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

MJ's MOMENT
The Card: Michael Jordan 2008 Goudey Hit Parade of Champions
The Reason Graded: This moment turns 35 this year and this insert card is one that ... came out of a box of baseball cards. It's a throwback to a 1951 set with stars from a little bit of everywhere in this Goudey version. These cards are smaller -- allowing for them to bounce around inside the wrappers -- but the only even close to deterring issue for grading with this copy was an irregular spot in the card stock itself ... but you can't even see it in this image. This finally made it into a grading submission of mine last year because it's an iconic moment for one of biggest names in sports history. The moment? This was Jordan's first championship.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: Behold! The worst of the four graded. Doesn't matter to me ... I just like the card and nines are fine.

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

Continue reading →

It's a book with many chapters and, if you ask me, this is one big piece of the story when it comes to the last year.

That's how I'd describe the sixth item in this memorabilia series that's all about match-used and event-used stuff from Shotzi Blackheart and it's something legendary that I landed directly from the Indy God.

How? I ponied up and won it at auction via one of her Whatnot streams -- simple as that -- to end 2025 with one of my weirdest yet big match-used pieces yet, and it's one I can document every step of the way thanks to all of the online action in today's pro wrestling world. Why do that when I already know it's real? Just for fun. The research and verification of an item's use step by step always makes things more interesting -- and, get this, I landed this one-of-a-kind piece for a steep price that was still substantially lower than a 2025 Topps Chrome WWE hobby box. (Get your WWE cards here, by the way.)

What's the item? Keep reading to see all the details.

Continue reading →

Mystery Box Buzz Break is a new series here on The Buzz -- it's essentially a Buzz Break but only for "mystery boxes" that seem to be everywhere these days -- and not just in the sports realm. Like this and want to see more? Is there a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The mystery box: Pro Wrestling Crate Autographed 8-by-10 Mystery Grab Bag (two of 'em this time)
Where to buy: Via Pro Wrestling Tees (now sold out) ... find new wrestling cards at BlowoutCards.com

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

Continue reading →

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

--

TWO OF BLACKHEARTS
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2025 Panini Instant MLW Autographs Water parallel (/10)
The Price: $39.99 each via Panini
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former WWE star is taking over a prominent spot in indy wrestling with appearances downright everywhere these days but with only a handful of card appearances to show for it (at least for now). Panini's newer foray into cardboard for Major League Wrestling has so far spawned a trio of base cards with parallels and some with autographed versions. I've been lucky enough to be plugged in and online to land ink for a couple of those drop days and in this case landed a pair of these autos where only eight others exist. Generally speaking, I'm not that big of a fan of the elemental parallels used in Instant these days, but they are an upgrade over the previous year's parallels that merely colored in one of the stripes in a design similar to this instead of the border as it is here. Either way, this one I'm a fan of as she's arguably my top collecting target these days as WWE stuff has gotten too pricey to comfortably dabble/rip boxes and have fun with the typical returns. In this case, the only angst is battling bots -- cards like these vanish in seconds and end up on eBay with prices three (or more) times higher. At least when I plunk down the money for these I know what I'm getting. (For those curious, the auto stickers here are older when she was signing in higher volumes for WWE releases -- her auto is back to an every-letter sig now.)
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but wrestling cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →

Mystery Box Buzz Break is a new series here on The Buzz -- it's essentially a Buzz Break but only for "mystery boxes" that seem to be everywhere these days -- and not just in the sports realm. Like this and want to see more? Is there a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The mystery box: Pro Wrestling Crate Autographed 8-by-10 Mystery Grab Bag
Where to buy: Via Pro Wrestling Tees (now sold out) ... find new wrestling cards at BlowoutCards.com

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

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

--

BOOK IT, BARRYMORE!
The Card: Drew Barrymore 2024 Leaf History Book Pop Culture Edition Chapter 1 A-List Magazine Purple Autographs (/10)
The Price: A lot less than some others have paid for her booklets
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'm not a big fan of how her abbreviated autograph looks on a sticker -- but since she has a long name I understand why she signs that way -- but I do casually collect some of her stuff, mostly 1990s-on (like in this photo), when it presents itself. Why? Just for something different ... so that's why we're here. Until Leaf's recent signing sessions with her, she's never had a certified autograph despite a lifetime on film and on cardboard since the early 1980s starting with Topps' E.T. set. Rather than obsess about her ink, I waited out a good price on this booklet and crossed it off the list. It's an unusual design -- not the typical kind of book -- but prices on her signed stuff have been steep with a lot of them being lower-volume cards. Many of her autos -- even solo ones -- can sell for $100 and up and combo booklets can be even steeper. I found this for less than that ... so it was a win for me.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →

What's Buzzing: Dodgers win the World Series, NFL chatter and more in this Sunday edition.

--

1 -- Dodgers win the World Series

2 -- NFL Week 9 chatter

3 -- Talking NFL trade deadline

4 -- Looking at the World Series MVP

5 -- Reactions to a Saturday night of WWE

6 -- MLB lockout chatter

--

Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Mystery Box Buzz Break is a new series here on The Buzz -- it's essentially a Buzz Break but only for "mystery boxes" that seem to be everywhere these days -- and not just in the sports realm. Like this and want to see more? Is there a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The mystery box: High Spots Virtual Gimmick Table -- Numbers Box
Where to buy: Via High Spots (on a weekly live stream) ... find new wrestling cards at BlowoutCards.com

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

Continue reading →

Late one night back in August -- literally just as I was unplugging for the day -- Buzz got an email.

The subject? That part was totally familiar -- Creepy KOFY Movie Time -- but the sender's name was one I needed to check as I thought I recognized it ... but I needed to check a profile. I did just that and I saw the account was now following me. It was a message from a collector, of course, and he wasn't alone contacting me about this cardboard -- it happened quite a few times.

But this one? Well it was a little different.

This story from back in June was one that got a lot of attention -- only Black Friday topped it in terms of attention over the past year -- and that's because it's all about a small card set that was a surprise to me ... and also apparently a surprise to many others. After I picked up my jaw, the email got a quick reply from me 20 minutes later ... and then I waited.

For a few days, I was living in a mix of shock and awe -- like a tank had hit me (or something) -- and then I waited. Then, about a week later, business picked up.

Continue reading →

Mystery Box Buzz Break is a new series here on The Buzz -- it's essentially a Buzz Break but only for "mystery boxes" that seem to be everywhere these days -- and not just in the sports realm. Like this and want to see more? Is there a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The mystery box: Pro Wrestling Crate Autographed 8-by-10 Mystery Grab Bag
Where to buy: Via Pro Wrestling Tees (now sold out) ... find new wrestling cards at BlowoutCards.com

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

Continue reading →

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

--

MY BEAR NECESSITY
The Item: Paul "Bear" Bryant autographed & dated/inscribed (Oct. 18, 1976) 8-by-10 photo (BAS authenticated)
The Price: $219 ... high for me but it's the perfect item for me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a jaw-dropper of a find for me during a random search of Mill Creek Sports' superstore for autographed stuff earlier this year and I've saved it for football season, specifically this month, to present it and tell its story. It's personalized and that makes it perfect for me this time ... and to top that, the signed date -- the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach and football icon who won 323 games dated everything signed like this -- might as well be on Buzz's actual birthday. (It's close ... close enough.) The odds of this existing or one being signed on my actual birthday? Well, I'm sure there were a number of things to sign on this Monday and I'm also very sure he wasn't sitting down to sign requests on a gameday when I kicked things off in the world. So, this is perhaps as close as it can get. The quality and condition of the photo are perfect and the ink is perfectly legible, too. Now, is his autograph really rare? Not particularly, but he died in January 1983 well before sit-down and paid signing sessions were en vogue for sports legends and he's still in high, historic demand despite Nick Saban equaling him and/or re-writing the Alabama record book in more recent years. It's the perfect item at a perfect price and it will always be mine.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but football cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

--

GOING FOR THE GOLD
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Wave Prizm (/10)
The Price: Around the price of a blaster box at arrival
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand is my favorite of the Panini years for WWE, and in the case of this star who I collect I have seemed to found her rarities on the affordable side at times with this release. This is a perfect example of that with it being one of the rarest parallels in there but it cost me not much more than the price of a retail box. It was arguably underpriced, so I grabbed it quickly when I spotted it. Will I grade it? It's a possibility, though this release's centering issues can create some surprises (that aren't totally surprises) as I found out with a different parallel of this card. Poke around in Making The Grade last month for an example.
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Former AEW and WWE champion Saraya. 

Continue reading →

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 sets: 2025 Superstars & Legends and 2025 Superstars & Legends Rewind Series wrestling cards
Where to buy: Click here ... BlowoutCards.com for traditional wrestling stuff

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

Continue reading →

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

AS GOOD AS IT GETS
The Card: Caitlin Clark 2024-25 Panini Instant WNBA (/26,980) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I watched and waited for the most part with Caitlin Clark cards as Panini Instant stuff arrived regularly and her in-pack WNBA Rookie Cards arrived later in the year. But, when this award-winner card popped up with a clean and iconic studio photo? Well, I pretty much instantly (pun not intended as it's simply true) grabbed a 10-pack with an eye for a slab. It's in a past Buzz Buys (hit the archives) and this is the result a few months later.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: This one is heavily made and should be heavily slabbed -- the number of Pristines has at least doubled just in the few weeks since I got these back from CGC -- but many won't be checking in at this top mark. I didn't slab to expect a perfect 10 but I thought this one had potential after going through my stack. Three of my 10 had solid centering and this one was first to make that cut ... with this mark I may not need to send in the other two. It's my lone Clark slab ... and it's strong enough it might stay that way just so I can say I went 1-for-1 grading here. We'll see.

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

Continue reading →

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 sets: 2025 Superstars & Legends and 2025 Wrestling Stars cards
Where to buy: Click here ... BlowoutCards.com for traditional wrestling stuff

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery from 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 Box: 2020 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.

Continue reading →

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 sets: 2025 Superstars & Legends and 2025 Superstars & Legends Rewind Series wrestling cards
Where to buy: Click here ... BlowoutCards.com for traditional wrestling stuff

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

Continue reading →

For years now, I've said that every card has a story ... but, every once in a while, a celebrity's meandering tale has chapters you might not even know about and, in a few really rare instances, there might even be some cardboard to go with it.

That's the case for me with this card this time -- I'm a grizzled veteran collector who's seen plenty, forgotten even more and collected all kinds of directions as players come and go in the traditional sports realm. TV shows and movies come and go on other cardboard, too, and times just sometimes change for collectibles ... just like my sometimes-meandering tastes. But this one? It was something that's right in my wheelhouse as a Shotzi Blackheart collector and it's totally new to me so here we are. She's a pro wrestler and a unique, self-made character if you don't know -- find her in WWE boxes here.

Not that long ago, I spotted a set that had me doing a spit-take, then a double-take -- and all of that was followed up by picking up my jaw off the floor, a click to buy and then hoping that the stuff would actually arrive. In short, it was something I'd never, ever seen before -- or even seen in a photo anywhere at any time. It's a card set for Creepy KOFY Movie Time, a watch-along late-night TV series that ran several years on KOFY Channel 20 in San Francisco that celebrated the retro horror movie genre with a surf music-serving house band called The Deadlies, as well as regular characters for bits, guests for other segments and then a regular go-go dancer ensemble on stage at all times called the Cave Girls, which marked Blackheart's TV debut. The series came to an end just as her indy wrestling career was taking off and eventually took her around the world with WWE.

The card set is from 2013 -- the year before Blackheart's pro wrestling debut in the indies with Oakland-based edgy and irreverent promotion Hoodslam where she was aligned with the Stoner Brothers (a parody of a famous team) under a Missy Hyatt-inspired moniker for a debut match on ... April 20. (Get it?) This name, though, which she has used otherwise for the rest of her wrestling career and to this day post-WWE, originated before that -- "Shotzi" comes from a nickname based off a character in a musical called Starmites (and her role in a high-school production) and "Blackheart" was an ode to Joan Jett and her band, The Blackhearts.

That's here captured in this set with some eccentric characters that you'd expect to find with the genre. It was a show broadcast from a "cave" under the TV studio with a demon (Balrok) and a zombie (No Name) as its hosts. This card set came two years before her attempt at WWE fame as part of its Tough Enough reality show -- she made it but then didn't when they found she had a health issue -- and then seven years before her eventual arrival on WWE cards (2020) as an NXT star. In between was a busy indy wrestling run where "The Ballsy Badass" left her red hair behind in favor of her trademark neon green and crafted her horned-helmet, tank-driving ways that she rode right into WWE unchanged.

Now, what's my convoluted headline and that Tom Cruise cameo all about?

Continue reading →

What's Buzzing: Jac Caglianone debuts, Mariah May and R-Truth reactions, NBA Finals, new pulls, The National and more.

-

1 -- Jac Caglianone debuts (0-for-5)

2 -- The National chatter is here

3 -- WWE roster changes have 'em talking

4 -- Talking MLB

5 -- NBA Finals thoughts ... and more here

6 -- All their new pulls are found here

--

Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Shotzi Blackheart takes care of business against then-champ Asuka during a brawl on Raw. (WWE photo)

-

It's the end of an era -- for now -- but the moments and the memorabilia remain.

That's how I'd sum up the recent developments in the wresting realm that tie into this fourth chapter of a memorabilia series with a tweaked name -- a tank-driven tangent in my Collecting Game-used series to be more specific. This time, it's once again an item from Shotzi Blackheart, who I collect rather seriously in the traditional realms involving Panini America and Topps cardboard, but this time it comes with a mild bummer attached yet the piece being ironclad authentic and caught on tape.

The bummer part? Well, that's got nothing to do with the item -- Blackheart's five-plus year run with WWE is over as her contract isn't being renewed as of this past weekend. However, that just means she should be able to take her name and her tank anywhere else in the globe (both things pre-date WWE so they should be hers) and get a lot more ring time and add some new stories to her wrestling tales unlike others who have to find a new name that's not a WWE-owned creation. The unique part of this? Well, it's my next-to-last item for this run -- for now -- and it comes from her brief time in WWE with a distinctly different look, one that I call her spikes era. It's from after she was attacked by Bayley who cut off chunks of her trademark long green hair before Blackheart finished the job herself and she began to unravel. This item was from one of the final steps as she joined forces with Charlotte Flair to take on Bayley's group, Damage CTRL, at Survivor Series and exact some revenge.

Keep reading to see the item and all the details.

Continue reading →

What's Buzzing: Postseason NBA, WNBA pulls, WWE roster changes, 2025 Bowman, Pete Crow-Armstrong keeps homering and more.

-

1 -- Postseason NBA chatter

2 -- WWE releases/non-renewals still have 'em talking

3 -- Awaiting Topps NBA 

4 -- Opening more WNBA packs

5 -- Still talking 2025 Bowman

6 -- Pete Crow-Armstrong is still delivering

--

Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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 one is the finale for today ... and it's a high-end, hobby-only box from near the end of Panini America's WWE run and it arrived around this time just last year. Will it deliver big on the big stage?

The Brand: 2023 Panini Impeccable WWE  box

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

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

Continue reading →

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 one 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 ... but what about this time?

The Brand: 2025 Topps Chrome WWE (hobby box)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (most formats)

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

Continue reading →