IMPACT Wrestling star Brian Myers looking forward to signing autographs, adding to collection at The National

IMPACT Wrestling star Brian Myers will make his debut signing autographs at the 43rd annual National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago.

He is one of 18 IMPACT Wrestling stars appearing in the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion on Friday and Saturday of the Super Bowl of sports memorabilia.

Myers likely will be at The National on other days of the five-day convention, too, but that will be Myers The Collector, the diehard, longtime, incredibly knowledgeable hobbyist.

COUNTDOWN TO THE NATIONAL: NSCC to feature record number of autograph signers, big names 

“I’m hyped. It’s been a dream of mine to go [to The National],” Myers said. “Just going to The National is something I’ve always wanted to do. I can’t wait to look at the merch, wheel-and-deal.

“I’ve been fortunate through my [pro] wrestling career to meet people like Matthew McConaughey, but that’s really no big deal. But getting to see the sports stars at The National is so exciting.”

Tops on Myers’ list of National signers: Chipper Jones and Wade Boggs.

Myers is a diehard New York Mets fan and knows the anguish Jones caused Mets fans. Jones was the wrestling heel to Mets diehards like Myers. Boggs, meanwhile, is a longtime wrestling fan who has attended numerous wrestling shows over the years, mostly in the Tampa Bay area, and was close friends with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, among other mat legends.

“I gotta make a big boy purchase at The National, just to say I did,” Myers said, laughing.

What’s he going to buy?

Myers is open-minded. In fact, he said it may be something spontaneous that catches his eye. He definitely wants photos with some of the signers at The National.

He doesn’t want more regrets for not getting a picture, such as the time in California when he talked with wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who he had met 10-plus times previously. Myers didn’t get a picture with Piper that night and the famed “Hot Rod” passed away a few weeks later.

“I’ve led a very blessed life and have gotten to meet a lot of heroes, so now, getting a photo with the guy is almost more important than getting an autograph for me,” said Myers, 38, a New York resident who has been wrestling professionally since 2004, including more than 10 years as Curt Hawkins for WWE, and since July 2020 for IMPACT, which airs every Thursday night on AXS TV.

Also See: The National autograph schedule 

Myers is a lifelong collector and treasures the past with a childhood friend. He collects all sports cards except hockey and is meticulous in his collection. His man cave is eye-popping, but also serves as his office, where he hosts the wildly successful Major Wrestling Figure Podcast along with friend, fellow wrestler and tag-team partner Matt Cardona.

Myers collection starts with certified New York Mets autograph cards, a list of which he has stored alphabetically on his cellphone “so I know at all times what I have, what I don’t have,” he said. His tally now stands at about 175 different cards, plus some doubles. He has some really low numbered stuff, including a Johan Santana autograph card with a swatch.

“There’s only one Carlos Beltran certified auto that I’ve ever seen for whatever reason in a Mets uniform. It’s been on eBay for years for an astronomical price, which I’m not willing to pay, but I do want it,” he said. “Same for a Willie Mays certified auto in a Mets uniform. He’s a legend, a Hall of Famer who I really want, but it [carries] an astronomical price.”

Next up for Myers: PSA-graded baseball cards, a collection that seemingly has no rules on who he pursues. Chipper Jones was a favorite of Myers as a youngster, so he definitely has Jones PSA cards, including some of his prized 1991 rookie cards. Others in this mix include current and former players who he likes or knows.

Then there’s Myers’ beloved New York Jets, a card collection that includes slabs, certified autographs, and anything that intrigues him. That is a newer collection, not as extensive as his Mets collection, he said.

“When I was a kid, one of my first favorite athletes was Boomer Esiason. I thought the Bengals uniforms were so cool looking; his name was Boomer and he was the quarterback … then he became a Jet,” Myers said. “Same sort of thing happened with Mike Piazza, who was my favorite player. He looked like a pro wrestler, a true rock star; he was just so cool … and then became a Met.”

Myers owns a low-numbered Esiason/Jets certified autograph card, “which is probably my favorite due to the sentimental side.”

Also See: Downturn in market has collectors looking for deals at The National 

Myers is in pursuit of a LaDainian Tomlinson certified autograph. Tomlinson, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and star for the San Diego Chargers from 2001-2009, was a star rusher at TCU who became the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. His pro career was legendary, including five Pro Bowls, the 2006 NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, league MVP and Walter Payton Man of the Year.

Myers wants to add Tomlinson collectibles, particularly for his final NFL season playing for the Jets.

His most recent collecting passion is basketball cards and he admits, “I got really, really, really into basketball cards, very seriously.”

His basketball collection is all over the place, including players who he views as very investable, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I feel he is going to be a future Hall of Famer,” Myers said. “Damian Lillard is my favorite player, so I collect him. Same for Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, a team I liked growing up.”

His all-time favorite basketball player is Reggie Miller, who seemingly brought a pro wrestling approach to the court.

“He was the biggest heel ever and so good at being a bad guy. That’s sort of the way I feel about Tom Brady. Still, you have to appreciate their talent,” said Myers, who recently scored a low-numbered Miller autograph which, during this interview, was at PSA being graded.

Myers is willing to spend $1 or thousands for his card collection. The personal tie to many, though, is priceless. Such as players he liked as a youngster.

Enter Joe McEwing — a .251 lifetime hitter who could play any position for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros.

Myers recalls McEwing’s run with the Mets from 2000-2004.

“He really inspired me, the way he played so hard. He was willing to play any position just to be on the field; I always thought that was cool,” Myers said.

McEwing now coaches for the Cardinals but spent the previous 10 years on the Chicago White Sox bench, which is where he befriended Dale Torborg, the son of former major leaguer Jeff Torborg and a strength and conditioning coach in the White Sox organization. Dale also had a stint as a pro wrestler.

Torborg arranged for a FaceTime call between McEwing and Myers, and the two are still friends.

“His autograph is probably [worth] $10, but it’s priceless to me,” Myers said.

COUNTDOWN TO THE NATIONAL: Show manager John Broggi guided NSCC to record crowds, big events 

Of course, Myers’ wrestling collection is as strong as Hulk Hogan’s fabled 24-inch pythons. It’s a collection that is all over the place, especially with his FOMO (fear of missing out), so he grabs everything and doesn’t get rid of anything. It includes:

• Action Figures: “Insane [number], too many figures to even list.”

• On display: one of every LJN WWF Figure, mint and loose.

• One of every Hasbro WWE Figure, mint and loose. Rings, too.

• A shelf in his man cave for just his personal action figures, along with friends in the business who are important to him.

• Major Bendies, the toy line launched last year through the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast.

• An ECW section, with all former ECW figures ever made. Autographed.

• WCW figures, including Toy Biz and more.

• The WrestleMania VI poster from the WWF showcase event held April 1, 1990 at the SkyDome in Toronto, the first WrestleMania held outside of the U.S. It also was the first wrestling event Myers remembers watching. “That event was very important to me; it brings back so many good memories,” he said.

• A storage unit for the overflow of memorabilia from his man cave.

“Wrestling collectibles are at an all-time high, which came out of the pandemic,” Myers said. “We launched the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast during the summer of 2018, and it was doing well. When the pandemic hit, we thought the first thing to happen was, people would stop buying unnecessary items, such as collectibles. Instead, [the hobby] went the opposite direction.”

Also during the pandemic, Myers jumped into the world of box breaking, sometimes as a collector, sometimes as the breakee. Always as a collecting fan. For instance, he was on a Whatnot break and someone hit a $10,000 Luka Doncic autographed card.

“I didn’t get it, but it still fired me up,” Myers said.

IMPACT Wrestling has released trading cards over the past couple years. The all-time most popular wrestlers on the collectibles front are the legends, Myers said, including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, among others. Thousands of wrestling fans attended the 2021 National in Chicago to see Hogan and Flair.

“Wrestling cards are doing well. Maybe not through the roof, as they were, but it definitely is a healthy market, and collectors now have an appreciation for it,” he said. “For instance, those 1982 Wrestling All Stars series cards have all gone up in value, and things like that.

“The wrestling card market is going to keep thriving, as long as the products are good.”

Also See:Iconic Hulk Hogan boots up for bid at Goldin 

On the wrestling autograph front, Myers said the most sought-after signatures are late WWE legends “Macho Man” Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior. Myers said current star Cody Rhodes also is in high demand.

During a box break Myers hosted during the pandemic, there was a 1/1 cut autograph of Savage.

“I had to mail it to the guy who won it, which was rough. It was fun, very exciting, live on Facebook,” Myers said.

Other past wrestlers who are in demand on the autograph front, according to Myers: Andre The Giant, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig and Kerry Von Erich, particularly with his “Texas Tornado” inscription.

Myers’ collection of Hasbro figures of past WWF stars, many of whom have passed away, continues to grow.

“This is a collection I’ll probably be doing my whole life because there are some I’ve never even seen [signed], such as Kerry Von Erich, Andre, Ludvig Borga, Giant Gonzalez and others. There are some tough ones.”

COUNTDOWN TO THE NATIONAL: NSCC show schedule, events 

Pro wrestling memorabilia remains strong, especially match-worn or match-used relics. After all, there are TV shows on the subject and stores across the country with just wrestling memorabilia.

Myers’ collection includes a lot of original ECW memorabilia and stuff from his career.

If he has an action figure in certain gear, he will keep that gear.

Myers said the wrestling action-figure market has never been bigger or stronger.

“We call it the golden era,” he said. “People are making every possible figure. Whatever you’re into, there’s someone doing something for you. There are so many companies [making wrestling action figures]. I never envisioned it would be this crazy.”

Heck, Myers and Cardona host the industry’s foremost podcast on wrestling action figures — with fans from around the world supporting their podcast.

“Starting the podcast was one of the best things I ever did in my life,” Myers said.

Ironically, the podcast almost never happened.

“Matt kept asking to do it, I didn’t want to, mostly because there were so many [wrestling podcasts],” Myers said.

Cardona pushed the topic for months, maybe a year. After all, they would talk about the topic on car rides, so they figured they might as well record it and see what happens.

The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast launched in August 2018. Today, it is “beyond both of our wildest dreams,” Myers said.

They record new content every Monday, which drops on Friday. They also have a Patreon site for diehard fans and collectors.

And the two also host live shows four or five times annually.

“We’ve made it OK for people to say, ‘I like wrestling action figures,’” Myers said. “We started in WWE at [age] 21 and the last thing we were going to do was tell one of the [veterans] that we just found your figure at Walmart. It was our deepest, darkest secret,” Myers said. “Through our podcast, we were and are totally honest about collecting and figures, even if it was critical of the paint on a figure. When others heard and saw that we were OK with action figures, then they too were OK with figures.

“‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ [movie] is almost 20 years old. It was a very successful movie, based on a virgin who collected toys. Today, that concept wouldn’t even work. No one now would think he was a nerd.”

Myers is a willing autograph signer by mail, but only those sent to his East Coast wrestling school. He’s willing to sign those autograph requests because Myers was one who, as a youngster, wrote to athletes for their autographs.

Myers’ wish list at The National definitely includes the signed Mays card and a Reggie Miller rookie in a PSA 10.

“It’s hard to find. I had a raw one and I thought it was beautiful, yet it came back [graded] a 7,” Myers said.

Myers also plans to participate in a break at The National.

Must See: Big Rubber Guys from the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, paying homage to 1980s wrestling action figures. “These are going to be a big, big hit,” Myers said.

Myers will be joined at The National by such IMPACT stars as Tommy Dreamer, Santino Marella, Gail Kim, Frankie Kazarian and reigning IMPACT World Champion Alex Shelley, plus his longtime tag-team partner and X-Division champion Chris Sabin.