Buzz Buys (Aug.): Boys of Summer, old stuff, Shotzi & some TLC

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

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PARALLEL POWER?
The Card: National League Wins Leaders (Spencer Strider, Zac Gallen, Justin Steele) 2024 Topps True Photo variant & Gold Foil parallel
The Price: About $11 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The concept of this one is simple and it's striking -- knock off the border of a base card completely, using just its photo -- and I think it works. But there's also one thing here that's striking -- and not in the best way. These are arguably too rare to make that big of an impact with me and I think perhaps other collectors who might not bother to grab their players or even think about a team set or full set. How rare? They are one in 677 hobby packs and I'm confident they'd be more popular if people could reasonably collect a team run or set. Why? Because they're something dramatically different and you can compare the regular card and this version side by side. I also grabbed a Gold Foil parallel for this one this time after I bit on the variant ... just to say I had one. Even paying $10 for this was a stretch for me ... and those odds and that price might say that these aren't as popular as they could/should be. These are one in basically every third hobby case.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

IN THAT OTHER UNIFORM
The Card: Joe Morgan 2022 Panini Immaculate Collection Red (/49)
The Price: $7.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Hall of Famer and reds -- as in the team -- are a normal thing on cardboard but it wasn't just the foil color that got me to notice it. Morgan's cardboard as a career-ending member of the Oakland A's isn't plentiful so it always gets me to stop and look. I grabbed this since the price was right, the volume was low and the quirkiness was there. Part of me just wishes the on-deck circle would have somehow included here to tone down the awkwardness of the cutout. It's different ... that adds to the quirky appeal, though.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

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A DIFFERENT WAY OF DISPLAY
The Book: Amazing Spider-Man No. 19 Disney 100 variant (Fantastic Four No. 1 homage) -- Collect Forever Uncirculated
The Price: About $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The Disney 100 comics -- iconic issues re-imagined with Disney characters in place of the Marvel icons -- have caught my attention a few times lately and this way of collecting an encased comic caught my attention, too. Storing comics and all their condition issues and variables aren't that friendly to anybody -- rookie or veteran -- but these thicker vinyl cases (called a "soft slab")  are a notch down from the traditional CGC case. These are close to what the books go into before the case gets added when graded. All the info is on the label and CF arrived a few years ago with comics straight from the companies here uncirculated. (Not graded just fresh and untouched) You can scan the QR code at the top of the soft slab and it takes you to all the info on the book but doesn't offer a pop report ... it's just a simple way to dabble with books and not sweat conditions and future damage as a collector vs. a reader. I'm more of a slabber and art fan vs. the stories, so I see the appeal here. I probably won't dig in beyond a couple bargain buys -- covers or issues I like -- but it's not a bad idea. Why this particular issue of Spider-Man sports a FF cover? I'm not sure.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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A THROWBACK
The Card: Christy Mathewson 2022 Topps Update legends variation 
The Price: Under $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This iconic pose is a familiar one if you're a T206 fan, but it's not the same image ... but at that price I dig it and these variations can be collected a little more easily without breaking the bank. There are 41 of them in that set and some quality names involved. 
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

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TWO ROOKIE CARDS, ONE STAR
The Cards: Mina Shirakawa 2019 BBM True Heart -- Rookie Card
The Price: Probably too much (but less than eBay) because #WeWantMina
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Japanese star has arrived in AEW on a full-time basis, so the online "We Want Mina" Twitter push worked to a degree, though she was always a likely arrival once she could contractually stay. Shirakawa brings some extra energy into the mix, though the on-again, off-again battling triangle between her, Mariah May and Toni Storm is no longer complete. This is her RC for Japanese cardboard with BBM being a Topps-like company for everything cards and recent eBay sales are as high as $70 for this one (I'm well under that) with asking prices for other years after this also being strong. Why? Supply is low -- at least vs. traditional U.S. produced cardboard -- on eBay. She'll have more cardboard at some point soon.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but AEW cards are here.

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MISPRINT OR ERROR CARD?
The Card: Tom Glavine 1988 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Is it a variation? Is it not? I think it's something interesting going on here where if there were a little more black ink lost people might say "you bet it is." There are areas on some copies of this card that have washed out black just like the 1990 Frank Thomas where his name and more vanished to make the flaws obvious. Click on the thumbnails to see how those borders look and the Topps logo. They're definitely not normal. I did a deep dive over on COMC looking at all of the copies of this Hall of Famer's RC awhile back and only found a few like this ... but it wasn't a one-time botch. (Just like the Thomas.)
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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THE SUMMER OF '61
The Card: Roger Maris, Claire Ruth & Mickey Mantle 1982 ASA The Mickey Mantle Story (/20,000)
The Price: $2.24
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This set is the home to Mickey Mantle's first certified autograph card -- you could have landed a set for $24.99 with one of his cards signed (/5,000) -- while the remaining sets cost $12.99. (The autographed cards' backs are different and note the edition.) I liked this one for the Maris part of the ol' collection with Mantle and Babe Ruth's widow all featured.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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MATCHING TWIN CARDBOARD
The Card: Hanna Cavinder & Haley Cavinder 2022-23 Bowman University Best Mini-Diamond Refractors (/299)
The Price: About $10 total 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This duo on the basketball court and in the influencer realm also linked up with WWE for an NIL developmental deal and that made me look at cards (months ago at this point). I knew I wanted to find a matching pair from whatever cards popped up -- they have a number of options -- but this pair won the battle as the Haley Cavinder card is a serial-number match to her uniform (14/299) so that was my trivial deciding factor. Will they ever actually do anything of substance with WWE if they revisit all that? Maybe not ... so that's where we stand and that's why you hadn't seen this sooner. If they do, I might grade the pair to add a couple of oddball slabs into the graded wrestling collection. Maybe. 
Grab a box right here: Basketball cards are here.

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A LITTLE ROOKIE
The Card: Michael Harris II 2023 Topps 206 Low Series -- Rookie Card
The Price: About $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Heritage and mini RCs from some sets can get my attention easily -- especially for slabs -- and this one was on my radar when the Braves weren't as much of a mess as they are this year. For now, this one will stay this way or I'll pick off somebody else's slabs if there are firesales. 
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

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A BIG BIG GEORGE
The Card: George Foreman 1994-2001 Grolier Story of America 
The Price: About $6
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This boxing and food business icon's death earlier this year got me to look at what cards he has and this was one of a pair of simple pick-ups I made. Why do I like these information-loaded educational flash cards? They're deep variety of subjects and they're oversized so that helps them literally stand out a little more than other cardboard. I also liked the simple studio portrait used here which is not from the grilling years. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but other sports cards are here.

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DEFINITELY GAME-USED, BUT ...
The Item: Nick Swisher game-used 2004-07 Louisville Slugger P72 model bat
The Price: Under $100 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked up this gamer so long ago I'm not sure exactly how much it cost me -- I can't find my records for it via a simple search where I buy -- but that delay has a reason behind it. I let it sit for some time as I intended to try and research more to see if I could find a photo match but gave up. The tape job is absolutely his -- I own many of his bats -- but the blank knob is perhaps on the rarer side of things from the Oakland days. That sticker LVS branding on maple dates it to later in his Oakland run vs. early on -- the company moved to that instead of branding and it has evolved beyond even that in the last decade. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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FIVE NEWER TANKS
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2021 Topps WWE Women's Division Mat Relics Blue (/25), Green (/50) and three Pink (/150)
The Price: About $50 total (over a few months)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These jumbo Relics have a piece of the ring mat from the 2021 Royal Rumble so that specificity and the tank photo here always made this one stand out. I picked off the Pinks on the cheaper side of things when these boxes were getting opened heavily and then realized more recently I didn't even have the best color here -- the Green -- so I grabbed that and the Blue together. Oddly, I don't even have the base version.  
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

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THREE FOR TLC
The Cards: TLC (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes & Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas) 2022 GAS trading cards set
The Price: $20 (Black Friday sale)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one was intended to be a Buzz Break long ago but, well, things went awry with it perhaps not being shipped, then perhaps lost -- but either way certainly delayed -- for an extended amount of time. While it was a simple and cheap Black Friday grab last year, I didn't have this in hand until ... February this year. When I landed just the basics and no bonus cards, it sat and now we're here as I clear out some past buys. This set features three cards for three hits -- "Creep," "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs" -- from the legendary band that has sold more than 60 million albums, and one in five sets of this has a shot at a bonus fourth card, either a foil parallel (/20) or an autographed card from the two living members of the group, T-Boz and Chilli, together (/25) with two versions in play there. (So there are 50 dual autos and 60 parallels in the mix.)
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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A DOZEN HITS
The Cards: Shotzi Blackheart assorted Panini and Topps memorabilia cards and autographs 
The Price: Plenty, though to do tend to wait for lower prices ... so that's one reason why these have piled up
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Buzz Buys a lot of Shotzi if the price is right and, well, this is just a few of them from recent months where I presented others here in groups but left the hits for later. (Now is later.) The cool part is that top row and other in red are her wearing gear I now own -- check the archives for that story -- while the ink crosses off some brands I hadn't bothered tracking down due to centering issues (hello, Prizms) or rough stock (hello, NXT). Others I just needed or liked the price ... though price doesn't matter as much as I'm a collector. I don't have the funds to collect 'em all for anybody, but I try to get at least one version of everything among the parallel lineup for most cards.
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

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BARK AT THE MOON
The Card: Ozzy Osbourne 2003 Starz Behind Barz playing card
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This playing card deck is a bit on the cheeky side of things and I grabbed this months ago initially thinking it was for his Alamo incident. Nope, wrong state. The Prince of ******* Darkness has a good volume of card appearances and I own a few of them and this was an oddball I considered for a cheap and goofy slab. We'll see. His recent death just weeks after his final public performance probably means I grade his Pro Set cards I have had set aside forever at some point soon, if not more. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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PUBLICITY STILLS
The Items: Assorted press kit photos from past TV shows and movies featuring Lacey Chabert, Heather Graham, Rhea Pearlman, Terrence Howard, Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Jackie Chan, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Maitland Ward, Bernie Mac, Sela Ward & Billy Campbell among others
The Price: Pocket change apiece as part of an album lot
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked up a meaty album of mixed promotional photos from TV and film and these were some of the finds with memorable names attached for perhaps not-always-memorable projects. A lot of shows and movies don't get cards, but if they are from before the digital marketing and CD-ROM and PDF years then it's very possible they got branded press kit photos like this. A lot of sellers try to get a few bucks or $10-20 out of clean iconic images but you can find stuff on the cheap, too, so that's why I do some looking a few times a year to add to a collection (album or two) packed with fun names ... just like cards, really, but bigger.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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TWO PROOFS, ONE STAR
The Cards: Denise Richards 2024 Leaf Metal Blue Mountain State Campus Colors Black Wave & Prismatic Autographs Pre-production Proofs (1/1s)
The Price: $10 apiece
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This set piqued my interest when it first arrived -- more TV shows (new or old) need card sets in the modern era of cardboard that includes plenty of flash and hits to chase -- but when I looked at the cast listing, well, I knew there wasn't a lot going on here for my tastes unless a lot of the cameos of real-life football names were included. Some were. Boxes are cheaper now -- and I still eye them from time to time -- but I have only bit on this pair of proofs for perhaps the biggest name among the cast. Even these 1/1 proofs can be found dirt -- dirt -- so much so I might have actually overpaid even for these at $10 apiece. It's OK ... it's fun to collect. I might do more. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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YEP, I DID IT AGAIN
The Card: Bo Bichette 2023 Topps Heritage High Number 1974 Topps Puzzles Boxloader
The Price: About $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I've lost track of how many of these I own but I dig them ... it's an old school puzzle laid onto a cardboard backer and then shrink-wrapped to be a box-topper. Find more of these and more thoughts in the archives. I'll buy them as long as they are cheap.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

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A BIGGER BOX-TOPPER
The Card: Ozzie Albies 2021 Topps Heritage High Number 1972 Baseball Posters
The Price: $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a different kind of box-topper where it's thick paper folded and placed in the box, a nod to Topps posters of the past. The folding is weird -- are they creases? -- and I think they're not as popular because of that ... but since it was cheap I added one. Simple as that.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

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CARDS IN CHICAGO ... PLUS ONE
The Cards: Nick Swisher assorted 
The Price: Pocket change to a few bucks for the ink
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This grouping of stuff for my main player collection is almost all from his short stint with the Chicago White Sox and it's all stuff I already had but picked up more of since the price was right with the exception of the Co-Signers parallel (a set I hate but am close to having it all) and then the Chicago Tribune card, which is a definite oddball. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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SOME PRE-WWE WORK
The Items: Lisa Marie Varon (aka Victoria in WWE) pre-wrestling fitness modeling photo slides (12)
The Price: Less than blaster box (at old SRPs)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This dozen slides of the former WWE star and future Hall of Famer popped up on a deep, deep dive of celeb media slides with the seller grouping names as lots. The price here was perhaps a tad high but seeing a familiar name before WWE stardom made these interesting to me. The poses are mostly (but not all) variations of the one seen here, which would work as simple photos for various weightlifting/fitnesss/bodybuilding mags, books, calendars and posters (etc.) back in the day. Meanwhile, the shooter, Rob Sims, actually was the chief photographer for a few magazines back in the day (or still to this day I'm not sure what still exists). This was from March 2000 when she was working the fitness/weightlifting competition realms, meeting the likes of Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson who were doing the same along the way. She made her in-ring WWE debut less than a year after this and after some added training was a TV regular for WWE from 2002 to 2009.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WWE cards are here.

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A RETRO FOOD ISSUE ...
The Card: Hideki Matsui 2003 Upper Deck McDonald's New York Yankees food issue -- RC year 
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card has major 2002 Upper Deck Ovation vibes -- it might as well be from that set as it's the design with some tweaks -- but this being an oddball from Matsui's rookie year on MLB cardboard got me to look. Why? This Japanese superstar's arrival was a big deal and I thought this would make for an interesting cheap slab in my book to go alongside a 2003 SP Authentic auto (similar designs/colors that year to here) that I pulled. I didn't sub this via COMC and was glad I didn't ... it has a major corner tweak where the stock might actually be split. (It sat for a while as other cards got the grading nod. I still might track one down to slab or already slabbed since it's an odd card.) 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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EYEING THE STORMS
The Cards: "Timeless" Toni Storm assorted WWE/AEW Topps and UD cards and inserts 
The Price: Pocket change to a few bucks 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The Timeless One makes for amusing TV each and every week in AEW -- wrestling or not -- and has been one of the most-unique characters in all of wrestling for the last two years. (Arguably one of the best ever, really, at this point.) That's led to my casually picking off cheap inserts from pre-Timeless time as well as some of her newer cards ... and all of these were pretty simple and affordable adds. The serial-numbered Gold Chrome Slam Attax card, for example, was an underpriced find at less than $2.
Grab a box right here: Wresting cards are here.

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FLASHY AND SIGNED
The Card: Eugene autographed 2006 Topps Heritage Chrome WWE Refractor (via The Wrestling Universe store)
The Price: Under $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This isn't a Rookie Card but it being a Refractor got me to bite with that in-person auto. Why? All that flash just makes for a solid inked card to me -- I might not have grabbed it if it wasn't a Refractor -- and there aren't boatloads of this character in sets. His WWE run was just a couple years and there were only a few sets per back then. As I've noted here before, this child-like character was overly enthused with everything wrestling -- down to imitating his favorites like Hulk Hogan mid-match -- and a bit of a savant where he'd be the childish, bullied underdog who would somehow always end up on the winning side vs. many big-name villains. He also only has a lone certified auto ... this was a better route for ink vs. a silver-sticker auto.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WWE cards are here.

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TWO FOR TREK
The Card: Kirstie Alley & Merritt Butrick 1982 PPC Movie Players Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan playing card 
The Price: Pocket change 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Alley only has a part of credits on IMDb from before her role as Lt. Saavik for this film. She was reportedly for the following movie, too, but wanted a better payday and the role was re-cast. She went on to do plenty in Hollywood after that, of course, with nearly 80 roles including Cheers and Look Who's Talking among others. She has a few card appearances but this deck and one other set have to feature some of her first cards ... so that's why it caught my attention.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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SOME WRESTLING INK
The Items: Toni Storm, Jade (aka Mia Yim), Nikkita Lyons & Allie autographed 8-by-10 photos (via The Wrestling Universe store signings)
The Price: About $30 total (on sale)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These come from a dealer that regularly sets up signing appearances with past and present stars and also regularly will do sales on what's left -- so I bit on these WWE and AEW names for either the first time or some affordable new additions. I didn't have a Yim auto as Jade in TNA so that was an easy add, for example. I try to have ink of some kind for a lot of notables but if they don't have a lot of cardboard -- or it's illogically expensive -- I'll just go the photo route.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WWE cards are here.

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A THROWBACK LOOK
The Card: Spencer Strider 2023 Topps Throwback Thursday #TBT 1960 Topps (announced /1,110)
The Price: Under $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This comes from the weekly set series sold online that revisited old designs and since I'm a sucker for the Braves' red jerseys I grabbed this Strider. Until his injury and this season, he'd been a dominator so I have dabbled. I'm still waiting things out to see what more I can add.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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FOR WORKING THE ROOM
The Items: Joey Lauren Adams, Elizabeth Banks, Tara Reid, Rachel Hunter -- headshots & resumes 
The Price: About $15 total 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You can see more stuff like this series in the archives -- I picked off a number of audition photos and resumes from a dealer with apparent insider access and literally thousands of these available. Could stuff like this be faked? Sure, but would a faker literally staple photos to the pages for a sale of less than $5 in many cases? It's plausible but I doubt it. In the pre-digital days, printed photos like this were produced and sent out in volume as agencies aimed to land spots for their talents. Also interesting here can be the credits compared to IMDb and the varying looks from photo to photo for particular names and the changes between those and the credit sheets. They're like cards in that way and you can roughly date images to when based on stuff that's showing -- or not showing. I need to go dig around and look for more of these. I've found some with fun crossover appeal -- WWE star Roddy Piper when he went Hollywood for example -- and even one that appears to have a "vintage" hand-printed name done by the celeb (Eliza Dushku) on past ones in the archives.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

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EARLY SEASON STOCKPILING
The Cards: Tyler Soderstrom 2021 Bowman Heritage Rookie Card plus Black & White, Chrome and Yellow Chrome (/75) parallels plus 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Rookie Design Variations & 2024 Topps 206
The Price: About $19 .... with most of that the Yellow
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy's strong start got me digging and, well, this Rookie Card (that was made early and then arrived late) was my initial target. I even considered grading the Yellow over on COMC but I dodged a bullet there with a nasty bottom left corner that would have been a total waste of a grade -- something I either failed to notice or it was damaged in packing. (It happens.) I like both minis here, too.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

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THE LAST BATCH OF WWE SLIDES
The Items: Celebrity Photo Agency photo slides featuring WWE stars Ivory, Big Show, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Debra McMichael, The Iron Sheik, Jesse Ventura & Sgt. Slaughter with cameo from Dina Meyer
The Price: Pocket change apiece via a lot
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This last batch of wrestlers from a small lot of WWE/WCW focused slides includes some notables for sure and even a celeb appearance in there. What are they worth? Whatever anybody who's interested might pay ... just like cards. Stuff like this isn't all that easily found despite being somewhat mass-produced back in the day (though not just like cards), so it was an easy grab to page 'em up in a new album as a collector. Oddball stuff like this can be a cheap and fun alternative to collect when Chrome prices have not been all that comfy (cost vs. typical return) for me this year. 
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WWE cards are here.

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