BuzzMania: Busting a 2016 Topps WWE hobby box (Hour 12)

The biggest weekend in professional wrestling is here with WrestleMania 34 set for Sunday in New Orleans and events beginning tonight with the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a NXT Takeover on Saturday and then Raw/Smackdown tapings after that. We'll make today a big day for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania, a series of WWE wax box and wax pack breaks all day long.

How long will we go? Stay tuned ...

The box: 2016 Topps WWE (hobby)
The cost: Click here

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

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 163
Base set completion: 
96 of 100 (96 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Andre The Giant, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Trish Stratus, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Lita, Edge, Randy Savage, Elizabeth, Paige, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Mandy Rose, Kevin Owens, Sensational Sherri, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Batista, Rob Van Dam, The British Bulldog

Inserts: 65 (see a sampling of inserts and base in gallery below)
NXT Prospects (24) – Notables include Asuka, Nia Jax, Enzo Amore, Apollo Crews, Jason Jordan, Bayley, Finn Balor, Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss
Silver parallel (1) – Summer Rae
Bronze parallel (12) – Cesaro, The Miz, Jim Ross, Ryback, X-Pac, Rob Van Dam, Mike Rotunda, The Godfather, Stevie Ray, Christian, The Ascension, Brie Bella
The Rock Tribute (4) – This is Your Life, Battles Chris Jericho, Takes on Stone Cold at WrestleMania 17, Wins the Six-Man Tag Team Match
Authority Database (11) – Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Undertaker, The New Day, Sheamus, Kane, Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose, The Wyatt Family, The Rock, J&J Security
Anti-Authority Ring Report (13) – Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Triple H, J&J Security, Sheamus, Randy Orton, The Rock, The Wyatt Family, The New Day, Chris Jericho, Kane, Brock Lesnar, John Cena

Autographs/Memorabilia: 2
Shirt Relics (1) – John Cena (/299)
SummerSlam Mat Relics (1) – Dean Ambrose (/199)

Card That Stole The Show: This wasn't a flashy box ... so we'll go with a tie between the Mandy Rose Rookie Card and the Asuka first NXT card.

What's Buzz-worthy: The insert sets here that aren't the NXT competitors are relatively forgettable as is the smoke effect that's part of the basic design, but I ripped enough of this one back in the day chasing hits that I shouldn't doubt that others might like it. It just hasn't aged well for me -- see my grade modification below. This box was relatively standard with two types of Relics, while the base set is loaded with oldschool names and is missing a few stars. Why? Series 2 was on the way later in the year -- but that wasn't announced at the time of this one's arrival. The parallels here aren't numbered but they're found regularly enough to mix things up a bit. If you can land a box cheap, dig in because the autograph lineup includes a number of firsts and early sigs -- Asuka, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Charlotte, Finn Balor, John Cena, Nia Jax, Sting, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and even Rikishi can be found here.

Product Grade: B (graded this one an A upon arrival -- but it hasn't aged that well for me)
Box Grade: B
Fun Grade: B

What's next? Be back in an hour ...

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

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