2013 TNA Live Set Feels A Bit Like A Rerun

I've had good luck with the various TNA trading card offerings over the years.  A 1 of 1 Hulk Hogan autograph and a Sting autograph top the list of "hits" that I've pulled, so I have nothing to complain about as far as the past goes.  However, with the newest TNA product from Tristar, I feel that the overall design and feel has just been done too many times.  Are my feelings biased because of a rather unexciting series of hits in this particular box?  It's possible, but let's take a look at what the TNA Live set has to offer the masses and you just might agree.

This set is actually already about six months old.  Since I had a rather "ho hum" feeling from previews of the set, I decided to wait until boxes were reduced in price a tad until I acquired one.  Although Tristar makes no claims to it, recent boxes of their TNA product have contained a complete set amongst the packs.  TNA Live is no different, so at the very least you should be able to build the 99 card base set with the purchase of a hobby box, in addition to seven hits.  Those hits include three autograph cards (one will be a multi-autograph), one memorabilia relic, one short-print card, and two parallel cards.

As I mentioned above, I was less than thrilled with the hits in this particular box break.  To be fair, I'm also hard to please.  If there isn't a Hogan or Sting autograph in the box, I'm going to be more toward the disappointed side.  They're the autographs that everyone wants.  They're the ones that, for those who care, will bring the value in the future.  While the Bobby Roode's, Gail Kim's, and even Jeff Hardy's of the world are out scribbling thousands of signatures each weekend at TNA Live events, Hogan and Sting are not.  That isn't to say that myself and tons of other collectors are starving for Hogan and Sting autographs, but those are simply the ones that you are mainly looking to pull from a TNA box.

I'm not one to believe in internal "power plays" over merchandising, but it is rather funny that the first three cards in the base set are Hogan, Hogan, and Hogan.  Yes, the Hulkster, Brooke, and Hulk and Brooke together are cards #1, #2, and #3, respectively.  If you've read this blog before, you should automatically know that I don't have a problem with that.  I'm a fan of the Hulkster, although not necessarily in his current role, and I don't even have much of a problem with Brooke.  She may not have much business being a focal point of storylines, but she's a more believable promo than Ziggler, the Internet darling.

The whole roster, as of a few months ago, is nicely represented here.  Similar to Tristar's previous offering, TNA TENacious, the base set has a bit of an identity crisis.  Some cards are studio shots while others are action shots.  I've always been a fan of in-ring posed shots, and there are actually quite a few here.  Folks who have not seen a card release in awhile such as D'Lo Brown and Al Snow return in this set, and there are cool "group" cards for the TNA referees and Aces & Eights.  Even Tommy Dreamer makes a cameo receiving a beatdown at the ill-fated Brooke Hogan-Bully Ray wedding.

As usual, we're presented with some nice rookie cards including some Gut Check competitors.  A personal favorite of mine, Taeler Hendrix, makes her debut as do Kenny King, King Mo, Joey Ryan, and Sam Shaw.  Sam who?  I must've missed that week of Impact Wrestling.  I could forgive Tristar for giving a card to someone who totally fell below my radar, but then I noticed that Jessie Godderz has two cards in the set.  If it weren't for his brief association with a talent like Tara, I wouldn't have a clue as to his identity either. 

In addition to Gut Check, several other subsets are featured within the base set including "TNA Then & Now."  This subset features several Impact Wrestling stars pictured as children.  These cards can produce some amusing comments and actions at signings.  This time around Gail Kim and Tara's cards are sure to produce some "ooh's and aah's," but the TNA Parents Association didn't seem to dig too deep when fishing for early photos of Brooke Tessmacher, Robbie E, and Mickie James.  No "Beautiful Baby" contest winners amongst those three, folks.

Overall, I'd recommend to wait until the price drops even further on these cards.  While there are some cool rookie cards, all could be obtained individually.  Tristar is very big on autograph cards and other "hits," and that is definitely the market that they try to focus on.  They know that many are, sadly, buying the boxes just to score a big "hit" and make some money.  This has caused the company to get very complacent on the base cards.  I'm still begging for a "Heritage" style set.  Obviously they couldn't use classic designs like Topps does, but I'm sure that they could produce a very vintage looking set, without gloss, for the many fans who prefer such styles.

The next TNA series from Tristar is to be called "Glory."  This set, coming in October 2013, will feature on-card autographs.  Any Topps WWE or Tristar TNA product that has featured autographs have utilized autographed stickers that are then applied to the cards.  On-card autographs, which are obvious right on the card, are popular with collectors across the board and the set should be a hit based on these hits alone.  While they'll definitely be something to look out for, I doubt that we'll get an item quite as amusing as the TNA Live Hector Guerrero card.  Not since the 1988 Wonderama Ole Anderson "Dancing Queen" card have we had such an unintentionally (?) hilarious photo inserted into a set.  "Latino cheesecake?"

A Decade Of Wrestling In TNA's TENacious Card Set

With a decade now under their belt, I think it is safe to say that one of the areas in which TNA Wrestling has excelled is in merchandising.  Although two action figure lines have fizzled (seemingly through the fault of the manufacturers and not TNA itself), other items have been going strong for the majority of the decade of the company's existence.  Aside from a very nice series in 2004 from Pacific Trading Cards Inc., Tristar has been the company that has continually produced a quality card product under the TNA banner.

The latest series celebrates that full decade of TNA and Impact Wrestling with a fitting title--TENacious.  The Tristar company claims that this set will have the lowest number of cards produced of any of their previous TNA products.  Although slated to have a release date of 8/15/12, some hobby retailers were selling them at least a week earlier.

Breaking a hobby box of Tristar's TNA product is always a good time.  This is because most of their recent boxes have guaranteed a certain amount of "hits."  In card collecting lingo, hits are special cards that are either numbered, include a relic or autograph, or any combo of the above.  What both myself and another collector found when opening a hobby box of TENacious cards is that in the 20 packs of 6 cards we both received a complete 99 card base set.  While this is not guaranteed on the box nor is it usually the case, it's a welcome bonus that we don't have to go searching for the couple of cards that usually prevents collectors from a complete basic set in a box break.

I was immediately drawn to the actual box itself.  It's longer and thinner than the normal card hobby boxes.  With the shrink wrap still on, it honestly reminded me more of a box of chocolates than trading cards.  Like a few of the other Tristar TNA sets, even the boxes are numbered.  For the record, this box is numbered 1242 out of 1800.  Upon opening the box, on top of the 20 packs is a color-coded checklist of the 99 base cards and 20 short print cards.  Kudos to Tristar not only for including the checklist but for NOT including it in the packs where it would take the place of a regular card.

If you subscribe to our Facebook Fanpage, you've already gotten a sneak preview of the hits pulled from this box, but how about the 99 card base set?  Beginning with a card of TNA Founder Jeff Jarrett, the set is 99% current stars.  The ten year anniversary is tackled with memories from stars who have been there for much of that time as well as screengrabs of various events throughout the years. 

Although I'm a huge fan of the concept of picturing past moments such as Ken Shamrock winning the NWA championship and Jeff Jarrett attacking Hulk Hogan in Japan, the screengrabs did not work out too well.  The pictures are much too grainy and/or flushed out to produce a quality card.  There must have been a reason that they went in this direction, but it's sort of baffling when it's obvious that so much effort goes into the production of these sets.  The cards actually look a lot better when photographed than they do in person.

Tristar seems to take pride in getting "rookie" cards out quickly and has included some in this set.  Brooke Hogan, Joseph Park, Alex Silva, and Jessie Godderz all get the rookie treatment in this set, with Godderz card even including an Ohio Valley Wrestling logo emblazoned on the front.  Look for the Brooke and Park cards to be a bit more sought after than most from the basic set due to the former having crossover appeal and the latter being the best developed comedic character to come out of professional wrestling in years.

The current roster is well represented and I think I would argue that it might be represented just a bit much.  A subset of even just some of the bigger names from the past decade in TNA would've sufficed.  And as always, I must lobby for even just a subset of non-glossy cards.  As accessible as many of the TNA stars are for autographs at their shows, non-glossy cards would come in very handy for quick autographs.  Tristar has not produced a non-gloss set since their Impact '08 release.  For the second week in a row, how about it?

The reason that most collectors will purchase a hobby box isn't for the base cards, but for the hits.  As stated above, Tristar has done a fantastic job over the years with these special cards.  The back of the hobby box for TENacious lays out exactly what you may receive.  Off the top collectors are guaranteed three autograph cards which will be numbered to 100, 10, or even 1.  This particular box yielded autograph cards of Austin Aries and Kaz each numbered 6 of 10, and a dual autograph "Wedded Bliss" card of ODB and Eric Young numbered 91 of 100.  The latter is exceptionally cool and the lovely "bride" even noted on our fanpage that she doesn't even have one.

The next hits are short printed cards which can include anything from Jeff Hardy art to cards celebrating Sting's TNA Hall of Fame induction to a TNA Arrivals subset.  The Hulkamaniac in me was very pleased to receive a Hulk Hogan TNA Arrivals card numbered 28 out of 100.  The next two hits are parallel cards from the basic set stamped with a foil TNA 10 logo and numbered, again, to 100, 10, or 1.  The cards in this box were both of Knockouts, albeit one no longer in the company: an Angelina Love card numbered 6 of 30 and a card of the Killer Queen herself, Madison Rayne, numbered 8 of 10.

We finally come to the 7th hit where you again have a chance of two different card styles.  This hit is either an Impact celebrity signature card (signatures cut from other autographed celebrity items eclectically ranging from Chris Rock to Tom Arnold) or a TNA 10 event-worn clothing card.  This box held the latter, in this case being a dual shirt card from the former Dudley Boyz/Team 3D, Devon and Bully Ray.  A nice card for sure, although the celebrity cards would be more beneficial for someone trying to recoup their investment. 

What we have here is a solid set.  It could've reflected a bit more of the past decade of TNA, although I understand that they're trying to look ahead and there's nothing wrong with that.  I will state that I feel, like the recent WWE card product, that the looks are starting to blend together from set to set.  Reflexxions was a nice change, but in taking a peek at what Tristar has done with other card lines makes me hope for a more retro card look in a future set.  I won't go into another non-gloss rant, but retro is always king in this blog as it is for many collectors.

I would definitely recommend picking up a hobby box as the number of guaranteed hits is worth the retail price.  The aforementioned fact that the two first hobby boxes which I've seen broken have yielded a complete set only adds to that value.  Take a drive down to your local hobby shop and make an "Impact" on your TNA card collection, because when those 1,800 boxes are gone, they're gone!

The State of Wrestling Collecting Address--2012 Edition

"Out with the old, in with the new."

That's one statement that you'll never see promoted in these pages.  Myself, like many collectors, thrive upon the glories, and glorious memorabilia, of the past.  That being said, longtime readers will know that I frequently review new product and am always open to what's coming in the future.  I decided that it might be fun to once again take a look at what's on the horizon in wrestling collectibles. 

Although nothing like the '80s "boom" period or the Attitude Era, there is a surprisingly large amount of items on the market today.  With the "PG Era" WWE in full-force, it's no wonder that many of these items are geared towards kids.  WWE branded children's books, apparel, and even linens sit alongside merchandise from SpongeBob, Batman, and other kid-friendly properties.  While I hope that we don't see A.J. pillowcases anytime soon, the childlike characters such as Hornswoggle are very prominently featured.  With "Back-To-School" time (thankfully) coming right around the corner, expect to see WWE backpacks and stationary sets once again at retail.

Even in a somewhat milder WWE world not every item is for the youngsters.  BIC has released large lighters featuring some WWE Superstars who aren't as frequently featured on items such as Layla, The Miz, and Eve while apparel in the adult sizes seems to sell briskly.  WWE seems to finally be grasping the concept of fans wanting to have a "wrestling shirt that doesn't look like a wrestling shirt."

While some fans are insulted by the notion, it does make a lot of sense.  Although fans should be proud of their allegiance to the squared circle, wrestling apparel has often been notoriously garish.  This is, in part, due to the fact that the apparel worn by the wrestlers themselves is loud and eye-grabbing.  For a few years now TNA has seemingly understood the "apparel perils" of wrestling fans by offering t-shirts that are simultaneously stylish and fun.  The promotional t-shirt for TNA Bound For Glory 2011 is one such product.  Another innovative example is a shirt for TNA Knockout Velvet Sky which was specifically designed for men.

"Innovation" could actually be used to describe many of TNA/Impact Wrestling's products, but sadly there isn't much distribution for them outside of their own retail website.  Seeing as how the company's trading card and action figure lines frequently sell out, it may not be a bad time for TNA to explore getting more items into brick and mortar stores.  With Hulk Hogan aboard for nearly two years now, it almost seems like a no-brainer.  "Hulkamania" shirts sell no matter which company's banner they are sold under and TNA has even made a stylish new version of the red and yellow.

It's hard to believe, but there has not been a time in nearly three decades that wrestling action figures have been absent from store shelves.  In fact, I'd wager that many of you are reading this blog because of a love for them.  While Mattel continually floods today's stores with countless re-releases of Randy Orton, fans clamor for figures of new talent, both male and female, as well as legends.

Another blow to collectors was delivered this past week from Mattel.  It seems that the long-awaited Miss Elizabeth figure, slated to be released through their Mattel Collector's site, is now scheduled to be released in one of the standard "Elite" lines.  This ensures that the figure will be next to impossible to find at retail.  The previous Legends figures released through the Collectors site, while around $28 after shipping, were at least easily obtained.

This is just another blunder in what could be a great line if it were not impossible to collect thanks to issues such as these.  While some Jakks figures were harder to find than others, most "limited" figures were at least repaints and not long-awaited characters like Elizabeth.  Hopefully Mattel realizes their mistakes before it is too late.

In a more positive area, WWE Home Video has released another winner with their recent Best of WCW Clash of the Champions DVD and Blu-Ray.  Although full Clash releases would be preferred, WWE whipped up a very enjoyable collection of matches from the entire run of the Clash.  Making it even better is the fact that WWE recently had it, as well as many other DVD and Blu-Ray releases from their library, available at rock bottom prices through their website. $9.99 new release wrestling...err...sports entertainment Blu-Ray discs?  I'm there.  In a related note, it appears that the Blu-Ray release of No Holds Barred recently mentioned here has been delayed or canceled.  The DVD was in fact released, but I have a feeling that we'll be seeing this one for under $5 sooner rather than later.

With events like San Diego Comic Con as well as the holiday buying season coming sooner than anyone would want to admit, more new and exciting products will be flying onto shelves.  Will there be more cool wrestling t-shirts?  More legendary matches on DVD?  Mattel figures that aren't Randy Orton?  Time will tell.  The only thing we know at this juncture is something that we have learned after a painful lesson this past Monday night...

Even Brooke Hogan makes more sense as an authority figure than...Hornswoggle.