BuzzMania 5: Busting 2016/2017 Panini AAA stickers (Hour 4)

 The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 38 set for Saturday and Sunday from Dallas. We'll make today a big day for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania5, a series of WWE wax box/pack breaks.

This is an international option out there that won't break the bank and includes a few stars you might know from WWE and other American wrestling promotions right now. 

The packs: 2016 and 2017 Panini Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide wrestling stickers (50 packs each -- two box-sixed lots)
First Buzz preview & checklist: None for this since imports.
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... click here for WWE stuff.

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

Packs per lot: 100 (50 of each year)
Stickers per pack: 5
Stickers in this lot: 500
Base set completion: 
Not complete on either set ... but I'm also not sorting these this time.
Duplicates: Plenty

Notables on stickers – Rey Mysterio Jr., Kevin Kross, Taya, Johnny Mundo, Fenix, Pentagon Jr., Drago, Blue Demon Jr., El Hijo Del Fantasma, Parka Negra, La Parka, Jack Evans, Faby Apache, Mary Apache, Lady Shani, Brian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Angelico, La Hiedra, Hijo del Perro, Hector Garza, Dr. Wagner Jr., Ayako Hamada, Vampiro Canadiense, Prince Puma ... and many more.

Inserts: None (see gallery for just some of the highlights)

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

Sticker That Stole The Show: There are a lot of interesting ones here -- I liked a lot of the duplicate appearances from American stars in the 2016 set and some of the 2017 throwbacks, too, but I'll go with this Pentagon Jr. It's simple and strong.

What's Buzz-worthy: Most BuzzMania lineups in my five-year history of doing this marathon have stuck to WWE releases or at least ones where WWE owns the intellectual property now, but with the Panini shift for WWE cards but them not being out yet I figured I'd dabble with some of their international releases. Panini has already produced WWE cards for other markets in the past -- within the last decade -- but those in pack form I didn't find. So I went this direction after seeing so many WWE (and NXT) names in the mix and stars you'll see on their American rivals' shows, too. Some of the names here might be "Rookie Cards" per se -- but they are stickers -- so it's better here to just say early appearances. I did very well with the smaller 2016 packs with three or four copies of some stars' stickers (and some had more than one) while the larger-size 2017s (25th anniversary logo) didn't cough up many extras for the notable names you'd know from WWE but did deliver pretty well for guys like Pentagon and Rey Mysterio. The Triplemania poster stickers -- look closely -- also offer even more star power among the tiny pics or names mentioned to help give the casuals like me who haven't seen much AAA but know the names from elsewhere a little more to chew on. I found these lots on the affordable side of things so I didn't mind the results here -- there are no chase elements other than foil stickers that are in the set -- but I might do another lot of the one if it strikes me. I even have one of the finds here in a future grading pile ... why? Well, earlier stickers -- just like early cards -- can make for interesting slabs.

Product Grade: A- on 2016, B+ on 2017
Lot Grade: A on 2016, B on 2017
Fun Grade: B+ (was more interesting than I expected with heavy presence of names I was looking for in one year)

What's next? There will be some broken glass and beer in the next hour's break.

--

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

>> Click here to buy WWE packs & boxes on BlowoutCards.com