Making the Grade (July): Shotzi, Broadway Joe, Beyoncé, Bo, vintage, Shohei Ohtani, MLB icons, Chong, Pink, WWE & 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 ... an edition heavy on MLB and WWE but with some surprises.

A FULL SIG THAT'S TWICE AS NICE ...
The Cards: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Autographs
The Reason Graded: If you're a regular reader then you know it's no secret that I've busted tons of these boxes and picked off tons of her cards as the WWE's Tank Girl is high on my collecting radar. Why? She's unique and fun -- and the name and character is self-made, too, so if her WWE run were to ever come to an end, well then "Shotzi" won't. In this case, I pulled both of these autos myself and since it's among her first certified sigs as well as a more of a full auto (unlike how she signs now) I'm eventually slabbing all I own ... but not all at once.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: The stock here is skinny and since there are on-card autos they are prone to having some issues at times ... so this pair of 10s was an exciting return. The pop report looks pretty good, too -- I really need to get all my stuff organized to see how many of those are mine and how many more I need to slab ... eventually they'll all get graded. Why? I'm a collector and I like this one (and it's parallels) that much. 

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

THIS MONTH ... LONG AGO
The Card: Joe Namath 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated Cover Collection
The Reason Graded: Broadway Joe's nickname was created with this issue when it arrived back in 1965 and he was a rookie with the Jets and teammates reacted to seeing the magazine. Here's the story in his own words. Back in the late-1990s, Fleer and SI joined up to revisit some past issues and photos on cards and this one obviously had to make the NFL cut. I only owned one copy of the card -- it's not rare but they don't pop up as often as you might think -- and I graded this one no matter what. The stock is seriously soft and high-glossed, too, so that's a challenge but I just wanted this one in a slab to go with my slabbed mag ... and I'll have more those slabbed up at some point even if they're all low-grade copies. Why? "Broadway Joe" Namath iconic and he's firmly in the school ties part of my collection, too.
The Grade: CSG 8

Reality Check: The lone copy graded isn't all that surprising as there are a lot of challenges here ... but I do wonder if some of the spots in the photo got read as flaws (especially that right top edge) as I didn't think it would drop this low. No worries ... if I find more and they are clean, don't be surprised if this one shows up here in MTG again.

--

A CELEBRITY TWIST
The Mag: Beyoncé -- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2007 (Feb. 16, 2007)
The Reason Graded: The annual Swimsuit Issue has had celebrity cameos for a long time now -- decades really -- but beyond big-name athletes and supermodels Beyoncé might have been the biggest name of them all up to this point and still perhaps in the years since. (Maybe ... I didn't examine any lists prepping this.) This issue was an affordable pick-up from a magazine dealer for less than a blaster box these days and when it arrived it looked razor sharp ... so it went into a grading sub.
The Grade: CGC 9.8 (Universal)

Reality Check: The pop report has grown since I sent this in and even since I got this one back -- it was in a batch that took more than a year to return -- but it was the highlight of my bunch with a top grade that could have paid for the entire submission if I were a seller. A 9.6 copy on eBay has an asking price of $500 while lesser grades are $100 and up. A top grade here, as long as the pop reports don't somehow explode with a bunch of 9.8s, should, in theory, mean some nice numbers ... I'm only into this for about $50 total between buying it and grading it but it's a win due to the top mark.

--

RARE PARALLEL POWER
The Card: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2019 Topps Update Purple -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: These Purple parallels were slipped into repacks sold at Meijer stores since Toys R Us (the previous home of Purple parallels as retail-exclusive bonuses) was toast and for some reason the packs that these normally go into might not have been made when this arrived in late 2019. (Details were fuzzy back then and they're fuzzier now as pandemic years are all a blur now card-wise.) I opened a few of the repacks where Purples were bonuses and landed this guy, who was the top rookie then and might still be for this set.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: I had this one in an earlier CSG sub -- hence the green label -- and was happy with that result given how skinny the stock is here and how saturated it is with all that purple ink. This one was a win for sure ... and it's the only one graded still to this day.

-

A ROOKIE CARD RAGER?
The Card: Aaron Judge 2017 Topps High Tek Spiral Dots version -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I pulled tons of Judge RCs back in the day from all kinds of brands -- I bought and ripped far more volume back then -- and this is among a small batch I sent in to slab last fall as he was making his home run chase. I didn't send in a ton as guys like Judge who get heavily graded could have plenty to choose from and that could make for bargains, but I liked the look and feel here with the acetate stock.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: This one must have had a surface spot somewhere or something less obvious as I was a little surprised by the grade -- given it being acetate I figured it had a better shot at a top mark. At the same time, I'll admit that surfaces are not always something I check that closely ... front or back.

-

A FAVORITE OF MINE
The Card: Spencer Strider 2022 Topps Now -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This card is as simple as it gets but a 16-strikeout game -- when on my fantasy team and a rookie -- got me to bite here and I think I only had one instead of a bundle (I think). That may be one reason why this one checked in at a lower grade than I'd hope for for these cards that can grade high easily ... but they also can be easily damaged when shipped in those snap cases. (Corners take the hits.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Behold! The lowest-graded copy here ... it happens but I'm still good with it in my stash.

-

AFFORDABLE OPTION
The Card: Tua Tagovailoa 2020 Panini Chronicles Gridiron Kings -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: The pop report volume there explains how I was able to land this one for about $8, despite it having a top mark from the green-label days. He fits my school ties part of my stash, too, so this one was a no-brainer. It'd be interesting to try and track the basic options from Chronicles for both the draft and the NFL version for a player like this -- heavily graded (in a lot of instances) and perhaps not as popular as upon arrival when all those cards got slabbed.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: The stats are pretty even among the top three grades so there really shouldn't be a dramatic premium here other than it checking in at a higher spot. At my price, none of that worries me ... I'd do more.

--

A MINI ADDITION
The Card: Bo Bichette 2021 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini
The Reason Bought: I didn't need this one as most of my slabs for him are from his RC year of 2020 but this one checked in at $9 and change so I bit since it's a mini and a top mark. I think I grabbed this along with a slabbed high-number mini or something similar, too, though I have picked off so many Bichette slabs the last few years they are all a blur, too. (And plenty more are awaiting their spots here once I do some late spring cleaning of my files.)
The Grade: SGC 10

Reality Check: It's the lone copy graded -- that's the difference between rookie-year and second-year cardboard.

--

AN ICONIC CARD?
The Card: Margot Kidder as Lois Lane -- 1978 Topps Superman
The Reason Bought: This one is admittedly low-grade but it really doesn't look it and it was a whopping $8 and change so I threw it into a buy with a few cheap slabs. Why? Well, it should be Kidder's first card appearance -- not a first Lois Lane card, though -- or close to it when it comes to in-pack releases. So, you know, the ol' "Rookie Card" of sorts. I don't sweat that -- or overpay for that -- like some out there might, but early cards are early cards.
The Grade: SGC 6

Reality Check: This one definitely checks in low but the only other one graded certainly is pretty low, too, and that's a bit surprising here. I suspect the PSA pops will be a little more meaty -- they were at times before the new-wave of volume grading -- but this is a solid little slab for a cheap price. Not for its grade number ... just for a clean but off-center slabbed card.

--

ROOKIE CARD PARALLEL
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Gallery Artist Proof -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Bought: I wasn't a big fan of some of the art in this release this year, so I didn't buy as much wax as I did in the past for the brand but I did like the foil use and the overall design. But I did grab this one when I found it cheap -- I think it was $10 -- which I didn't mind as it's the parallel.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: The volume here seemed lower than I figured it might be but that's fine by me as at least this one doesn't fall into "junk slab" category with five-figure volume for no reason. His Topps flagship RC is pushing 31,000 copies graded by PSA alone ... which is a crazy number even if he were to end up in, say, Yankees pinstripes later in his career.

--

A FAVORITE OF MINE
The Book: Marvel Team-Up No. 66 -- second American appearance of Captain Britain
The Reason Bought: As it says above, this is a second appearance of a character that people seem to be paying a little more attention to now as there could be TV/movie twists to come (or not ... I can't keep up with all of those shows at this point, my bad) but for me this has been a character I liked since the early 1990s to the point where a lot of the early and key appearances made their ways into my stash back when I was dabbling on the regular. I have a couple of these and a few more for the first one, but stuff from the 1970s from peripheral titles like this just isn't as clean and findable when it comes to copies worth possibly slabbing. I have one copy that might actually top this, but it has a wrinkle on the front where it needs to be pressed ... so instead of dabbling there and playing the waiting game, I grabbed this one instead. (The issue before this is pricier and my copies are rougher ... so just window-shopping at moment.)
The Grade: CGC 9.2 (Universal)

Reality Check: This looks better than it grades as its bigger flaws are actually on the back where there are some staples that are a smidge crooked and a date stamp ... but the price here spoke to me at about half of what some others were asking. It cost less than most of the retail mega boxes out there do right now, too, so it wasn't super-cheap but I knew what I was getting. I dig it.

--

THOSE IN-BETWEEN YEARS
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2017 Bowman Draft Chrome Refractors
The Reason Graded: When he got hurt I had a bunch of his cards on my grading tarmac but I ended up holding back a bunch of them figuring others who had been subbing stuff might have firesales ... and I could just find stuff I liked here while bargain-shopping. This was one that I sent in anyway way back then (green label) as it's an earlier Bowman card and a parallel ... and it looked quite clean, too. Since he's had a monster year, here's my card.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one checked in where half of them did ... and I'm fine with that since there are no others better. It's not quite the Acuña we recognize on the field today with the short hair here or without all the yellow and gold, but it's an earlier card that looks good and that's good enough for me. A lot of younger stars' cards between first Bowman and Rookie Card can be more affordable than you might think ... they are worth the look, raw or slabbed.

--

THUNDERSTRUCK!
The Cards: Thunder Rosa 2022 UD AEW Canvas
The Reason Bought: All the various delays getting AEW sets into collectors' hands the last couple years have had some stars missing checklists and then arriving late -- sometimes when they aren't even on the in-ring radar -- and that can mean some soft prices here and there. (Sure, it's wresting -- there's not quite the attention like NBA rookies, anyway -- but this is one of those instances.) This card is from a set I really liked the first two years of flagship AEW but the first year is bad when it comes to grading with tons of chippy edges ... meanwhile this one is as clean as it gets. I have been tempted to get a few of these cards graded but they're ultimately not expensive in most instances, either, so I opted to let somebody else do the slabbing and grabbed these together.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: Three graded and I own two ... works for me. I like this card as it's from her ugly match with Britt Baker, which really pushed the envelope and put both of them truly onto the AEW map back in March of 2021. It was a bloody, ruthless one (see it here ... this exact moment is at 6:42) that had chairs, ladders, thumbtacks and more all in play ... stuff you don't see a lot of the guys do all that often. And they clearly don't like each other based on stuff that has happened since ... so all that just adds to this card's appeal to me. (I'm on Team Thunder.)

--

A MYSTERIOUS STICKER
The Sticker: The Cranberries 1995 Panini Smash Hits stickers
The Reason Bought: This one did not look like that grade at all, so I figured a crease or surface dent was probably in play here and it is to a degree -- the surface has what looks like some adhesive issues affecting it or whatever ... but it's not something that really hurts it here unless you hold it up to light. What else that didn't hurt here?  The price which was less than PSA charges to grade anything. Since this is an import set and I consider them among memorable 1990s acts, I bit even with a lower grade ... just to see what they look like in-hand and to have something from this set.
The Grade: PSA 4

Reality Check: Mine checks among the lowest-graded copies yet at the same time there are a lot of them checking in at seven and lower ... and I consider eight a low grade, too.

--

AN IMPORT THROWBACK
The Mag: Pink -- Q magazine (UK), March 2004
The Reason Graded: Buzz used to buy a boatload of the short-form pop culture mags like Blender, Maxim, Stuff, FHM and so on as their approaches to telling stories in short, readable forms meant there was a lot more variety of subjects inside those issues and the design work was way more creative, too. In later years where I lived in places with better bookstores I could find stuff like this, Q, which was the UK's main music magazine (it closed down in 2020) with that same approach but even more inside as international mags seemed to have a lot more editorial space and not as much advertising. I would regularly buy them if the subjects struck me -- and because they cost more as imports they didn't get thrown out as often. They cost more and felt more book-like to me and had better paper/ink, too. This was one of maybe a dozen issues I found revisiting some old stuff and since its slightly larger size was literally the max to fit in a slab I figured why not. Pink is among a number of top pop stars at that time and one of few still left in the game almost 20 years later still doing her thing. (Plus, off the top of my head, I can't think of any card appearances other than a couple of international gaming cards that touched on music stars of this timeframe.)
The Grade: CGC 9.2 (Qualified)

Reality Check: The size here led to my copy having a minor curl up top as it was taller than other mags in my storage boxes, but that wasn't enough that I worried about it hurting the grade. One thing that likely did here, though, and the reason it's got the dreaded green label is that since it was a copy sold in America the UPC code has a sticker on it over the printed UPC. You might not have noticed unless I told you but that gets it the green ... which is a bummer if you ask me. Either way, this is the only graded copy of this one. Unfortunately, there are not slabs big enough to hold all of the iconic years of Rolling Stone ... so fans of slabs and music/pop culture stars have a number of iconic issues that can't be graded in this realm.

--

A BIG-TIME WIN FOR ME
The Card: Paige 2015 Topps WWE Undisputed Silver (/25) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: I was amped to see the grade on this one as this was a rarer parallel of a RC for a star who has been high on my collecting list for a while despite plenty of ups and downs that had her retired at age 25 ... but she's back and in AEW. That return, which was a huge surprise in my book, got me looking for more of her previous cards awhile back and this one was an instant buy. And it went literally from the bought stack into a grading order not long after I got it.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: Perfect scenario ... near-perfect card. I paid up instantly when I saw it and it looked so clean. I can't complain here at all.

--

A BIG-TIME WIN FOR ME II
The Card: Toni Storm (and Io Shirai) 2018 Topps Now WWE (/239)
The Reason Graded: Topps Now WWE had some of the rarest wrestling cards ever made in some instances -- some were hits, many were misses -- but this is not one of the super-rare cards. Yet, I think it has the potential to be among the more in-demand cards in the set. Why? This is the first WWE card appearance for not only Toni Storm but also Io Shirai (Iyo Sky now) coming the year before their first in-pack traditional WWE cards. It's not the first card for either of them on an international scale, though, as Shirai worked in Japan for some time to have many BBM cards and Storm also did a short stint there in Stardom to have cards and autos in their sets. But for the WWE? This is their first and it was the only card made for the Mae Young Classic, which had a number of stars making their debuts but not under full contracts where they'd have cards.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: I was really happy to see a 10 here as this one was a card I paid a little more for than my usual as I knew I wanted it and perhaps waited too long. The more the clock ticks, the more of those 239 copies gets locked away never to be seen again.

--

NOT MY FAVORITE PHOTO AT ALL ...
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE Women's Division Roster -- rookie-year insert
The Reason Bought: Of all of Shotzi's first-year WWE cards, this one is probably my least favorite as the photo is just so distant and the energy just doesn't feel like it's there had this been a different moment or even one with a dramatically closer crop. I have probably a half-dozen copies of this card raw that had been sitting in boxes to ponder grading one for a couple years now, but it never made the cut ... it's just not as good as others. I finally opted to just buy it instead of subbing one and taking the chances on these thin-stock cards that have chippy edges/corners at times.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: The old green slab works here -- a hair match -- and it's a 10 now. I'll leave it in this retro case for sure. At most there are two others and that's it.

--

THE MiLB DEBUT
The Card: Wander Franco 2019 Topps Pro Debut MiLB
The Reason Bought: I liked the feel of this MiLB card using the big-league 2019 Topps design with very little that visually sets it apart from an MLB card other than a partially visible helmet logo and then that logo in the circle. While others spend big on slabbed Chrome and other Bowman rookie and prospect cards from laters years, I went this direction figuring it might be more obscure later vs. the standard stuff for the price (less than an oldschool blaster).
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: The volume here was a little higher than I expected with most checking in at this grade. Not a worry in my book and I'm sure the volumes on this and others are high in other pop reports.

--

SUBBING SOME INK
The Card: Asuka 2018 Topps WWE Then Now Forever (Series 2) Blue Autographs (/50)
The Reason Graded: This Japanese star has plenty of cardboard from her time before WWE (search for "Kana BBM") and plenty in her WWE years with this basic card and its autographed parallels (the Blues in particular) being a favorite of mine. I pulled a lot of her ink, actually, and other cards that are better than this, but for whatever reason the haul of cards I had from this pair of series made my grading cut a few times over before others. She's a main-event caliber star and she'll remain among the most-memorable and iconic stars of the modern era once she's done -- here and in Japan. I think that makes her cards pretty safe as long as one isn't over-paying for them to start.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: This one is alone on the pop report with it being the only copy graded. Surprising but not ... she has a lot to ponder grading-wise.

--

AN IMPRESSIVE TWO
The Card: Rod Carew 1969 Topps
The Reason Bought: This one was a no-brainer despite the grade. It's a third-year card of a Hall of Famer that looks like this ... and it cost me just $9.99.
The Grade: BVG 2

Reality Check: There are four copies in my grade and I bet they all look worse than this one does. It has a simple marking in pencil on the back that likely dropped it here almost immediately. Sure, it has other minor issues that would drop things down some but without the marking I think this feels like a six-seven-eight -- that wouldn't be $9.99.

--

AFFORDABLE HALL OF FAMER
The Card: Craig Biggio 1988 Fleer Update -- Rookie Card (or XRC in some worlds)
The Reason Bought: The Rookie Cards of this Hall of Famer from 1988 or 1989 are all inexpensive and, really, easily found graded or not. Other than diehard interest, there are plenty to go around here and this one really is no exception as it's from a set you can find sealed for less than $10 (same price as what I paid here) with a number of other notables in there, too. I think I owned one, maybe two, of these sets back in the day to pull out the better stuff and the rest got jettisoned ... but I found this cheap with some other slabs from around these years as part of a small lot.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: A nine may seem low here but check those stats ... nothing higher. If I had to bet, it's based on the backs and the edges with a ton of blue ink that are chippier than that Larry Jones guy from Atlanta. I like his Score Update set better in terms of the energetic color and photo, but 1988 Fleer is also an overlooked classic and this is a super-clean card portrait that takes one right back to the era quite easily.

--

RARER RETAIL
The Card: Tommy Chong 2011 Panini Americana Retail Silver Proof (/100)
The Reason Graded: When I saw that CSG was allowing some non-sports stuff in the side door under the multi-sport category earlier this year, I pulled out a couple of rarer but cheap Americana parallels to slab 'em up for some cheap and easy variety here in MTG. This 1970s icon along with his tag team partner, Cheech Marin, brought a lot of variety to comedy and movies back in the day along with looks at culture and plenty other realms. They both have a lot of cardboard -- and also stuff before this -- and while I'd rather slab up something with both of them or with a matching pair from the same release, this rarity was thrown into a submission more on a whim. It's pretty tough to find (low volume) and from the retail side of things, too, which makes that haystack to find one of the 99 other copies out there tougher than you might think. They got spread out among blasters, gravity boxes and display boxes.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: This is the only one graded ... not that surprising. Now that GSC will be CGC and grade anything non-sports you'll definitely see a lot more of that stuff here of the oddball variety slabbed. I'm excited to see that change as, as you can probably tell, I'm a regular grading via them for a few reasons.

--

AFFORDABLE SUPERSTAR
The Card: Shohei Ohtani 2021 Bowman's Best
The Reason Bought: Before this crazy season of his started, I grabbed this top-grade slab for just $7 ... just since it was cheap and I liked the look of this colorful design. Is it perfect? No, but for $7 it's not bad as a filler slab for a player who is going to end up a legend when his career is over ... heck, he already is one.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: The volume graded here is a little high here for a veteran base card and most check in at the top mark but for the price I have zero worries here. I couldn't grade anything that cheaply.

--

ROOKIE CARD REFRACTOR
The Card: Alexa Bliss 2015 Topps Chrome WWE Refractor -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: Since these were folded into the base set for Chrome and not a separate insert set like in the flagship version, that makes this one Bliss' Rookie Card ... and it's a nice one that I believe shows her NXT debut (May 8, 2014, you can look it up). I pulled a ton of her base cards in flagship as well as here in Chrome and have slabbed some of the better parallels with huge results ... this was the last of my few grading subs on this front. Why? She's done plenty since this time despite injuries and could be winding down things in the ring. I figured I'd slab some of my better basics.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: I didn't think there would be anything wrong here, but it's among four to check in at this mark and two others are way, way lower ... so maybe there's something that's consistently off on this card for some reason maybe based on where it was on the sheet or maybe something caused by packaging. Either way with that BGS Black linked above I'm good on all my cards here.

--

BACK BEFORE THE CONTROVERSY ...
The Card: Fernando Tatis Jr. 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Black -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: I sent in a small number of his early cards in for grading long before his career fell off with issues and injuries ... but since he's back I'll slowly work them in here. As the green label indicates, this one was graded long ago and it came back with some strong results ... too bad it won't be as popular now as it was back in the day. Par for the Tatis cardboard course now.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one did not* pop up on the pop report so it was either tagged away from baseball or accidentally in with the other minis, which there are a few. Maybe I'm the only one to have bothered. I like minis and a mini RC parallel is even better.

--

A RARE ONE
The Card: Nick Swisher 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Red Mini (box-toppers) (/40)
The Reason Graded: My player's card here is a rare one as these were only released in a box-topper pack found one per case in Ginter that year ... and while the set itself is big one there were only so many cases made and these are on the rarer side of things. I'm sure I own more than one -- but not that many -- and this recent-years addition (findable as my others are stashed away deep wherever they are) looked clean enough to slab ... so I did.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: That's the grade I liked and wanted, and it will probably be the only one there for a while, too ... unless I find my others and send them in, too.

--

AFFORDABLE FILLER FOR MY PLAYER COLLECTION
The Card: Bo Bichette 2021 Topps
The Reason Bought: Like I said earlier, my dabbling on the Bichette front is mostly on 2020 stuff, but since this one was well below the cost of grading a card I added it to my stash. Why? Just to help fill out the Bichette slabs box, really, and add some extras there without breaking the bank.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: I was a little surprised to see the volume as high as it was here for a second-year card but with the pandemic buyers and slabber/flippers anything from late-2019 to late-2021 (and maybe beyond) might have higher pops than one could expect.

--

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

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com.