History is on the line this weekend as John Cena looks to become the first 17-time WWE world champion when he takes on Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
WrestleMania has long been WWE’s headline event of the year since debuting in 1985, and has helped create global superstars such as Cena, Hulk Hogan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and many more.
Though, when it comes to memorabilia, a notable few stand above the rest. Here are the top 10 most expensive wrestling cards in history.
1. 1982 Wrestling All-Stars Hulk Hogan Series A PSA 9: $132,000
This is wrestling’s 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle or 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan.
The top-selling Hogan 1982 Wrestling All-Star card is one of just 18 of the PSA 9s in existence. There are none graded a 10.
Jeremy Padawer, Chief Brand Officer of toy manufacturer Jazwares, told cllct when this sale happened at Heritage in December, that if a 10 were ever to emerge, it would be the first $1 million wrestling card.
The Hulkster has long been perhaps the most important and most famous wrestler in history and the fanfare around this card proves it.
Only Hogan, The Rock and Andre the Giant have had wrestling cards clear the $30,000 threshold (The Rock has had multiple clear that marker as a football player for the University of Miami).
Of the 11 total cards to clear $30,000, eight are of Hogan and five are editions of his 1982 Wrestling All-Stars masterpiece.
2. 2022 Panini Prizm Dwayne Johnson Black Prizm 1/1 PSA 7: $126,000
When this card was sold at the Fanatics Premier auction in April 2023, it completely reset the wrestling market. Until that point, a Hulk Hogan 1982 Wrestling All-Stars Series A BGS 9.5 marked the most expensive sale at $52,840.
This card more than doubled that. Had it not been a PSA 7, could this be the holy grail of wrestling?
In recent years, Johnson has become one of the largest movie stars in the world, as well as dipped his toe back into the WWE ring.
Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?
3. 1982 Cosmos Hulk Hogan PSA 10: $51,600
As detailed earlier, there are going to be a lot of Hogan cards on this list.
This card was issued in Japan and perhaps what makes the Cosmos set so valuable is its rarity. There are only 66 cards from the set in PSA’s entire population, and according to Heritage, they are also smaller than a traditional trading card, with these about the same size as the T-206 baseball set. And the record card has a population of one in that grade.
In the 1980s and 90s, the Hulkster was wrestling’s Mr. Worldwide!
4. 1982 Wrestling All-Stars Andre the Giant Series A No. 1 BGS 9.5 $47,970
The 1982 Wrestling All-Stars set is certainly the most important set in wrestling history, much like T-206 in baseball or 1986 Fleer in basketball.
It contains rookie cards of the legends who helped chart the course for wrestling history.
And few live up in stature both metaphorically and physically to Andre the Giant, whose 7-foot-4, 520-pound frame made him a true spectacle.
The “Eighth Wonder of the World” died in 1993, but his legend still certainly lives on among wrestling fans and collectors.
Outside of Hogan, Andre’s card is by far the most valuable from the ‘82 All-Stars set.
The top-selling card is one of three BGS 9.5s and there are no PSA 10s.
5. 1985 Topps WWF Wrestling Hulk Hogan No. 1 PSA 10: $35,000
Are you picking up on the theme now?
This card came out around the same time as WrestleMania I where Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper in the main event.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are actually 15 PSA 10s in existence.
But for now, this April 2022 sale tops the list. And it actually came on eBay.
6. 1981 Popy Super Puroresu Figures Cards Hulk Hogan PSA 10: $34,160
So much Hogan!
This card, with a population of two, sold at Goldin in October 2023 and came in a box with a Hulk Hogan figurine.
These sets originally came from Japan. There are only 19 Hogan cards from this set in the entire PSA registry.
7. 1997 Panini WWF Superstars Stickers Rocky Maivia (The Rock) No. 113 PSA 10: $33,600
Before he was The Rock, Dwayne Johnson was known in the ring as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfathers’ ring names.
Soon Johnson would become one of the greatest superstars wrestling had ever seen.
This PSA 10 is one of two in existence and last sold at Goldin in April 2021.
8. 2022 Panini Prizm WWE Stone Cold Steve Austin Black Prizm No. 192 1/1: $21,000
It’s almost like you can hear the glass shatter when you hear Steve Austin’s name or see him, as shown on this card, hitting the “Stone Cold Stunner.”
Perhaps no one defined the Attitude Era of the WWF more than Austin 3:16, who tormented his foes ... including Vince McMahon.
It is a bit surprising Austin’s top card is only eighth on this list, considering he’s one of the most beloved superstars of all time.
But perhaps not being graded hurt its sale at Goldin in 2023.
9. 1985 O-Pee-Chee OPC WWE WWF Pro Wrestling Stars Hulk Hogan No. 16 PSA 10: $20,100
ANOTHER HOGAN!
This card is one of three PSA 10s in existence and like the other 1985 card on this list, Hogan’s Topps WWF Wrestling card, this one also sold on Ebay, with it coming just two months ago, in February.
10. 2022 Panini Prizm WWE John Cena Black Prizm 1/1: $17,100
Maybe the reason Cena clocks in at No. 10 is he’s still active, although his final match will be this WrestleMania against Cody Rhodes.
Maybe another reason could be that you can’t see him.
Nonetheless, Cena’s 1/1 Panini Prizm WWE Black sold at Fanatics Premier in May 2023, just one month after the then-record-breaking Rock sale.
You’d think that arguably the greatest wrestler in the history of WWE would be higher up on this list.
Though, he might have a grail card coming. With WWE beginning to put debut patches into cards, and doing so for WrestleMania, Cena will have a 1/1 game-worn patch card for his final match of his career.
Matt Liberman is a video producer and reporter for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.