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 ... an edition heavy on MLB and WWE but with some surprises.

A FULL SIG THAT'S TWICE AS NICE ...
The Cards: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Autographs
The Reason Graded: If you're a regular reader then you know it's no secret that I've busted tons of these boxes and picked off tons of her cards as the WWE's Tank Girl is high on my collecting radar. Why? She's unique and fun -- and the name and character is self-made, too, so if her WWE run were to ever come to an end, well then "Shotzi" won't. In this case, I pulled both of these autos myself and since it's among her first certified sigs as well as a more of a full auto (unlike how she signs now) I'm eventually slabbing all I own ... but not all at once.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: The stock here is skinny and since there are on-card autos they are prone to having some issues at times ... so this pair of 10s was an exciting return. The pop report looks pretty good, too -- I really need to get all my stuff organized to see how many of those are mine and how many more I need to slab ... eventually they'll all get graded. Why? I'm a collector and I like this one (and it's parallels) that much. 

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

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The special day is once again going global ... and it's expanding its lineup this year.

Topps revealed on Friday that Aug. 5 will be International Trading Card Day in hobby shops around the world with Major League Baseball stars in packs along with Bowman U college football stars, Athletes Unlimited stars, UEFA Champions League stars, Formula 1 stars and even the Garbage Pail Kids on tap.

What will it mean? Keep reading ...

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What: 2023 Topps Chrome baseball cards
Arrives: July 26
Box basics: One autograph per 24-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case); three autos per 12-pack jumbo box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The full Topps Chrome details are here with the familiar colorful parallel rainbows and some definite new surprises in store like ... TacoFractors!

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022-23 Topps Chrome Bundesliga soccer
Arrives: July 19
Box basics: One auto per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: A new edition of Bundesliga cards for Topps Chrome arrives with the standard auto-per hobby boxes and plenty of colorful and texture-filled Refractors.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.

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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 Topps Heritage baseball cards (mega)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

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

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What: 2023 Panini Plates & Patches football cards
Arrives: Sept. 8
Box basics: Two autos and one memorabilia card per five-card box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Plates & Patches returns with some new inclusions for NFL collectors to chase with metal-stock insert cards taking the place of printing plates.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 Panini Chronicles NASCAR trading cards
Arrives: Aug. 23
Box basics: Three autos and one memorabilia card per six-pack box (16 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Panini brings its all-in-one brand to the NASCAR circuit for a fourth time with this one presenting a number of brands and some new inclusions in this one -- like two Immaculate Collection cards per box.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Is LeBron James getting a Fanatics deal? That and more in this Friday edition.

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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 Prizm WWE wrestling cards (blaster box)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (hobby and retail)

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 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 lot: 1989 Donruss baseball cards (two packs)
Where to buy: Findable with some looking ... hit BlowoutCards.com for other Retro Rips

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

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What: 2023 Topps 206 Low Series baseball cards
Arrives: Sold out via Topps.com
Box basics: Autographs in every third box ... four 10-card packs per box
Checklist: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps revisits T206 tobacco cards for a fourth time but this time with a different release approach that apparently has come and gone on Topps.com.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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It's a long-running manga and anime series that carried over into video games for years now ... but now trading card games are getting a taste.

It's One Piece Romance Dawn and a set in the Bandai One Piece line of gaming releases. This one includes more than 150 cards and arrived late last year but has picked up steam with its rarities like the card above commanding some strong cash in both raw and graded form.

The Shanks card here is the most in-demand card of the bunch with it being an manga art Secret Rare -- and asking prices and sale prices over on eBay are strong. (Click that ... flip to completeds. Whoa.)

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What: 2023 Donruss Elite football cards
Arrives: Aug. 2
Box basics: Two autographs and one memorabilia card per 20-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Elite arrives for a new season with its familiar foilboarded approach, plenty of parallels and patterns as well as new Rookie Cards (last year's players in mocks here) and more to chase.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Domingo German throws a perfect game in Oakland, TacoFractors, extra Deadpool, The National and more.

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You should know by now that Shohei Ohtani is having another historic year with dominating performances on both the mound and at the plate ... it's stuff that could only be called Ruthian -- and yet Babe Ruth didn't do it all at the same time.

Right now, on June 28, he leads the league in homers (28), RBI (64), slugging percentage (.654), total bases (200) and other offensive stats, while also having. 7-3 record on the mound with 127 Ks in 95 innings and a 3.02 ERA ... in short, he leads his team in pretty much everything. This kind of showing could mean serious headlines by year's end, too, with that home run pace alone.

The Japanese icon and pitcher-slash-DH's 2018 Rookie Cards are ones you should be thinking about right now as there's been a serious uptick in interest -- and it was already high. But, thanks to there being plenty of sets that year and with him in most of them, there's still a lot to choose from that's not priced out of many collectors' budgets. Things do get quite interesting with basic cards in slabs, too. (Prices should surprise you ... they did for me just prepping this.)

Ohtani, who had a ton of cards during his career in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan starting in 2013, appears on literally thousands of unique baseball cards -- he'll probably hit around 15,000 by year's end or this time next year. More than 3,000 of those are from 2018 alone. His time in MLB releases started almost immediately as he never needed MiLB time and arrived in almost everything in the 2018 lineups from Topps, Panini America and elsewhere -- Rookie Cards, parallels, autographs, memorabilia you name it he's had it all since then. And there will be plenty more to come, perhaps making those earlier cards feel more unique to some ... especially if they missed out.

For simplicity's sake here, we have carved out all of his Topps Now and several other small-set cards sold as online releases as well as Panini America's meaty lineup of Ohtani (about 30 basic RCs and tons more when it comes to hits and inserts). We've also punted all autographs and Relic cards to make this a starting point with the widest affordability and accessibility possible, though there are plenty of high-dollar cards in this roundup.

Keep reading for a rundown of Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards ... and it won't even be all of his stuff you could dabble with from that key year as there are plenty of cards with RC logos that don't fall under the definition.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Shohei Ohtani keeps on delivering, Kaboom! from a couple spots, 2023 Topps Chrome chatter and more in today's edition.

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One of the biggest annual events in the hobby is coming soon -- and Blowout Cards is getting ready ... are you?

The full plans for the Panini VIP Party coinciding with this year's National Sports Collectors Convention will be officially revealed here sometime soon, but we're already getting some details of what will be up for grabs for those who are interested in getting in on the event.

And we can get you on The List.

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Panini America's newest teammate might be its youngest.

The NBA card-maker revealed on Tuesday that it has signed high school standout and likely 2025 NBA Draft lottery pick Tre Johnson to an "exclusive, multi-year partnership." According to the company, Johnson is the first high school athlete to sign an NIL deal of this type with Panini. The 6-foot-6 Dallas star guard recently transferred to Link Academy in Branson, Mo., for his senior season.

"This is a milestone for Panini America and Tre Johnson will be an excellent partner for our brand," said Jason Howarth, Senior VP of Marketing and Athlete Relations, in a prepared release. "Not only is he one of the best basketball players in the country, but he's an athlete from our backyard and someone we have had our eye on. We are excited to support Tre and help him grow as he continues to progress in his basketball career."

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What: 2023 Score football cards
Arrives: July 19
Box basics: Four autographs per 10-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Score kicks off the 2023 NFL lineup soon with new rookies, plenty of stars, all those familiar inserts and more in a meaty big box of everything for football collectors.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images released so far.

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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 Topps Heritage High Number baseball cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

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

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What: 2022-23 Panini Chronicles basketball cards
Arrives: July 19
Box basics: Two autographs per six-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Panini's multi-brand favorite arrives for another NBA season jam-packed with variety and plenty of new takes for key rookies and top stars all in one spot.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Braves & MLB chatter, Victor Wembanyama, new soccer pulls, The National and more.

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 box: 2023 Topps Chrome Star Wars trading cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Pack/Box Odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

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

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What: 2023 Onyx Hidden Gemz sports cards
Arrives: July 26
Box basics: One autographed Onyx card and one Hidden Gemz buyback card per box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Onyx offers up a simple approach that gives collectors what they want in two simple ways -- an autograph and a buyback in every box.

Keep reading for more info and a checklist.

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Take a minute and make some predictions and picks ... and if you're right you might have some free cards coming your way.

It's that simple.

YourDozen.com competition returns with free cardboard up for grabs to one lucky winner -- this time it's a mix of picks for Saturday WWE and UFC action and Majority Rules hot-take questions to go with them from elsewhere in the sports world.

Majority Rules questions are simple -- whatever gets the most votes is the winning answer -- and we've sprinkled in those along with the traditional picks. The end result is still the same -- whomever has the most correct answers once the dust settles wins free cards.

You have until 1 p.m. Saturday to get your picks and predictions in. (Do it now -- one of the tiebreakers is who entered first.) The prize this time is a mystery item.

>>> CLICK HERE TO ENTER <<< 

Did you get in on last week's action? Check the leaderboard and contact fish@blowoutcards.com to claim your prize if you're the winner.

How does it work? It's short and simple. Register and you'll get a dozen questions where your answers will be compiled and compared to others. Whomever gets the most correct gets the prize -- or at least a shot at it if there's a tie.

The goal with YourDozen.com? Have a little fun and get free stuff into some of your hands.

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.