is on a list of people that I absolutely want to see more of in WWE, especially if they are going to let him feud with Punk to its ultimate end when healthy.
In terms of his hobby future, I still dont see much of a change for Drew McIntyre, even though he should have some really good numbers across the board. The fact is, he is a victim of the situation I explained above, where modern champions dont get the love they deserve in this hobby. His cards are cheap as shit, and they shouldnt be. Now a three time champion, he should have more value to his name than he does, and I hope he eventually gets it.
Seth Rollins has been a staple on WWE TV for a long time, and his run as the Visionary has gone from an unexpected gangbusters success to a supporting role in Cody’s story. Rollins played a key part in the weekend, even bringing his Shield betrayal of Roman Reigns full circle. Much like McIntyre, his hobby value doesnt come close to reflecting what he deserves, but I feel that as the time moves on in cards, that could change. If he retired today, he would be a first ballot HOFer, and that’s not up for debate.
Lastly, Damian Priest is the new champion, and I feel torn. I love what he can do in the ring, but he is about as boring a character as can be. Ripley has been the focus of the group, and Priest has always just been there as a peripheral member from a story perspective. However, his work with Bad Bunny during their story has put him in this spot, and winning MITB this year has been a focal point for their group. The issue is that he feels like a placeholder for now, even though Triple H loves long reigns in his booking, and that will hurt his run in the same way that it hurt Iyo Sky’s run. Unless they find a new direction for him to go, Im not bought in at all for him.
Overall, this weekend was historic in a lot of different ways, and I think history will look kindly at this being both a culmination of the previous era and the start of a new one. We heard multiple times this weekend that this was now Triple H’s show, and that is 100% truth. He deserves an absolute mountain of credit for what he has done, and I think Wrestling Cards have and will continue to see massive correlative results from his booking. To borrow from his catch phrase – ARE YOU READY!?