Rebel Random Ramblings: The Joy When They See Their Card For First Time

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

The Joy When They See Their Card For First Time

This post is a combination of indy wrestling show and trading cards.

After a week and half of the state being frozen it thawed out and melted around here on Friday. It went back to our normal warm winter of clear blue skies in no time. After long a week of cold weather destruction and accessing the damage everyone needed a sense of release and get away from reality for a bit. That came Saturday for me with New Texas Pro Wrestling show in Colorado City. I went to a show that day and had a fantastic time with me cheering, booing, waving signs in support of King Rob Love, Jastin Taylor, and Max Heights, and photographing the show.

What does this have do with trading cards? I'm going to back track to another Texas indy fed Sabotage Wrestling. I been to their shows when I was living in Austin at the time. The central Texas based fed (run by Jeffrey Cerda and his crew) would release trading card sets back in 2019. There are 10 cards per series and printed in short supply. Running a fed is no easy task. One of series feature first ever card of AEW wrestler Ricky Starks. Sabotage recently released series 5 card set I pre-order back when it was announced. The set feature current Reality of Wrestling (run by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T) women champion Promise Braxton as well Alex Gracia and Vertvixen who have made appearances in AEW. There are two from that set appeared on New Texas Pro Wrestling show: Kiefer Bartek and Nastico.

Kiefer Bartek is not only a wrestler (trained by Booker T), but runs NTPW taking it various cities around Texas. He have appeared in various Texas feds such as Heavy Metal Wrestling, Inspire, and Metroplex Wrestling as The Sheriff. Nastico is the self-proclaimed best manager of wrestling. The masked man is around DFW indy feds especially DFW All-Pro, the place where he trained and started at, as well traveling around state with his group of guys to numerous feds. He uses social media cutting promos hyping up his appearances and interactively engage with fans and wrestlers.

After the show I thanked all the wrestlers and everyone involved for a good show and wish them a safe drive back just like I always do. I went to Nastico and Kiefer Bartek separately showing them their cards and their eyes lit up. Nastico was ecstatic when he saw the card. It was first time he saw his own card and want me take photos of him autographing and showing it off. Kiefer, IMO the best card of the set, told me its a dream of his to be put on a trading card. Like Nastico, its first time he saw his as well. I witness the joy out of them when they finally saw themselves immortalized on a trading card. I'm sure its the feeling of thousands when they see themselves on a card for first time ever.