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: 2021 Topps WWE Slam Attax (Topps India Smart Pack)
Where to buy: Will take some looking -- get standard WWE boxes here

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one as well as a gallery of highlights.

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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 admittedly a mismatch -- a retail option vs. an international gaming release that's a big one with big potential ... but they're both Chrome and that makes it a rumble here today. Why? ... Why not?

The Brands: 2021 Topps WWE Slam Attax Chrome (hobby box) vs. 2015 Topps Chrome WWE (three retail value packs)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com for Slam Attax

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 Box: 2021 Topps Chrome WWE Slam Attax
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one as well as a gallery of highlights.

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 Box: 2021 Topps WWE Slam Attax (Topps India Carry Box)
Where to buy: Will take some looking -- get standard WWE boxes here

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one as well as a gallery of highlights.

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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 ...

A STRATUSFYING TEST?
The Tape: Trish Stratus 100% Stratusfaction Guaranteed (WWE, 2003)
The Reason Graded: There's a lot of talk about "alternative assets" in recent years and to a part of that audience trading cards are included. For those of us who work, live and breathe in the cardboard realm and have for a long time, it's perhaps more common sense and cards aren't necessarily an "alternative" or even an "asset." (It's a hobby for me.) But, grading of other items -- everyday stuff like magazines, video games, movies and toys -- that were used and in some ways shouldn't exist in their original form now might feel more that way. (They do to me.) I write about what I like, but this is a scenario where I dipped into a different realm of grading -- basically just to go through the process and see if I like it and then say that I did it once -- and I chose something that ties back into my collection as a whole. (That's wrestling.) Sealed VHS, video games and the like clearly have their audiences and demand is there for some things. There are some interesting sale prices out there for VHS -- everything from blockbusters from the late-1970s and early 1980s up to the oddball/culty stuff of the early 2000s before DVDs won the battle and stuff that you'd think wasn't even on VHS. Why is it a thing? Well, most stuff got used ... not saved, sealed and left untouched. (Sounds like baseball cards way back in the day, right?) With some steep discounts around the holidays here for grading fees, I grabbed this tape unopened and submitted it. VHS grading isn't cheap so doing them in serious bulk like cards ain't happening, which limits the volume available (for now) and the markets some, but this tape is one I felt comfortable with as a test. Why?The front cover is well-designed with a WWE icon and Hall of Famer front and center and having that visual appeal to start is one of the keys to demand if the grade doesn't work out.
The Grade: Beckett VHS 8.0 (Seal: A)

Reality Check: There's no posted pop report -- so this is a guess* -- and there's also not a posted grading scale yet, either, but I'll say this result bummed me out a bit. There were no substantial damage here other than a couple very minor things on one back edge of the box (where the ink was dark) so I had visions of a higher grade. But, it is what it is. My sub-grades came back 8.0 on corners, 7.5 on edges, 8.5 on flaps and 8.5 on gloss ... so the obvious flaw I knew about hurt the most. But, if we're talking about a 10-point scale, well, this piece, to me, doesn't feel closer to average or lesser. (I've seen some mangled VHS and DVD covers that were thrown around bargain bins where corners demolished surfaces ... those are lesser.) But, like I said, there's no posted scale to know what kinds of defects affect things here or there and no real cautions of what to look for. So, I did this as a test ... no regrets. Will I do it again? Probably not at present costs (I was in and out in a month, though) or without a scale to educate myself ... but, if I were to find a sealed clean and impressive copy of a couple of favorites from the past then maybe. Also, I'd be more inclined to do a different but related direction -- I think sealed DVDs and Blu-ray could actually be more popular as slabbed entities as it's way easier to find them sealed and they can have the same kind of appeal with modern packaging/designs. Plus they are smaller and lighter, too, making them easier to store and display. All in all, I like this piece and came up a bit short of what I thought it would grade at ... but it was still moderately Stratusfying.

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 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 fourth break for today ... a competition between three retail releases from the past that can always deliver well ... but in differing ways.

Battle of The Brands: 2015 Topps WWE Road To WrestleMania vs. 2021 Topps Chrome WWE vs. 2021 Topps WWE Women's Division (one blaster box of each)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

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

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What: 2023 Panini Revolution WWE wrestling cards
Arrives: June 16
Box basics: Eight packs per box (16 boxes per case via two inners)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Panini America's second year in the ring starts the same way it did as a rookie -- Prizm and then Revolution -- and this new version includes some new stuff but plenty of the familiar, too. (Kaboom! anybody?)

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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: 2021 Topps Chrome WWE Slam Attax
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one as well as a gallery of highlights.

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 box: 2021 Topps WWE wrestling cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: Click here (for hobby)

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

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What: 2021 Topps WWE wrestling cards
Arrives: Dec. 22
Box basics: Two hits (one auto guaranteed) in every 24-pack hobby box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps WWE appears to have moved back to a flagship set approach with it having a meaty 200-card base set with a format follows the "Road to Wrestlemania" highlights-driven approach of the past while also mixing in roster cards for stars from Raw, Smackdown and NXT.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Update (March 30): Topps has canceled this release.

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What: 2021 Topps WWE Road to WrestleMania wrestling cards
Arrives: March 10
Box basics: Two hits (one auto guaranteed) in every 24-pack hobby box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The Road to WrestleMania has been a little different this year in a world of no-fan arenas and then the Thunderdome, but the mileage keeps adding up as the clock ticks toward 'Mania and this is the set that takes you on that journey to the company's premiere event.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 9.

The box: 2015 Topps Chrome WWE (blaster)
The cost: $12 -- for hobby boxes, hit BlowoutCards.com

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

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The latest WWE Slam Crate is here and things are getting divided with "stables" taking the spotlight.

There aren't any Four Horsemen homages here, but we do get a nod to The Four Horsewomen of NXT as well as some DX, New Day and nWo pieces this month.

The first crate arrived last year, the second arrived in December and the third one was fun, too, as was the fourth which introduced a new toy twist, but this newest crate arriving now gives us a continued approach to WWE toy collecting and plenty more.

What was 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 box: 2015 Leaf Wrestling Autographed  8x10 Photograph Edition
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 1
Photos in this box: 5
Base set completion: 
N/A
Duplicates: N/A

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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: 2015 Topps WWE Heritage wrestling cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard packs plus one Relic/Sting/Vudu code pack in boxes at Walmart)
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 66
Base set completion: 
38 of 110 (35 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable names pulled on base cards: The Four Horsemen, Trish Stratus, Finn Balor, The Rock, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Kevin Owens, Undertaker, John Cena

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Topps released the final checklist for 2015 Topps Heritage WWE on Wednesday and there's one inclusion that might be buzz-worthy on the morning that fans around the world started buying WrestleMania tickets for next April in Dallas.

It's the nWo -- the anti-establishment faction that changed the wrestling world in the 1990s when good guy Hulk Hogan shed his yellow and red in favor of black and bad-guy "Hollywood" status. Could they be back at 'Mania? It's a compelling thought considering the checklist includes an autograph set focusing solely on the group.

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