Anyone planning on busting any of this? Don West auto?

metalmike · May 1, 2008 12:40PM

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling announced a deal with Houston-based TRISTAR Productions on Tuesday to produce three trading card sets featuring the professional wrestling company's superstars later this year.

TNA, which tapes many of its shows here in Orlando at Universal Studios, has been without a trading card licensee since 2004 when Pacific Trading Cards closed its doors and had its properties purchased by Donruss/Playoff.

The first set of the year, TNA iMPACT, is scheduled for release in May and will include cards of TNA wrestlers and Knockouts (the company's female competitors) as well as autographs and cards featuring swatches of event-used memorabilia.

Top names on TNA's roster include Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, Scott Steiner, A.J. Styles, Awesome Kong, Gail Kim and Christy Hemme.

The second set from TRISTAR is planned for a fall release and is tentatively named Cross the Line, while the third set will be called TNA Knockouts, focusing on TNA's women's division. It will be released in time for the holiday shopping season. Prices and product breakdowns for each of the sets have not yet been announced.

TRISTAR has primarily been a card show promoter and an autograph dealer through the years, but has added minor-league baseball cards, autographed memorabilia packages and cut signature card sets to its stable of products. TRISTAR President and CEO Jeff Rosenberg said he likes the addition of WWE-rival TNA.

"We are very excited to have been selected by TNA as the exclusive company to have the rights to produce its trading cards and memorabilia," said Rosenberg in a news release. "TNA is gaining a partner in TRISTAR with vast experience in the creation, production and collectibility of trading cards, and we look forward to working with TNA to showcase its stars in a new and collectible way.”

The 2004 TNA set from Pacific languished upon its release, but has since become relatively popular because the lone autographed cards of its stars like Styles -- and some legendary names from wrestling's past like Harley Race and Dusty Rhodes -- could only be found in the product.

The 2004 card set also includes a "rookie card" of an industry icon that's sure to be a GEM MINT 10 -- former Shop-At-Home sports card salesman Don West, who is now an announcer for TNA.

I'm just hoping for a Don West autograph!