Join Beckett Media’s Chris Olds as he rips into some 2013 Topps WWE packs in this latest episode of Ripping Retail. 

What will he find inside? Watch and find out …

By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

After a four-year rest, the Topps Heritage WWE line is back for another run at the world championship.

And while past years used past baseball designs as the form for the newest retro-styled WWE cards, this year’s edition will do something that hadn’t been done in the four previous standalone releases.

It will utilize the heritage of Topps‘ first wrestling release, the 1985 WWF set, which featured the likes of Hulk Hogan, the Iron Sheik and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka on the cusp of wrestling’s emergence onto the national psyche. This time, some of those stars return — along with the oldschool design.

Set to arrive in late-November, 2012 Topps Heritage WWE will include a 110-card base set in the style of the original release, a 55-card  Ringside Action set also styled after subsets in the original and several insert sets including Relics and autographs whose odds are still yet-to-be-determined but there will be a total of two in every 24-pack hobby box.

It will include a 20-card The Superstars Speak set, a 10-card Fabled Tag Teams set, 10 Family History cards, a 10-card Andre The Giant Tribute set, 10 portrait cards created by Jerry “The King” Lawler, a 30-card Allen & Ginter insert set and an 18-card sticker set in the style of the 1985 stickers.

For the hit-chasers, there will be 1/1 sketch cards drawn by Lawler — at least 10 planned so far — along with event-used clothing Relics and WrestleMania XXVII mat Relics featuring canvas used during the showcase event. While the mat Relics will showcase many top names, the individual Relics will include Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, The Miz, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Batista and Shawn Michaels to name a few.

There will be at least eight signers, according to the preliminary checklist. They include a few first-time signers, too. It includes Vader, Paul Bearer, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, Doink The Clown, Papa Shango, The Godfather, Kama Mustafa (the last three all the same athlete, ironically) and Michael “P.S.” Hayes of Fabulous Freebirds fame.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | BSCM Editor

The arrival of this year’s WrestleMania — the Super Bowl of professional wrestling — on DVD means more than just another chance to watch The Undertaker win once again.

It also means the arrival of autographed ‘Mania-used memorabilia plaques — aka one of those rare chances to own an autograph from the man who has never lost in 19 matches at the WWE’s premiere event.

While Undertaker has only signed two certified autograph cards for card companies though the years — a 1994 Action Packed card and a 2001 Fleer Raw is War Booty card — he has signed a limited number of these plaques through the years, which are sold on WWEShop.com. This year’s version, which is 15-by-17 inches and includes a piece of the ring rope from the event, is limited to just 500 copies and is presently available on pre-order for $99.99.

It’s not the only plaque commemorating this year’s event, which marked the return of The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) to the WWE fold, either.

Also available are autographed plaques featuring pieces of used ring mat from the event featuring former WWE Champion The Miz, a piece limited to 1,000 copies, and another, which is limited to half that, featuring former World Heavyweight Champion Edge.

The match was the last in the highly decorated career of Edge, who was forced to retire after the event due to a life-threatening spinal cord issue that has developed after he legitimately broke his neck wrestling nine years ago. He surrendered his championship the day after WrestleMania.

Both The Miz and Edge have regularly signed for WWE trading cards, so they’re signatures aren’t quite as sought-after as the long-time star, Undertaker, but the plaques are a popular item each year.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.