Wrestling MarketWatch: WWF Hall of Fame 2021

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.

Wrestling MarketWatch: WrestleMania Rarities

It's that time of year. WrestleMania season. You can practically hear the classic 'Mania song in your head. Well, maybe not that so much anymore. It doesn't quite have the same excitement for me anyway, but that's no reason not to celebrate the past. Isn't that what we've always done here on this blog? And on MarketWatch, we've always taken a look at a handful of items and their most recent selling prices at auction. This time we're looking at some of the more uncommon items celebrating "The Greatest Sports Entertainment Extravaganza of All-Time!"

*March 31, 1985. New York, New York. Madison Square Garden. It's where it all started. Hulk Hogan. Rowdy Roddy Piper. Mr. T. Andre the Giant. Muhammad Ali. Cyndi Lauper. Liberace! The stars were out for WrestleMania and it's no surprise that fans wanted to watch the event again and again. While the classic Coliseum Video clamshell VHS video is well-remembered, seen a bit less is the Laserdisc release. A total of four WWF Laserdisc releases were done by Coliseum Video, with WrestleMania arguably being the most visibly striking of the entries. The classic Hogan-T poster art will never be forgotten. An example recently sold for $45.

*Another star who appeared at the first WrestleMania was Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. The legendary manager and broadcaster actually made an impact at the first nine WrestleMania events not to mention some cameos at later installments. In the build-up to WrestleMania VIII, Heenan began referring to himself as "Indiana's Favorite Bobby" in reference to legendary Indiana Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight. A pinback button was produced and given out to promote Heenan's appearance on radio station "The Fox 103.3" leading up to the 1992 installment of WrestleMania. This rarely seen item recently sold for $25.

*Many collectors love to snap up the WrestleMania programs, but some are a lot easier to find than others. Although it was technically WrestleMania XVI, the event in 2000 was aptly named "WrestleMania 2000." There was "A McMahon In Every Corner" and all four appear on the cover along with The Rock, Triple H, The Big Show, and Mick Foley. Needless to say with it's inclusion here, this is not one of the easier WrestleMania programs to come by. A recent example sold for $169.99 which is down from the $250 that I personally sold one for over a decade ago.

*Speaking of The Rock, his most recent WrestleMania matches have seen him pitted against John Cena. While their second battle is near and dear to me due to the fact that I was there, their first clash has meaning to me as well seeing as my predictions on the bout were included in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated issue previewing the match. That encounter also saw a special "Rumblers" two-pack produced by Mattel. Rumblers were small, cartoonish looking figures that were a big hit with collectors of all ages. The packaging for this particular set was unique, a lot of fun, and was likely a major reason for the item to recently sell at auction for $50.

*If you're looking for an affordable relic from an actual WrestleMania event just look to the skies. Well, it may be too late for that now, but you can still grab some of those great "dollars" that have fallen from the heavens (or at least the ceiling) over the years. Shane McMahon had the falling "money" gimmick as did Floyd "Money" Mayweather, but the first was back at WrestleMania 21. That year it was none other than JBL who "made it rain" during his entrance at the big event. One of those "One-Hundred Dollar" bills recently sold at auction for $25.

If you're going to collect a theme, where better to start than the biggest show of the year? It may pay to wait until after "WrestleMania Season" is over, but you can bet that there will always be classic items available with thirty-five years worth of memories to relive packed into each one.