Wrestling MarketWatch: The Road Warriors

Longtime readers know that when it comes down to tag teams with face paint, I'm pretty biased. In fact with tag teams in general I'm beyond biased. I am a Demolition guy. Aside from paint and the era in which they came, I honestly never saw much similarities between Demolition and The Road Warriors. Are Sting and The Ultimate Warrior the same just because they both wore face paint in the '80s and '90s? Not at all. That being said, as much of a Demolition fan as I am, I have always been thoroughly entertained by the LOD, as well, and greatly respect what they did for the business.

As of press time we have just recently mourned the passing of Road Warrior Animal. It's time to look back on a small sampling of the merchandise created in the images of Animal, Hawk, and manager Paul Ellering. While a few items may have seen a slight inflation over their regular market value, I think that you'll notice relative stability seeing as that merchandise of "the boys" is usually in high demand regardless.

*For many fans their love affair with the team began with their first action figures. They, of course, came courtesy of Remco and the American Wrestling Association in 1985. Originally Hawk and Animal came sold in a two-pack. It was later expanded to a three-pack by including Paul Ellering. The trio has great accessories and are still the best figure representations of the early days of the Legion of Doom. Although Mattel has promised us that this will change next year, this is still the only released figure of Ellering. The figure was later re-released singly as part of the infamous "Mat Mania" line. The threesome is averaging $100 loose and complete, which isn't too far out of the ordinary for figures that many consider to be highlights of the series.

*Sticking with early LOD we've got what is probably their best remembered magazine cover appearance. The Pro Wrestling Illustrated issue from March 1984 was not only the "year end" issue for 1983, but also a true iconic moment for Hawk and Animal. The cover may proclaim them "Tag Team of the Year" but the combination of their unique look and the incredible photography (horror lighting, anyone?) made sure that no one would forget them even thirty-six years after hitting the newsstands. In what may be a record for the issue it recently sold for $70. This could be the one price listed in this entry that is higher solely from Animal's passing.

*The Road Warriors competed nearly everywhere, but many fond memories stem from their time with the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions. The underrated memorabilia produced by JCP has long been celebrated in this blog and you may recall seeing many of those southern stars plastered on bandanas. The first one that I owned featured none other than Hawk and Animal. There are actually several designs featuring the tag team, but the one shown here has been selling for an average of $50. Considering how high these bandanas can go, it's actually a fair price.

*Even after Road Warrior Hawk's passing, Animal continued to venture in pro wrestling. He returned to the big time in the mid-2000's with another run in WWE. He still looked good and I was always pleased to see him continue to take part in the business. The company tried to utilize him in several different ways, though he was ultimately released in 2006. Several action figures were born out of this run as were trading cards and promotional photos. His solo promotional photo from this run, complete with the classic face paint and spiked shoulder pads, recently sold autographed for $20. 

*Ending as we started with action figures, we now look at what are probably their best remembered pair. In the ever popular Hasbro line The Legion of Doom was represented in what turned out to be the second and final series of tag team two-packs. The other set, The Nasty Boys, saw manufacturing problems thus causing Hasbro to send LOD-only cases to retailers early on. The Nasty Boys pack was the single Hasbro WWF item that I never saw at retail. Many other fans encountered the same issue. Due to this, many of the over-shipped LOD two packs sat on clearance. This has done nothing to hurt their value or take away from the fact that they are fun figures. You may recall that the Hasbro Hawk even made a cameo appearance at their WWE Hall of Fame induction. The pair of loose figures has been selling for an average of $90.

Hawk and Animal may be gone physically, but their influence will assuredly always be felt in the world of professional wrestling...and its merchandise. What else is there to say? What a rush!

WWE Cards Are "Topps" Again With Adult Collectors

Nothing like a punny title to start off an entry. It is based off of fact, however.

It's been almost a year since a true, serious, card set has been released for the WWE. With the current direction of the product, it's also completely understandable. Collectible dog tags, poker-style chips, and "Rumble Packs" largely looking like a card version of the WWE Kidz Magazine have dominated the store shelves. Kids who are enthralled with the ring wars of Cena, Orton, and The Miz, among others, have been buying these items up like hot cakes. Adult collectors, looking for everything that serious card collectors look for, haven't had much to look for.

That is, until now.


Within the past month, Topps WWE 2010 cards have hit stores. Featuring 110 cards in the basic set, 6 subsets, 2 autograph subsets, 2 swatch subsets, and 1 autograph/swatch subset, any enthusiasm lost in the other 2010 releases should quickly rebound.

Parallels, a current staple in card collecting, are included as well featuring different colored borders of the basic 110 cards. Blue parallel bordered cards are limited to a run of 2010 each, while gold borders are limited to just 50. Even rarer red bordered cards are limited to just 1.

The unique subsets combine superstars from all facets of WWE including past and present stars and divas. Sets titled "World Championship Material," "National Heroes," and "History of" mix stars such as The Undertaker, Nikolai Volkoff, and Chris Jericho among many others, providing glimpses into title reigns, home counties, and the careers of these stars.

Autograph and event-used item collectors should be equally appeased, as several combinations of each are seeded into the set. Both single and dual-signed cards are included, with the dual autographs featuring some stars known for teaming and others known for heated in-ring rivalries.

The swatch cards, featuring swatches of superstars attire, come in both the "Superstar Swatch" set and the "Superstar Super Swatch" set, the latter of which features an extra large swatch.

Also up for grabs are "Superstar Signature Swatch" cards, which seem to be included via redemption card insertion. Included in this set is "The Game" himself, Triple H, who has not been included in an autograph subset in many years.

For those of you like me, it's the basic cards which are the most fun to collect. Simple, basic, shots of all of your favorites. While the WWE Legends cards, the final 32 cards in the basic set, includes an amazing array of the best of WWE's past, it's the inclusion of the original 8 NXT Rookies that had me truly pleased. Great studio shots cropped with the NXT logo and a yellow sidebar make these cards a fun extra.

For those collectors who like to get the cards signed themselves, photo-wise this is a great set. One drawback is the high gloss on all cards aside from the "ToppsTown" subset. While the gloss has become somewhat of an industry standard, it was nice to have the four WWE Heritage sets for ease of autograph purposes.

All in the all, the set is beautiful and well produced. New ideas for subsets are always welcome, and many show up here. With the parallels, autographs, and swatches, there's truly something for everyone.

Each pack contains 7 cards. I have yet to open a pack that did not include at least a blue parallel card. Blaster Boxes, 10 packs and an additional relic card featuring a piece of the mat from the 2010 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, are available at most retailers. Hobby boxes featuring 24 packs are available at many card shops. The hobby box that I opened included one swatch card and one autograph card.

Special thanks to Chris Holmes!

There are two types of wrestling fans...

...Demolition fans or Road Warrior fans. Personally, I've long been a Demolition guy, but I have to admit this is quite the cool piece.

This is the original NWA Road Warriors bandana put out by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988. Some would argue that the lack of merchandising is part of what helped to put JCP out of business. The truth is, there were very few products offered by the promotion, therefore what is out there is coveted by collectors.

In addition to various programs and videotapes, some of which have been shown in previous entries of this blog, t-shirts, bandanas, and pennants of the promotions shows and stars were among the few items produced.

WHAT A RUSH!