CGC Cards Featured Registry Set: 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards - Test Market Run
Posted on 9/12/2024
Modern wrestling fans know all about the WWE, WCW and AEW, but some might not know about the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Numerous legends of wrestling once plied their trade in the NWA before making the jump to other larger promotions. This month, we are highlighting Staches' full 51-card set of 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards that features many stars during the earliest years of their wrestling careers. To make the full set even better, Staches owns the Top Pop of every card in the set, with grades ranging from CGC 7 to CGC 9.5. Don't miss our Q&A with the set owner here.
Founded in 1948 in Waterloo, Iowa, the NWA was the most prominent and most influential promotion in American wrestling for decades until the mid-1980s. As smaller promoters tried to keep up with the WWF (now WWE), the likes of NWA entered into the collectibles market in 1987 with a test market run of trading cards. Featuring some of the biggest wrestlers of the era, wrestling icons like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Lex Luger and many more were captured in the ring and in action on the collectibles.
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| 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards #1 Ric Flair - Test Market Run graded CGC 8 Click images to enlarge. |
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Licensed by Jim Crockett Promotions and printed by Sheriar Press Inc. on brown back "Kraft stock" cards, the NWA Test Market Run was released in single packs that included seven cards in each pack. Made up of a 49-card base set, a checklist card and a header pack card, the 51-card series was distributed by Wonderama International one year before a wider 343-card release on white card stock. The much rarer Test Market Run set was only sold at convenience stores in and around Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1987.
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| LEFT: 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards #17 Sting - Test Market Run graded CGC 7.5 RIGHT: 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards #35 Lex Luger - Test Market Run graded CGC 8.5 Click images to enlarge. |
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The test set featured full-color images of wrestlers without any logos, branding or text on the front of the cards. The backs contain the card number, wrestler's name and nickname, hometown and bios, which include a list of the wrestler's favorite food, color, song, movie and more, giving fans further insight into wrestling stars' lives and personalities.
Key cards from the set include wrestling icons Ric Flair (#1), Sting (#17), Tully Blanchard (#25), Road Warriors (#30), Lex Luger (#35) and Dusty Rhodes (#39). Other standout cards that are showcased in this set include a handful of classic wrestling rivalries that feature matches between Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard (#3), Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson (#7) and Ric Flair vs. Sting (#48).
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| LEFT: 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards #3 Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard - Test Market Run graded CGC 8.5 RIGHT: 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards #30 Road Warriors - Test Market Run graded CGC 8.5 Click images to enlarge. |
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Q&A with the CGC Cards Registry Set Owner
Take us back to the beginning. What got you started in the card collecting hobby?
I originally began collecting in the mid-1980s as a kid pretty consistently through the late 1990s: From riding my bike to the card shop a mile away to driving to the weekly flea market once I got my license to scope out the "half-off book price" tables. I think I also had a four- or five-year subscription to Tuff Stuff during this time. Post-high school I would grab a random card every couple of years ('86 Fleer Barkley and '85 USFL Jim Kelly, which are now in my registry), but I spent 20 years not collecting or really even looking at my old collection, until 2020 rolled around.
You’ve got a lot of different sports cards sets on the CGC Cards Registry, including wrestling. Let’s talk wrestling! Did you grow up with it or did it pique your interest later in life?
I grew up with it thanks to my older cousin being a huge wrestling fan during the peak of Hulk Hogan and the "Rock 'n' Wrestling" years. The wrestling fandom that was solely WWF joined forces with WCW once I came across ‘surfer’ Sting in the late '80s. From Galoob wrestling figures to Impel trading cards, and even my Sting Wrestling Buddy, I was all in on this era of WCW.
You hold the Best in Set Type rank for the 1987 Wonderama NWA Wrestling Supercards Test Market Run set. Tell us about it. How did you come across it and what got you interested in collecting it?
Once 2020 rolled around, I, like many, dove back into the joy of collecting, and one of the first things I did was check to see if my favorite, Sting, had any cards prior to those previously mentioned Impel cards. That's when I discovered the 1988 NWA Wonderama set and the mention of the rarer 1987 Test Market Run version.
After searching online for the 1988 version, I came across four unopened packs of these NWA cards. I noticed the back of the pack was a black NWA versus the standard red NWA, like every other pack I had scrolled across. Once buying, receiving and opening these, I was able to confirm the "brown paper back" and that they were actually the 1987 Test Market version.
Multiple purchases later, I ended up with 27 of these 1987 packs. I had the intent of keeping some sealed but the lack of hitting the Sting I was hoping for led me to keep on ripping. 27 packs and nine Mighty Wilburs later, I had hit only one off-center, chipped-edge (CGC 5) Sting, which I was later able to find an upgrade for.
Are you working on any other wrestling sets? Any plans to add other sets to your Registry collection in the future?
I am currently looking into early wrestling and golf but don’t plan on set chasing any of those soon. However, with the trading card label change to match the black sports label last year, I do have an ungraded set of 1966 Marvel that may be on its way to CGC soon.
How has the CGC Cards Registry helped you reach your collecting goals?
This set contains cards #1-49 along with a gorgeous Ric Flair header and checklist that come in each pack. Discovering these over 30 years after they came out and knowing this would be in the collection long term, I started looking into the grading process, which I had never done before.
The crystal-clear slabs and, at the time, recent change from green to black label made it an easy choice where to send my new favorite set off to. The registry and clean scans make it so nice and easy to share and enjoy the collection. From posting on social media or just wanting to look at a card that comes to mind, it's nice to have access at your fingertips, wherever you may be.
What advice would you give to anyone new to the CGC Cards Registry or new to the sports card hobby?
I am not big on giving advice but my own thoughts to my own collection are to buy what is comfortably affordable and collect what I love.
Last but not least — money is no object. What is your dream card?
I would like to one day own a sharp 1954 Parkhurst Gorgeous George. His influence has sprinkled down for generations and can still be seen in our most loved and hated wrestlers to this day.
About the CGC Cards Sports Card Registry
The CGC Cards Registry is a free online platform where collectors can register and display their CGC-certified sports cards. The Registry helps you to organize your collection and interact with other collectors. Begin adding your CGC-certified cards and create CGC Cards Registry sets here. Your sets are automatically considered for the annual CGC Cards Registry Awards, where winners receive a prize package that includes a $500 CGC Cards grading credit. For more information on the CGC Cards Registry Awards, you may find the announcement here.
If you don't see a set for your cards, you may request a set. Please review our CGC Cards Registry FAQs for details on how to add requests for sets and slots.
The CGC Cards Registry team is here to help. Questions or comments? Go to the CGC Cards Registry Chat Boards.
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