MultimediaMania

As the world gears up for WrestleMania XXXIV (we still use the Roman numerals around these parts), it feels like time again to look at the memorabilia of the big event. Instead of keepsakes sold to promote the show or at the event itself, these are items from after the fact. These are the vessels in which fans can take the show home themselves and treasure for a lifetime. These are the pieces of  physical media on which WrestleMania can be played over and over again. It's the entire WrestleMania event that you can hold in your hands.

If I had to bet, I would say that WWF WrestleMania hit more VHS tapes in Pittsburgh before anywhere else. Why? After the closed-circuit feed of the inaugural WrestleMania failed at the Pittsbugh Civic Arena (nearly causing a riot in the process), the WWF presented much of the show on the city's ABC affiliate WTAE around a week later. Surely many Steel City fans pushed the record button on their VCRs to capitalize on this momentous event. Vince McMahon's introduction for this broadcast, done from the set of TNT, recently surfaced on YouTube. A few more weeks would pass before Coliseum Video released the official VHS of the event, which also found its way to Laserdisc as one of four WWF offerings in that form of media. The Laserdisc, the size of a vinyl record, presents the famous Hulk Hogan and Mr. T cover art in a way that the smaller VHS couldn't.

Coliseum Video would continue to present the shows, albeit with some edits, on VHS through 1997. One show that saw few edits but featured a lot of added content on the Coliseum Video release was WrestleMania IV. The show was released as a double VHS set, but the box itself was not to be outdone. Housing these two tapes was a package which opened up into a cardboard "pop-up" of The Hulkster himself. Even thirty years later, few fans would be able to resist just how cool this addition was. The Coliseum Video exclusive interviews and features on this set also truly add to the shows and give it an even more epic feel.

1998 saw WWF Home Video take over for Coliseum Video, and the first thirteen WrestleMania events were re-released in a box set under the new label. The set featured dubs taken straight from the original pay-per-view broadcasts, often with portions of intermissions and merchandise commercials that had been long eliminated from home video versions. While the picture quality suffered in this release, there are zero music edits. Yes, even "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," "Easy Lover," and other unlicensed numbers are all there. I'm still unsure how they got away with that one, but I've always been proud to own the set.

In 1999, the WWF released its first DVD in the form of WrestleMania XV. A few years later came a DVD anthology that was released several ways. These sets were very disappointing thanks to intense, and often unnecessary, music edits as well as blurred WWF logos and a very bland packaging design. They are not unwatchable, but I largely ignored them for years, instead favoring homemade DVD transfers of the 1998 VHS anthology. A limited edition version with a leather outer box signed by Vince McMahon was just about the only decent variation on this otherwise bleak release.

WWE continues to release its biggest annual event on DVD and Blu-Ray. While physical media was supposed to be dead by this point in the digital age, it continues on. There will always be fans like me who enjoy having a tangible item in their hands. Is it any wonder that vinyl records have made a comeback? How about WrestleMania back on Laserdisc? Stranger things have happened...

The WWE Network's Impact On Collecting

$9.99 a month.  It's the deal that has every wrestling fan talking, and for very good reason.  Viewing every WWE pay-per-view event live, an action that once cost hundreds of dollars per year, will now cost just $120 per year.  It's the WWE Network.  It's the first "groundbreaking announcement" in professional wrestling history that actually lived up to the hype.  But while the press conference that announced it answered many questions about the long-delayed WWE outlet, it opened up many more.  Many of those will be answered upon launch in a few weeks, but today we'll be tackling one that may take sometime to get a firm answer to.

There's a large portion of wrestling fans that do not collect much memorabilia.  They aren't interested in action figures, trading cards, magazines, programs, or promotional photos.  They could care less about obtaining an autograph or even snagging a photo with their favorite star.  Their sole monetary investment into the world of wrestling is collecting footage.  From the mid-1970's until about fifteen years ago, tape trading was a huge deal.  Since the turn of the century, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs have crept into the wrestling collector conscious.  Some fans collect each and every pay-per-view release.  Others go for everything that WWE Home Video puts out.  Others enjoy their pretty blue encased lineup of Blu-Rays.

With the announcement of the WWE Network, a streaming service based upon not only new productions but thousands upon thousands of hours of archived footage, DVD and Blu-Ray collectors have been pondering one thing: just what happens to the world of tangible wrestling media?  Now owning the majority of historical wrestling film libraries, WWE is the proprietor of professional wrestling past and present.  In addition to each and every live pay-per-view being presented to subscribers, WWE claims that every WWE, WCW, and ECW past pay-per-view event will be available, on-demand, on the launch date.

There will obviously be exceptions to this statement, but it is a pretty amazing thought that all of this will be available at any subscribing fan's fingertips on a whim.  New content will be added regularly, and many fans are expecting this to be non-pay-per-view supercards, old wrestling television broadcasts, and so much more from a variety of areas, eras, and promotions.  So how exactly will this impact collectors?  I can only give my own take.

Many have already given the nickname of "WWEFlix" to the WWE Network.  It's fitting, as the business model is close to that of Netflix.  Did Netflix kill the DVD and Blu-Ray market?  Absolutely not.  It certainly cut into the business of tangible media, but it has nowhere near killed it.  Many of those that have kept the DVD and Blu-Ray business alive are collectors who are, with all respect given, anal about their collections.  Wrestling collectors certainly resemble that remark in the best possible meaning.  These collectors are perfectly able to enjoy a streaming and/or digital version of the content of their choice, but they want something more.

There's something about holding the packaging, seeing the cover art, and even unwrapping the shrink wrap that is part of the complete experience.  It's a feeling that vinyl record collectors have talked about for years.  You cannot physically hold streaming content, nor can you sit back and look at it on your shelf.  It's along the same lines of the reason that VHS videos remain collectible in the digital age.  Physical media has taken many hits over the years and will continue to do so, but it will never die.

There is also the unavoidable fact that when content is strictly streaming, it can be taken from you at anytime.  Perhaps WWE will feel that having every pay-per-view available is just TOO good of a deal after awhile.  Even Netflix is a revolving door and eliminates content at times.  What if you're in the mood to watch SummerSlam 2002 or Survivor Series 1987 and suddenly they're gone from the Network?  You pop in the DVD, of course.  There's also no guarantee that the price will not rise in a few years.  While I have my doubts that it will ever raise beyond being a sizable deal, there are many personal scenarios that could leave a fan without access for a period of time.

WWE has not released any info regarding future DVD and Blu-Ray releases being affected by the advent of the Network.  There's also absolutely no reason to believe that they cannot co-exist.  Though past WWE Home Video releases such as documentaries and compilations are going to be available on the Network, it is unknown at this time just how fast future additions in that area will show up there.  New pay-per-view events have already been announced as being available directly after.

I've already made my decision.  I, like thousands of others, absolutely cannot pass up the deal that will be offered by WWE with the upcoming Network.  That being said, I only see my tangible wrestling media content continue to grow at the same rate as it has in the past.  I cannot unwrap and hold streaming content, nor can I have it autographed.  Having so many past events available to stream at any time will be great, but if I want to hear original music and other licensed content, I can even go back to VHS on occasion.  The wrestling world is huge, and there is a place for Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS, Laserdisc, 35mm, 8mm, and even the WWE Network.

Wrestling MarketWatch: USA! USA! USA!

American patriotism is a gimmick that has stood the test of time in the wrestling world like no other.  Put Hacksaw Jim Duggan into a wrestling ring in the year 2012 and suddenly it's 1988 again.  What gets your blood pumping more than the patriot battling the evil foreigner with flags waving and the security of the nation hanging in the balance?  It doesn't get more basic, yet engrossing, than that when it comes to losing yourself in a pro wrestling match.

I've said it before..."Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, & Wrestling."  Wrestlers such as Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan and events like SummerSlam and The Great American Bash can take a normal summer wrestling card and turn it into a patriotic spectacular.  It's no mistake that memories of those stars and shows often stand out proudly in the minds of many a wrestling fan from the '80s and '90s.

In this latest edition of MarketWatch, we'll take a look at some items that were derived from these icons of wrestling Americana and examine what they've recently sold for on the secondary market.  Put down the sparkler, take a sip of Diet Pepsi, and remember what wrestling, in many minds, is truly all about.  Although some examples shown are autographed, the prices noted were for unsigned items.

*Even with all the patriots in wrestling, there's only one Real American Hero--Sgt. Slaughter!  His involvement in Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise cemented him as an icon of the 1980's.  Although Hasbro produced dozens of Slaughter figures over the years, his 1992 figure was the only one done for the WWF license.  All of the other Hasbro-produced Slaughter's, including the 8-inch figure often included with the LJN line, were made for G.I. Joe.  The figure is actually not in a wrestling outfit at all, but rather garb that he wore in promotional photos and a vignette or two.  For twenty years that's been quite alright with wrestling fans.  The figure is beloved for an incredible facial sculpt and "Sgt.'s Salute" action.  The figure has recently been selling for between $30 and $60 as has his tag team partner, the 1991 Hasbro WWF Hacksaw Jim Duggan.  The Sarge was not only the first wrestler that I ever had the pleasure of meeting, but Slaughter and Duggan were the first "good guy" tag team that I ever saw wrestle live.

*Like Slaughter and Duggan, SummerSlam holds personal memories for me as well.  The 1995 edition was the first pay-per-view event that I attended live.  It was two years earlier in 1993 that the event was patriotism at full-tilt.  SummerSlam 1993 saw "The Narcissist" Lex Luger go "All-American" in his "Call To Action" campaign against then-WWF Champion Yokozuna.  Even if the event fell a bit flat up against the amazing build, it's still a fun time to look back on.  The program for the event, featuring a photo of Luger still in his Narcissist days, recently sold for $30.  All WWF pay-per-view programs have seemingly been on a monetary upswing, but true collectors know that they have always been items to treasure.

*SummerSlam, as big as it has become, was the not the first patriotic wrestling spectacular.  That honor would go to The Great American Bash.  From tour to NWA, WCW, and WWE pay-per-view event to being celebrated as an episode of Smackdown, the Bash remains a staple in many fans summer wrestling diet.  In 1991 this particular meal was regurgitated.  WCW was in shambles as bad management and the departure of Ric Flair ripped the company apart.  The event was a disaster from top to bottom with chants of "We Want Flair!" echoing throughout the Baltimore Arena and a makeshift championship belt used in lieu of the "Big Gold" belt which had left WCW with Flair.  Despite the mess, the Turner Home Video VHS release of the event was always one of the higher valued tapes.  Selling recently for just $40, maybe fans have finally gotten their fill of the Bash that was more of a gash...in WCW history, that is.

*WCW would go on to recover, and in a few short years a "Real American" would enter the company.  That would be, as if it needed to be said, Hulk Hogan.  While patriotism is included in any number of "Hulkster" products, my favorite Hogan action figure of them all simply screams, "USA!"  This would be the Jakks WWE Classic Superstars "Real American" Hulk Hogan figure.  This figure was only available through a ticket redemption program.  Replica WrestleMania tickets were included with various other Classic Superstars figures.  When a full set was obtained they could be redeemed, via mail, for this amazing figure.  Hulk is clad in his white "American Made" shirt, "Hulkamania" bandanna, and blue workout pants.  Also included were his workout belt and alternate "Hulk Machine" gear from his 1986 appearances as part of The Machines tag team.  Secondary market value of the figure has differed greatly since it was first available.  Most recently the "Real American" sold for $75.  In my opinion, value will only go up as more and more collectors decide that this is one they want to keep.

*Speaking of Hulk Hogan, there is one item that may not have too much to do with patriotism but absolutely needs to end this entry.  At long last, WWE has released the 1989 movie "No Holds Barred" on DVD and Blu-Ray.  Panned by some and enjoyed by many, the movie starred Hogan and Tiny "Zeus" Lister and was produced by Vince McMahon.  The movie did not do as well at the box office as was hoped which probably led to having relatively few merchandise tie-ins.  Although Zeus did get a figure in the Jakks WWE Classic Superstars line, it was probably more due to his brief wrestling career than the movie itself.  One item that is still available on the secondary market is the No Holds Barred program magazine.  Including full-sized posters and a ton of film hype, the program has recently sold for just $20.  A bargain price for a nice item that certainly isn't a piece of...dookie.

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.

Wrestling MarketWatch: January Joys

Happy New Year! Thank you for all the great support in 2010 and I hope that you are all entertained and enlightened by everything we'll have for you in 2011.

It seems that many of you are enjoying the memorabilia countdown of the WWE's list of "Top 50 Superstars of All Time" over on our Facebook page. It also seems that more and more of you have been inquiring about values of items. While it's hard to pinpoint exact prices for items, a keen eye on eBay can give a rough estimate.

That's where our "Wrestling MarketWatch" series of entries comes into play. A mixture of items, usually with a common theme, are highlighted based on their recent eBay performance. For the first MarketWatch of the new year, we'll start with collectibles based around the month of January.

*We'll start by going back a full 56 years! Lasting well into the 1980s, Wrestling World magazine more often than not seemed to highlight great action photos on their covers. The January 1955 issue features a wrestler whose son became a cult figure in his own right. Mike Sharpe, father of '80s WWF favorite "Iron" Mike Sharpe, is featured in glorious black and white applying his "Mugger" hold. Inside such vintage stars as Buddy Rogers, Verne Gagne, Johnny Valentine, and June Byers are featured. This issue just sold for a whopping $69.00 at auction, proving that the cover need not always feature the biggest stars in order to be sought after.

*Fast forwarding to the month of January from 1988 to present, the Royal Rumble is usually considered the starting point for the "Road to WrestleMania." Developed by Pat Patterson and using a modified battle royal concept, the Royal Rumble is the favorite wrestling event of the year for many fans. With many collectibles derived from the event, I'm certain that this is not the last time you'll see the Rumble highlighted in this blog. Today we'll be focusing on recorded memories of the event itself. In 2007 the WWE released a complete anthology of the event from 1988 to 2007. Handsomely packaged in a sturdy white "clam shell" box, the DVDs are accompanied by four 5x7 numbered cards of Royal Rumble moments from over the years. It should be noted that the music rights issue which horribly plagued the WrestleMania DVD anthology is much less annoying with this set. It seems that the WWE figured out that they own the rights to many more themes than originally thought. The set, which originally retailed for as much as $200, recently sold for $112.50 at auction. Quite a buy for twenty full-length events! If you're simply looking for the 1992 Royal Rumble match itself, look no further than the just-released WWE Bobby "The Brain" Heenan DVD set. Due to the amazing commentating job by Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon, the match is included in all of its glory.

*Is $112.50 just not an amount you want to spend on something a mere four years old? How about twenty-two years old? A brand new and sealed vhs video of the 1989 Royal Rumble recently sold for the exact same price as the complete 88-02 anthology shown above. A sealed copy of the 1995 event sold for $36.00. While these prices were common for Coliseum Video versions of WWF pay-per-views a few years ago, examples now MUST be new and sealed for prices to reach these levels.

*And how is our old friend Sheamus doing? While both of his figures continue to become more common on the shelves, one particular variant is still keeping numbers high. The second Sheamus was released in the Mattel Royal Rumble Heritage Series as was shown in our review. "Chase" versions, limited to 1,000 each, of all figures in this series come packaged with a Royal Rumble folding chair. While prices may drop for these figures as the "1 of 1,000" belt Mattel figures did, for now the Sheamus with the chair is selling for around $25 at auction. Fella!

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