Cheap Wax Wednesday Box Breaks: 2022 Skybox Metal Universe Champions Multi-Sport
2022 Skybox Metal Universe Champions features a 150-card base checklist filled with athletes from a variety of sports. How many? Well over a dozen, including: Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Esports, Fencing, Figure Skating, Football, Golf, Hockey, Karate, MMA, Racing, Skateboarding, Soccer, Surfing, Swimming, Tennis, and Track and Field.
The design pays homage to the Metal Universe sets you may remember from the late 1990s. The cards are unlicensed, so none of the players are pictured in their team jerseys. Instead, everyone dons generic gear with no team names or logos.
The base checklist does lack for star power, as many of the “prospects” featured did not (at least not yet) pan out. There are some big names, though, with Upper Deck athletes Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Ken Griffey Jr., and Wayne Gretzky leading the charge.
The set makes up for it with some extremely popular designs. Precious Metal Gems, anyone? The highly sought after ’90s parallel gets a reboot in this one, with every card available in six different colored PMGs, including 1/1 Purple Precious Metal Gems! If you happen to pull an MJ PMG, you’re looking at a few hundred dollars easily, with the rarer versions fetching thousands.
2022 Skybox Metal Universe Champions Hobby Box Break
Cards per pack: 7
Packs per box: 15
Price paid: $75
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Pack 1 Highlights:
Druw Jones, Jake Haener, Alysa Liu, Peyton Watson, C.J. Stroud, Garrett Wilson Metal Shredders (MS) and Matt Corral 1998-99 Retro Star Rubies Autograph
Corral was talked about a lot coming out of the 2022 NFL draft, but he never attempted an NFL pass.
Pack 2:
Catarina Macario, Anthony Pettis, Walker Kessler, Jose Perdomo, Perdomo MS, John Pak Fresh Foundations (3 in every 4 packs) and Maria Sharapova Z Force (1:5 packs)
Pack 3:
Ricardo Pepi, Anzhelika Terliuga, Caleb Houstan, Nikola Jovic, Roderick Arias MS, Michael Foster Fresh Foundations and C.J. Stroud Looking to the Future (1:12 packs)
Pack 4:
Jojo Roper, Kenny Pickett, Kedon Slovis, MarJon Beauchamp, Francisco Trincao MS, Beauchamp Fresh Foundations and Druw Jones Z Force (1:5 packs)
Now you see what I mean when I say there is a variety of sports included. No big names in this pack, though Druw Jones was the second overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft. He has yet to fulfill the hype.
Pack 5:
Steven Bergwijn, Jamaree Bouyea, Maria Sharapova, Olga Kharlan, Taulia Tagovailoa, Jahan Dotson 1997-98 Retro Metal Universe Champions (1:5 packs) and Kedon Slovis Fresh Foundations
Pack 6:
Jackson Holliday, Carson Strong, Diogo Jota, Brady House, Jota 1997-98 Retro Metal Universe Champions (1:5 packs), Armando Cruz Fresh Foundations and Jabari Smith Jr. MS
Pack 7:
Chandler Smith, John Pak, Will Zalatoris, Ken Griffey Jr., Danny De Andrade, Desmond Ridder Skybox Premium (1:5 packs) and Isaiah Spiller MS
It’s a classic Griffey look with the backward hat. Unfortunately, because of the generic clothing, collectors don’t flock for these, with this card selling for about a dollar.
Pack 8:
Bryan Acuna, D.J. Uiagalelei, Scoot Henderson, Kijani Wright, Hector Rodriguez, Roderick Arias Fresh Foundations and Arias 2500 Degrees (1:15 packs)
Pack 9:
Tiger Woods, Darius Garland, Master Teague III, Henry Davis, Kenny Pickett MS, Nikola Jovic Fresh Foundations and Riley Greene A Cut Above (1:19 packs)
Pack 10:
Bryce McGowens, Claressa Shields, Jeremy Sochan, Marcelo Mayer, Aspen Ladd, Riley Greene Skybox Premium (1:5 packs) and Maria Sharapova MS
Sharapova could be considered one of more well-known names in the set as well. She is in the Tennis Hall of Fame after all.
Pack 11:
Francisco Trincao, Robert Shwartzman, Michael Foster, Kennedy Chandler, Trincao Fresh Foundations, Breece Hall MS and Ausar Thompson Intimidation Nation (1:15 packs)
Pack 12:
Bruno Cappelozza, Cristian Hernandez, Roderick Arias, Matt Corral, Sam Howell MS, Garrett Wilson and Michael Jordan 1997-98 Retro Metal Universe Champions (1:5 packs)
Pack 13:
Collin Morikawa, Amen Thompson, Malik Willis, Ray Cooper III, Jeremy Sochan MS, Adrian Griffin Jr. Skybox Premium (1:5 packs) and Catarina Macario Fresh Foundations
Morikawa just won a golf tournament for the first time in over two years, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this past weekend.
Pack 14:
Nolan Hickman, Michael Jordan, Isaiah Spiller, Jacob Gonzalez, Jabari Smith Jr., Brady House Fresh Foundations and Jeremy Sochan Z Force (1:5 packs)
Pack 15:
Ausar Thompson, Adrian Griffin Jr., Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, Mykhailo Romanchuk, Ken Griffey Jr. MS, Adrian Griffin Jr. Fresh Foundations and Jahmani Swanson Orange Precious Metal Gems /25
Jahmani “Hot Shot” Swanson has been touring the world as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Lastly, the MJ card back. Not quite sure we needed them to tell us he played basketball, but maybe that piece of information does come in handy for some of the other athletes on the checklist!
Well, there was a rare PMG hiding in this box! It wasn’t the $5,000 MJ we were hoping for, but still a fun pull! This set is definitely generic, but can hit home with the nostalgia making it a fun one to open.
Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.
