There’s an old saying that if something too good to be true, then it probably is — and this collector recently got a reminder of just that.
With the recent health scare of pro wrestling legend “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, I decided it was past time to track down a copy of his 2005 Topps Heritage WWE autograph card — a card that was never released in packs but had reportedly surfaced years ago.
It’s not that I needed a Flair autograph — I have it a few times and actually met him at a past show — I wanted this card because I’ve always had an affinity for Topps‘ earliest years of WWE cards. This was Topps’ first release in its current run, but Flair didn’t make the cut as part of a crop of signers that includes Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, The Iron Sheik, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Trish Stratus, Stacy Keibler and so many more notables from the past.
I found one on eBay and examined the autograph in the auction photo closely even though it was certified by JSA. I checked other cards for sale from the seller to see if there were autographs that looked questionable — everything looked fine to me and the card was affordably priced ($50) compared to another seller who wanted nearly $900 for a PSA-authenticated and slabbed copy (and I’m not a fan of its autograph). This JSA one was complete with sticker and a certificate noting that it was a witnessed autograph, not just an authenticated one.
But, I never even thought about whether the card itself was legit — I figured somebody somewhere had gotten their hands on the original cards Flair was supposed to sign but didn’t — however I knew instantly upon arrival that the card was legit as one of Flair’s face-first flops to the mat.
What: 2016 Topps WWE Heritage wrestling cards
Gary Fisher
BlowoutBuzz.com 