Making the Grade (Feb.): Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn, Sasha Banks, Allen Iverson, NASCAR greats, lucha legends and more

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

WILD THING!
The Card: Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) 2014 Topps Archives Major League 
The Reason Graded: As you can tell by the green label, this one is an older submission of mine ... but since spring training will be upon us soon I figured I'd lead off with an oddball classic and a card that has been pretty pricey in recent years despite being from a set where they showed up one per blaster box (if I remember correctly). The challenge here? Now even finding blasters is not easy ... they got ripped. Why? There weren't just basic inserts for some of the stars of Major League who got carded ... they signed, too. (Roughly one auto per hobby case.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one was clean so I knew I wanted to slab it -- the backs here have black borders that can be an issue -- and as it turns out this is the only 10 of a small bunch graded. That's a win for me.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

IT'S ALMOST DAYTONA TIME
The Card: Dale Earnhardt "Winston Cup Champion" 1988 Maxx
The Reason Graded: Maybe a decade ago, I got my hands on a factory sealed set of this first NASCAR release that's the home of many Rookie Cards ... pretty much everybody. (Nothing else really came in traditional pack form before this for NASCAR.) I flipped through my top-loaded stars from this one and pulled out this as a grading candidate. Why didn't I do more? Centering and the no-frills stock perhaps aren't all that friendly but this one looked clean enough as a quality test for a driver who has a standard 1988 card here ... but that one has some authorization drama.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: This was a nice surprise and a sign I might do others. They won't pop up here before Daytona time -- that's not long from now -- but I'll dabble with some past racing here and there this year. (Spoiler: You'll see one more this month if you keep reading.)

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I RIPPED SOME BACK IN THE DAY ...
The Card: Cristiano Ronaldo 2014 Panini Prizm World Cup
The Reason Graded: I ripped about four hobby boxes of this one at premium prices back in the day and it wasn't that pleasant of an experience for me ... I was ripping for ink and it took until my fourth to find some and stop. Ironically the price of my four boxes back then might get me a couple packs now ... maybe. I tried to build a set but wasn't even close back then despite opening plenty -- something to soothe the burn -- and that's how I had this guy still in hand along with some others who I have had slabbed or will have slabbed soon.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: I'll take the top mark here for sure. These are not the easiest cards to gem as you can see.

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SCORED TWO LUCHADORES
The Cards: Pentagon Jr. & Fenix 2019 Panini Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
The Reason Graded: These two energetic and high-flying veterans are in AEW now but have been professionals since the early 2000s. I'm sure they have a lot of stuff -- stickers and maybe cards -- from all that time in Mexico as well as some indy stuff, too, but not that long ago I ripped a box of this product made by Panini Mexico and landed both. I like having oddball slabs -- and these two have had some impressive matches -- so I opted to grade here. Plus these were a lot cleaner than anything I pulled out of the debut AEW set due to packaging issues.
The Grades: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

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Reality Check: I was pleasantly surprised with these marks -- you never know with traditional cardboard -- and they are both the top-graded copies out of a pair of subs for each.

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SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN
The Card: Randall Cunningham 1987 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Part of the look here is my bright lighting for photography but, yes, this one is perhaps also running lighter than normal on black ink here. Despite that, this one still looked so razor sharp that I needed to slab it. I own more than 100 copies of this RC -- he was a favorite of mine back in the day -- thanks to collecting then as well as a couple of bulk-lot buys roughly 20 years ago. Almost every copy has centering issues (not uncommon) or a lot of black ink globs along the bottom border or elsewhere in the image. I have a few copies of this slabbed but the top marks from any grader seem tough.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: Only one card has checked in higher than mine and nothing at a 10 level. While I was bummed about this mark it also seems reasonable -- I really don't know how ink flow is graded (some might not downgrade it at all from what I have seen) -- but I still like this one a lot considering how those pop numbers look.

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TWO OF A KIND
The Cards: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2017 Bowman Chrome Prospects
The Reason Graded: I had a bunch of this guy's stuff ready to go in some bulk subs but when he got hurt I opted not to grade a lot of them ... and I figured that a lot of you out there might grade him for me. He's a top talent and still one with big potential but you never know with injuries. He was an All-Star last season but nothing about his numbers really wowed me. I'm not "invested" in him but I do have a lot and I don't mind grabbing them already graded if cheap. I think my green slab here was one that was in graders' hands when he got hurt and then the other was from a submission later on ... I didn't realize I had already graded one and it just looked good.
The Grade: 8.5/9.5

Reality Check: Since it's his first Bowman card (but not actually his first card from Topps) I don't mind the dupes here. The pop report does show good volume and most checking in at 10s ... so that reinforces how not all players need to be submitted yourself if they are popular. Guys slabbed heavily and with down performances things can get cheaper.

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RIDE OR DIE
The Card: Tua Tagovailoa 2020 Panini Chronicles Legacy -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I'm a Tua fan no matter what -- there seem to be a lot of haters out there on him when you consider how the season stats look -- and this one was a cheap addition just before or just as the season started. It's nothing all that amazing but I'll pick up cheap slabbed RCs regularly if the price is right.
The Grade: SGC 9.5

Reality Check: This one wasn't pricey and that's interesting considering it's also not the lowest mark. I don't do a lot of SGC but also will go there if it seems reasonably priced for who it is and what the grade is.

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BO KNOWS
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Living Set -- "Rookie Card"
The Reason Bought: I waited this one out quite a long time considering I sort of collect him -- I buy a lot more of him than pretty much any other active player -- and grabbed this clean and centered card for a fraction of a much-easier 10 population for a fraction of the price.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: Seriously, look at that volume of 10s ... and they still sell for a premium.

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LEGENDARY ALL-STAR
The Card: Antonio Inoki 1983 Wrestling All Stars Series A
The Reason Graded: This Japanese legend died last fall and that prompted me to dig out his card from this landmark American wrestling card set since my copy was relatively clean but not, of course, anywhere near perfect. I knew that sending this one in. He's one of the biggest names you can find in Japanese wrestling and his long list of foes includes Muhammad Ali, Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant for starters. My All-Stars cards aren't super high-grade -- I just wanted to make sure I landed a set and then some singles from this second set and did so long ago before they blew up. (Mangled graded commons sell for more than what I paid for my whole set.)
The Grade: CSG 7.5

Reality Check: Mine is the second-best copy of this one graded -- and note that two of them check in here off the table above at less than a 5.5.

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PRIZM POWER!
The Card: Tua Tagovailoa 2020 Panini Prizm -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: Once the preseason started I was on the hunt and Prizm was one that I knew I wanted but didn't really have a big reason to over-pay for. In this case, I dipped down grade-wise but for $10 ... well, I couldn't grade one that cheaply if I had one so that's a deal to me. Plus, Prizm releases do seem to be a little all over the place with centering and other issues ... so there could easily be lower results than this if subbing one myself.
The Grade: CSG 8.5

Reality Check: That volume is high ... but look at that volume (or lack of) up top. The 10s are flowing but 9.5s really aren't and most are checking in at a spot above mine.

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THE X-BABIES ONCE AGAIN
The Card: X-Men Annual No. 12 (1988)
The Reason Graded: I think I found this one in a local comics shop vintage bin just a year or two ago for a couple bucks ... and I knew I liked it due to some trivia alone -- it's the first appearance of the X-Babies (small versions of the X-Men) and it's got a solid cover from a popular artist, Arthur Adams, who created them. Once I saw how graded versions of this one look price-wise, I definitely had to slab it.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (Universal)

Reality Check: I didn't pay to press it (think ironing) and that might have cost me a higher mark ... but this one still looks very good.

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DEBUT FROM LONG AGO
The Card: Jimmie Johnson 2000 Upper Deck Racing -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This guy came a long way from driving the Alltel Chevy -- and Alltel hasn't even existed for seven years -- and his career was a run that included a record-tying seven season championships. He's coming back to Cup Series racing this year so he could see his name in the headlines. Could he contend for an eighth title to break his tie with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty? Probably not -- he's not going to race full time ... but maybe weird things could happen? I was a lot more into NASCAR around this time -- 2001 to 2003 or so -- and opened a box of this to land his RC back then. After all these years, I recently opted to slab it. Why? Important name and a holofoil kind of card that seems like it could present problems for grading. Part of me was just curious on this one, too.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: It's the best of just two copies graded. I was pleased with that mark, figuring something on the softer stock and all that foil might not grade well.

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OH BROTHER!
The Card: Hulk Hogan -- Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Nov. 2004
The Reason Bought: I've passed the one-year mark on a batch of magazines I submitted to CGC -- literally in their system since last January -- so I'll dip into some pick-ups to supplement my print slabs in this series. This one was affordable so I grabbed it and I was curious about what kind of flaws an 8 might have. (Ironically, I didn't learn much as I only saw a couple of problems.) This is a mag I have stashed away from all those years ago and could have slabbed it myself but didn't. Why was it a keeper? Well, it was basically a double issue for an anniversary with a nod to Muhammad Ali and all his Sports Illustrated covers. This cover is a re-do of this ... but that's not why I bought it back then. It arrived polybagged with a reprint of the first issue from 1979 -- a mag that I'd totally want to slab, too, but also something so unique I still would want to flip through it.
The Grade: CGC 8.0 (Universal)

Reality Check: It's the only copy graded, so not much to say there. I have other PWI issues I'd want to grade before this one and even other Hogan covers ... but the price was right.

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A FAVORITE OF MINE
The Card: Allen Iverson 1996-97 Upper Deck -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I ripped a good amount of packs from this year for basketball but a lot of it -- if not all on the NBA front was from retail -- and that included pulling this clean copy of a key RC. The basketball I bought the most back then was Classic/Score Board stuff where autographs flowed quite well and I landed Iverson's ink in one. I pulled this out of an album that had been sitting all these years and it looked really, really good for the era given how these soft-stock cards were packed and how they might have stuck together then and now. I wasn't sure I I'd land a top mark or not but I liked the card and it was the first of several Iverson RCs I stashed to make the cut for possible grading.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: I like that grade considering the volume of everything below this. A 9.5 or 10 is a strong card here.

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BIG FAN OF THIS ONE
The Book: The Uncanny X-Men No. 213
The Reason Graded: This is a book I like a lot -- so much so this is my second copy of this you have seen slabbed in this series. I picked this one up long, long ago via Mile High Comics and it was very clean other than a small corner drop so I had it pressed. That didn't work out for an elite grade but it being a newsstand copy still might help me out here. I'd bet a lot of those slabs in the stats below are not barcode versions.
The Grade: CGC 9.2 (Universal)

Reality Check: On older books (this is 1987), the quality of the paper and cutting/printing can be iffy and downright sloppy at times so to me I'm comfortable at 9 and higher. This one stung a bit with the pressing still resulting in only this mark, but there are still a lot of books checking in lower.

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THE FIRST I PULLED
The Card: Mac Jones 2021 Panini Playoff  -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This Alabama Crimson Tide guy has had a lot of hype -- and a lot of ups and downs -- the last couple years but I slabbed this one since it was my first pull for a card in his pro colors. The paper stock used here isn't the friendliest -- especially with all that color -- but it looked solid to me. (That bottom edge is from the light hitting the edge, not a rough cut.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: The volume here was a little surprising to me but he's popular and CSG's quick return times are very flipper-friendly (I had a bulk sub in and out in just two weeks in January) and he has been on the radars of many. Only five cards checking in better than this one is pretty strong.

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RETRO FILLER WITH FLAIR
The Card: Ric Flair & Bob Orton Jr. -- The Best of The Wrestler, Summer 1982
The Reason Bought: Yes, this is low-grade. Yes, this is not the best-looking mag out there with "The Nature Boy" on the cover. But I do like the feel of some of these oldschool titles and this one coincides with his Wrestling All-Stars "Rookie Card" arrival in 1982, too.
The Grade: CGC 6.5 (Universal)

Reality Check: Beyond some of that above, I also wanted to see how a lower-grade copy looked ... a lot of wear but still presentable. It's the only copy graded -- and note that it's so low it doesn't even make my table here. It's a filler/educational book for me. On some stuff I don't mind a low grade -- kind of like vintage baseball cards. They're interesting and fun for a collector while not being super-expensive finds.

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OOPS ...
The Card: Bump Wills 1979 Topps ERR (Blue Jays)
The Reason Bought: I've always been a sucker for error cards and this is one of the memorable ones from the past because it's pretty dramatic. This son of a Hall of Famer didn't play for the Jays in his six-year career and he might be best-known on cards for this botched card that was corrected. I've never owned it -- at least that I remember if I did pick one up -- but I liked the look of this card and its price when I found it. It was around the price of a blaster ... and maybe less given all of the retail distributor up-charges right now.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: It's a really nice PSA 8 though the volumes here do indicate that it might grade well ... that's a lot of nines and 10s for the overall volume. Interestingly the volume graded on the corrected version is modestly higher but not by much ... so maybe this card isn't all that rare as much as it's memorable. Either way, I like it.

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ROLL TIDE
The Card: Quinnen Williams 2019 Donruss Optic -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: This guy has a solid 2022 season with 12 sacks and 55 tackles in 16 games. He was a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection for the first time, too, despite being on a team known for its offensive problems. He was the third-overall pick in 2019 and I know I own a few of his cards -- he's an Alabama guy -- but I haven't really pondered any for grading since he's a defensive star. But somebody else did that for me and got good results. Since it wasn't expensive I grabbed it.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This 10 is the only copy graded ... probably the only one of his cards I'll ever track down.

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MONÉ MAKER
The Card: Sasha Banks 2014 Topps Chrome WWE NXT Prospects
The Reason Graded: She's back in the wrestling ring this month -- as part of the Japanese wrestling promotions New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stardom -- and with a new name, Mercedes Moné. Ironically, her first match will be here in the United States against another former WWE star, Kairi, but all of that is not necessarily why I graded anything. I have collected her stuff pretty regularly since the beginning -- definitely on my collecting radar since 2015. I have other Chromes I have graded or either have ready for grading (can't remember exactly) but I know that this one was a nice surprise and I know I will likely grade more. Why? To me, she's a name where a lot of key early cards should be slabbed. She'll be around longer than others who get more cardboard attention.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: Only three other copies have equaled this one while most do check in closely ... but right below it. Not bad.

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THE RARER COLOR
The Card: Nick Swisher 2005 Topps Cracker Jack Mini Gray (/25)
The Reason Bought: This was a rare card I didn't own in any form, so when it popped up slabbed I instantly grabbed it and didn't care what it cost. I ripped a good amount of the Cracker Jack stuff that Topps put out in 2004 and 2005 and my player was among them in that second year. I wish I could find more but I suspect a lot of the wax got ripped hard when it dropped in price (it was popular but not in heavy demand back then) and I suspect the overall volume made wasn't super high, either.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: Not surprising here given the volume made but ... it's the only slab.

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BACK IN TIME
The Card: The Uncanny X-Men No. 282
The Reason Graded: The issue before this was a key one and this is the first full appearance of Bishop, a time-traveling mutant police force character who is key within the X-Men titles at the time. I was basically grabbing copies of this title out of habit back then and was about to taper off this title not long after this but a few issues still catch my eye. This did and I opted to slab it since comics grading is pretty cheap and super-fast in comparison to magazines with CGC.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (Universal)

Reality Check: I was a little bummed to see this one check in as low as it did but the spine wrap there is more off than I remembered when I sent it in ... that probably didn't help.

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ROLL TIDE II
The Card: Kira Lewis Jr. 2020 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Silver Prizms -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Bought: Another Alabama guy and another cheap slab for a 10 grade and for a Silver. It checks school ties for me but, well, I'll admit I can't even tell you much about the guy other than he's now a teammate of Zion Williamson.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: This cost me like $7 ... and that also makes sense since most slabs of this one are 10s.

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BACK IN BLACK
The Card: Nick Swisher 2012 Topps Heritage Black parallel
The Reason Bought: This was another cheap pick-up, this time for my player and for a retail-exclusive parallel that was only found in one pack format that's easily long gone now ... or way too pricey for what packs might include.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This one also was a $7 pick-up ... hard to pass at that price in general and a nine isn't a shabby mark considering all that ink on those edges and the stock style here.

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NO BLUES HERE
The Card: Austin Theory 2020 Topps WWE NXT Blue Autographs (/50)
The Reason Graded: I should have held onto this one for an earlier slot in a MTG nearer WrestleMania -- he figures to be a notable this year if not in years to come -- but it's a nice card and one that I like more now than back when I pulled it. The set here is a favorite of mine and I have slabbed quite a bit of ink from it ... but more on the women's side as those are the names I collect more and names with higher collecting profiles. Theory looks like a keeper, too.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Lone copy graded ... but I suspect other versions and more copies of this one might get the slab nod this year.

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STRONG DESIGN ... AND ROLL TIDE III
The Card: T.J. Yeldon 2015 Topps Supreme Gold (/50) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Bought: He's an Alabama guy, too, and this card looks really cool to me -- I know I didn't rip any since it was a premium brand -- but this one was a strong mark and a strong price.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Lone copy graded, strong grade ... less than $10. It's a filler slab in my Crimson Tide stash (and here) but I like it. Will others? Doubtful.

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