Top WWE, professional wrestling cards to collect ahead of Wrestlemania 41

Professional wrestling may not be as popular as during WWE’s Golden Era (1980-93) or the Attitude Era (1997-2002) during the Monday Night Wars, but it still attracts millions of sports and non-sports fans.

That was never more evident than in 2021, when thousands of wrestling fans packed the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. Wrestling legends Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair attracted the largest autograph crowd of the weekend, posing for photos and signing autographs for long lines of fans.

Also See: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair steal the show at The National

And while not as popular as traditional sports cards, professional wrestling cards also attract strong demand. Cards of legends like Hogan, Flair and The Rock attract five- and six-figure prices and Hogan recently set a record with his 1982 Wrestling All Stars card selling for $132,000.  

The 1982 Wrestling All Stars Series A and B sets are the most popular and valuable wrestling cards, featuring Hogan, Flair and many of the stars of the 1980s. Initially available only as separate sets through Wrestling News magazine, the top cards are rare, especially in high grades.

Also See: WrestleCade showcases biggest names in pro wrestling at autograph, memorabilia show

Topps and Fleer both produced wrestling cards in the 1990s and 2000s, and Panini and Upper Deck are both now in the grappling game.

Here’s a look at some of the top-selling wrestling cards on the market.

Highest Price: $132,000 (PSA 9)

Average Price: $8,401 (PSA 8)

Also See: Hulk Hogan wrestling boots auctioned at Goldin

Arguably the most famous and popular professional wrestler of all time, Hogan put wrestling and WWE on the map in the 1980s. Still one of the company’s biggest draws, “The Real American” headlined eight of the first nine WrestleManias. A TV and movie star in the late-80s and 1990s, Hogan still makes occasional appearances for WWE and dabbles in other a ventures, including politics. Hulkamania still runs wild, brother.

Highest Price: $126,000 (PSA 7)

Average Price: $56 (PSA 10 base)

If there is anyone who can challenge Hogan as the most popular wrestler of all time, it is The Rock, whose colorful, smack-talking persona made him one of the biggest stars of WWE’s wildly popular Attitude Era. Now one of the highest-grossing movie stars in the world, The Rock is still a top draw when he returns to the ring. Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? Wrestling fans and card collectors sure can, shelling at six figures for his top card.

Highest Price: $47,970 (BGS 9.5)

Average Price: $3,2300 (PSA 9)

Billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” the 7-4, 500-plus-pound Giant wrestled all over the world in the 1970s and ’80s before coming one of WWE’s biggest attractions. Andre was such a big draw that WWE loaned him out to rival territories. He headlined WrestleMania III and IV with Hogan.

Highest Price: $9,999 (PSA 8, Auto 10)

Average Price: $8,201 (BGS 9.5)

Also See: Ring-worn memorabilia from Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage, wrestling legends featured at Heritage

Regarded by many as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, the “Nature Boy” was a 16-time world champion over his 50-year career in NWA, WCW and WWE. A two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, Flair was the leader of the Four Horsemen and is still one of the most famous personalities in and outside of the ring. At age 75, Flair is still stylin’ and profilin’. Wooo!

Highest Price: $9,500 (SGC 10)

Average Price: $344 (PSA 9)

As wrestling’s biggest star, it is only fitting that the Hulkster has the top card in the first Topps set officially licensed by WWE.

 Highest Price: $5,009 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $299 (BGS 9)

The People’s Champion continues to “Bring It,” with his cards from the ’90s maintaining strong value, no matter the brand. His 1998 Comic Image Superstarz card also sells for five figures.

Highest Price: $4,999 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $760 (PSA 10)

Also See: TNT star Brian Myers show off wrestling memorabilia collection

One of the most prolific combat sports athletes of all time, the former UFC champion quickly rose to the top of WWE. An NCAA wrestling national champion at the University of Minnesota, The Beast Incarnate was the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 and headlined WrestleMania five times. Though his 2002 Fleer issue is considered his “rookie card,” his 2022 Panini Prizm card (#135) commands similar prices.

Highest Price: $3,999 (PSA 6, Auto 10)

Average Price: $227 (PSA 8)

One of the most popular and influential wrestlers of all time, The American Dream was a three-time NWA champion and won multiple titles in WWE, WCW and other regional promotions. Following his in-ring career, he was a booker and producer for both WCW and WWE. His two sons are still wrestling, Dustin in AEW and Cody in WWE.

Highest Price: $2,426 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $1,500 (PSA 10)

If there were a wrestling Mount Rushmore, Cena would probably command a spot alongside Hogan, Flair and The Rock. A 16-time champion, he carried WWE through two decades starting in the early 2000s. And like The Rock, he became an international movie star in his post career. Even his trading cards command “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect.” Cena will compete for a record 17th WWE title against Cody Rhodes in the main event of Wrestlemania 41.

Highest Price: $1,895 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $189 (PSA 9)

Before he became a Horseman and a household name, Flair was an eight-time NWA World Champion and the biggest draw in the territories. This classic 1988 card shows him in one of his colorful, flowing custom-made robes, which command big dollars on the memorabilia market. One recently sold at Goldin for more than $100,000.

Highest Price: $1,499 (PSA 9)

Average Price: $362 (PSA 10)

The Iron Sheik (real name Hossein Khorow Ali Vaziri) was an Iranian professional wrestler who became one of WWE’s biggest heels. His feud with Hulk at WrestleMania in 1984 ignited Hogan’s career and helped make The Sheik a wrestling legend.

Highest Price: $1,400 (PSA 10 Auto)

Average Price: $150 (BGS 9.5)

Also See: Topps launches 2025 WWE Chrome card set

Before the rise of such women stars as Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss became one of WWE’s biggest female stars, winning multiple championships. A colorful and versatile personality in and outside the ring, Bliss also found fame on WWE’s Total Divas reality show, which helped advance her career and persona.

Highest Price: $898 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $350 (SGC 9.5)

A WWE legend for more than 30 years, Mark Calaway debuted one of the company’s most creative and mysterious characters in The Undertaker. The Deadman reigned throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with his funereal and macabre persona headlining WrestleMania five times and building a 21-match win streak at the famed event. His popular character was considered one of the greatest gimmicks in wrestling history. Still well known by his famous moniker, his trading cards clearly aren’t Dead yet either.

Highest Price: $895 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $225 (BGS 9)

A throwback to the old days and one of the sport’s first true tough guys, Race was a nine-time NWA world champion who feuded with Flair and other big stars in multiple territories, including WCW and WWE.

Highest Price: $841 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $811 (PSA 9)

Best known as “The Million Dollar Man.” DiBiase held more than 30 championships during his career, including several in WWE, where he still works in the company’s Legends program.

Highest Price: $404 (PSA 10)

Average Price: $236 (SGC 9.5)

It’s hard to believe that one of the biggest names and most successful characters in wrestling history is ranked this low on the card market. Along with The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin was WWE’s biggest star during the vaunted Attitude Era. His Austin 3:16 T-shirt is still the top-selling merchandise in wrestling history and his Stone Cold persona is as synonymous with wrestling as Hulk Hogan. His 1995 Cardz WCW Stunning Steve card, which also features Hall of Famer Sting, is considered Austin’s “rookie” card and has so far outsold his more recent cards.

Highest Price: $399 (PSA 8, Auto 9)

Average Price: $179 (PSA 10)

A former college football star and NFL player, Bill Goldberg rose to wrestling fame with a lengthy undefeated streak in WCW during the infamous Monday Night Wars in the late-90s. Known for his superhuman strength and aggression, Goldberg later became a world champion and Hall of Famer for WWE, where he still makes occasional appearances.

Highest Price: $350 (PSA 9)

Average Price: $249 (PSA 9)

One of wrestling’s greatest heels and most beloved characters, Rowdy Roddy Piper starred in both WCW and WWE, winning more than 30 championships and headlining such big events as Starrcade and WrestleMania. Known for his Scottish kilt and bagpipe entrance music, Piper owned one of wrestling’s most colorful personas. His quick wit and spontaneity made his “Piper’s Pit” interview segment one of WWE’s most popular skits.

Highest Price: $500 (Auto)

Average Price: $78 (PSA 9)

Reigns is one of WWE’s biggest current star, holding multiple championships and headlining numerous pay-per-views, including WrestleMania nine times. His 1,316-day reign as Undisputed Universal Heavyweight Champion is the fourth-longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest since 1988. Part of the famous Anoa’i wrestling family, his father and brother were both professional wrestlers and he currently competes with and against several family members, including the Usos and Solo Sikoa. He will once again headline Wrestlemania 41 with a three-way match vs. Seth Rollins and CM Punk.

Highest Price: $299 (Auto 1)

Average Price: $10 (PSA 9)

Another legacy star, Rhodes, the current WWE Undisputed Champion, is the son of Dusty Rhodes. After his first WWE run from 2006-16, he co-founded and was the executive vice president of AEW (All Elite Wrestling) before returning to WWE in 2022 and becoming the company’s top champion this year. He will headline Wrestlemania 41 with a title match against John Cena.

Highest Price: $160 (PSA 9)

Average Price: $25 (CSG 9.5)

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) became one of the nation’s top wrestling promotions after Ted Turner bought it from NWA territory Jim Crocket Promotions in 1988. A staple of Turner’s TBS Superstation, WCW would soon surpass WWE as the top wrestling promotion in the country, with WCW’s Monday Nitro famously outdrawing WWE’s Monday Night Raw for 83 consecutive weeks.

In 1991, Impel Marketing, which later became Skybox International, produced the first WCW licensed trading cards. They included all the big names—Flair, Sting, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, Flyin’ Brian Pillman and other big stars. The WCW cards are still fairly popular, ranging from $17-$18 dollars for Sting and Luger to $25-$100 for the four Flair cards in the set.

Several professional wrestlers began their athletic careers on the gridiron before entering the ring. Some were college football stars who got a shot at professional football. Some, like Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, never made it into an NFL game, but others did, before becoming wrestling stars.

As a result, some of the biggest wrestling stars also have football cards.

McMichael is best known as a star defensive tackle for 15 seasons in the NFL. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro in Chicago, where he helped the Bears win the 1985 Super Bowl.

After his football career, he starred in WCW. As part of the Four Horsemen, “Mongo” was a strong character and solid in-ring performer, winning the United States Heavyweight Championship. McMichael, who is suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year.

Edward Hugh McDaniel from the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma played nine years in the NFL, playing linebacker for the Broncos, Jets and Dolphins. After his football career, he wrestled under his nickname in territories all over the country. He won numerous championships and had famous feuds with Flair, Johnny Valentine and Superstar Billy Graham.

Before he became a WWE and WCW star, “the Big Cat” played eight years in the NFL, leading the Chargers to the 1963 AFL championship. At 6-9, 300 pounds, Ladd was a dominant defensive tackle, making the Pro Bowl four times and All-Pro three times. As a wrestler, Ladd was a heel who feuded with Wahoo, Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant and others.

With a billed weight of over 400 pounds, Big Van Vader was one of the most athletic super heavyweights in wrestling history, starring in WCW, WWE and in Japan. A college football All-American at Colorado, Leon White was drafted in the third round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Rams and was on the 1980 Super Bowl team before being forced to retire due to injuries.

Before he became a star in WCW and WWE, Bill Goldberg played football at Georgia and spent three seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

An All-American defensive tackle at Florida State, Simmons was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and played in both the Canadian Football League and the USFL. In the ring, he was WCW’s first black World Heavyweight champion and won multiple titles in both WCW and WWE. In WWE, Simmons, aka Farooq, was part of the famous tag team APA (Acolyte Protection Agency) with John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL), who also had a brief stint with the Raiders.

Before he became the most famous professional wrestler on the planet, Dwayne Johnson was on the 1991 national championship team at the University of Miami and later played briefly for the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL. His college football cards have sold for as much as five figures.

Major League Baseball also had its own superstar who made appearances for WWE, and it was none other than Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hit king.

Rose appeared at Wrestlemania three times. He even wore the Famous Chicken suit in one skit, and famously got tombstoned by masked star Kane in another. Charlie Hustle adapted to the role so quickly he is in the WWE Hall of Fame. His wrestling trading card is a Pete Rose Leaf Wrestling Signature card that features his Hall of Fame induction. He also has a 2015 Topps WWE card.

Sources: cardbase, PSA, eBAy