Collectibles On SI

2024 National Treasures WWE Is Not What Some Collectors Expected

The first and only edition of National Treasures WWE may not leave some collectors with a good impression of the Panini Era of wrestling cards.

Mike Sommer

Apr 7, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes during Wrestlemania XL Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Apr 7, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes during Wrestlemania XL Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Panini’s run at producing WWE cards is coming to a close.  The company is in the midst of releasing what are believed to be the final four products of the license.  That means there are only limited opportunities to put their inventory of sticker autographs and WWE relics to use.

National Treasures is a product with a long and storied history in the Panini portfolio and it typically produces some of the most sought after basketball and football cards each year.  On card autographs and big, chunky, game used relic cards are what collectors are used to seeing from NT in other sports, but after seeing the initial First Off the Line breaks of the WWE version of the product, it doesn’t look like that is what wrestling card collectors will be getting. 

These breaks are showing a product that looks pretty nice from a design perspective, but the autographs are all stickers and the relics I have seen all carry the disclaimer that “The enclosed authentic memorabilia is not from any specific match or event.”  That means the wrestler pictured may have never seen, touched, or used that material. Some items may have been wrestler used, but we have limited ability to confirm.

This is not entirely unexpected.  Several passionate collectors with years of experience in the hobby have seen this story play out in the past when other licenses have changed hands.  This was piece of information Wrestling Card Expert Adam Gellman shared with me as we discussed the end of the Panini Era of WWE in a recent episode of the WaxPackHero Sports Card minute.  You can learn more from Adam via his free Main Even Wrestling Cards Patreon page.

Based on initial feedback from collectors, it seems opinions come down to expectations.  Collectors who bought into these breaks expecting the type of National Treasures products we see in other sports have been disappointed in what they are getting for the cost, and collectors who expected sticker autos and unidentified relics are happy with the design and cards they are getting.

The full hobby release has been delayed without explanation which will create an interesting window of time between all these First Off The Line breaks happening now and the hobby version releasing at some point in the coming weeks.  I will be looking to see how collector sentiment from the FOTL cases influences the market price for the ultimate hobby release.

Published |Modified
Mike Sommer
MIKE SOMMER

Mike Sommer is a lifelong collector who has a passion for teaching others how to have a self-sustaining hobby. You can find more from him at WaxPackHero.com, Hobby News Daily, and on the WaxPackHero Sports Card Minute podcast.

Home/News