Buzz Break: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (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: 2022 Panini WWE NXT wrestling cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery for this one.

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 192
Base set completion: 
124 of 125 (99 percent)
Duplicates: 42

Notables on base cards – Triple H, Bianca Belair, Drew McIntyre, Bayley, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, Big E, Finn Balor, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rhea Ripley, Roman Reigns, Gigi Dolin, Io Shirai, Wendy Choo, Indi Hartwell, Mandy Rose, Johnny Saint (RC, no logo)

Rookie cards (85 total; 60 unique) – Notables include Solo Sikoa, Bron Breakker, Nikkita Lyons, Cora Jade, Tiffany Stratton, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, Von Wagner, Xyon Quinn, Andre Chase, Roxanne Perez, Jacy Jayne, Ivy Nile, Fallon Henley, Xia Brookside

Inserts: 24 (all in gallery below with some base)
Silver (5) – Solo Sikoa, Mandy Rose, Indi Hartwell, Shayna Baszler, Duke Hudson
Blue (1) – Cruz Del Toro (/149)
Red (2) – Damian Priest, Teoman (/199)
Purple (1) – Tyler Breeze (/99)
Silver All-time NXT Highlights (1) – Finn Balor
All-time NXT Highlights (4) – Shinsuke Nakamura, Tyler Bate, Finn Balor, Shayna Baszler
2021 NXT Highlights (7) – Raquel Rodriguez, Meiko Satomura, Cameron Grimes, Kushida, Santos Escobar, Io Shirai
NXT Gold (3) – Drew McIntyre, Ilja Dragunov, Shayna Baszler

Autographs/Memorabilia: 2
NXT Memorabilia (1) – Odyssey Jones
NXT Signatures (1) – Gunther

What's Buzz-worthy: My third hobby box here is probably a lot closer to the norm as I found Gold hits of different kinds (/10) in my first two. This time? An auto for a notable but affordable newcomer and a pretty standard mix of everything else ... so still pretty good just not one bigger card to get it to the bigger stage. ...  Two thoughts ... had NXT stars not appeared on the checklists of the first three Panini America releases, this one would be a monster -- and yet at the same time there's a lot to like here even though there's no razzle-dazzle Revolution stock or Optichrome to be found here. What is here? A meaty dose of Rookie Cards -- 60 on the checklist (61 if you include UK star Johnny Saint on his first WWE cards) -- and a photography showcase with on-card autos and plenty of parallels for a budget price. The only drawback? Some of the quality control concerns of cardboard stock -- edges and surface issues on some cards repeatedly across all my boxes -- and then errant gloss on the backs of pretty much everything all the time. If you're just collecting then these aren't that big of deals but if you like to grade newcomers' first-year cards it's something to watch for ... I don't think there will be any rock-solid 10s arriving here en masse on pop reports. ... The parallels aren't as perhaps as plentiful or colorful as I had hoped for -- some parallels are quite colorful of you find them -- but this one is loaded with past and present talent for WWE's developmental program. This one is loaded with stars who haven't had cards before -- or had no cards at all before Panini America took over the license this year -- and that's partly due to the influx of new names for NXT 2.0 (now back to just NXT), NXT UK and getting caught up on production cycles post-COVID. ... This one has a lot to chew on and it's really Panini's first traditional-stock release of the year ... perhaps it could set the stage for some traditional, affordable releases for collectors not into solely chrome stuff to rip? We'll see.

Product Grade: A 
Box Grade: B+ (just needed something on the rarer side or a better name on numbered to be an A)
Fun Grade: B (needs more parallels ... some minor stock issues but better than previous NXT stock)

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