Collecting Tank-used II: TV-matched? No, not this time, but ...

Photo-matching a piece of used memorabilia is easier in some sports, especially in today's era of often-authenticated, slap-a-sticker-on-it premium items that can make up a meaty revenue stream for a lot of sports leagues. But, no matter what it is -- or where a piece is from -- it always comes down to one thing.

Details.

Grimey and beaten-down baseball bats? They can have plenty of details between player customizations, models, manufacturers and damage from use. Mangled used football jerseys? Stains and tears of course -- you know, details. Baseball or basketball uniforms? Tougher but still do-able ... thanks to the details of tagging, stitching and other minute things that change over time.

But in the wrestling realm? Well, details still apply ... but things might be a little different to verify depending on a star's habits, styles and budgets for in-ring gear or their tastes for their fashion outside of the ring. Sometimes, those are the same. Sometimes they have to be different ... that's this time.

This second installment with a tweaked name in my Collecting Game-used series is one for a pick-up that wasn't a definitive match when I recently found it. It was a guessing game to a degree until I could get the item in hand for a closer look at ... the details. The star once again is Shotzi Blackheart, who I collect rather seriously in the traditional realms involving Panini America and Topps cardboard, and this item, which came directly from her, was one where those it was those cards that helped solve the mystery.

Keep reading to see all the ... details.

THE BASICS ...
Worn wardrobe: Shotzi Blackheart custom-made Wicked Lester studded shorts
Watch it in action: No caught-in-action footage this time ... but these do appear on many of her 2022 Panini America trading cards, stemming from a Dec. 10, 2021, backstage photoshoot during a Smackdown production day.

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What's Buzz-worthy: The photo above kind of gives it all away here and is the end result of my research, which wasn't easy. Why was it tough? When Blackheart joined Smackdown (the main roster of WWE) in mid-2021, her gear choices and much of her non-wrestling fashion choices were often variations of this same model (or similar ones) but with tops and shorts often having matching details. Sometimes, it's a minor splash of gray flame outlines or some full orange flames on both pieces. Sometimes it's her trademark green -- actually it's her green quite often with varying takes there -- or colorful snakeskin worked into side panels with color or other small details on both. (Wicked Lester makes gear sets for her and other wrestling stars regularly -- and also ornate spiked jackets.) They're not cheap to have made and these were -- and still are to a degree -- her go-to looks. There's a lot to see in terms of always-changing color schemes from week to week but the simpler options with no added color can look alike.

This item? There's one detail that was obvious and another that took some work to match. The obvious details here are four vertical rows of small leather studs on the front and two rows on the back (think spikes, but not huge like she's Road Warrior Shotzi, and not sharpened). Those extras make these look different than others. Meanwhile, the tougher detail to match is a pattern on the hips and back where a lot of the distinct features are often found on her gear. This time? A pair of un-matching slightly glossy and irregular flame/lightning bolt shapes -- black on black -- and that's not an  easy color combo to match to action photography or video like those seen above. The studs, based on what I have observed researching gear choices from matches, mean this was not likely to have been worn in a match. (Though they could be worn, just not sure the opponent would appreciate the possible damage. Might also not feel good to land on them yourself.) This scenario with studs/spikes will be way more easily seen in a future installment of this on-going series but I'm working in chronological order for my pieces of Shotzibilia.

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These shorts also have a lot of other wear to them. They got used and modified over time with some belt loops cut off, puckering from snagging on things and other wear that can be seen (more easily if it wasn't all black on black) in-person. Another thing I noticed here was there was no matching lightning bolt/black flame top in any WWE match photos -- so that got me looking at cards. When I did that, there was a lead, and another, and another and another -- all photos from a session with the same non-matching Ghost Rider-esque top. The Immaculate Collection memorabilia card seen here was the only one to clearly show the side panel of the shorts -- and even then it wasn't ironclad with the card's production potentially having retouches or production tweaks to make sure ink flowed well when it was printed. In this case, there's some hint of blue in there to confuse things -- likely just reflected light from whatever was around the backdrop -- but it was the start for finding more details.

But, that didn't happen until after I had these in-hand straight from her closest -- and when these were used wasn't clear for Blackheart, either. She believed that they were from her more-recent (late-2023) feud with Bayley -- after she cut off her green hair -- but her non-matching sets then actually had some black-on-black stars on the side panels, not what you see at right and in gallery below. Plus, the star shorts didn't have the rows of studs. These are also similar to shorts worn in her recent NXT return with a new team this year -- and she believed they were borrowed by Gigi Dolin -- and that is possible, but not definitive, given the resolution of this house show photo. (This could be a match but nothing I'd bet on.)

So, what solved this? I got my hands on a higher-resolution look at the photo used for the Immaculate memorabilia card.

That's 100-percent a match on the lightning bolt, though the angle of my photo where the shorts are sitting flat on a table don't do it justice and some of the minor issues on the shorts now hadn't happened yet in the photo. The lone image Blackheart posted on Instagram (see gallery) with this Ghost Rider top was from Dec. 10, 2021, at Smackdown and that timing made it a fresh portrait option for when Panini America took over the WWE card license in early 2022. That explains its presence on so many cards that were likely all in production to some degree around that time.

So, while this piece of Shotzibilia isn't matched to anything on video -- at least that I have yet seen -- I have some new favorites when it comes to matching cards with memorabilia seen on them. That's something I have done a few times with my favorite baseball player -- and they're all going to hang out with even more stuff in my collection for some time.

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>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz right here

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