Buzz Break: 2017 Topps WWE Then Now Forever (hobby box)

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: 2017 Topps WWE Then Now Forever (aka Topps WWE Series 2) wrestling cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

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

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 165
Base set completion: 
98 of 100 (98 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards: Andre The Giant, Charlotte Flair, Mandy Rose, Roddy Piper, Shawn Michaels, Sting, Steve Austin, Trish Stratus, Jerry Lawler, Ruby Riott, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Mickie James, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Lana, Natalya, Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes, Goldust, Edge, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Curt Hennig

Rookie/First NXT Cards: Shinsuke Nakamura, Aleister Black, Lacey Evans, James Ellsworth, Tyler Bate, Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, Killian Dain

Insert cards: 65 (all hits & some sample inserts/base in gallery below)
Blue parallel (1) – Jerry Lawler (/99)
Bronze parallel (12) – Aleister Black, Braun Strowman, Ruby Riott, Sasha Banks, Andre The Giant, Sin Cara, Ultimate Warrior, Kevin Owens, Angelo Dawkins, Viktor, Emma, Mark Henry
John Cena Tribute (4) – John Cena
Finishers (48) – Notables include John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, The Rock, Triple H, Randy Orton, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley, Booker T, A.J. Styles, Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Drew McIntyre, Andrade "Cien" Almas, Dean Ambrose, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce

Autographs/Memorabilia: 2
Autographs (1) – Aleister Black (/99)
Blue Royal Rumble Mat Relics (1) – John Cena (/50)

What's Buzz-worthy:  I don't know where this box had been sitting the last three years or whether it was early in the print run for this release, but the cards inside this box were nearly all razor sharp and clean with a very minimal number of lifted corners or roughed edges ... so much so that I wanted to break this one down and show it off. (It didn't hurt that my hits are of top names and include a parallel and my run of base parallels were pretty good names and, again, super clean and sharp.) Why do I say this? That's not always the case with thin-stocked paper-based releases but this one was amazing on that front. I sleeved many of the cards because they are all slab-worthy if I were to opt to go there. (I may on some. We'll see.) This is a design that hasn't aged well in my eyes but the checklist of players and RCs/newcomers here has -- had I landed that Black card back when this one arrived I may not have liked it as much as now. (The AB sig is not ideal but it's a first card. It's clean but not razor-sharp like everything else.) ... As said before, this second series of Topps' WWE flagship starts off the base cards with No. 101 and includes a new selection of current and past stars for WWE and NXT. The parallels are the same but the inserts here come two or three times per pack between the Finishers, the latest Cena cards and the parallels. There are some big autos here -- most notably the first Topps ink for Stephanie McMahon (just her second auto ever) and Triple H. Each of these is signed on-card and are likely to be much rarer than other signers. That's why I bit here. I didn't land them -- but they are out there ... and the boxes aren't as plentiful as they had been in the past. Retail options don't include ink in every box like hobby, but auto-mem cards are in the mix in blasters (one hit per) and all types of hits and more can be found in other retail formats.

Product Grade: A- 
Box Grade: A (some razor-sharp and clean cards in this box ... far better than most I've seen)
Fun Grade: B+

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