Italian trading card, comics, and collectibles company Panini recently made an exciting announcement about the launch of a digital Donruss Elite card set on the Panini Blockchain. This set will feature 100 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Superstars, including some of the most notable ones like John Cena, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, Lyra Valkyria, Undertaker, Chyna, Chelsea Green, and Kiana James.
Panini and WWE shared in a press release that those who purchase the digital packs will have the opportunity to virtually open them and obtain limited-edition digital assets. Additionally, there will be collector events and contests for participants to take part in.
This venture into digital collectibles is not new for WWE, as the company has been involved with nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for a few years now. In 2021, WWE and John Cena released a series of NFTs featuring the popular wrestler and actor. However, these NFTs did not perform well in terms of sales, with only a few dozen of the mid-tier offerings being sold.
NFTs and digital collectibles have gained significant popularity in the wrestling world over the past year. While WWE remains the leading “sports entertainment” company globally, its competitors All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Impact! Wrestling also ventured into the NFT space in 2023. WWE has its own NFT marketplace called “Moonsault,” which runs on Eluv.io’s Content Fabric blockchain. However, sales on this platform were reportedly slow in 2023.
With the launch of the Donruss Elite blockchain cards, Panini and WWE are hoping for better success. Panini’s senior vice president of marketing and athlete relations, Jason Howarth, expressed confidence in the partnership, noting that WWE’s passionate audience and rich history align with the expectations of the blockchain collectible community. Only time will tell if this collaboration will yield championship-level success for both companies.