BuzzMania: Busting a 2012 Topps Heritage WWE box (Hour 10)

The biggest weekend in professional wrestling is here with WrestleMania 34 set for Sunday in New Orleans and events beginning tonight with the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a NXT Takeover on Saturday and then Raw/Smackdown tapings after that. We'll make today a big day for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania, a series of WWE wax box and wax pack breaks all day long.

How long will we go? Stay tuned ...

The box: 2012 Topps Heritage WWE (hobby)
The cost: Will vary -- here when available

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 215
Base set completion: 
110 of 110 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 52
Triplicates: 5

Notables on base cards – A.J. Lee, Beth Phoenix, Big Show, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, C.M. Punk, Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Kaitlyn, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Natalya, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, The Rock, Santino Marella, Triple H, Undertaker, Batista, Cactus Jack, Dude Love, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Mankind, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Trish Stratus, Dusty Rhodes, Andre The Giant, Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, Harley Race, The Iron Sheik, Jake Roberts, Gene Okerlund, Ricky Steamboat, Road Warrior Animal, Road Warrior Hawk, Rocky Johnson, Roddy Piper

Inserts: 48 (selection of base and inserts in gallery below)
Black parallel (1) – Nikolai Volkoff
Allen & Ginter (4) – Papa Shango, Big John Studd, Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware
Stickers (6) – Trish Stratus, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat, Rey Mysterio, Gorilla Monsoon, Jake Roberts
Jerry "The King" Lawler Portraits (1) – C.M. Punk
Andre The Giant Tribute (3) – Battling with Hacksaw, The Mega Bucks, The $15,000 Slam Match
Family History (3) – Bob Orton & Randy Orton, The British Bulldog & Natalya, Yokozuna & The Usos
The Superstars Speak (6) – Trish Stratus, Sgt. Slaughter, Steve Austin, Vader, Freddie Blassie & The Iron Sheik, Booker T
Fabled Tag Teams (2) – The Brothers of Destruction, The Brain Busters
Ringside Action (22) – Notables include Arn Anderson, The Iron Sheik, Batista, Jerry Lawler, Ricky Steamboat, Rey Mysterio, Ted DiBiase, Chris Jericho, The Rock, Rick Rude, Doink The Clown

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Shirt Relics (1) – Mark Henry

Card That Stole The Show: The missing hit -- can't help but dwell on it, despite this being a favorite product of mine.

What's Buzz-worthy: Remember Hour 1 of this #BuzzMania marathon earlier this morning? This set is a re-do of that one only with today's cleaner printing and cutting technology and a mix of past and present stars on that memorable (and somewhat gaudy) 1985 design. The design here is faithfully re-done with a few tweaks such as the cartoons on the back but it's easily one of the best releases to ever do the past and the present so well in terms of a solid design that's all about photography. It's that good. You may not know that based on when this one arrived -- it was either overproduced or ill-timed at that time as it was plentiful. It's not now -- at least in box form. Hobby boxes here include two hits -- a Shirt Relic and either an autograph or a WrestleMania XXVII Mat Relic -- but this one? Well it was short on the auto or Mania front -- and that would typically mean it's a failure but I think this set is so good it only gets a C on the box grade. The Relic I did land also has some surface damage on the bottom border. (Remember Hour 7 when I got an extra hit? These two boxes arrived at the same time -- so I'm not quite ready to go Hercules Hernandez on it like it's Billy Jack Haynes at WrestleMania III. But I should have.) About the only drawback here is that the autographed cards use stickers (but at least they are clear and not silver) as part of the retro design. The inserts here are plentiful and they feel like 1985 cards, too, as they replicate the stickers as well as the subsets from the original 1985 set. Adding some variety are some Allen & Ginter mini cards. I'd rip this one by the case if it was affordable and available -- I did once in the past -- as I think it's that good when it comes to the standard cardboard.

Product Grade: A+
Box Grade: C- (missing a hit and a damaged hit ... but a great set)
Fun Grade: B

What's next? Be back in an hour ...

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