Top Pulls of 2021: #1

Well, might as well try to get this posted while it's still January.

 

Card: 2021 Topps Update Series #86A-ARI Austin Riley 1986 Topps 35th Anniversary AUTO

From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It:

For the past fifteen years, I've bought a hobby box of Topps Update without missing a single year, and I finally pulled an autograph from one.  Not some scrub, either.  This guy had a heck of a postseason, first batting .333 against my Brewers with an OPS of .908, then walking off the Dodgers in game 1 of the NLCS, and following that up with a .320 average in the World Series.  The on-card auto is more than acceptable, with the 27 jersey number being a nice flourish.

Top Pulls of 2021: #2

 Card: 2020 Topps WWE Chrome #A-SB Shayna Baszler AUTO Green Parallel (56/99)

From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It:

When did I open this?  I think I bought two boxes in late 2020, opened one in December, and the other in the first few days of January.  My very similar Bayley card from last year came from the first box, and this one was from the second.  Twins born on either side of the New Year, you know the deal.

It's a nice on-card signature, and you have to love that she takes the time to draw a spade as a nod to her nickname, the Queen of Spades.  Baszler is an absolute beast who could take anyone on the women's roster in a legitimate fight.  That being said, I have lapsed in my WWE viewing over the past several months.  While COVID has caused many people to lose their senses of taste and smell, WWE has had the creativity sucked out of its organization over the course of the pandemic.  I wish the promotion could do something interesting with Baszler, but I just don't see it happening.

Top Pulls of 2021: #3

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.

Top Pulls of 2020: #1

 Card: 2005 Fleer Showcase #112 Reggie Jackson Autographed Legacy AUTO (14/17)

 

From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It: It was indeed a Merry Christmas to me.  I had a few Showcase cards in my collection from buying random lots, and it's a design I always liked.  There was a box I had my eye on for a few months, and since I had a few dollars left in the unofficial Christmas budget, I picked one up for myself.  It arrived on the 24th, and I opened it intermittently throughout Christmas Day, sneaking downstairs to bust a few packs here and there in the midst of the chaos of all the new toys and games in the house.

2005 Showcase was a one-guaranteed-auto-per-box product, and my box was bottom-loaded for sure.  I think the three hits came out of the last four packs.  This Reggie card is one of the shortest printed in the Autographed Legacy set.  A bunch of worthless exchange cards are floating around in unopened boxes, too.  It looks like there's a Pujols #/11, Nolan Ryan #/13, Kaline #/7, Berra, #/25, but really no one else super low-numbered and highly coveted.  The signature looks great, and the original card design can be seen on the left side of the card.  Leaving a large field of open space for an autograph is usually a design mistake, but since it's Reggie, I can forgive this one.

Thanks for reading along with me this year, and best of wishes for your card buying in 2021!

Top Pulls of 2020: #2

Once again, a box delivered so well for me from top to bottom that I have to include it as a single pull for the purposes of this article.

 

Cards: 2018 Topps WWE NXT Hobby Box

 

I think it would be a good idea to start with the best autographed cards in the box, and work our way down.

 

#A-DA Dean Ambrose Blue AUTO (08/50)

I didn't even know Deano had autos in this set, so this one was a nice last-pack surprise.

 

 #A-DM Drew McIntyre AUTO

Guy's the current WWE Champion, what more could you ask?

#A-BB Bianca Belair Bronze AUTO (69/99)

This woman is poised to be the biggest thing in wrestling.  Has an outside shot of becoming a household name one day.

#A-AC Adam Cole AUTO

This would be higher up, but I bought one of these earlier in 2020, not really anticipating buying another box.  Future WrestleMania Main-Eventer.

#A-AD Angelo Dawkins AUTO

Last year at this time, did anyone envision this guy playing a part in a Skittles commercial with Ric Flair?  Not me, that's for sure.

#A-TC Tommaso Ciampa AUTO

When a guy like Ciampa is only the sixth-best card in the box, that box is a winner.

#A-NC Nikki Cross Bronze AUTO (17/99)

I've sort of lost track of Nikki after she switched to Raw.  Kind of all-in on Smackdown right now.

#A-TY Taynara Conti AUTO

Made the switch to AEW earlier this year, needs to be featured on TV some more.

 

#A-ON Kassius Ohno AUTO

#A-KD Killian Dain AUTO, #A-TS Tino Sabbatelli AUTO

 If you're counting, these are autographs ten and eleven, so I did get an extra auto in the box.  The Dain I already had, and the Sabbatelli no one wants.

And let's round out this post with a few numbered parallels.  First we have #41 Drew McIntyre Returns Blue (48/50).  I'm not the biggest fan of these "year-in-review" cards, and would rather have the featured wrestler cards, but if it's a Drew, it's not bad.

Then there are two guy doing well on their respective brands, #R-16 Kyle O'Reilly Blue (13/50) and #R-5 Andrade "Cien" Almas Blue (13/50).

All things considered, a great box of cards.

Top Pulls of 2020: #3

 Card: 2016 Panini Select #DT-RR Cristiano Ronaldo / James Rodriguez Double-Team Memorabilia Orange Parallel (39/75)

From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It:

Back in late April or early May, I had my eye on some boxes of this stuff.  Remember, this is only a couple of months into lockdown.  I was watching a box on eBay with the hopes of selling some other cards to make enough to get the box for nothing.  Then, practically overnight, the supply dried up.  I was watching the price hover around $100 a box, but all of a sudden, they were gone.  No large online retailer had a box in stock.  A few days later some more popped up, but now asking over $200 for a box.

I did some deep searching and found an obscure store that pretty much only stocked Pokemon card boxes, but they had one last box of Select.  I nabbed it for about $120.

I was a fool to open it.

 

By the middle of summer, boxes of Select were commanding between $500 and $600 dollars.  Unless you hit a major major card (Pulisic, Messi AUTO, Ronaldo AUTO, or an insanely low-numbered superstar) there's no way to make your money back from that.

That being said, I was relatively happy with my box.  The Ronaldo/Messi argument will rage for decades, but I lean toward the Portuguese striker.  Messi is a better dribbler, but Ronaldo's movement off the ball, paired with an absolutely ruthless killer instinct, makes him special.  And with James joining my beloved Everton this season, it's enough to push this card into the top three.

Top Pulls of 2020: #4

 Card: 2020 Topps Chrome WWE #A-BY Bayley Green Parallel AUTO (50/99)

From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It:

In stark contrast to most of the other top cards I've shared so far, Bayley has had one of the most meaningful runs over the past year in WWE.  Whether she has held two titles, one, or none, she has almost single-handedly made Smackdown worth watching on Friday nights.  Her villain run has been believable and unexpectedly ruthless.

And let's talk about this card.  I mean, how gorgeous is that on-card signature?

One final word: GREEEEEEEEEN.  (It's my parallel weakness.)
 

Top Pulls of 2020: #5

Card: 2019 Topps WWE Smackdown Live #2 Aleister Black 20th Anniversary Parallel AUTO (20/20)

From: Hobby Box

 

Why I Like It:

So you have this guy who looks like he's straight out of a Norwegian black metal band (okay, he's Dutch), has a moveset heavy on aerial strikes and kicks, and comes packaged with an aura of mystery and mysticism, and... somehow WWE can't make this work?

Misuse of the wrestler aside, this card looks especially cool because the Smackdown 20th Anniversary parallels have a color scheme that darkens most of the color on the card.  Very fitting for this card's subject.  I only hope that Black gets a bigger push in the coming months.

Top Pulls of 2020: Honorable Mention

 Man, did we collectors who are in it for the love of cards have to be selective or what, this year?!  "Deliberate" was the name of the game when opening product in 2020.  Decisions had to be made, and they had to be wise.  So much has been written about the card (mark) explosion that I can't really add any insight on the situation.  Don't worry, things will change once people can spend their money on other things.  I still contend that when people are able to go to concerts and music festivals featuring artists who aren't complete asshats, the bubble will burst.  Luckily, I was able to make some card purchases pre-pandemic, when prices for wax were reasonable.  

It was a hard decision to select my top five this year, as there were a good number of very good cards, but few were transcendent.  Let's check out the ones that fell just short of making the cut.

Cards: 2018 Topps WWE Then Now Forever #178 Shinsuke Nakamura AUTO (12/99) and #162 Ricochet AUTO (69/99)

From: Hobby Boxes

 In a different year, these might have made the list, but unfortunately WWE has been bungling their treatment of two guys who should be can't miss superstars.  The amount of talent on these two card is staggering, but Nakamura is stuck in a "Tell 'em Steve-Dave" role in his tag team with Cesaro, and Ricochet is on Raw, which I don't really watch anymore.  I hear he was part of the Hurt Business storyline, but kind of got shoved aside once they got over.  What a waste.  These should be much higher, as these are the first autos I have of either guy.  Let's chalk it up to the no-audience struggles WWE has been having, and have high hopes that they get better pushes in 2021.

Card: 2018 Topps WWE Legends #A-JS Jake "The Snake" Roberts AUTO Silver Parallel (47/50)

From: Hobby Box

While I already pulled a Jake auto as part of last year's mind-blowing box, another one I opened in January had a better card in it, but not as good of a supporting cast.  This signature is on-card and, more importantly, contains his nickname.  We're living in a world where the WWE is not, creatively, at least, the top wrestling company, and where I saw Jake live on my television as recently as last night.  AEW is truly spoiling us.  It was really hard not to have this one in the top five proper, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Stay tuned for more great pulls coming soon!

Top Pulls of 2019: #1

Here it is, the long-awaited top pull of 2019.  Precedent was set for this back in 2010, when an entire box was hailed as my top pull of the year.  Well, it happened again.  One box of cards was judged to be so righteous, so sincere, that it comprised the totality of the year's top spot.  Fittingly, I purchased this box at the 2019 NSCC in Chicago.  Let's see what the gods provided.

First of all, I should point out that the hobby box I bought, 2018 Topps WWE Legends, promises three autographs per box, and a minimum of one auto per mini-box (of which there are two).  I'll allow the scene to unfold so you can experience it "You Are There" CBS radio-style.

#IC-1 1-2-3 Kid / X-Pac Identity Crisis Gold Parallel (04/10)

While Sean Waltman was never one of my favorites, this is a tough low-numbered card to get.

Next up:
#A-BH Bret "Hit Man" Hart AUTO Bronze Parallel (30/99)

Last year a single bronze Bret autograph made the number two slot.  Still not exactly sure why he writes his name with a bunch of quotation marks (???) after but not before HITMAN.  Strange, but consistent.


Next:
#A-SI Sika AUTO (081/199)

Yeah, half of the Wild Samoans, and Roman Reigns's dad.  Just a base auto, but the only one of those in the box.

Next:
#A-BT Booker T AUTO Gold Parallel (09/10)

My goodness!  Really great, stylish signature, and another gold in the box.  King Booker, one of the best ever Kings of the Ring.

Up next, another auto.  If I remember correctly, I hit a fourth autograph in this product in the first box I bought earlier this year, so it was not a big surprise to get more than the guaranteed three.
#ASR-RS Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat AUTO Shirt Relic Blue Parallel (08/25)

Man, just one of the best, right from the era when I first started watching wrestling.  The man is a true legend, and his WrestleMania III match with the Macho Man is so iconic that all you have to do is say their names together and a fellow fan will know exactly what you are talking about.  "Savage/Steamboat."  There.  You did it.  You just gave me that nonchalant upward head nod guys do.

(And by the way, the guy has, like, a paragraph to write on every card sticker, and he does it just beautifully.  A technician in and out of the ring.)

So, yeah, I got four hits in the box.  Time to gather up the plastic that was on the box and all the wrappers and throw them away, and... WAIT A MINUTE.

There's another pack wedged in the box.  How did I not notice that when I took the packs out?  And it's thick, which is how it got stuck in there.  Let's see...

#HOF-JR Jake "The Snake" Roberts AUTO Hall of Fame Ring (46/99)

Jake the Snake.  Say that to a non-wrestling fan, and they'll still have some recollection of the man.  A true icon of the business.  Too bad a Topps lackey got a little careless with the Elmer's when affixing the little fake ring thingy, but it's still a nice card.

And there you have it, folks, the top pull of 2019.  Thanks for reading, I'm sending plenty of well wishes your way so that whenever you're opening packs of cards this year, you're having a good time!

Top Puls of 2019: #2

Card: 2018 Topps WWE Legends #A-DB Daniel Bryan AUTO (036/199)

From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It:
Bryan had a great 2019, holding the title at the most important part of the WWE calendar, the stretch from the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania.  And let's talk about that belt!  The moment that stands out in my mind is Bryan chanting "Fickle!" at the crowd, going true eco-warrior heel.  He was getting so much heat that his "Yes!" chant all but disappeared during his five-month reign.  This card is nice and clean, and the autograph is on-card.  Not an amazingly valuable card, but one I'm happy to display in my collection.

Top Pulls of 2019: #3

Two-tie, all-tie!
(Anyone else familiar with that expression?  My dad used to say it all the time.  Drop a comment if you can relate.)
We have two cards coming at the third slot this year.

Card: 2018 Topps NXT #A-BY Bayley AUTO Silver Parallel (25/25)

2018 Topps NXT #A-VD Velveteen Dream AUTO Bronze Parallel (82/99)

From: Hobby Box
Why I Like Them:
2019 was kind to both of these performers.  Dream dominated the first half of the year in NXT.  I got to see him wrestle Adam Cole in a small venue in Milwaukee, and he lit the place up.  Bayley had the stronger second half of the year after making a major heel turn.  Her signature is quite a bit better than Velveteen's, but his minimalist sig's placement kind of makes a dong.  "Sidepipe," as my cousin Marc would call it.  Either way, I'm happy to have these cards, both of which were pulled from the same box.  Bayley's is a bit better because of the lower print run, but both are awesome.  I'm not happy with the configuration of 2019 Topps NXT.  The price is cut in half compared to previous years, but there are only two autos per box now, as opposed to ten before.  I would recommend jumping on 2018 NXT boxes, as they're sort of drying up a little.