SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

A quick reminder I’m still gathering responses on my 4th year “Elite Performers” Survey, and would love to get more input from you the readers, so please if you haven’t already, take a few moments to fill it out HERE. I know it’s been a few months since my last column, you have my sincere apologies. Life and work have gotten busier and busier, and I recently moved from lovely North Hollywood/Burbank California to Mid-City Los Angeles so that I can be closer to work. Rest Assured though I’m going to TRY to get through everything that’s happened in the app since my last article which was now 3 months ago. Yikes. New(ish) Sets I haven’t really looked at new sets since just after Wrestlemania, so it’s high time that we catch up. Shall we begin? Usually alongside a personalized Live Signature release Topps will come out with something that most people can afford to actually purchase, Live Signature Reprints, which are simply previously issued cards with a signature overlaid on them. The designs are actually quite interesting and these are always popular. Problem is this time they were “limited” but Topps didn’t bother to tell anyone how limited they really were this time around. Last set they were somewhere in the 1200cc range. This batch is all currently between 176 and 531cc, and they were just re-released in combo packs and none are actually sold out. The set includes new singles of Kofi Kingston, Mandy Rose, Ricochet, Sting, Trish Stratus, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, plus a couple of nifty multi-signature cards. These currently sell between $3-10 each. There were so many new sets to talk about and collect it’s hard to boil down what was popular and what stunk up the app. Of course Finn Balor fans were elated with a 4 card Demon King artwork set, even with two variants! The award scheme was interesting as well, you got a third variant for having each of the other two. These weren’t that difficult to put together as the odds weren’t terribly high and diamond purchases weren’t exorbitant. The Third Anniversary set underwhelmed completely unlike last years. Unrivaled was junk except for the gold cards and even then most of them were difficult to off-load. The Becky Lynch box set sold out in record time and the video cards which were tough pulls have retained their value.

Probably the best card in Unrivaled.

Most of the rest of the new sets were lackluster at best.

New Sets:

Samoa Joe One-Off Nolan Harris Art Insert

Doug Hills Artwork – 4 cards, no variants. 1 award

Style – 10 cards, no variants. 1 award

Finn Balor Demon Art – 4 cards, 2 variants (red/white), 4 awards (one for having both variants)

Father’s Day – 5 cards, no variants. 1 award

Summer Motion – 9 cards, no variants, 1 award

Destruction – 16 cards, 2 variants (Ice/Fire – 500cc), 1 award per variant

Sketches – 10 cards, 2 variants (Base, Signature – 750cc) 2 awards per variant (24 hours/1 week)

Crimson – 24 cards, no variants. 2 awards (48 hours/10 days)

3rd Anniversary – 3 free updated base, 12 base cards, 9 Rob Schamberger (100cc), 2 awards (base, Schamberger).

Becky Lynch Box Set – 3 Illustrated cards, 5 insert cards, 4 video cards. 2 awards (1 for all 8 illustrated/inserts, 1 for all 4 videos)

Editor’s Choice – 14 cards, no variants, 1 award

Universe – 12 cards, no variants, 2 awards (48 hours, 2 weeks)

King of the Ring – Wave 1 – 8 cards, no award, Wave 2 8 cards, no award. Finalists 2x Signature Cards, no award.

Throwbacks – 30 cards in 2 waves of 15, 2 variants, 1 award per variant per wave.

Unrivaled – 28 Base, 22 Signatures, 18 Dual Signatures – 3 variants Base/Signature – Blue – open, Red (1000cc), Gold (100cc). Dual Signature Red (25cc), Gold (10cc). Awards: 2x Base per variant (1 per wave), 2x Signature per variant (1 per wave), 1x Dual Signature per variant.

Blueprints Tilt – 9 cards 750cc maximum. No variants. 1 award.

Inked – 10 cards, no variants. 1 award.

Tag Teams – 7 cards, 2 variants (green, purple tilt) 1 award per variant

Superstar Sensations – 5 cards, 1 per week in Diamond Bundle for $4.99

Returning Sets were also fairly underwhelming in my opinion. I like the puzzle paradigm for the Vertigo cards, and they were actually fun to chase and put together. Too bad there are still so many puzzle pieces out there and not a lot of full cards. Ground Breakers are probably the best of this bunch of sets mostly because of that low CC limit. Topps Fire returned as a large box set and much like Unrivaled and others, it underwhelmed. Off the Panels returned with a lot higher CC and thus didn’t sell as well. 205 Live is still in packs weeks later. Notorious Villains just appeared recently and this time there’s only two variants, not three. They still give coins though, and for 100 diamonds you get three cards and 170K in coins, not too shabby.

Easily the best card from Topps Fire. Don’t often see a Triple H Triple Sig!

Returning Sets:

Street (2 variants, Open/24 hrs) 8 daily cards with 1 award per variant

Classic (2 variants) 16 cards with 2 awards (24 hrs/1week) per variant

Main Event Series 2

Vertigo (as a puzzle series, 3 cards x 6 pieces each)

Ground Breakers 8 cards, 250cc each. 1 award

Breakouts – 7 cards, 24 hours, 2 awards (24 hrs/1week)

Personified – 7 cards limited to 750cc. No variants. 1 award.

Spotlight – 10 cards, 3 variants (White, Purple, Pink – 1000cc). 1 award per variant

Speed – 10 cards, 2 variants (Green/Orange – 1200cc). 1 award per variant.

Topps Fire – 28 base card, no variants, 14 Golden Greats, 12 dual signatures, 2 triple signature. 2 base awards (1 for each wave of 14), 1 Golden Greats, 2 Signature awards.

Fourth of July – 17 motion cards limited to 1776 cc. No Variants, 1 award.

Off the Panels – 2 variants (white/color) – 1 award per variant

Power – 9 cards, 2 variants (orange, purple) 1 award per variant

Vector – 12 cards, 2 variants (green, purple) 2 awards per variant (24 hour, 10 days)

205 Live – 17 Cards, 2 variants (orange 2050 cc, purple 205cc), 1 award per variant.

Notorious Villains – 8 cards, 2 variants (10K, 150K), 1 award per variant, plus Coin Bonus.

Queens of the Ring makes a triumphant return, with each wave having a different theme. These are tough pulls in coin packs and collectors seem to really like them. Streak is a pain to collect as the 100cc Gold cards sell out in no-time and they’re super-hard to trade for or purchase. I missed the first wave award, which was Bret Hart, though not for lack of trying. That 30cc card is now the only Bret I don’t already own. In general this new wave of Marathons is a winner. Each of them are tough pulls and the CC is usually limited enough to make them very collectible. Rivalries seems to sell out almost instantly with every release.

Do you own this card? You do? You Want to Trade it to Me. Send it now. NOW!

New Marathons

Queens of the Ring – 3 waves of 10 each, no variants. 1 award per wave, 1 overall award. Began 7-25-19 (Thursday)

Streak – 3 waves of 5 each 2 variants (Silver/Gold – 100cc). 2 awards per wave, 2 overall awards. Began 7-26-19 (Friday)

Masters on the Mic Motion – 3 waves of 10 each, 1 variant. 1 award per wave, 1 overall award. Began 7-27-19 (Saturday)

Rivalries Tilt – 3 waves of 5 each, 1 variant (250cc), 1 award per wave, 1 overall award. Began 8-4-19 (Sunday)

Queens of the Ring returns with a fresh new look.

Looks like Topps is experimenting with the makeup of PPV sets yet again. Some events only get two variants these days (alongside the obligatory Prize Wheel and Predictor sets), and some are still at three. One even had only one base variant. The lowest CC on PPV sets seems to be fluctuating while Topps tries to find it’s sweet spot. 100cc for MITB, 30cc for NXT Takeover, 35 for SuperShowdown, but then 1200cc for Stomping Grounds, 500 for ExtremeRules, and back down to 10cc for SummerSlam and back up to 1000cc for Clash of Champions. Makes no sense at all. Topps Now returned for SummerSlam, but haven’t appeared for Clash yet.

Topps actually messed up on this card initially and showed Charlotte Flair for a little while instead of Mandy Rose. Nice thing about being digital is they fixed it right away.

PPV Sets

Money in the Bank (3 variants, open, open, 100 cc), 4 signature variants (1000, 600, 150, 50). Briefcase meld cards.

NXT Takeover 25 (3 variants, open, open, 30cc), 4 signature variants (1500, 1000, 100, 25)

Super Showdown (3 variants, open, open 35 cc), 4 signature variants (500, 250, 50, 25)

Stomping Grounds (3 variants, open, open 1200cc), 3 signature variants (1000, 750, 250)

Extreme Rules (2 variants, open, 500cc), 3 signature variants (open, 150, 75)

Topps Now Extreme Rules – 5 cards, no award

NXT Takeover Toronto (1 base variant), 3 signature variants (750, 250, 15)

SummerSlam (2 variants, open, 10cc), 3 signature variants (open, 500, 15)

SummerSlam Legends – 11 cards, no variants, 1 award.

SummerSlam Posters – 3 cards, no variants, 1 award.

SummerSlam Winners -8 cards, no variants, 1 award.

Topps Now NXT Takeover/Summerslam – 6 SS card, 5 NXT cards. No awards.

NXT UK Takeover Cardiff 3 cards. 1 variant for base, 2 for signatures (Red-Open, Green 100cc). No Awards.

Clash of Champions – 3 base variants – Blue, Red, Die-Cut (1000cc). 3 signature variants – Red (open), Green (750cc), Purple (250cc). 1 award base, 1 award signature per variant.

Gold Rush

Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville (May 24)

Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Naomi (June 10)

Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler (June 15)

R-Truth, Drake Maverick (June 27)

Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Lacey Evans (July 5)

Kevin Owens, Shane McMahon (July 16)

Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Natalya (July 28)

Zelina Vega, Nikki Cross (August 1)

Buddy Murphy, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks (August 16)

I don’t normally go for Gold Rush, but I know a lot of people like them, and they generally hold their value or increase, as long as the subject is a woman or popular male. These can go for $5-15 depending.

Cosmic Base Card Exchange

Naomi, Carmella, Roman Reigns (August 26)

Charlotte Flair, Andrade, Braun Strowman (September 4)

I’m definitely a big proponent of card exchanges and I’m super-happy they’ve returned in Slam. They brought them back for Money in the Bank, and subsequently continued with a brand new base set in “cosmic” colors. These are plentiful and just fun to collect, but will never be hugely valuable.

Carmella is Cosmic

Top 25 Single Sales This is supposed to be a quarterly feature, but I forgot to post the 2nd quarter list, even though it’s been completed since the end of May. I’m posting it below for posterity. The previous list was published in March and was for the Q1 of 2019. Commentary – 3rd Quarter 2019 Excellence and 2019 SummerSlam both had several listings this time, dominating the chart with 9 cards total out of 25. The 5cc high end golds of the former and the 10-15cc base/sigs of the latter are really popular still. Becky Lynch is by and far the most featured performed on this chart. The Man appears on no less than SEVEN different cards, only one of which sold for under $100. Alexa Bliss is in second place with a woeful four cards on the chart. The Rock #5/5 Signature sold for $50 higher than the last time it appeared on this chart two quarters ago. This is a 1/1 card really, so yes it’s the same card. Rock’s 2017 High Caliber 5cc Signature increased dramatically from $70 a year ago to $200 today. The #1 ranked Alexa Bliss 2018 High Caliber 5cc Signature almost doubled it’s value over two quarters ago, after not being sold last quarter.

Can you believe this card sold for $600? It did.

The Wrestlemania 35 Gold Triple Signature at #4 increased on the high end to $250 gaining $50. The 2017 Backlash Women’s 6 Pack Challenge card, once the darling of the entire app, has dropped in value by almost $50 in the year since it appeared on these charts.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Nah, it’s still a 50cc card and it’s still got a ton of value.

Peyton Royce’s 2018 Main Event Teal Signature got some love increasing by almost $30 over this time last year.

Top 25 Single Card Sales 3rd Quarter 2019

– Sales in the 90 days prior to August 31, 2019 (List #7)

Rank Year Set Performer Variant CC Hi Lo # sold 1 2018 High Caliber Alexa Bliss Gold Signature 5 $600 1 2 2016 Serial # Signature The Rock #5/5 1 $300 1 3 2019 Excellence Mandy Rose Gold 5 $300 1 4 2019 Wrestlemania 35 Ronda Rosey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch Triple Signature Gold 5 $250 200 2 5 2017 High Caliber The Rock Gold Signature 5 $200 1 6 2019 Main Event Alexa Bliss Teal Base Award 10 $195 1 7 2019 Summer Slam Becky Lynch vs. Natalya Purple Dual Signature 15 $180 100 3 8 2019 Royal Rumble Becky Lynch vs. Asuka Dual Signature Red Dual Signature 5 $175 1 9 2019 Excellence Becky Lynch Gold Signature 5 $170 1 10 2019 NXT Takeover New York Io Shirai Red Base 4 $160 1 11 2016 Backlash Women’s 6 pack Challenge 6 Signature 50 $155 1 12 2017 Topps Now Wrestlemania 33 Randy Orton Mat Relic 25 $120 1 13 2018 Cyber Monday Base Alexa Bliss Signature Award 43 $120 1 14 2019 Summer Slam Kevin Owens Purple Signature 15 $120 1 15 2019 NXT Takeover New York Women’s 4 Way Challenge Purple Signature Award 13 $120 1 16 2019 Excellence Naomi Gold Signature 5 $120 54 2 17 2016 Heritage Becky Lynch Gold Signature 50 $105 1 18 2019 Excellence Zelina Vega Gold Base 5 $100 1 19 2019 Excellence Triple H Gold Base 5 $100 1 20 2019 Live Signature Trish Stratus Ticket Only 5 $100 1 21 2019 Summer Slam Finn Balor Blue Base 10 $100 1 22 2018 Main Event Peyton Royce Teal Signature 25 $99 1 23 2019 Timeless Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Nia Jax Gold Signature 10 $80 1 24 2017 Black Friday Sasha Banks Award 36 $79 1 25 2019 Summer Slam The Fiend Bray Wyatt Blue Base 10 $75 1

I missed publishing the 2nd Quarter listing, so I’m doing so here without commentary.

Top 25 Single Card Sales 2ndd Quarter 2019

– Sales in the 90 days prior to May 31, 2019 (List #6)