The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 41 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Las Vegas. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania8, a marathon of wrestling breaks all day long.

Prizm opened the big show for Panini America WWE in 2022 and it opened things up big -- that one is a landmark set packed with depth and plenty of rare and colorful finds. That one also came with a big cost for hobby boxes and, well, Buzz never went there in any of its years for the big boxes. Here goes on an Undercard box, from its final year ... my first.

The Brand: 2024 Panini Prizm WWE Undercard Box

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all formats)

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

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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LEGENDARY INK
The Card: Ichiro Suzuki autographed 2001 Topps Rookie Card (BAS 10 auto)
The Price: Not as much as you might think ... but also not that cheap.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Clean copies of this iconic Topps flagship Rookie Card are not easy finds in general with the boxes and sets likely bricked now if they remain unopened -- that means the gloss will be snowy if you're lucky to peel the cards apart at all -- and then the dark green border and high-gloss on soft stock here is always going to be problematic. When I spotted this card among many where Suzuki has signed for literally years (Mill Creek Sports) without a premium price, I bit on this just before his Hall of Fame results hit. (We all knew he was going in ... but I didn't know if his prices were going to rise.) This copy is super clean vs. many cards out there with some very light roughness on maybe one edge and a light touch on the bottom-left corner ... but some of what's seen in my photo is just how the light is reflecting. I generally don't do a ton of bigger buys for my collection, but this one's cost wasn't that much more than some of the hot and plentiful new release hobby boxes. I went with a safe and iconic bet for my (for me) premium spend and went with the sure thing on an iconic card for a living legend. I pulled his ink once from an unlicensed release -- and it was in one of my earliest Making The Grade posts here -- but a signed RC means I'll likely never need to sweat his stuff again. (Might window shop, though, or bite if price is right for a nice certified.) One more fun part of my card? If that label had a simple added line of Beckett/Fanatics witnessed instead of signed for Mill Creek and then slabbed, the price likely would be double what I paid. I wouldn't pay that -- and this one is a win in my book.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2023 Panini Chronicles WWE wrestling cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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The biggest weekend in pro wrestling is here with WrestleMania 40 set for this Saturday and Sunday from Philadelphia. We'll make today a big one for wrestling collectors right here on The Buzz with #BuzzMania7, a marathon of WWE wax box/pack breaks all day long.

This one was a pick-up at a slasher price back on Black Friday -- a jaw-dropper price where I absolutely had to dabble -- and yet my first impression of ripping this one back then wasn't a good one ... so I let it sit. Now, a few months later? We'll see how the results look ... 

The Brand: 2023 Panini Prizm WWE (blaster case)

Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

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

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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 ...

SNIKT!
The Book: Wolverine No. 50 (newsstand edition)
The Reason Graded: Back in 1992, Little Buzz was probably nearing the end of his comic book days -- or maybe a little after this one arrived -- but with some connections to a local book store I was able to get comics before they hit those spinner racks that resulted in books getting broken spines like they were Batman up against Bane. (Or something.) And with that era being one of mass-produced stuff that was still very creative on both the art front as well as the printing/gimmick front, I and many others were buying ... in quantity. This issue is one exploring Wolverine's origins and it's got a cardboard cover with his claws the source of the big die-cut gashes here revealing the first page of what's in the file (issue). I bought maybe a half-dozen of them as it was cool -- a few at the local comics shop and a few more at the book store -- and that's the key here. These newsstand versions -- same except for the UPC in the corner and not a marvel direct logo (that started in 1981) filling the box -- figure to be much, much rarer in a high grade.
The Grade: CGC 9.8 (Universal)

Reality Check: This one was a win but I expected it as my copies here are razor sharp. How many of those graded might be newsstand copies? It's a mystery right now but asking prices on eBay as I prep this file are as high as $500 for a newsstand copy while a direct has a max asking of $299. Actual sales for 9.8s in recent weeks? About $320 for newsstand and $85 for direct. I'll take that ... I'm in for just $2.50 (though I may have gotten a discount) and my grading fees. Most "serious" collectors bought at comics shops in the boom years, seeing newsstand is inferior with those barcodes ... now those barcodes are gold as long as you're in an elite grade.

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

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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THE PERFECT EARLIER SIG
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Blue Autographs (/50)
The Price: Less than a box these days
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you're a regular reader, then you know this set and this auto -- in all colors -- is high on my radar and that's why I grabbed this super-clean copy with an eye on grading. It's not totally perfect but I'm fine with that as the core reason I bit here was how clean this sig is with her original WWE ink, not the shortened one that has come about on her cards since this earlier signing. (It's not quite her pre-WWE auto, which is more of a puffy almost "tagging" writing style with big curves and loops on all letters.) A quicker auto happens for many signers as they ink more and more stuff and some styles just won't come back -- so that's another reason this one is a favorite ... plus, not that many of her WWE cards have this auto.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... but WWE boxes are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2023 Panini Select WWE wrestling cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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