BuzzMania4: Busting 2012 Topps Heritage WWE (Hour 9)

The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 37 set for Saturday and Sunday from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. We'll make today a big day for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania4, a series of WWE wax box/pack breaks.

This is Hour 9 ... a sampler of a release that has really dried up in the last few years and has some big twists in retail.

The packs: 2012 Topps Heritage WWE (five Target retail packs)
Where to buy: Click here for other Heritage WWE

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

Packs in this lot: 5
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this lot: 45
Base set completion: 
28 of 110 (25 percent)
Duplicates: 7

Notables on base cards: Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Jake Roberts, Big John Studd, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, Junkyard Dog, Paul Bearer, Christian, Daniel Bryan, Natalya, Eve Torres, Naomi, Santino Marella, Big Show

First NXT/Rookie cards: Damien Sandow

Insert cards: 10 (all in gallery below with some base)
Silver parallel (1) – Dean Malenko
Stickers (1) – Rey Mysterio
Jerry "The King" Lawler Portraits (1) – Big Show
Andre The Giant Tribute (2) – Giant Machine, Andre's WWE Beginnings
Family History (1) – Dusty Rhodes & Cody Rhodes
Fabled Tag Teams (1) – D-Generation X
Ringside Action (3) – F-5, Pedigree, Vader Bomb

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

Card That Stole The Show: The Dean Malenko parallel may not seem like much (it's not in the big picture) but Silver parallels are one in 90 packs ... almost as tough as autographs.

What's Buzz-worthy: So, why rip into this one in this format? Well, there's a big reason ... these retail packs -- not blaster packs -- are the home to autographs that are not found anywhere else and they include arguably some of the better possible finds here. Among the retail-only autos? C.M. Punk, Howard Finkle, John Cena, Kamala, One Man Gang, Akeem and Vader for starters. They are only found in these, not hobby, and they are one in 120 packs. So, not easy but also not in blasters. The bottom line of type on these packs is also a giveaway of one other thing only found here that's a nice find -- Red parallel cards only in Target gravity feed displays. I didn't land one of those but my Silver is one in 90 ... so I could have done worse while striking out on ink. I haven't ripped any of this since the very first BuzzMania -- I was able to find a hobby box for about $50 then -- but this one has dried up substantially to the point where blasters without the chance at ink have sold for $100 and hobby boxes have pushed $300 in actual eBay sales. Autographs are not guaranteed in every hobby box, either, at one in 44 packs. (So no way I'm ripping that now ... I got a case for a lot less than $300 back in the day.) Why might this one be popular beyond hits? Well, the base set is a re-do of the original 1985 Topps set and it's got a legendary mix of then-active stars as well as WWE legends with some of the best photography found in the current Topps run since 2005. Heritage was a staple of the first few years but it used past baseball designs before this one arrived with 1985 wrestling design and then Heritage since has done the other set and then past baseball designs in mixed ways. Really the only flaw here is how the sticker autos jive with the yellow starburst on those cards -- stickers were the norm for WWE autos around this time so I can't harp there. I don't think this one is worth $300 a box or $100 a blaster but it's definitely a good set ... and the good stuff here is in these retail packs -- if they still exist.

Product Grade: A+
Lot Grade: A- (defied odds with the Silver)
Fun Grade: B (the inserts here feel too similar to base cards)

What's next? Look for another one next hour.

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