I want to talk a bit about a subject that has been nothing short of controversial. When eBay started their authentication program a few years ago, it wasn’t for cards, it was for shoes. Sneaker collecting had taken off, and fakes were wreaking havoc on the marketplace. The program was designed to root out fakes and prevent buyers from receiving items in a condition that was less than advertised. For the most part, it worked wonders. Naturally, the idea of expanding the program to other collectibles was part of the plan since the start, as shoes were not the only thing that had issues. Purses ..read more

When I started this site back in the mid 2000s, I did so as a counterpoint to the all rainbows and no rain approach of the existing hobby news sources. I felt that the print magazines like Beckett and Tuff Stuff rarely covered topics that didnt make the hobby look like everything was a utopia of collecting, and it inspired me to use my english degree to write about cards. That venture has now lasted 17 plus years of coverage, and Ive seen a lot of things change over that timeframe. One thing that has remained constant is that hobby news coverage has proven to be more frustrating than informat ..read more

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 y ..read more

Let me set the stage. Its 1am, the kids are in bed, the night is over, and you have just finished binging the latest show on Netflix. Things are boring, so you log onto Whatnot to see if there are any breaks going on to keep your interest before going to sleep. Shockingly, multiple rooms are up and running, with close to 100 people viewing and/or participating. You enter one of the rooms, greeted by a full heads up display of craziness. Two guys are on camera in gaming chairs, and the rest of the screen is a still shot of an LED screen with snazzy graphics behind a wall of weird looking boxes ..read more

Its been a wonderful few years to be a wrestling collector, and as you have probably noticed, my focus has almost entirely shifted away from the major sports and into the squared circle. The reason behind the shift stems from enjoyment, as I found enjoyment collecting a new genre with my sons, all of whom are gigantic wrestling fans. I also lost a lot of that enjoyment around collecting football and baseball cards, as it became clear to me that I was more interested in not losing money than collecting the cards. What I found in the WWE card community was a wonderful group of passionate collect ..read more

Before we dive into this subject let me walk through a few things. First – I understand that NFTs and Digital Cards are a controversial topic among physical card collectors for obvious reasons. I also understand there have been challenges with solvency and rug pulls on NFTs over the last few years, and the risk is understood. If you dont care about digital cards, this article wont pertain to your interests. If you are curious about this subject, or a fan of the platform, I welcome your input as a complete and utter noob. =============== If you were following this site or my other blog Digital ..read more

Its been a while since I have sat down at a keyboard to write about cards, as things in my life have been exceptionally busy as of late. Four kids, a hectic work/travel life balance, and sports for all the kids have limited my content creation availability. However, now that we are a month into 2024, I think its become absolutely clear that this year will be the most important year for Wrestling cards ever. As it has been since it’s inception, the Royal Rumble is the way WWE begins the calendar year, and with it, the Road to Wrestlemania. If Wrestlemania is the Super Bowl of Wrestling, Royal ..read more

Yesterday I started talking about the legacy that Panini has left behind during their short tenure in wrestling cards. If this is truly the end of the road for them, pending the outcome of the pile of lawsuits currently in progress, that inevitably means that Fanatics will be back in charge. As of last year, Fanatics has acquired Topps to be their flagship provider in trading cards, putting in motion one of the largest consolidation plans in hobby history. The good thing is, we have had lots of experience with Topps at the helm, and collectors have a TON of expectations if/when they come back ..read more

Although it could be a long drawn out process, the Panini era in wrestling cards looks to be in a state of flux. WWE has effectively terminated their relationship in favor of moving forward early with Fanatics, a move that was already in place to happen in 2026. With Topps under the Fanatics banner of hobby consolidation, many in the hobby are left wondering what brand name will be on the cards they are buying in the future. Will it be the originator of the modern wrestling card era with Topps, or the company responsible for the boom after Topps lost the license in Panini? More importantly, if ..read more

Coming into last Wednesday, I dont think anyone expected things to blow up the way they did. Its like the end of Monday Night Raw where the match ends, the champion’s hand is being raised, and then the heel attacks from behind. Eventually the entire locker room comes running down the ramp and a giant brawl fills the screen as the show goes off the air. Starting the entire legal landscape of Fanatics vs Panini with a steel cage match over the WWE license seems fitting, and I wanted to make sure there is a place where people can come to get caught up if they are feeling their head spinning. Let ..read more