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

MY LONE AUTO ...
The Card: Aaron Judge 2015 Bowman Inception Prospect Autographs Gold (/50)
The Reason Graded: Back when I could open a lot of boxes, I'd actually also do some group breaks as well -- as long as they were sure things where an affordable spot would guarantee a hit or had a volume of actual hits inside (auto or mem cards) the case that was high enough to make the odds close to that. This is my lone Aaron Judge auto left from back in those days. I landed it in a spot somewhere around just $60 -- and I actually got two other Yankees autos in the break to make my cost for this particular card even lower. I only ever pulled one other Judge auto and I think I let it go in a trade long, long ago so this last one standing for me was always a candidate for grading -- and it finally made the cut with his monster year.
The Grade: CGC 8.5 (10 auto)

Reality Check: The thick stock here made this one feel like a safe pick and it is -- the front is perfect -- but the back corners also count and some light fuzzing there is likely what dropped this one down. Otherwise, it definitely presents as a crisp card and a perfect card on the front. I was aiming for a nine, so this mark was a slight bummer -- but it's still a big card. Mine is the only Gold graded by CGC and among the 12 graded in all colors nothing checks in higher than a nine.

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

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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 seeFa busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Fantasy Super Costplay Wrestling Series 4 trading cards
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for WWE/AEW

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

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What: 2024 Leaf Metal Legends of Wrestling
Arrives: January
Box basics: One autograph per seven-card box (three boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The first autographs from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- and just his second time signing for a wrestling set -- arrive in this loaded release that will include some of the biggest names in wrestling history ... sometimes appearing on the same card.

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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 AEW Metal Universe wrestling cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby) 

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery from 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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A DIFFERENT DIRECTION ... 
The Cards: Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) 2023 Topps Throwback Thursday Star Wars Wave 4 (/3,039)
The Price: About $40 for lot of nine
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: A lot of the online small-set releases from Topps have tempted me the last few years, but at times when I have bit the actual finished product isn't as appealing for my main reason I'd grab something -- issues that hurt if you're grading. This line has been tempting but instead of buying a bundle for a card that jumped out at me (like this one) I instead picked off a singles lot from a re-seller. Why? Again, grading. I was looking back at all of the 1952s for this brand and this one was by far the best of the bunch with the colors and photo. The centering here? About as flawed as the times that annoyed me in the past, but one or two here were decent enough that I'll send one in for grading at some point. They probably won't land top marks but I'd still be fine with a slabbed copy of this one as Dawson is a relative newcomer to Star Wars cards and in a lot of memorable past roles elsewhere.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this but ... Star Wars boxes are here.

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The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 39 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Los Angeles. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania6, a marathon of WWE wax box/pack breaks all day long.

This is our ninth break for today ... a mix of older and recent indy and other promotions' cards -- an invasion of sorts with some international flair and a non-WWE slot in this year's BuzzMania lineup. Why? Keep reading ... 

Battle of The Brands: 2021 AEW Unrivaled/Unmatched Collection Jazwares (four packs) vs. 2008 TRISTAR TNA Impact (blaster) vs. 2017 Panini Lucha Libre AAA 25th Anniversary Stickers (five packs) vs. 2014 Independent Women's Internet Wrestling Series 1 (one pack) vs. 2022 GCW Deathmatch All-Stars Vol. 2 (two sets) vs. 2022 History of The Wrestling Revolver Vol. 1 (two sets) 

Where to buy: Will take some looking ... hit BlowoutCards.com for more standard stuff

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

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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 ... and this time around it's a little heavier on football as that season is here.

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AEW ORIGINALS ... AS IN ORIGINAL ARTWORK 
The Cards: Gummy Arts original T206-style drawings (1/1s) for Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, MJF, Powerhouse Hobbs & Sting
The Price: Less than an AEW hobby box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you don't know the work of artist Mike Noren -- aka Gummy Arts -- he's been drawing athletes or memorable pop culture characters in penciled cartoon-style reproductions of past cards or on new creations for years now. You can find constantly updating feeds of his work in timely posts over on Instagram or Twitter and then sometimes those get reproduced and sold as cards in packs. In other instances, he's let the original artwork go, too. Those vanish fast and can be pricey -- actually, his packs can vanish fast, too -- and for years now I've eyed the section of his site for original art (typically $50-80 depending on subject) that made it into cards. I had never found one that was must-have for me -- or at least found a must-have one in stock -- but one day after seeing a tweet of his I did my regular ritual and checked the site to find this set of five T206/Honus Wagner homages in one slightly pricier lot but had to grab them. I had remembered seeing the Rosa online but didn't remember any of these being made into actual cards. It turns out they weren't, so the only thing that exists f0r now (at least when I recently grabbed them) are these originals. Four are top AEW stars while one is an all-time great who has worked for every company ... really a no-brainer for me and I might have paid the typical full price for one or two of these. The Rosa card in a Tijuana jersey and others in their own Wagner-style threads made me laugh, while that Cassidy is not far from spot-on even in Noren's style. Poke around here on The Buzz and you'll see more of these ... just not in 1/1 original art form.
Grab a box right here: AEW cards are here

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

WOOOOOOO!
The Card: Charlotte Flair 2015 Topps WWE Undisputed NXT In Line Autographs #NA-CH
The Reason Graded: The trio of big first/first-year autos in this release for three of the four biggest homegrown women's names (aka not Ronda Rousey) in WWE in this one have been slabbed in my stash -- Flair this time, Becky Lynch last time and Sasha Banks a couple times before in the history of this series. Why? Well, I think first (or first-year) autos are way more important than what people argue about on the Rookie Card front. They're inherently rarer and this brand is one that always seems to grade well as long as there's not any back-edge damage here (the designs often have dark colors).
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: This one checked in where I had hoped -- and thanks to their new shift to a "Gem Mint 10" scale this one would be a 10 if in a new slab. (I'm good with that, too.) Flair isn't my favorite of The Four Horsewomen of NXT but I think this is one of her better cards ... though I do wish she would have signed in blue like everybody else.

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

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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 ... and this time around there's some new stuff and some throwbacks as I await some new arrivals.

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IN THE HOUSE (BUT NOT IN THE STRIKE ZONE)
The Card: Dr. Anthony Fauci 2020 Topps Now (/51,512)
The Price: $6 (direct from Topps)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card was a fun surprise after his awful first pitch to start the season on Opening Day last month and it set an all-time record for Topps Now with more than 51,000 copies sold. That's more than double the previous record for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s MLB debut last year. Why? The novelty of it and the market has been strong for this card as many non-collectors apparently want one. That price has made me glad I did a handful. I may or may not slab one as I had planned as these didn't come in as razor-sharp/perfectly clean as other Topps Now cards I've done. (And also because grading prices are getting steeper.) The real question for people out there ... did anybody get a parallel? Those are new for Now this year.
Grab a box right here: None for this ... get 2020 MLB boxes here.

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