The Memorabilia of SummerSlam

When WWE decided to try and replicate the WrestleMania weekend experience, they chose SummerSlam as the centerpiece. While anticipation over the story lines and matches never comes close to those featured at Mania, SummerSlam has indeed been a marquee event for nearly three decades. Though the card lacks the uniqueness of the Royal Rumble, it is a perfectly positioned "summer treat" for wrestling fans. And as we know on this blog, that means goodies...

Some of my favorites revolve around the early editions of the event. The Ultimate Warrior heavily factored into the first five SummerSlam events from 1988 to 1992. In all honesty, The Warrior may have had a bigger impact at the event than his contemporary, Hulk Hogan. With his wild persona and insane look, he was a perfect fit for a "carefree" summer show. He took the Intercontinental title at the first two events and successfully defended the World Wrestling Federation championship at the third. A promotional button featuring a classic Ultimate Warrior promotional shot exists for the latter event.

Speaking of the 1990 SummerSlam event, it was at that show in which "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart donned official SummerSlam shades. The bright neon orange was a staple of the time and was a perfect accessory for the always "loud" Hart. These shades were actually a promotional item used to advertise the event in the early 1990's. These, and other items, were popular giveaways from cable companies. Yes, at one time, cable systems were locally owned companies that you could actually interact with. This is indeed how I procured my pair, thanks to a local cable outfit.

As with most large WWF events, programs were a big deal with SummerSlam. Even in the last decade, WWE has continued to produced unique publications for the event. In 2009, most of the promotional artwork for the event was made to look like a vintage wrestling poster. Both the program and the ringside chair reflected this, with a "ragged" and "worn" look given to the art, while the WWE Superstars were framed in stars, just as they may have been on a poster had SummerSlam taken place in the '60s or '70s. It was a great concept. WWE produced a special program for the 2010 event, as well.

But my favorite piece? Sentiment takes over, as usual. As I discussed in my twentieth anniversary celebration of the event, SummerSlam 1995 is near and dear to my heart. It was the first pay-per-view event that I attended live. It was held in my hometown of Pittsburgh. It was also a promised kept...in a way. Since my dad's birthday was August 31, I always promised him that I would take him to SummerSlam. While 12-year-old me didn't pay for the tickets, we did attend. Returning from a restroom break, my dad surprised me with the laminated poster of the show featuring Diesel. I treasure it to this day.

It's "The Biggest Party of the Summer!" Take in NXT TakeOver! Hop a plane or train and go to Brooklyn yourself. The "easy breezy" days of summer are about to end. Make those all important plans right now to be a part of SummerSlam! No, I'm not Mean Gene, but in all seriousness, enjoy the event, and treasure the memories! And while you're at it, you may just be at the edge of your seat...

The Marketing of March 31, 1985

Since 1985, marketing the biggest wrestling/sports entertainment show of the year has been an integral part of its success.  Sure, it's always been the wrestling promoters job to market their respective show, but there's a reason that WrestleMania has always been a cut above the rest.  It didn't become the known brand name of wrestling events without plenty of advertising, hard work, and, of course, the almighty dollar.

I've always wondered if some fans of today don't quite grasp that WrestleMania was huge from the get go.  While the crowd from the first event is perhaps more maniacal than any audience of today and the card is definitely star packed, the look of the event doesn't give a hint as to how the WrestleMania's of today are presented.  The inaugural WrestleMania has the appearance of a standard Madison Square Garden show of the day.  With the low lighting, lack of screens, and curtain entrance, it's the kind of setup that many old school fans still yearn for today.

Most wrestlers and anyone in the production and/or promotion of that 1985 event will tell you that they knew it would be something different.  Celebrities from other walks of life were in attendance both as part of the show and as fans.  The event was going out live on closed circuit television as well as through an extremely limited newer technology called pay-per-view.  Merchandise bearing the name was produced as was an elegant silver and gold logo that was classier than anything professional wrestling had seen before.  This was WrestleMania.

Part of the promotion involved a company named Bozell & Jacobs Public Relations.  This firm created a rarely seen WrestleMania item known as a press kit.  Press kits are very common in the movie industry, often including photos, press releases, and other forms of media that can be used by other media agencies to promote the event. 

The WrestleMania press kit is a handsome yet basic black covered folder that features what is likely one of the first printings of the original WrestleMania logo.  It's hard to say exactly what all was included, if it didn't vary from folder to folder.  The example shown here was found with various press releases about the event, its stars, and the history of the WWF as well as the WrestleMania program.  It is likely that several 8x10 promotional photos labeled with both the WrestleMania logo and the Bozell & Jacobs name and address were included in at least some of these kits.

The press releases include a full card rundown, a history of the World Wrestling Federation, a release dated 3/14/1985 regarding the celebrities involvement, a history of the WWF Championship to that point, and bios of several of the stars involved.  It's no surprise that the releases seem to place the outside celebrities above the wrestlers.  This PR firm as well as the WWF knew how to get the mainstream attention just as WWE does today.

The program itself is much more familiar to collectors.  Full color with shots of most of the members of the card as well as a heavy dose of Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper, the program was similar to the event it promoted: it was something that professional wrestling had never seen before.  I can still remember looking at the "lighted" card rundown that is featured both here and on the back of the Coliseum Video release.  Even the fonts were carefully chosen to make the wrestlers appear to be the biggest stars you ever will have witnessed.  The term "name in lights" has never been more appropriate.

Just as Mr. T and Lauper are prominently featured, the matches in which they were involved dominate most of the publication.  These matches were, after all, the core of the "Rock n' Wrestling" connection.  The WWF was also in a unique position to have high profile feuds that could appeal to both the male and female demographic.  As much as the country was enthralled with the on-going saga of Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and friends, fans also wanted to see just how Lauper and Wendi Richter would get their revenge on The Fabulous Moolah and her charge Leilani Kai.  The female twosomes both get ample coverage in the program, with the infamous Moolah-Kai "horror lighting" shot getting a full page.  In a random bit of trivia, the jewelry worn by Kai in the photo was actually given to her at the shoot by Lauper.

There's no doubt that the #1 wrestler in the world at the time was Hulk Hogan.  He captivated a nation and is exactly who the people wanted to see.  To paraphrase Gorilla Monsoon, "he gave the people what they wanted."  We've come close, but there will never be a bigger star to grow out of wrestling in the United States than Hogan.  Having been champion a little more than a year at the time of this publication and event, it's truly a look at The Hulkster when he was not only on top of the world, but when he owned it.

There are other WWF and WrestleMania press kits out there including examples from the past decade or so, but none capture the greatest wrestling extravaganza of all-time in its infancy like this one does.  It's artifacts like this that show exactly why in a number of days we will be celebrating the 29th edition of this great event, and why it still grows and thrives today.

It's Time To RRRRRRRumble!

Ask any longtime WWF/WWE fan what their favorite pay-per-view event of the year is.  Chances are is that it's the Royal Rumble.  Although WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series are still around, all three no longer resemble what they originated as.  WrestleMania and SummerSlam put a higher emphasis on entertainment than actual in-ring action while the Survivor Series usually only has one or two "traditional" elimination tag team matches.  The four or five-man tag matches that do make it to the show usually have little importance as far as storylines or star power.  The Rumble still thrives where the others fall short.

Always said to be the brainchild of Pat Patterson, the Royal Rumble is based upon the huge annual January battle royals held in San Francisco's Cow Palace from the early 1970's to the 1980's.  Stars from around the country would be booked for these battle royals, including the "King of Battle Royal" himself, Andre the Giant.  Patterson himself was a huge star in the territory, so it's no wonder that the Royal Rumble concept is on his long list of concepts and accomplishments in the wrestling world.

With thirty men entering the ring at random intervals and the excitement of "who's behind the curtain?" building with each entry, it's no wonder that the concept has captivated so many fans.  Reports suggest that the idea flopped in the tryout stages on a house show basis.  Once the 1988 Rumble burst upon the USA Network, those opinions quickly changed.

It's a relatively simple concept, which most good ideas in the wrestling world are.  From the most rabid member of the "WWE Universe" to the sometimes cynical and jaded fans of times past (I resemble that remark), the Royal Rumble is the one match that everyone can agree is an hour or so full of fun.  Even more fun can be had by looking at some of the great memorabilia that has come from the event.  Everyone wants to "book" their own Royal Rumble and know just who's entering the fray next.  Over the years several games and toys have enabled us to do just that.

In the past, the Royal Rumble name has been emblazoned on a number of video games, both home console and arcade.  In modern times the match itself has become a stalwart feature on the many video games produced under the WWE banner.  These latter examples have enabled Rumble fun-seekers to produce a more genuine version with as many, or sometimes more, stars as the real events have.  A pinball machine was even produced in the 1990's entitled Royal Rumble and featuring Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and other stars of the era.

Perhaps no collectible based on the annual event is better remembered than the Hasbro Royal Rumble ring toy.  The toy was the centerpiece of a line of Hasbro mini figures released as a counterpart to their larger regular action figure line.  The figures were solid plastic but could be attached to round top-like pieces.  This enabled the figures to "Rumble" when pounded with plastic plungers situated under the ring.  Due to reasons often speculated but never ultimately confirmed, the ring itself with the six "main eventer" mini figures had a very short shelf-life.  Arriving to stores very early in the 1992 Christmas buying season, the ring came and went leaving the extra figure four packs unsold for years.

Full-sized action figures have felt the Rumble as well.  Mattel has released several Royal Rumble Heritage sets featuring stars in the outfits that they wore at the event.  The second Sheamus figure, released while it was a very hot item, was in one of these series.  It was actually a decade ago when Jakks produced my favorite Rumble figures.  The six figure series was based upon the 2002 Royal Rumble and sold very well at the time.  The best of the set was one of the few figures ever made of Earl Hebner.  A great item to take along for signings at TNA events, the photo on the packaging is actually that of Earl's twin brother Dave, despite the figure being marketed as Earl.

Many of the early Rumble's had programs specific to the event.  These programs, as well as issues of the regular WWF Magazine from the time, often offer an interesting glimpse into what may have been.  Due to publication deadlines and the ever-changing world of professional wrestling, some of these publications list superstars slated to have been in specific Rumble's that never actually showed up in the match.  The most famous example of this is the 1991 Royal Rumble where Andre the Giant, The Honky Tonk Man, and Playboy Buddy Rose were originally booked for the big match.

Perhaps the oddest example of Royal Rumble merchandise is one that most fans have never even seen.  Posted to our Facebook Fanpage last year, the 1990 Royal Rumble hot chocolate packet is indeed strange even for the WWF marketing machine.  Offbeat items were often made to promote the event and distributed to cable companies and other similar establishments.  Seeing as that a 1990 Royal Rumble mug also exists, it's my own theory that since the Rumble is held in the winter, the WWF saw a perfect tie-in.  Have a mug of Rumble cocoa while enjoying the pay-per-view extravaganza.  Thankfully, the original owner of this strange collectible must have not been a hot chocolate fan (like myself), thus it still exists unused some twenty-three years later.

Giants, pinball, mini figures, and hot cocoa.  What's not to like?  The Royal Rumble has brought all of that and more to wrestling fans for a quarter of a century.  Will your favorite win this year?  If your favorite isn't John Cena, I'm thinking you're out of luck.  One never knows, though, it is the Royal Rumble...where it's every man for himself!

My Top 5 All-Time WrestleMania Collectibles

Amazingly enough, the 27th edition of WrestleMania is on the horizon. Regardless of whether or not what you wanted to be "the draw" is happening, there is still an aura around the show that does not surround any other wrestling event.

It's been deemed the World Series or Superbowl of professional wrestling. It's the one event that transcends the normal wrestling vs. real world boundaries. Created in the "Rock 'n Wrestling" era, each year WrestleMania builds upon the idea of one ultimate pop culture event surrounding a wrestling ring.

WrestleMania is also known for usually offering "something for everyone." Even the wrestling purist longing for the days of classic territorial wrestling can find a match or two on the annual card to satisfy their tastes. After all, some of the greatest matches of all-time, be it for action or sheer memorability, have been held at the first twenty-six WrestleMania events.

Hogan vs Andre. Michaels vs Undertaker. Steamboat vs Savage. Hart vs Austin. These and many other matches have set the standard for how matches should be performed and also promoted.

Shortly after becoming the best known wrestling event on the planet, WrestleMania exploded into a deluge of merchandising. Even at the very first event in 1985, fans were able to purchase attire adorned with the now-legendary classic WrestleMania logo.

That same logo, and variations from following years, has since been attached to nearly every type of collectible imaginable. It has become a true testament to the promotion of the event that the WrestleMania logo has become nearly as recognizable as the WWF/WWE brand logo itself.

In this entry I bring you my personal top five favorite WrestleMania collectibles of all-time. I chose five from my own collection that I truly feel represent the event, its stars, and the special feeling that the show has cultivated throughout the years. If your favorite WrestleMania item isn't shown here, I apologize in advance and would love you to share it in any of the various ways presented here in the past. The items are in no particular order, although stay tuned until the end for an honorable mention.

1. WrestleMania 1-13 VHS Box Set (1997)

VHS over DVD? In the case of WrestleMania it's a no contest. When the WrestleMania collection finally hit the DVD format in 2005, many of the earlier events almost didn't resemble what we saw and heard years ago. Due to rights issues much of the music had been changed in addition to the annoying blur of the WWF "scratch" logo in several events. What makes the music issue particularly troubling is that it seems WWE didn't bother to check their rights on many themes. These same themes, obviously owned by the company, were later used without fear on other vintage releases such as SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble sets.

This VHS box set is the only commercially released way to view the events as originally intended. Slated for a release in time for the 1997 Holiday gift-giving season, the WWF offered this set through their catalog. Fans who pre-ordered, expecting a big dose of WrestleMania nostalgia come Christmas, were informed via mail that the set would not be available until early in 1998. This could have been a blessing in disguise.

While the horrors of theme music changing had yet to be uncovered, fans were used to the earlier mainstream themes used in wrestling being dubbed over. Such songs as "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," "Another One Bites The Dust," "Born In The USA," "Eye of the Tiger," and "Easy Lover" were used in the inaugural WrestleMania yet dubbed over on the Coliseum Video release. For reasons unknown to this day, each and every one of these themes is included in this set. My theory is that due to the rush job needed to get the set out to awaiting fans, the music rights issues were either overlooked or ignored. The "WrestleMania Legacy" box set released later in 1998 and also including WrestleMania XIV corrects this oversight.

This set isn't without faults, as the rush job may have also caused a dip in picture quality. The tapes used are low quality and crudely dubbed on low speed complete with visible cuts during the intermissions, although the intros and returns as well as merchandise commercials are intact.

2. 2001 WrestleMania XVII Mat Card

Although trading cards fitted with pieces of memorabilia are commonplace today, in 2001 it was truly an event to pick one out. In the 2001 Fleer WWF Championship Clash card series, cards with pieces of the mat from WrestleMania X-7 (XVII) are included. This particular card features photos of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, the main event of the show, and a swatch of mat in between. Cards featuring swatches with something unique to the swatch have always garnered more interest among collectors. My particular card actually has a small spot of what appears to be blood on the left edge of the swatch.

3. WrestleMania 1-6 Press Kits

While promotional photos are among the most collectible of any type of wrestling memorabilia, little has been discussed about other promo items such as press kits. There are at least seven different WrestleMania press kits available. The ones featured here are the kits for WrestleMania I through VI. A kit for WrestleMania XIV is known to exist.

About a year ago I discussed these kits in length here on the blog. Much is still unknown about them and just exactly which items were included with each. There are WrestleMania-exclusive promotional photos that have been seen with some press kits, while others simply feature paperwork.

4. WrestleMania VI Promotional Standee

While some "workrate" mongers condemn the 1990 edition of WrestleMania, true fans of the era and its stars find it nothing short of one of the best. Bright colors and even brighter superstars combine to cap off everything that the 1980s WWF stood for and ring in the 1990s.

This is a cardboard standee about ten inches or so tall. Looking exactly as if it would've been standing in the office of a regional cable company, the item touts the pay-per-view and not the video release. Featuring great graphics and die-cutting, this standee has even been seen included with the WrestleMania VI press kit at one point at auction.

And just who was that kid staring up from ringside in the Hogan picture?

5. April 2010 WWE Magazine

In one of the coolest ideas that the WWE Magazine had in years, its April 2010 issue had twenty six different covers in honor of WrestleMania XXVI. A different superstar was featured on each cover, with some possibly getting their only cover ever in the process. Bret Hart, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre were just a few featured, proving that great WrestleMania memorabilia is far from being a thing of the past.

Honorable Mention--Floyd "Money" Mayweather Bill

We end with another item that, like the mat swatch, was part of a WrestleMania event itself. During his entrance to the ring at WrestleMania XXIV to battle The Big Show, boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. "made it rain" dollar bills. These weren't just any bills, though. These were "$20,000,000" bills. Occasionally showing up for auction from enterprising fans lucky enough to scoop a few up, these bills are sure to only become more collectible as the years go on.

I hope you enjoyed my own favorite WrestleMania mementos. If you'd like to share your own or just give some feedback, please check out our Facebook Fanpage.

From Anticipation To Memories--Fanfest Is Something You Take Home Forever

It's a shame that most of the things a person looks forward to in life are gone in a flash. The preparation and anticipation may seem to last an eternity, but once the particular happening or event has occurred, most of the time there is little more to show for it than memories.

If you read the last two entries of this blog, hopefully I was able to convey the fun and magnitude of this past weekends NWA Fanfest. Although the entries were short and could not even begin to cover everything that went on, there are plenty of articles, photos, and even videos elsewhere to get a bigger grasp of the event as a whole.

The purpose of this blog has always been to celebrate the memorabilia of the great sport we know as professional wrestling. There were many great items available to purchase at Fanfest, and there were even more brought by fans for the purpose of being autographed. Items from both of these categories are more than just regular wrestling memorabilia. Rather, these collectibles can help ensure that the memories of this and every other Fanfest can be held just as long, or longer, as the anticipation and build-up of this great event.

The following are just five examples of my collectible memories in no particular order. Hopefully these will bring more appreciation for the memories others took away from the event, and maybe even inspire other fans to start creating their own in the near future.

1) JR's BBQ Sauce

One of the biggest names on the Fanfest lineup this year was one of wrestling's greatest announcers, Jim Ross. The appearance of Ross had fans both young and old extremely excited, as JR's career has spanned through virtually three or four different wrestling eras.

Early on, it was announced that Ross would be bringing bottles of his famous sauce for purchase. Each bottle was autographed and included a ticket that entitled you to briefly meet JR on Thursday night. On Friday, Ross was on the schedule for photo ops and autographs as well as inducting Danny Hodge into the NWA Hall of Heroes.

JR delivered a touching, informative, and hilarious speech with a wit that almost rivaled that of the Hall of Heroes emcee, Jim Cornette. After the event, Ross wrote about all aspects of the event in his own blog with glowing sentiments that seemed to echo the hundreds of satisfied fans who met with the legendary announcer.

If you'd like more information on Jim Ross and his sauce, please check out www.jrsbarbq.com.

2) Danny Hodge Autographed Magazines

It makes sense that we segue from JR to the man he inducted on Friday night, Danny Hodge. While Hodge may only be known to younger fans from an appearance on Raw a few years ago, he is considered by many to be the greatest wrestler alive today. At age 79, Hodge can still crush apples with one fist. Think about that for a second. Better yet, search out the YouTube video where he demonstrates the feat.

Hodge may also be the one wrestler who has more fun at Fanfest than the fans themselves. Making his first appearance at the 2009 Fanfest, Mr. Hodge has made it known that he does not want to miss another one. The fans are in total agreement with the sporting legend.

Like a lot of the stars, Hodge enjoys seeing memorabilia from his career. While a number of lucky fans were able to present the 1957 issue of Sports Illustrated to Hodge for him to autograph, it was another magazine that I had along with the SI issue which had Hodge in awe.

In the April 1973 issue of Wrestling Revue, Danny Hodge is named Wrestler of the Year with a great cover photo of Hodge and one of his various championship belts. Hodge said that even he did not have this issue and called it a true treasure.

I think Mr. Hodge himself is the true treasure. Every Fanfest goer should have been truly honored to share a few moments with a giant of a sportsman and an even better human being.

3) Magazines & Programs

Old school collectors have been growing ever more frustrated with the selection of vintage memorabilia available at conventions over the past few years. While many of us can remember a time where there simply wasn't enough money in the budget to purchase all of the treasures available at these events, the selection in recent years has been largely confined to overproduced DVDs and clearance aisle action figures.

While Fanfest had a great many vintage items if spotted with a keen-eye, any vintage magazine or program collector had to have gone home happy. The selection was abundant with prices that were very reasonable. Vintage Pro Wrestling Illustrated issues, regional programs, and even the well-produced Fanfest programs themselves were all available to get autographed or simply take home and cherish.

4) Sting

As I've explained in other entries, at Fanfest there are two types of stars. The first group is the featured legends for which anyone with a VIP Pass is able to obtain two autographs from. The other group is the vendor guests who are brought in by outside vendors. While with most of the guests anyone is able to go up and say hello, there is a charge to take photos with or obtain autographs from these guests.

Being an autograph collector, I've been asked the same question by many non-collectors over the years: "Why would you pay for an autograph?" These stars are not being flown in for free nor are they appearing for free. It's a gig that they are paid for just like you and I would be paid for doing our jobs.

This year, one of the vendor guests was WCW legend and current TNA star Sting. Sting got his big break in the NWA, so it only makes sense that the promoters of the New Jersey "Legends of the Ring" convention would bring The Icon to Fanfest.

With the Sting "Superfan" package you were entitled to an autographed TNA promotional photo, an autograph on one of your own items, and an 8x10 photo of you with Sting that would also be autographed when printed.

Sting is a rather private individual and is not a frequent guest at signings and public appearances, so most fans knew that this would be a meeting that they could not pass up. The picture above shows the promotional photo as well as the 1990 WCW Wrestling Wrap-Up magazine from my own collection.

5) Cornette's Collectibles

Controversy doesn't even begin to describe Mr. Jim Cornette. Just like Ole Anderson, Cornette says exactly what he thinks, doesn't back down from his opinions...and is also a gem to his fans.

A few years ago, Cornette decided that he simply couldn't hold onto every single piece of memorabilia in his personal collection. A collection that, for the record, would make every other wrestling collector weep.

Cornette's collection ended up bringing tears of joy to many fans when he decided to begin selling many items at more than fair prices to collections around the globe. Fanfest has become the event where Cornette brings out some of his best items. 2010 was no exception.

DVDs, photos, and books covering Cornette and the Midnight Express were available as always, but this year the "Louisville Slugger" decided to truly open the vault and offer ring-used tennis racquets, jackets, and even neckties to the fans. Ever want a Smoky Mountain Wrestling paycheck endorsed by your favorite star? Done. How about rare WWF pay-per-view shirts? Done. Sealed vintage NWA/WCW Turner Home Videos? Done.

It's easy to see why the buzz around the vendor room was Jim and Stacy Cornette. Not only did they have the best stuff, but they're two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. I'll have another entry on Cornette's Collectibles in the very near future. For more information you can visit cornettescollectibles.com.

There you have it. Whether you attended Fanfest or wish you would've, this is again simply a small sample of everything that goes on at this great event. Next year, make your own memories and join Fanfest 2011 in Atlanta, GA.

Feel The Heat!

As I may have mentioned in my last entry, the highlight of the summer for many wrestling fans is right around the corner. SummerSlam? No. NWA Fanfest.

THIS entry, however, is indeed about that other highlight of the "wrestling summer," that being WWE SummerSlam.

As many of you know, SummerSlam began in 1988 joining WrestleMania and Survivor Series as the third addition to the WWF pay-per-view year. Since then, the event has been positioned as the #2 pay-per-view, just behind WrestleMania, as far as hype and magnitude of the matches.

While the quality of the show, like all events, has varied from year to year, the merchandise centered around SummerSlam has always been highly prized among collectors. That, as usual, is what will be highlighted here.


Being as that the first SummerSlam took place in 1988, the WWF marketing machine was already in full force. While the company was more interested in promoting its individual stars rather than its shows, the first merchandise was largely to confined to the standard fare of the time. Programs, video tapes, and t-shirts featuring Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Miss Elizabeth as well as the original, sleek, SummerSlam logo were among the offerings from the first event.

The main event of the show featured Hogan and Savage managed by Elizabeth taking on Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant. The end of the match features Elizabeth "shockingly" removing her skirt to distract the evil "Mega Bucks" team. After the victory is taken, Hogan picks up the skirt and tosses it into the audience. I'm sure that I'm not the only collector who has wondered over the years just what lucky Madison Square Garden attendee has that skirt hidden away...and hopefully not thrown away!

Slowly, SummerSlam merchandise would become more frequent and the logo would find its way onto a lot of cool items. In 1992, a European company called Merlin produced several series of SummerSlam cards featuring pictures from the '92 edition of the event that emanated from London's Wembley Stadium. Later into the '90s, a number of series of Jakks' action figures would be titled "SummerSlam" and even promotional items such as sunglasses and Slurpee Cups "felt the heat" of SummerSlam.

Programs from SummerSlam events beginning in the mid '90s are rarer due to the majority of them being available solely at the arenas themselves. The 1994 event is known to have had two programs available while SummerSlam 1995 had several items available in the Pittsburgh area. Laminated event posters and promotional cardboard standees, most of which featured the likeness of then-WWF champion Kevin "Diesel" Nash, are known to exist in collections.

WWE paid a particularly nice tribute to the event in 2008 with a DVD anthology release of the first twenty SummerSlam events. While the DVDs were available individually in four sets of five, they were first released all together in an ultra-cool package designed to look like a picnic cooler.

Just last year, WWE returned to their program "roots" with the release of a SummerSlam 2009 program. The program is similar in size and design to other company programs of the past decade, being over sized and printed on thick stock. In addition to being available at the event, the program was sold for a short time through the WWE website store.

In a "sports-entertainment" world where one pay-per-view a month is enough to overwhelm any "universe," it's nice to know that the "Big Four" are still highlighting the calendar, and devoted fans minds, each year.

Wrestling MarketWatch: Odds & Ends aka What Treasures Do YOU Have?

In the second of my series of MarketWatch entries, I shall pose the question, "What treasures do YOU have?"

There's the old adage used mostly by folks who've never sold a thing on eBay. You know the one.

"People will buy anything on eBay."

Anyone who's had any bit of experience selling on eBay knows that to be 100% false. That said, any collector with some product knowledge, research, and decent writing skills can come fairly close to living up to that nasty old fairy tale.

For collectors looking to build and build their collections for posteriety, an unknowledgeable seller is a dream come true. A mislisted auction can mean the difference between tens and hundreds of dollars. The point of this entry isn't to highlight the "deals" though, but rather to show what properly described and listed items ARE selling for. The prices that collectors are willing to pay, and thus, what the items are truly worth. As I've said in past entries, the price that a correctly listed eBay auction sells for *IS* the current market price of an item. There is no bigger salesfloor in the entire world than eBay, and almost anyone in the word who wants a particular item can go there and pay as much as they want for it.

Today's highlights are a mishmash of classic wrestling collectibles that have recently sold on eBay. Since price guides are obsolete in the year 2010, I will continue to bring you the results of closed auctions I've had my eye on to give you an idea of what your items could be worth. Maybe you have some of these items tucked away totally forgotten about...

*Starting off with a topic near and dear to my heart, autographs, a signature of the late "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich recently sold for $43. As I've said before, autographs are a hard sell. I felt this was a decent price for the autograph, which any knowledgeable collector could verify was authentic. The autograph was on a plain sheet of paper, which may have hurt the end price just a bit. It was also personalized. When it comes to autographs of the deceased, you simply can't be picky when it comes to personalizations. Kerry had a very nice "sweeping" autograph (a trait passed down to his daughter, Lacey) and he included "Texas" followed by a scribbled funnel cloud, which dates the autograph between 1990 and his death in 1993.

*A figural shampoo bottle of Hulk Hogan dating to 1986 sold for $8.50. I've seen these go for anywhere from a little bit lower than this to around $20. Several different ones were made in the "Hogan era," with the Bret Hart bottle seeming to be more popular in recent years.

*Two of the rarer WrestleMania programs, 11 & 2000, were recently sold for $52 and $42, respectively. A problem has seemingly arisen here with sellers who have the more common earlier WrestleMania programs. While most of the earlier ones can be acquired frequently for $20 or under, many sellers looking to make a quick and large buck have taken to listing these earlier publications for far more than what they are worth. While it doesn't hurt collectors, it's annoying to see these overpriced programs constantly relisted on eBay, sometimes for as much as $100.

These two programs seem to have gone for about the going rate. Infact, the WrestleMania 2000 program has gone down a bit. I myself sold one of these a little over a year ago with a starting bid of $9.99...and an ending bid of nearly $250!

*A favorite of many collectors, and for some time now a great money grabber, are the original Bret Hart shades sold directly from the WWF in the '80s and '90s. Recently, a pair that was in an auction lot along with one of the old foam WWF title belts sold for a whopping $73.

*An October 1967 issue of The Wrestler magazine featuring Buddy Rogers on the cover sold for for $19.50. Wrestling magazines, especially from that era, are some of my favorite wrestling collectibles. They're time capsules, especially from the eras when very little of the filmed footage survived. I plan to do many entries on the various titles from over the years. Luckily for collectors, very few prices have been established for the magazines and histories of many of the titles and their offshoots are foggy at best. I'm committed to changing this in the future and I'll need your help. Stay tuned!


*Finally, in another item near and dear to my heart (since it was my auction), the Legion of Doom WWF promo photo (P-055) recently sold for $21.25. It's really only been a few years since authentic promotional photos (or promos for short) have taken a high place in wrestling collectibles. This is another topic I plan to expand upon in the future.

So there you have it. But do you have these items? That's the question.

Let the spring cleaning commence!

The Greatest Wrestling Extravaganza of All Time

It's WrestleMania weekend!

That sentence doesn't have the same feeling of grandeur it once did for many fans, but no one can argue that it still is the biggest event of its kind, and the most recognized for that matter.

How did it get so big? Say what you want about him, Vince McMahon knew what he was doing. He took an oft-talked about gamble, and it paid off. But to take that gamble, he had to know he had something big. He did. He built it up to BE big. Nonstop promotion on his television programming. Television and radio spots. And print...

A lot like major motion pictures, the WWF put out press kits heralding the arrival of WrestleMania. It's unknown how many of these survived, and they're very overlooked wrestling collectibles.

Shown above are the kits from the first WrestleMania, as well as from 2, III, IV, and VI. Kits exist from V and XIV as well, and possibly more. As I said, they're overlooked AND underdiscussed. That's why I'm here.

Even with the first one, the folders that create the "shell" of these kits are glossy and printed on heavy stock. The first is put out by Bozell & Jacobs Public Relations of New York City, while the next two were put out by Wishner Communications. As the years go by, any mention of a PR and/or advertising/marketing firm are gone, and the WWF takes sole responsibility for their product. A sign of the company getting bigger and bigger.

While it would be all but impossible to 100% confirm what was included total in these kits, some include the WrestleMania program magazines (discussed in an entry of this blog last year), others include 8x10 promotional glossies, but all contain the "hand-typed" style press releases you would expect in a press kit.

To the collector who is just interested in the more visual aspects of merchandise, these kits wouldn't really fit into your collection. To those, like myself, who love the "behind the scenes" items that your average fan wouldn't have had access to, these are a total treat. Even friends of mine who are fans but not collectors were blown away by these. They tell the story of the growth of WrestleMania without the need of a book, newsletter, or historian. They show the evolution of how, at one point, a full history of the WWF Heavyweight Championship could be told on one typed page. They explain just how important closed-circuit television was to the early days of 'Mania. They ARE the history of the event which helped take a regional wrestling promotional and turn it into a worldwide, multi-million dollar empire.

Say what you want about the WWE...but this is how they grew.

Enjoy WrestleMania XXVI!

My Personal Favorite WrestleMania Item

For WrestleMania Sunday--my personal favorite WrestleMania collectible. Being that WrestleMania VI is my favorite 'Mania, it's fitting that the item depicts "The Ultimate Challenge."

This is a promotional cardboard standee. Since it touts the show being on pay-per-view rather than ticket sales, I imagine this was something that stood in cable company offices...back in the days when you could go in to your "local cable company" (an antiquated idea) and pay your bill right then and there.

I acquired a number of items from my local cable provider back then, but this actually came to me only a few years ago. It's nicely die-cut, and not very large (I positioned it infront of some carded LJNs to give an idea of the size) so it's easy to display.

I've never seen another one, although I'm sure there are more out there, and you can't help but hear Vince McMahon's voice-over open to WrestleMania VI while staring at it...