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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WELCOME TO THE COLLECTION 
The Item: Slash autographed Four (2022) CD cover (PSA/DNA authenticated)
The Price: Less than a jumbo box of flagship cards ...
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is one of my recent additions in the rock autograph realm as, well, that genre can be quite pricey -- too pricey, really -- but the cost was decent here for an autograph of the iconic Guns N' Roses guitarist who's stayed busy with many a project since that band disbanded and then reloaded in recent years. While I'd prefer a signed item showing him -- I have to flip this one over to see an image -- this PSA-slabbed CD cover that was likely among those sold via Newbury Comics back in the day worked for me. It was probably $100 less than it could be at times for a similar slabbed/third-party authenticated item. Meanwhile, it was probably about $50 more than the same thing but without third-party authentication and encapsulation. A signed and authenticated photo can end up around $500 if it looks good (sometimes more, sometimes less) while signed items can soar even higher. Why? Access -- Slash isn't exactly doing signings or conventions -- so the few times he's signed for his own album releases like this in more volume they get gobbled up and become ultimately the entry point (or only addition) for many. Count me right there. I wanted to add Slash to my stash ... but not break the bank.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... hit non-sports on BlowoutCards.com

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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 ...

No. 1 GOES FIRST HERE, TOO ...
The Card: Bryce Young 2021 Onyx Vintage College Football Autographs
The Reason Graded: I collect Alabama guys but on the cheap so when a top talent arrives on NFL cardboard odds are I already found them ... if they had stuff. Generally, I try to have auto of all new big names and in the most-recent years thanks to NIL deals where active players can sign autograph deals that's been easier to do -- for both big names and guys who won't be top picks. In the case of this new Carolina Panthers QB, I pulled this one -- something I also did with Tua Tagovailoa -- so I don't have to chase new stuff after he was taken No. 1 in this year's NFL Draft. (But I will if I somehow find bargains.) This one is nice as it's on-card, has a clean retro design (I like that) and has a design/photo that doesn't showcase the fact that there are a couple small missing logos here that would come with full licensing. Atop that, his autograph on this card -- and the card itself -- is super clean and many of his autos are absolutely not clean in recent years. (In fact, I'd say that his auto is bad way more often than it's good ... and it's not that good visually to start with.) When I saw this one, I knew I needed to slab it for those reasons.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: I was a little worried about the surface here as the retro stock is definitely no-frills -- it doesn't even have a light gloss -- but it checked in with a grade I don't mind. I was happy with this and you'll probably see more of Young here in this series -- or at least Buzz Buys -- more once new NFL stuff starts popping up and the college colors fade away for some. Those colors won't fade away for me -- I like them a lot more than anything Carolina -- and he's always going to be the first Heisman-winning Alabama QB.

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

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What if ... Topps created a Stadium Club WWE card set?

It's a simple enough question, so that's why you see it here has both the headline and the opener -- and there are more than 100 simple fake cards that I've crafted to follow to show just some of the possibilities. It all started with a tweet of the photo you see above of Bianca Belair on the way to the ring for her history-making main-event match at WrestleMania 37 earlier this month. I saw that and followed with a tweet of my own saying "somewhere out there in the world is a Topps Stadium Club WWE set that could be huge."

For those who don't know, Stadium Club is a brand that Topps introduced to the world back in 1991 and it's a photo-driven full-bleed brand that has been seen for baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer and even some non-sports entities ... but never for WWE, which Topps has made cards for in its current run since 2005. (The first Topps WWE sets were in 1985 and 1987.)

Why might it work? Well, if you ask me, the WWE has some of the best photographers on the planet working for them and I scoured a tiny sampling of the thousands of images they produce every year to document it all -- in the ring, outside the ring and behind-the-scenes stuff -- to imagine the possibilities. Just a sliver of their work ever sees cardboard, and while a number of the iconic images you will see here have appeared on cards they've not often had much of a dynamic border-free run like you see in Stadium Club.

I spent a few hours this weekend coming up with a basic photo frame for some imagined -- totally fake -- cards to help sell the idea like I'm D-Generation X with a new T-shirts to hock. Here's hoping you see what I see for the potential as I look at a few categories of photos and approaches I'd take in an all-eras, all-encompassing set that seems like it could easily be one of the coolest and meatiest card sets in WWE history if it were to happen.

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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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OFF-SEASON GRAB
The Card: Calvin Ridley 2018 Donruss Optic Aqua (/299) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Price: $2.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card is a perfect example of an off-season pick-up that can show you some volatility and gains when in-season. The price above is a "then" price. The asking price now where I grabbed it? Basically add a zero and then a few bucks. Now, I'm not sure it'll sell for that much right now, but that's the kind of stuff that can easily happen when a player has a hot start to a season and is among the league leaders. Ridley had at least 109 yards in all but one game (that one a big fat zero) and he's a go-to for his struggling team right now. His auto isn't much to look at so I don't grab them as often, but I don't mind his RCs and memorabilia cards when I can land them cheaply.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Donruss Optic football cards

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The box: 2016 Topps WWE Road to WrestleMania (24-pack retail box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 168
Base set completion: 
110 of 110 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 3

Notables on base cards: The Four Horsewomen, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Daniel Bryan, Ric Flair, Triple H, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Lana, Chris Jericho, Stardust, Undertaker, The Dudley Boyz, Braun Strowman, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks Charlotte, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, Ric Flair, The New Day, Paige, Becky Lynch, Lana

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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: 2016 Topps WWE Road to WrestleMania (hobby)
The cost: Click here

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

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