Along with the Royal Rumble match, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is probably the last piece of fresh programming from the company that I truly enjoy. At this point even WrestleMania has completely lost my interest. For reasons that are no mystery to a single person on the planet, 2020 did not see a WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. While details are still sketchy, it appears that the 2020 class will finally get inducted alongside the class of 2021. Whether the class will be merged as one or if each will go down in history separately has yet to be seen.
For 2020 we have the nWo (Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Syxx), John Bradshaw Layfield, Jushin Thunder Liger, "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, The Bella Twins and Batista. As of press time the sole 2021 inductee to be announced is Molly Holly. In this edition of MarketWatch we're going to look at the recent selling prices of memorabilia from several of these names. As always prices quoted are for non-autographed items.
*Starting with our first 2021 inductee announced we visit the sole action figure of Molly Holly. It's always been an underrated figure and is still a highlight of the Jakks "TitanTron Live" style. Molly is one of the best female grapplers of the past two decades and is more than deserving of her Hall of Fame induction. The support shown by fans as well as her peers has been something to see. This is not the first time that this figure has been here on the blog in a MarkerWatch feature. Around three and a half years ago the figure was selling for $20. Still undervalued, it's recently been selling for an average of $15. Whether or not her Hall of Fame induction will yield her a second figure has yet to be seen.
*Always controversial, John Bradshaw Layfield was one of those superstars who was able to reinvent himself several times during his career. The "JBL" character, WWE's answer to J.R. Ewing, was without a doubt his best incarnation. At WrestleMania 21 back in 2005, JBL made a grand entrance with money falling from the sky. Those "JBL Bills" were scooped up and have landed in the collections of many fans worldwide. One example recently sold for $18.
*Some may say that The Bella Twins are undeserving of a Hall of Fame entry. The WWE Hall of Fame is full of inductees that you may or may not agree with. I will say that the duo has brought many extra eyes to the business, both male and female. Even my girlfriend is a fan of the twins thanks to their "Total Bellas" program. From figures to teddy bears, the twins have also had their fair share of memorabilia. It's a proven fact that authentic autograph cards of female wrestlers sell for a bit more on the secondary market than the male wrestler cards. Perhaps there are a lot of "lonely hearts" collecting? Nonetheless, Brie Bella's Topps WWE Heritage 2016 authentic autograph card recently sold for $28.
*One of my favorite inductees this year is Jushin Thunder Liger. The puroresu star who retired in 2020 has always been fascinating to his legions of fans, myself included. He recently received several modern wrestling figures thanks to a company called Storm Collectibles. You can see the first of those by clicking Liger's "label" at the bottom of this entry which will lead to a review of that figure from last year. That being said his older figures from Japan, while less poseable, are still in high demand. This New Japan Pro Wrestling figure recently sold for $51.
*Shortly after the creation of the New World Order, those in charge at WCW realized that the nWo was the more popular brand. This led to their logo being slapped on nearly every piece of merchandise that passed through the Atlanta-based wrestling company. Did you own a Bash Brick? It's a somewhat hard foam brick that you can "safely" bash your friends (or enemies) with. It really doesn't have much of a connection to wrestling other then the logos, but who's counting? One recently sold for $25.
There are always at least a few speeches to watch out for at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Who those will be and just how the ceremony itself will take place are still mysteries. I can tell you that Batista's will be a great pee break for me, even if I'm not watching live.
Sorry, Big Dave.
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