Some Wrestling Autographs

Some wrestling autographs to make it in to my collection

From the WWF I finally picked up a Rickey “The Dragon” Steamboat autograph. This is a 1991 Classic WWF which he signed with a silver paint pen. Steamboat doesn’t have any official autographs, none that I can find, so I was forced to go elsewhere to find an autograph of one of my favorite wrestlers from the 1980s. These 1991 Classic cards are typical flimsy cardboard from the junk wax era but due to the nice photography used by Classic they make an ideal autographed item.

Next up is Jerry Lawler. The King has been connected to various wrestling leagues, mostly with WWF/WWE, for decades. I first remember him from his feud with the comedian Andy Kaufman in the early 1980s. At the time I didn’t like him but he has grown on me over the years. Lawler has been associated with the WWF/WWE for about 20 years now and has made the switch over from wrestler to commentator in the last decade.

Lawler is a guy who will happily sign for fans and there are literally hundreds of his autographs available for a reasonable price. This card grabbed me because it truly represents him as his persona “The King” and I like blue, it seemed like an obvious selection for me. It helps that the seller tossed in a signed 3x5 autograph card.

What brought me over to liking Lawler is he is an accomplished artist, he has even had his work included in to Topps WWE releases. He has done actual sketch cards as well as complete inserts. His authentic sketch cards inserted in to packs of Topps WWE run hundreds of dollars if you are lucky enough to find one.

Another 1980s baddie who’s autograph that I recently picked up is Nikolai Volkoff, real name is Josip Peruzovic. He actually is from Yugoslavia and defected to Canada in 1967, eventually making his way to WWE predecessor (WWWF) and winning various titles as Bepo Mongol.

When he returned to the WWF in 1984 he came back as Volkof and was teamed up with The Iron Sheik as foreign heels, the people everyone hated. As a red blooded American kid in the 1980s I hated Volkoff but it is fun to look back now to those opening match antics and laugh at what was done. Peruzovic is a good guy and enjoys his fans. He works for the City of Baltimore and volunteers for the city’s athletic kid’s league.

He has quite a few official autographs through Leaf and Topps but because he is so happy to sign for fans you can find plenty of TTM/IP autographs at reasonable prices. This card is from Topps 2006 Heritage WWE release.

In all I spent $25.05 shipped for all three cards, an amount I was happy to spend for fond memories from my childhood. I am still on the hunt for an Iron Sheik autograph, his official cards tend to $15-30 and he doesn’t sign in person to often so the hunt is slow going.