BuzzMania: Busting eight 2014 Topps Chrome WWE value packs (Hour 6)

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 packs: 2014 Topps Chrome WWE value packs (Walmart version)
The cost: Will vary by location. Click here for blasters

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

Packs per pack: 4 (three standard, one Atomic Refractors pack)
Cards per pack: 16
Cards in this lot: 128
Base set completion: 
46 of 110 (42 percent)
Duplicates: 24
Triplicates: 2

Notables on base cards – Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, Zeb Colter, Summer Rae, Nikki Bella, A.J. Lee, Naomi, Randy Orton, Big E, Damien Sandow, Undertaker, Layla El, Natalya, Kevin Nash, Andre The Giant, Mick Foley

Rookie Cards (6) – Eva Marie, Renee Young (2), Brad Maddox (2)

Inserts: 56 (see inserts and some base in gallery below)
NXT Prospects (8) – Charlotte, Paige, Tyler Breeze, Baron Corbin, Adrian Neville, C.J. Parker, Sylvester Lefort, Alexander Rusev
Jerry Lawler Portraits (3) – Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Sgt. Slaughter
WWE Champion Spotlight (4) – Iron Sheik, Edge, JBL, Iron Sheik
Refractors (9) – Santino Marella, Christian, Rey Mysterio, David Otunga, Goldust, Jinder Mahal, Kevin Nash, Josh Mathews, The Great Khali
Atomic Refractors (32) – John Cena, Triple H, C.M. Punk, Rob Van Dam, Curtis Axel, Tensai, Jack Swagger, Naomi, Ryback, Brad Maddox, Fandango, Summer Rae, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Randy Orton, Justin Roberts, Dean Ambrose, Diego, El Torito (2), Cesaro, Darren Young, Booker T, Bad News Barrett, Goldust, Layla El, Aksana, Cody Rhodes, Eddie Guerrero, X-Pac, Paul Bearer (2)

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

Card That Stole The Show: The Charlotte NXT card (her first)

What's Buzz-worthy: Chrome returned to WWE cardboard after a six-year rest with this one and I was reminded why I didn't buy a lot of these packs back when they arrived at around $10 apiece -- they delivered about as well as the WrestleMania 25 main event. Yes, they're retail, but there are autographs, Relics, Kiss Cards and plenty more to be found here -- even Superfractors -- but at pretty long odds. Autographs are one in 184 standard packs, while Superfractors of base cards are one in 2,800 and Superfractor Kiss Cards check in at one in 75,000 packs. (That's a lot of packs made for this one ... meanwhile hobby boxes do guarantee two hits per box but don't guarantee an autograph. Another reason I didn't pony up at the time for a hobby box.) All that said, I think this is one of the better designs to translate from elsewhere to a WWE set and the checklist includes a solid mix of stars from Raw, Smackdown and the past. The NXT cards here are inserts -- and this lineup is one that's stacked -- and you'll land one NXT card per value pack as they're one in every three standard packs. We landed most of the key names in this lot except for Sasha Banks and Bayley -- none of these have parallels, either, other than printing plates, which focuses buyers on them more. The Atomic Refractors here included a lot of big names that eluded us with this particular assortment of packs and that's a bit of a plus as they're only found in the Walmart print run. (Target got X-Fractors for this one.) This was the equivalent of a hobby box packs-wise and the Atomics really are the biggest highlights here. The standard Refractors are nice pulls -- they're also easier pulls in the 2015 set -- while the inserts here are a little blasé but do add variety to the mix. Really the only drawback here, besides those grab-the-brass-ring odds, is the number of cards per pack. If you can find these in bulk and cheap, they're worth the rip -- I'll probably grab some more and chase some highlight-reel cards at least one more time if I can find them again at this price. Or, perhaps hobby if it presents itself ... but these feel safer.

Product Grade: A
Lot Grade: B+
Fun Grade: B- (long odds)

What's next? Be back in an hour ...

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