Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH ...
The Mag: Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce -- Mad No 36 (April 2024)
The Reason Graded: With the Grammys set for tonight (Feb. 1), I figured now would be the time to drop one here for the Swifties -- a magazine that I picked off long, long ago with absolute intent to grade but never got around to it until late last year. This duo sold a lot of magazines in the last couple of years but this one was one of few to present itself in a way that would fit in my collection of slabs -- it's one part sports (he's in uniform) and one part comics/satire, a category where I have a few slabs. These were popular -- so much so there was at least a second printing with a green logo -- but actually finding the long-running but off-and-on-title would be a challenge at arrival. Book stores/newsstands? Probably not. Comics shops? Maybe ... but probably not a big priority for many of them. The original Mad ran from 1952 to 2018 before DC Comics took over after a couple months off that year and it's largely been new covers wrapping mostly favorite reprinted stories from the past with occasional new content.
The Grade: CGC 9.6 (Universal)

Reality Check: These mags are super thin and the cover paper is, too. How skinny? The spines of new copies have texture all the way down from the folding -- I suspect they will be the huge problem spots if you find these un-graded with an eye for slabbing. Mine has that -- as do some 9.8s I looked at before slabbing -- so mine probably had one other small issue to kick it down a notch. That was a bummer -- and my latest mags submission didn't have a single 9.8 in it, which was odd -- but I was grading this no matter what as a time capsule kind of slab from the last few years.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

MY EARLY INK FOR A BREAK-OUT STAR
The Card: Pete Crow-Armstrong 2018 Panini Elite Extra Edition 18U National Team Signatures Red (from 2019 USA Baseball Stars & Stripes rack sets)(/100)
The Reason Graded: I landed this ink for the Chicago Cubs star in a rack set -- that's a set and then some bonus cards in pack form direct from USA Baseball back in the day -- and he was one of a number of good names I found there for a low price. They all sat with my stuff for a few years before his breakout 2024 season got this one put into a grading order. Why? So I could get some ink in a slab and cross him off my list of key names needed. Crow-Armstrong joined the 30-30 Club this season, won his first Gold Glove and was an All-Star, too. The cool part? I added his ink from a two-auto set for just $9.99. (Other colors of this card are in standard EEE boxes ... the Reds are only in the sets I bought.)
The Grade: CGC 9.5 (10 auto)

Reality Check: The stock on these is the standard Donruss cardboard that can't decide if its chippy or soft -- it's generally pretty clean but a bottom corner could be soft here on the card backs where there's some color to make fuzz really obvious. This one was cleaner than other grading-worthy names but I'll likely slab others I found over time as more than a few here are in MLB now. He was the highest-profile name who needed to be graded now.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 41 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Las Vegas. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania8, a marathon of wrestling breaks all day long.

This brand is The Big Kahuna of 2025 -- the first release in Topps' early return to the WWE card license -- and the home of some truly massive possible finds, so it opens the show today. (And, yes, we'll see it again later. That's not a prediction, that's a spoiler.)

The Brand: 2025 Topps Chrome WWE (blaster box)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all formats)

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

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2025 Topps Chrome WWE wrestling cards (hobby)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery from this box.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The case: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (20 blaster boxes)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery for this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2024 Panini WWE Adrenalyn wrestling cards (international gaming)
Where to buy: Will take some hunting ... click here for all other wrestling boxes

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery of highlights from this one.

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 From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2022 Panini Select WWE wrestling cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a different option)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2023 Panini Chronicles WWE wrestling cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for blaster boxes & cases)

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery for this one.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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DOGPOOL'S DEBUT
The Book: Prelude To Deadpool Corps No. 3 -- first Dogpool appearance
The Price: Under $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was an impulse/curiosity buy once I saw Dogpool -- a character that I'm admittedly not that familiar with -- on this cover of Empire in advance of the Deadpool & Wolverine movie to come as well as in a preview trailer. Why? Well, one reason I grabbed this was that the lone graded copy of this book on eBay at that time had an asking price of $400-plus. While I know that's high, you never know what people might grab if the that pup steals the show or at least picks up some headlines alongside Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds when this one hits. (Weird thing have happened with Baby Yoda and Star Wars' Porgs in recent years.) This comic cover isn't exactly the same as what we're getting on the big screen dog-wise, but with the movie figuring to generate a lot of buzz and perhaps include a lot of cameos I've been looking at stuff here and there ... and I really need to go find that magazine, too. It's actually got higher asking prices on eBay than this book and has sold for more than $20. (It's a UK mag ... so it's perhaps not as easily found just yet.) The comic has had CGC 9.8 sales of $85 and $299 in recent months, too, so there's definitely some speculating ... and there should be. This movie will be huge.
Grab a box right here: BlowoutCards.com for non-sports cards

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for blaster boxes & cases)

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery for this one.

Continue reading →

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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THE FORCE WAS STRONG ... 
The Item: Daisy Ridley autographed Star Wars: The Force Awakens IMAX 3D ticket (/500) -- BAS Authenticated
The Price: Less than a couple Chrome boxes
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The next Star Wars film is in pre-production -- Star Wars: New Jedi Order coming in 2026 -- and it apparently pushes forward more than a decade from the last film with Rey Skywalker its main character. Hearing that much alone got me thinking I should really track down a Ridley auto now vs. later -- she has signed a lot but prices are perhaps softer now than they may have been in the past. Well, at least in theory ... she's seemingly always been expensive. So here we are. I had a few rules for looking here -- I wanted a full-name sig for sure, an on-card auto and a decent presence/feel for the item ... whether it be an item, an oversized photo or something else that might display a little better than merely a card. I wanted something clean and unique but also safe for a price that I'd stretch a little to get to since she's pricey. I opted for a seemingly Fanatics-adjacent seller where a number of big-ticket items reside without the massive prices that can come with those names and opted for this oversized commemorative ticket for an IMAX showing in Chicago -- only 500 numbered tickets made for each week of the promotion per location in late 2015 and early 2016 during its first run. I don't do a lot of tickets, but I liked the promotional twist and serial-numbered volume here (albeit it's only limited to 500 per venue) and then it being signed and encased gives it a nice feel in an oversized slab. This was substantially discounted by a third or maybe half of a typical price (they have a few) so I bit. Unsigned, it's not a pricey item but this felt cooler to me for its price than a lot of pricier certified auto cards.
Grab a box right here: Star Wars boxes at BlowoutCards.com

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The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 40 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Philadelphia. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania7, a marathon of WWE wax box/pack breaks all day long.

This one was a pick-up at a slasher price back on Black Friday -- a jaw-dropper price where I absolutely had to dabble -- and yet my first impression of ripping this one back then wasn't a good one ... so I let it sit. Now, a few months later? We'll see how the results look ... 

The Brand: 2023 Panini Prizm WWE (blaster case)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

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

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The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 40 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Philadelphia. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania7, a marathon of WWE wax box/pack breaks all day long.

This one is a sometimes erratic one when it comes to blasters, but I wouldn't have it any other way when the price is this right. What makes it erratic? The hits don't seem as regular in this format -- cases can run hot or cold -- but it's a release so packed with young stars on real RCs that cheap stockpiling of this one is fun. And this case? It brought some weird to it, too ... so weird that this one opens the show this year.

The Brand: 2022 Panini NXT (20-box blaster case)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

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

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The case: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (20 blaster boxes)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery for this one.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down the results here. Like this and want to see more -- or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The case: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (20 blaster boxes)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery for this one.

Continue reading →

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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THE PERFECT EARLIER SIG
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Blue Autographs (/50)
The Price: Less than a box these days
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you're a regular reader, then you know this set and this auto -- in all colors -- is high on my radar and that's why I grabbed this super-clean copy with an eye on grading. It's not totally perfect but I'm fine with that as the core reason I bit here was how clean this sig is with her original WWE ink, not the shortened one that has come about on her cards since this earlier signing. (It's not quite her pre-WWE auto, which is more of a puffy almost "tagging" writing style with big curves and loops on all letters.) A quicker auto happens for many signers as they ink more and more stuff and some styles just won't come back -- so that's another reason this one is a favorite ... plus, not that many of her WWE cards have this auto.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... but WWE boxes are here

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