If you're reading this after a few days away from the Internet, and you're like, "Wait, pull number 3? Did I miss 4 and 5?" don't worry, there was nothing to miss. This is indeed the beginning of my top pulls of 2021 posts. I almost opened nothing during calendar 2021. Truth be told, there was not enough for a Tops 5 of the year, so this time we're just going with a Top 3. If you suffered a blow to the head and woke up from a coma some time around October, you missed the removal of cards from most retail outlets, the hoarding of unopened product, and the laughable prices slapped onto undeserving boxes of cards. It was a shitshow in 2021, and during those 365 days I opened a grand total of two boxes. Fortunately, I was able to cull together enough decent cards to continue this feature. Let's get started.
Card: 2020 Topps WWE Chrome #SWA-FB Finn Balor Shocking Wins AUTO (083/199)
From: Hobby Box
Why I Like It:
After hemorrhaging talent for the past couple of years, Finn is one of the few bright spots on the WWE roster at the moment. He spent a great deal of time in NXT, and once he left, it was only a matter of time before they killed the brand as we once knew it. Only a couple of things are preventing this card from placing higher in the rankings:
1. That signature. Woof. There are lazier signatures out there that can at least be appreciated for the sake of minimalism. This one is just the old up-down-up-down for a few seconds. You can do better, Mr. Devitt.
2. While it looks really cool, there's no way to suspend your disbelief enough to buy his finisher, the Coup de Grace. If a guy actually launched himself off the top rope and landed on your chest with both feet, your heart would explode into Smuckers strawberry jam. While it takes immeasurable skill to shift one's weight at the end of the move to pull it off without injury, the performance itself pulls back the curtain a bit too much to fully believe it.
Still, it's great to have my first auto of Finn Balor.
