WWE And Topps Reunite: A New Era For Wrestling Trading Cards
Today, WWE and Topps officially announced their reunion, joining forces in a long-term partnership to produce WWE trading cards. It is a big shift in the landscape for wrestling collectibles and promises innovative products.
The Announcement
On January 1, 2025, it was announced via social media, “IT’S OFFICIAL: Topps and WWE reunite for a long-term trading card deal.” For many this came as a shock, but the astute investor was not as surprised.
Historical Context
The Topps-WWE Legacy
This is not the first time Topps has paired with WWE, as this is a rather deep-rooted relationship in the world of wrestling and collectibles.
1985: Topps released its first set of wrestling cards featuring WWF superstars, now WWE.
1987: The now-iconic 1987 Topps WWF set was released, featuring the highly sought-after rookie card of Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
2005-2021: With Topps holding exclusive rights to produce WWE trading cards, a variety of produced products became standard in the wrestling collectibles market.
The Panini Interlude
In 2021, WWE took its trading card license to Panini, ending a decades-long relationship with Topps. But that partnership was short-lived and plagued by issues:
Contract Issues: In September 2023, WWE tried to terminate its contract with Panini, citing breach of contract.
Legal Battles: The end saw a lawsuit filed by Panini against WWE, which was settled out of court in November 20234.
Continued Production: Despite the legal issues, Panini continued producing WWE cards through 2024, including high-end products like the 2024 Panini National Treasures WWE and 2024 Panini Flawless WWE4.
The New Partnership
Terms and Scope
Although the details of the new contract have not been disclosed, this is quite evidently a comprehensive long-term agreement. This partnership encompasses:
Physical Trading Cards: Topps is to remain the only supplier of officially licensed WWE physical trading cards.
Digital Trading Cards: The deal also includes digital trading cards, which may comprise the so-called NFTs—Non-Fungible Tokens.
Topps WWE Slam App: This widely popular mobile app for trading cards is scheduled to make its return in early 2025 and will give fans a digital platform to collect and trade WWE cards.
Immediate Impact
The partnership between Topps and WWE hit the ground running:
Quick Production: Topps didn’t waste any momentum in showing WWE products displayed on New Year’s Day4; 2025 Topps Chromosome WWE Trading-Card Sneak Peeks.
January 31 Release: The first set of new Topps WWE cards will be made available on January 31, 2025, at 12:00 PM EST.
Fanatics: The Driving Force
This reunion of Topps and WWE in large part was made possible because of Fanatics, the giant in sports merchandising, which acquired Topps in January 20228. As a result, this set the stage for the current partnership:
Pre-existing Relationship: During March 2022, WWE and Fanatics signed one of the broadest deals it had with its partner, including not only e-commerce and licensed merchandise but also extending to NFTs.
Vertical integration—By adding Topps into its fold, Fanatics had created a vertically integrated structure where it could provide WWE with a whole merchandising and collectibles solution.
The Fanatics Advantage
With Fanatics involved, it brings a couple of positives to the WWE-Topps relationship:
Resources: As the leading player in sports merchandising, Fanatics brings immense financial and technological resources.
Innovation: Fanatics has been at the forefront of integrating state-of-the-art technologies into sports collectibles, including on-demand merchandise and real-time card releases.
Distribution: The extended e-commerce network of the company can potentially increase the reach and ensure the availability of WWE trading cards.
Impact on the Collectibles Market
This reunion of WWE and Topps promises to be huge in the world of wrestling collectibles:
Potential Product Innovations
Real-Time Releases: Major moments in WWE, or new superstars, could be commemorated on cards released in a near-instant timeframe from when it actually happened.
Live Events Integration: Exclusivity for some card releases with major WWE real-life events that happen around WrestleManias or Royal Rumbles.
Hybrid Physical and Digital: Some items might connect both physical cards with digital collectibles, possibly enabling augmented reality features.
Market Dynamics
Collector Excitement: The return to Topps has created quite the buzz among longtime collectors who identify the brand with WWE’s most iconic trading card releases.
Potential Price Stabilization: After perhaps inflated price points under Panini, some collectors hope the Topps partnership might mean more accessible price points for some products.
Affect on Secondary Market: Going back to Topps might make some of the more recent Panini WWE cards increase in value a little since they’d be the last products of that era.
Challenges and Considerations
While the partnership has been embraced with great eagerness, the following are challenges and considerations that one should bear in mind:
Redemption Cards
One of the problems that bothered the Panini era was the huge backlog of unfulfilled redemption cards; these are the placeholder cards that collectors can get the actual autographed cards with when these are available. As Topps takes over, some questions have come up:
How the remaining Panini redemptions will be handled.
Whether or not Topps will continue with the practice of redemption cards and, if so, how they plan on handling the fulfillment in a far more efficient manner.
Balancing Nostalgia and Innovation
Topps faces the challenge of satisfying collectors whose memories are still fresh with earlier WWE products put out by the company and being innovative for new collectors.
Competition in the Wider Market
While Topps has the exclusive rights to WWE cards, they still have some competition in the larger sports and entertainment collectibles. They will have to make sure their WWE products stand out in the crowd.
Looking Ahead
As WWE and Topps dive into their new chapter, several areas shall be worth viewing:
Product Lineup
Collectors will be anxious to see how Topps configures its WWE product line. Will they bring back some of the popular lines from their previous partnership? How will they balance mass-market products with high-end collectibles?
Digital Integration
The digital aspect of this deal can be huge, considering the resurgence of the Topps WWE Slam app and the possibility for NFTs. Between mixing physical and digital collecting experiences, this could be a bar setter in the industry by Topps.
Superstar Involvement
One other key factor in WWE’s popularity when it comes to trading cards is definitely its massive arsenal of superstars. It will be interesting to see precisely how Topps incorporates both today’s stars and legends into the products, especially when it comes to autographed and game-used memorabilia cards.
Event Tie-Ins
Major WWE events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble have always made for major focal points in the world of collectibles. Topps might create special releases or promotions linked to these events to further capture fan enthusiasm.
Conclusion
The reunion of WWE and Topps is a big moment in wrestling collectibles. It brings together a storied history with the potential for cutting-edge innovations, all backed by the resources and reach of Fanatics. For wrestling fans and card collectors, this partnership promises to deliver exciting new products and experiences.
The question will be how all of this plays out as the first Topps WWE cards of this new era reach the market on January 31, 2025. Will this set new standards for sports entertainment collectibles? Can it revisit the magic of past releases while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in modern card collecting? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the world of WWE trading cards is stepping into a new, perhaps transformative, era.
