I don't remember the last time that I bought a blaster box of cards. One of my so called New Year's resolutions is to cut back on buying packs and boxes of stuff that I don't see myself collecting. Being a wrestling fan I couldn't resist checking out this new WWE Topps product that I don't recall hearing anything about. Add in that the price of the blaster was only 10 bucks helped too.
I'm not sure what the point of this set is since it's priced at $1.99 per pack like the base set of WWE cards. The big CLASSIC on the front would make you think it's a set full of older wrestlers. If so then why is Randy Orton and CM Punk on the front?! I also noticed while standing in the store that the box says these are foil trading cards. OK, color me interested. A quick scan of the side of the box showed me this set wasn't really focused on inserts. There are only 3 inserts to chase actually. Gold bordered base parallels 1:24, autographs 1:153 and relics 1:48. That's it. No multi-tiered parallels, no manufactured items, no goofy gimmicks. I hoped that meant that the focus was on a nice looking base set of cards. Does this hold true? Let's find out.
Pack 1:
#21 Evan Bourne
#30 Jim Ross
#27 Jack Swagger
#18 Drew McIntyre
#90 Yokozuna
#80 Big Boss Man
Right off the bat you can tell they used the baseball design first used in the retail value packs - in a non-chrome way...which by the way looks really nice. I like the fact that there is no gold or silver foil stamping anywhere on the cards! The way these cards shine in the light is awesome. The graphic design team has done a good job here. Just like with previous WWE sets there are some "veteran" wrestlers mixed in. I was happy to see this card of the Big Boss Man.
Pack 2:
#39 Kane
#65 Ted DiBiase
#32 Jinder Mahal
#45 Matt Striker
#69 Trish Stratus
#58 Rose Mendes
Divas are well represented in the set from what I can tell. Not sure if any "veteran" divas like Mae Young are included!
Pack 3:
#87 The Road Warriors
#76 Yoshi Tatsu
#52 Primo
#89 Sgt. Slaughter
#42 Layla
#29 Jey Uso
Can't start off a pack much better than the Road Warriors. Finished it off with a nice card of Layla. I believe she is still out of action due to a knee injury (she tore her ACL & MCL - who say's wrestling is fake!). Nice to see Jey Uso getting his own card too.
Pack 4:
#68 Triple H
#59 Santino Marella
#81 Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
#72 Undertaker
#15 Daniel Bryan
#08 Booker T
5 TIME! 5 TIME WCW Champion!
Pack 5:
#64 Tamina
#50 Nikki Bella
#66 Theodore Long
#84 Junkyard Dog
#55 Rey Mysterio
#53 R-Truth
How did all of these other "Little Jimmys" appear the pack w/ R-Truth?!
Pack 6:
#78 "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
#83 Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
#41 Kofi Kingston
#07 Big Show
#61 Sheamus
#67 Trent Barreta
It's still weird for me seeing Dusty Rhodes in a WWE set. He'll always been NWA/WCW to me.
As I said earlier this is a nice looking set. I'm still trying to figure out the set's purpose, but while I do that I'll put together a want list. At only 90 cards this is a set that fits into my budget.
* EDIT * According to Beckett's website the card set is solely focused on the forthcoming WrestleMania match between The Rock and John Cena.
[images courtesy of Beckett.com]
I'm not sure what the point of this set is since it's priced at $1.99 per pack like the base set of WWE cards. The big CLASSIC on the front would make you think it's a set full of older wrestlers. If so then why is Randy Orton and CM Punk on the front?! I also noticed while standing in the store that the box says these are foil trading cards. OK, color me interested. A quick scan of the side of the box showed me this set wasn't really focused on inserts. There are only 3 inserts to chase actually. Gold bordered base parallels 1:24, autographs 1:153 and relics 1:48. That's it. No multi-tiered parallels, no manufactured items, no goofy gimmicks. I hoped that meant that the focus was on a nice looking base set of cards. Does this hold true? Let's find out.
Pack 1:
#21 Evan Bourne
#30 Jim Ross
#27 Jack Swagger
#18 Drew McIntyre
#90 Yokozuna
#80 Big Boss Man
Right off the bat you can tell they used the baseball design first used in the retail value packs - in a non-chrome way...which by the way looks really nice. I like the fact that there is no gold or silver foil stamping anywhere on the cards! The way these cards shine in the light is awesome. The graphic design team has done a good job here. Just like with previous WWE sets there are some "veteran" wrestlers mixed in. I was happy to see this card of the Big Boss Man.
Pack 2:
#39 Kane
#65 Ted DiBiase
#32 Jinder Mahal
#45 Matt Striker
#69 Trish Stratus
#58 Rose Mendes
Divas are well represented in the set from what I can tell. Not sure if any "veteran" divas like Mae Young are included!
Pack 3:
#87 The Road Warriors
#76 Yoshi Tatsu
#52 Primo
#89 Sgt. Slaughter
#42 Layla
#29 Jey Uso
Can't start off a pack much better than the Road Warriors. Finished it off with a nice card of Layla. I believe she is still out of action due to a knee injury (she tore her ACL & MCL - who say's wrestling is fake!). Nice to see Jey Uso getting his own card too.
Pack 4:
#68 Triple H
#59 Santino Marella
#81 Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
#72 Undertaker
#15 Daniel Bryan
#08 Booker T
5 TIME! 5 TIME WCW Champion!
Pack 5:
#64 Tamina
#50 Nikki Bella
#66 Theodore Long
#84 Junkyard Dog
#55 Rey Mysterio
#53 R-Truth
How did all of these other "Little Jimmys" appear the pack w/ R-Truth?!
Pack 6:
#78 "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
#83 Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
#41 Kofi Kingston
#07 Big Show
#61 Sheamus
#67 Trent Barreta
It's still weird for me seeing Dusty Rhodes in a WWE set. He'll always been NWA/WCW to me.
As I said earlier this is a nice looking set. I'm still trying to figure out the set's purpose, but while I do that I'll put together a want list. At only 90 cards this is a set that fits into my budget.
* EDIT * According to Beckett's website the card set is solely focused on the forthcoming WrestleMania match between The Rock and John Cena.
[images courtesy of Beckett.com]
What!! No Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat?? You got robbed, but they are nice looking cards.
ReplyDeleteI just saw that Ricky was included in the set. I gotta finish this set off now!
ReplyDeleteI picked up a pack of these the other day. I heard nothing of them either. I, like you, was very pleasantly surprised to see them on that design and I think it works great. I only have one pack but I'll send along anything I have that you need.
ReplyDeleteSuper cool looking set. Do you have any cards of Ted Debiasi the Million Dollar Man? He is signing at a show coming up so, if you have any card of his that may look good signed lease email me.
ReplyDelete