Topps is separating its flagship WWE card product into two distinctive sets. Raw is the first half, while the WWE SmackDown Live set will be released later in the year.
While some collectors might see it as excess, or watering down the product, it’s not a terrible idea.
The design for Raw follows a good plan. While action shots would seem to be ideal, it works out better for more posed or standalone shots. Professional wrestlers — the best ones — know how to project their personalities while on the microphone doing interviews, and the poses in the Raw set reflect that confidence. Just looking at the cards of Curt Hawkins (No. 19), Nigel McGuinness (No. 85), Charly Caruso (No. 17), Samir Singh (No. 64), Nikki Bella (No. 54) and Gentleman Jack Gallagher (No. 80) show the strength of personality. And in pro wrestling, it’s all about perception and image.
While some collectors might see it as excess, or watering down the product, it’s not a terrible idea.
The design for Raw follows a good plan. While action shots would seem to be ideal, it works out better for more posed or standalone shots. Professional wrestlers — the best ones — know how to project their personalities while on the microphone doing interviews, and the poses in the Raw set reflect that confidence. Just looking at the cards of Curt Hawkins (No. 19), Nigel McGuinness (No. 85), Charly Caruso (No. 17), Samir Singh (No. 64), Nikki Bella (No. 54) and Gentleman Jack Gallagher (No. 80) show the strength of personality. And in pro wrestling, it’s all about perception and image.
The base set for Raw consists of 90 cards. The blaster box I bought contained 45 base cards, so that is definitely a nice start for a set builder. A blaster box has 10 packs, with seven cards to a pack. In addition, there are five Raw women’s Revolution cards in a special pack.
Complementing the base cards were five bronze parallels, which collectors will find in retail boxes and packs.
The main insert in the blaster box I opened was Hometown Heroes, which falls one to a pack. There are 48 cards in the set, and the blaster produced 10 cards, including Ruby Riott, Lince Dorado, Natalya, Rhyno and Jinder Mahal.
The other main parallel is Legends of Raw, a 20-card set that includes stars like Bret Hart, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Mankind, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. I pulled eight cards from the blaster box I bought.
The other inserts in the set are the Ronda Rousey Spotlight cards. This 10-card set picks up from the 2019 Road to WrestleMania cards, and there will be 40 cards total when all the Topps wrestling products are released. I was able to pull two cards in the blaster I bought.
While Rousey is probably not the greatest current woman wrestler — others, like Bella and Charlotte Flair have paid their dues — she certainly has marquee value and the WWE is quite content to use her notoriety. It’s a win-win for the WWE, Topps and collectors. Since Rousey just announced she is stepping away from the WWE for a while to start a family, it will be interesting to see if Topps continues the Rousey insert set.
Complementing the base cards were five bronze parallels, which collectors will find in retail boxes and packs.
The main insert in the blaster box I opened was Hometown Heroes, which falls one to a pack. There are 48 cards in the set, and the blaster produced 10 cards, including Ruby Riott, Lince Dorado, Natalya, Rhyno and Jinder Mahal.
The other main parallel is Legends of Raw, a 20-card set that includes stars like Bret Hart, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Mankind, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. I pulled eight cards from the blaster box I bought.
The other inserts in the set are the Ronda Rousey Spotlight cards. This 10-card set picks up from the 2019 Road to WrestleMania cards, and there will be 40 cards total when all the Topps wrestling products are released. I was able to pull two cards in the blaster I bought.
While Rousey is probably not the greatest current woman wrestler — others, like Bella and Charlotte Flair have paid their dues — she certainly has marquee value and the WWE is quite content to use her notoriety. It’s a win-win for the WWE, Topps and collectors. Since Rousey just announced she is stepping away from the WWE for a while to start a family, it will be interesting to see if Topps continues the Rousey insert set.
The blaster box did provide one hot card — a Raw commemorative gold parallel of the Miz, numbered to 10. It depicts the Intercontinental Champions belt.
The blaster also included a four-card pack of Women’s Revolution cards. I found cards of Flair, Bella and Paige, which is a nice haul.
The Topps Raw set is a nice set for collectors who enjoy the WWE. There is enough old-time stuff, but plenty of new cards that should keep the interests of new collections alive.
The blaster also included a four-card pack of Women’s Revolution cards. I found cards of Flair, Bella and Paige, which is a nice haul.
The Topps Raw set is a nice set for collectors who enjoy the WWE. There is enough old-time stuff, but plenty of new cards that should keep the interests of new collections alive.
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