TWIW – This Week In Wrestling 6/29/2024

BY JEFF KNAPP

First and foremost, I’d like to take this moment to send my condolences to the entire family of Polaivao Leati Sika Anoa’i. Brother of Afa, and ½ of The Wild Samoans, one of the greatest tag teams in all of pro wrestling. He is also the father of Roman Reigns and Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i. He and his brother wrestled and won tag gold in every promotion they competed in, from Big Time Wrestling (The original Sheik’s promotion) WWF, AWA, NWA, Georgia, Continental, Mid-South and Stampede.

In much brighter news, Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews got married this past Sunday (23rd). I wish them a long and happy marriage. 

Also, over the weekend, former WWE and TNA wrestler, Cassie Lee announced the birth of her 2nd child. Congratulations!!

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “HHH” Levesque appeared on the Pat McAfee show to promote the agreement between the WWE and the state of Indiana which will bring 3 major events to the city of Indianapolis. He also discussed the WWE Raw’s move from the USA Network to Netflix in 2025, and specifically how the company will not face much of the censorship issues that they currently need to deal with while on TV. 

“Netflix is a completely different animal. It’s a streaming service, how are commercials going to work? How are breaks going to work? What’s the length of time? What are the restrictions? What are not restrictions? Just as an example, us being on FOX, if the crowd chants ‘holy shit’ or something much worse, they just take the audio (out). Sometimes they take the picture and the audio off and it’s just a black screen.”

“The Rock comes in, and you sorta kinda can’t tell The Rock what to do, right. What are we gonna tell him? So he does what he does. But we won’t have those issues with Netflix. The ability to be live globally, the ability to have everything seen all at once everywhere, it’s a game-changing moment. I think in many ways, not to disparage other partners because we want to be everywhere, but that’s sort of where the world is heading is streaming services.”

Saturday July 6th is the WWE’s Money in the Bank PLE and below is the updated card for the show:

    World Heavyweight Championship Match: Damian Priest (c) vs. Seth Rollins

    If Priest retains, Rollins can’t challenge for the title ever again as long as Priest is champion. If Rollins wins, Priest exits The Judgment Day

    Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker

    Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline

    Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Jey Uso vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Chad Gable vs. LA Knight vs. TBD

    Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: IYO SKY vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. TBD

After NXT we found out that Chase U will face Axiom and Nathan Frazer for their NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT Heatwave when they competed in a tag team turmoil match against Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Malik Blade & Edris Enofe, Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne and Angel & Berto

After Shawn Spears defeated NXT Champion Trick Williams in a non title matchup, GM Ava made Trick’s Heat Wave Championship match a fatal 4-way, with Trick Williams, Shawn Spears, Ethan Page and Je’von Evans.

On Wednesday, TNA announced the signing of a new tag team out of British Columbia, Canada, Judas Icarus and Travis Williams AKA Sinner and Saint. 

Donovan Dijak has announced that the WWE will not be resigning him when his contract expires on 6/28 and will be a free agent. He is a great wrestler, and he will be on TV sooner than later. (I’m talking to you TNA).

On Friday at the CMLL Viernes Espectacular event at Arena Mexico Atlantis Jr. Defeated Kyle Fletcher to become the new ROH World Television Champion.

Speaking of the CMLL Super Viernes show, the rest of the results are as follows:

Micro Sagrado, Chamuel & KeMalito def. Tengu, Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II.

2/3 Falls Match: Raider & Vegas def. Los Viajeros del eSPACIO (Futuro & Max Star) (2-1).

2/3 Falls Match: Zeuxis, Persephone & Stephanie Vaquer def. Skadi, Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard (2-1).

2/3 Falls Match: Star Jr & Ultimo Guerrero (w/ Perico Zacarías) def. Titan & Templario (2-0).

2/3 Falls Match: Mistico, Volador Jr & Esfinge def. Ángel de Oro & Los Infernales (Averno & Euforia) (2-1).

ROH World Television Championship Match: Atlantis Jr (w/ Atlantis) def. Kyle Fletcher (c) to win the title.

In a shocking display of violence, Solo Sikoa and the rest of the current Bloodline viciously attacked “The Wiseman” Paul Heymen for not acknowledging Solo as the Tribal Chief. 

This coming Sunday is AEW’s Forbidden Door PPV and the updated card goes as follows:

Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay (AEW World Title)

Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito (IWGP World Title)

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Lio Rush vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo (TNT Title Ladder Match)

Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer (c) (TBS & NJPW STRONG Women’s Titles)

“Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa (AEW Women’s Title)

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Orange Cassidy

MJF vs. Hechicero

Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi (Owen Hart Cup)

Kris Statlander & Momo Watanbe vs. Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano

Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Jericho for the FTW Championship

Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed vs. The Elite (Kazuchika Okada and The Young Bucks)

Rollcall of Current Champions from Around The Wrestling World

WWE

Undisputed WWE Champion – Cody Rhodes

World Heavyweight Champion – Damian Priest

World Tag Team Champions – The Judgement Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh)

WWE Tag Team Champions – Grayson Waller & Austin Theory

WWE Women’s Champion – Bayley

Women’s World Champion – Liv Morgan

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – Isla Dawn & Alba Fire

WWE US Champion – Logan Paul

WWE Intercontinental Champion – Sami Zayn

NXT

NXT Championship- Trick Williams

NXT Women’s Champion – Roxanne Perez

NXT North American Champion – Oba Femi

NXT Women’s North American Champion – Kelani Jordan

NXT Tag Team Champions – Nathan Frazer & Axiom

NXT Heritage Cup – “The Don of NXT” Tony D’Angelo

AEW

AEW World Champion – Swerve Strickland

AEW TNT Champion – VACANT

AEW Women’s Champion – Toni Storm

AEW TBS Champion – Mercedes Mone

AEW World Tag Team Champions – Young Bucks

AEW & ROH Unified Trios Champions – Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Austin & Colton Gunn)

AEW International Champion – Will Osprey

AEW Continental Champion – Kazuchika Okada

TNA 

TNA World Champion – Moose

TNA X Division – Mustafa Ali

TNA Tag Team Champions – The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers)

TNA Digital Media Champion – AJ Francis

TNA Knockouts Champion – Jordynne Grace

TNA Knockouts Tag Champions – The System (Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich)

ROH

ROH World Champion – Mark Briscoe

ROH TV Champion – Atlantis Jr.

ROH Pure Champion – Wheeler Yuta

ROH Tag Champions – The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

ROH Women’s Champion – Athena

ROH Women’s TV Champion – Billie Starkz

NWA

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion – EC3

NWA World TV Champion – Max The Impaler (unified men’s and women’s)

NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion – Joe Alonzo

NWA National Champion – Thom Latimer

NWA Mid America Heavyweight Champion – Jeremiah Plunkett

NWA World Tag Team Champions – Blunt Force Trauma – (Carnage & Damage)

NWA US Tag Team Champions – VACANT

NWA World Women’s Champion – Kenzie Paige

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions – The King Bees (Charity King & Danni Bee)

NJPW

IWGP World Champion – Jon Moxley

IWGP Global Heavyweight – David Finley

IWGP Junior Heavyweight – Sho

Strong Openweight Champion – Gabe Kidd

IWGP Television Champion – Jeff Cobb

IWGP Tag Team Champions – TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)

Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions – TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls)

NEVER Openweight Champion – Shingo Takagi

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions – Los Ingobernables de Japón  (Yota Tsuji, Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi)

KOPW 2023 – Great O Khan

IWGP Women’s Champion – Maya Iwatani (Shared with Stardom)

Strong Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer (Shared with Stardom)

AAA – Triple A Worldwide

AAA Mega Champion – Nic Nemeth

AAA Latin American Champion – Octagon Jr

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion – Komander

AAA World Tag Team Champions – Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Sanson & Forastero)

AAA World Trios Champions – Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr, Psicosis & Toxin)

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion – Flammer

CMLL – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion – Gran Guerrero

CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion – Averno

CMLL World Middleweight Champion – Templario

CMLL World Welterweight Champion – Titan

CMLL World Lightweight Champion – Stigma

CMLL World Tag Team Champions – Los Nuevos Ingobernables (Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

CMLL World Trios Champions – Los Bárbaros (Dragon Rojo Jr., Bárbaro Cavernario & El Terrible)

CMLL World Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer

CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Champions – Stephanie Vaquer and Zeuxis

Stardom

World of Stardom Champion (main title) – Maika

Wonder of Stardom Champion (secondary title ie IC tite) – Saori Anou

Goddess of Stardom Champions (tag) – Fukuoka Double Crazy (Hazuki and Koguma)

Artist of Stardom Champions (trios) – Empress Nexus Venus (Maika, Mina Shirakawa & Xena)

High Speed Champion (lightweight or x type of title) Saya Kamitani

Nate’s Notes News: Hockey Hall of Fame, Ryan Suter, Claude Julien, & Ken Holland

By Nathan Moser

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday who is part of their Class of 2024. There are a total of seven members who will be inducted: Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Natalie Darwitz, David Poile, and Colin Campbell. Datsyuk spent his entire NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. He was a part of two Stanley Cup championships (2002, 2008), and is one of the best to ever don the Red Wing sweater. He finished his time in the league having played in 953 games and accruing 918 points in that span (314 goals and 604 assists). His two best statistical seasons for Detroit happened in 2007-08 and 2008-09 (97 points each), both seasons where the team went to the Stanley Cup Final and played against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those two statistical seasons are broken down below:

  • 2007-08: 31 goals and 66 assists for 97 points in 82 games
  • 2008-09: 32 goals and 65 assists for 97 points in 81 games

Additionally, Datsyuk suited up for 157 postseason games. He scored 42 goals and 71 assists for 113 points in 157 games. He played with some legendary teammates like Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, and Chris Chelios among others, but he earned becoming a legend in his own right. He brought so much skill every night to the rink and some of his goals are absolute highlight reel material. He won the Selke Trophy three times, the Lady Byng four times, and played in three NHL All-Star Games.

Roenick joins Datsyuk into the Hall of Fame having played in 1,363 games. In that time, he accumulated 513 goals and 703 assists for 1,216 points. He played for several organizations throughout his time in the NHL. He started off with the Chicago Blackhawks before also suiting up for the Phoenix Coyotes (two stints), Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. He was a part of 17 postseason runs. During that time, he tallied 53 goals and 69 assists for 122 points in 154 games. He never won the Stanley Cup, but he was a nine-time NHL All-Star.

Weber played most of his career with the Nashville Predators. He was drafted by them in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, known as one of the deepest classes in the history of the sport. He spent parts of 11 campaigns in Nashville. His stats during his time there are below:

  • 2005-06: two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 28 games
  • 2006-07: 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 79 games
  • 2007-08: six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 54 games
  • 2008-09: 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points in 81 games
  • 2009-10: 16 goals and 27 assists for 43 points in 78 games
  • 2010-11: 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points in 82 games
  • 2011-12: 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points in 78 games
  • 2012-13: nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 48 games
  • 2013-14: 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points in 79 games
  • 2014-15: 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points in 78 games
  • 2015-16: 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points in 78 games

Weber was dealt during the 2016 offseason to Montreal for PK Subban. He was with the Canadiens for parts of five seasons before officially being done playing after the 2020-21 campaign. He finished his career playing in 1,038 games. During that span, he produced 224 goals and 365 assists for 589 points. He played in seven NHL All-Star Games.

Krissy Wendell-Pohl, who is currently a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins, was inducted to the Hall. She played in 147 games for the U.S. National Team between 1997 and 2007. She helped the USA capture the silver medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics, while also helping the team capture the bronze medal in the 2006 Olympics. She also is remembered for her performance, specifically in the 2005 IIHF World Championship when she was named MVP of the tournament and USA won their first gold medal in the tournament. Wendell-Pohl finished her international career with 106 goals and 141 assists for 247 points.

Natalie Darwitz, like Wendell-Pohl, also played for the U.S. National Team. She even was a captain for the USA. She won two silver medals in the Winter Olympics (2002 and 2010) as well as a bronze medal (2006). She also won three gold medals in World Championships for the USA, as well as two gold medals in Four Nations Cup tournaments. She posted 39 goals and 33 assists for 72 points in 50 international games. Since her time playing, Darwitz has also gotten into coaching, including spending time with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

David Poile is one of two builders being inducted in the 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame class. He first was the general manager of the Washington Capitals for 15 seasons before becoming the first GM in the history of the Predators. With the Capitals, he helped bring in some of their best players in franchise history like Rod Langway, Peter Bondra, and Sergei Gonchar. In Nashville, he was responsible for bringing in most of the best talent ever in Predators history. He was responsible for players like David Legwand, Jordin Tootoo, Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Fisher, Weber, Ryan Ellis, Patric Hornqvist, and Pekka Rinne among others. He became the winningest GM in NHL history. Poile recently retired from the Predators GM job, and he was replaced by his former head coach Barry Trotz.

Colin Campbell was also inducted in the builder category. He has been the NHL’s senior executive vice president of hockey operations since 1998. He was a player and coach before that and has made an impact in the sport for many decades now. His time working for the NHL helped with scouting, officiating, and overall hockey operations.

Stars Buyout Ryan Suter

Buyouts in the NHL are underway, and the Dallas Stars took advantage of that with longtime defender Ryan Suter. The 39-year-old blueliner will become an unrestricted free agent after being with Dallas for three seasons. He accrued 17 points in 82 games (two goals and 15 assists) in 2023-24. Suter has been in the NHL since being drafted by the Predators in the 2003 Draft. He played for Nashville for seven seasons before joining forward Zach Parise as members of the Minnesota Wild during the 2012 offseason. He was with the Wild for nine seasons before signing a contract with the Stars.

Blues Hire Claude Julien

The St. Louis Blues added to the coaching staff by hiring longtime bench boss Claude Julien. Julien is mainly remembered for his time as head coach of the Boston Bruins from 2007-08 until midway through 2016-17. He also coached for the Montreal Canadiens twice as well as the New Jersey Devils. His overall coaching record in the NHL is 667-455-10-152. This is a smart move by the Blues. Julien brings a lot of hockey knowledge to the staff and he has a 2011 Stanley Cup ring to prove it. He joins a St. Louis group led by head coach Drew Bannister. In addition to the Julien news, assistant coach Steve Ott has been promoted to associate coach. Time will tell how this coaching crew works out and how well the Blues play in 2024-25.

Ken Holland and Oilers Part Ways

Longtime NHL general manager Ken Holland will no longer work for the Edmonton Oilers. Both Holland and the organization have agreed to part ways, as his contract expires on July 1. This comes after the Oilers were eliminated by the Florida Panthers, who won their first Stanley Cup championship in organization history. It was the first time Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup Final since they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games back in the 2006 playoffs. The last Cup they won was in 1990. Holland will be replaced on an interim basis by CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson, but he will be looking for GM replacements as he does not want to be permanent GM for the franchise.

ICED COLE

BY MARK HALPERN

    On Tuesday night 06/25/24, the New York Mets kicked off their subway series against the cross-town rival New York Yankees. Over the past 20 games, the Mets have been one of the hottest teams winning 15 of their last twenty, and have put themselves in a great position to be BUYERS come this trade deadline. This series is just about winning or losing, it’s bragging rights for a few days and in New York, a few days can feel like an eternity. In these games, the Yankees had some of the hottest hitters in baseball such as Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Volpe. They have been playing solid baseball. As for the Mets, it took a purple cartoon character named Grimace (McDonald’s mascot) and the Mets started changing the lineup it has worked and the pitching has been Steller.

       The first game on Tuesday featured Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (I think he needed more rehab time) and David Peterson the Met’s back-end starter. Gerrit Cole is the best pitcher in baseball and I am not throwing shots at anyone. When Cole is on and pinpoint his pitches and isn’t injured, he is a 20-game winner any year. However, that version of Cole hasn’t reemerged yet. Most of Cole’s pitches missed the point or were left flat over the plate. Cole was also on a pitch restriction as he is working his way back from injury. His final line against the Mets wasn’t pretty. Cole pitched 4innings giving up 7 hits and 6 earned runs to go along with 4 home runs and 4 walks (something Cole doesn’t do much). Getting destroyed doesn’t help build up his confidence. You could see his frustration after each pitch missed where he wanted to be and when you fall behind to a 3-0 count, those Met Hitters are going to capitalize and Nimmo, Bader, and Vientos (twice) found his weakness and exploited it.

      One thing I have always said is “Never count out the Yankees.” They have a great team and are in a rough patch right now. If I was a Yankee fan and I am glad I am not, yes it’s concerning about Cole but the rest of the team is playing and there is a reason you’re in first. As for the Mets, this was a statement saying we can beat the best, and now is the time for Stearns and Cohen to sit down and see what they can BUY to help make the push to try and catch the Phillies but, realistically one of the 3 wild card spots are now in reach.

Nate’s Notes News: Panthers Win Cup, Ullmark to Senators, and Meruelo Walks Away

By Nate Moser

In this edition of Nate’s Notes News, there are a few topics to discuss as the 2023-24 NHL season comes to an official close. First, congratulations to the Florida Panthers on winning their first Stanley Cup championship in their 30-year history. It was a well-fought series for both Florida and the Edmonton Oilers. Many people thought the Oilers were done for after Game 3, but they battled back and were one win away from claiming their first title since 1990 and Canada’s first one since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. Panthers general manager Bill Zito will now have to try and re-sign some of their top contributors before they hit free agency in Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour among others.

Ullmark Traded to Ottawa

The Ottawa Senators addressed their starting goalie position through trade on Monday. The Linus Ullmark-Jeremy Swayman iconic hugs in Boston are done between the two, as Ullmark was dealt to Ottawa for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 first-round pick. In addition, the Senators will also retain 25% of Korpisalo’s salary. Ottawa moves on quickly from the Korpisalo experiment not even a calendar year after inking him to a five-year contract on July 1, 2023. The results were not good enough for the Senators and they are one of the organizations in the Eastern Conference who must make a push for the 2025 postseason. If they do not make it, there could be possible management replacements. Goaltending has been an issue for Ottawa in recent seasons. Since Craig Anderson left the team after the 2019-20 season; the Senators have had Matt Murray, Filip Gustavsson, Marcus Hogberg, Anton Forsberg, Joey Daccord, Mads Sogaard, Cam Talbot, Dylan Ferguson, Magnus Hellberg, Kevin Mandolese, Leevi Merilainen, and Korpisalo playing in net for them. Now, they turn to Ullmark in hopes that he will be the next star netminder for them. He first debuted in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and spent parts of six campaigns with them, before signing on with the Bruins during the 2021 offseason. His best season came in 2022-23 when he made the All-Star Game and won both the Vezina Trophy for best goalie and the William M. Jennings Trophy along with Swayman. The Senators and their fans hope that he can return to Vezina form when he suits up for Ottawa in 2024-25. After that, they will have to see if they can re-sign him if he plays well.

Meruelo Walks Away as Coyotes Owner

After the land auction for property in North Phoenix was cancelled that was originally planned for June 27, Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo is giving up on reactivating the franchise, in a report from PHNX Sports. I do not think this means the Coyotes will not come back. The NHL must find the next owner or ownership group to bring back the franchise as an expansion team. The key to this is to try and find a spot in Phoenix. If you ask me, the Coyotes moving to Glendale is where things started to go south to an extent. Having the team in Phoenix will make a difference for filling the arena and getting support. I think Gary Bettman and the NHL management will figure out a way to get a team back there. Maybe it will be in the five-year window that the league gave Meruelo to reactivate them or maybe it will be longer. However, I believe that hockey belongs in Arizona and that there can be a great team there with substantial backing and support. The Vegas Golden Knights have already proven that hockey can work in the desert and that may be the same with the new Utah franchise as well. There is work to be done for all parties involved, but I do not think NHL hockey is done in Arizona. They will get their team back; it is just a matter of when.

WILL THEY ROAR OR MEOW

By Mark Halpern

The Detroit Lions and the entire NFC North will play a powerful division. The Lions are the reigning NFC North champions and with good reason. Goff was better than the old Goff. Goff not only had plenty of time thanks to a formidable offensive line, he was given the best weapons to get the job done.

    Throughout the first half of the season, the Lions were the talk of the league. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs had a fantastic rookie year amassing 945 yards, 10 touchdowns, and a 5.2 avg per carry. Gibbs also had 52 receptions. I don’t know why I say rookie because he acted like a season player and we can go higher than that cause most of today’s running backs put up those numbers. Gibbs even though he has a year under his belt is reminding me of the great Marshall Faulk. Faulk could run, block, and receive; this is one of the main reasons the Rams excelled with him on that team and it made Kurt Warner’s job easier. Analysts say you have 3.6 sec to see your target and get it to that player but, mind you have defense gunning for you. If you have a player like Gibbs and the talent, he brings we could be seeing the second coming of Faulk.

    The receiving core what can you say besides they’re young and also ranked in the top 5 offenses in the NFL. Picture yourself as Goff for a minute and when you look behind you have Gibbs on the top right is Amron St Brown, to your left Jamesson Williams who has yet to show why he is there due to injury not bad play. This will be his first season where he starts healthy. Then comes the big guy Sam LaPorta who was drafted to replace T.J. Hockenson. When that trade between the Vikings and Lions happened, I had no words to describe what was going through my mind. However, the Lions wasted no time  replacing him and it was like watching Hockenson’s younger twin playing. La Porta was a huge reason why the Lions were so successful. If C.J Stroud did not have the year he had then La Porta wins MVP.

    Now every team is not perfect but the Lions seemed poised to be perfect after them by week the defense looked tired. Teams that beat them in the second half weren’t stopping the offense because they were just clicking. I never like making excuses for any team, even my own, however, the Lions’ defense that started the first half was electric. Once the second half of their schedule began it was like the defense forgot how to play. This team if the defense would have performed like they were averaging 4.5 sacks a game in the first half but then a poor 1.3 per game. This made it easy for opposing Quarterbacks to have more time and find their receivers. This Lions defense has a huge challenge ahead of them and not just from their division they have a tough schedule.

     As I said in the beginning the NFC North except the cheese heads has 3 teams that have distinct possibilities of making the playoffs, with the very young teams of the Bears and Vikings, this division will not only be the most competitive this season but probably the most exciting.   

How the Florida Panthers Won the Stanley Cup

By Nate Moser

After waiting 30 years and losing in their previous two Stanley Cup Final appearances, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions. It is a franchise that has gone through a lot over the years, including a 10-season gap where they failed to qualify for the playoffs. They had many great players come and go during that playoff drought too, including Olli Jokinen, Joe Nieuwendyk, Roberto Luongo, Jay Bouwmeester, Martin Gelinas, and Nathan Horton among others. What changed? How did the Panthers become one of the best teams in the NHL and finally clinch their first Cup championship? There are a few factors that played a role.

Getting the Right Management

The Panthers moved on from their previous general manager Dale Tallon in August 2020 and they were looking for the next executive who could take the franchise in the right direction. Bill Zito was someone who had already been making his name around the hockey world. He co-founded Acme World Sports, a player agency that has represented NHL players like Brian Rafalski and Tuukka Rask among others. More recently, Zito had been an assistant GM with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Panthers hired Zito to be the next GM for the team and that was the first move to help Florida get where they needed to be. As a sports team, there must be the right management in place. There is so much responsibility to running the roster of a team and any wrong moves could set an organization back multiple years. That is why sometimes teams do not win championships. Mismanagement can be very costly and damaging. There has to be the right people in place who will know what needs to be done and when. That separates managements who win titles and managements who are out the door in a few seasons. The Panthers chose Zito and they made the right choice by doing so. With the right GM in place, the next thing to step things up is the memorable trade that alters the course of the franchise.

The Huberdeau-Tkachuk Trade

With some sports teams, sometimes there is a trade that helps set the tone to get a team in the right position toward winning a championship. Zito made multiple great trades for the Panthers since becoming GM, but the move that will get so much attention was when he dealt Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk. Huberdeau had been a staple of the offense for Florida since he had been drafted by them third overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Weegar had also been a solid defenseman as well during his time with the Panthers. However, Zito decided he needed to make a move that would shake the core of the roster. It is something that some people believe the Toronto Maple Leafs need to do in order to push forward further in the playoffs – trading Mitch Marner or another member of their Core Four. The Panthers are proof that trading one of the best players can be beneficial. Tkachuk became a fan favorite for Florida immediately. He was a clutch talent for the team during their 2023 postseason run to the Cup Final and continued to be a leader for the squad on their way to the Cup this playoff run. Tkachuk during the last two seasons has been everything the Panthers could have wanted when they got him. He has posted the following stats prior to the 2024 postseason:

  • 2022-23 regular season: 40 goals and 69 assists for 109 points in 79 games
  • 2023 playoffs: 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 20 games
  • 2023-24 regular season: 26 goals and 62 assists for 88 points in 80 games

Zito deserves credit for pulling the trigger on this move and Tkachuk deserves credit for putting his blood, sweat, and tears into his play on the ice. He is one of the faces of this new era in Panthers history. It is an era that now has a championship tied to it as well.

Bobrovsky the Brick Wall

It was no secret how good Sergei Bobrovsky can be when he is on his game. After the first couple Cup Final games, he was even the frontrunner to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. It was apparent that he was the MVP of the 2024 playoffs. He obviously did not have the best games during the middle contests of the Cup Final, and was most likely a contributor to Connor McDavid winning the trophy instead for the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers were only able to muster one goal in the first two games though thanks to Bob. This is a team who has two of the best players in the entire league in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl was stifled by the Panthers throughout the entire series, and Bob was a big reason for that. Specifically in Game 7, Bobrovsky made some highlight saves. His defensive teammates also saved the day a few times, but Bob was stellar when called upon.

Bobrovsky signed with the Panthers during the 2019 offseason to a seven-year, $70 million contract. Before he became a huge reason why Florida won their first Cup, there were times where the Panthers were criticized and laughed at for giving that big of a contract to Bobrovsky. Some people felt that he did not deserve it and there were times where that was the opinions on the Sports Insanity Network’s Breakaway Bandits podcast. There was talk among people in the hockey world that the Panthers needed to move his contract and that they would probably have to eat half of his salary in order to get him moved.

Zito was not the one who gave Bobrovsky the contract, but he deserves credit for believing in Bob to keep him around. Sometimes the biggest decisions involve not taking any action at all and that is what Zito did in this situation. This series would have been a whole different story if Bob had not been between the pipes for Florida, even with the games that he was not his best. At the end of the day, he still has a Cup ring now, and played a significant role in getting it for Florida. He was one of the biggest differences in this series with Edmonton. The Oilers had played well to a certain extent. Bob shut down the Oilers to an extent, especially when it mattered most in Game 7, and gave the Panthers’ offense their opportunities to clinch the Cup.

Bringing It All Together

There are other contributors to the Panthers winning their first Cup. Tkachuk was the big move discussed, but Florida also brought in Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Brandon Montour, and Gustav Forsling among others. These players all have made their own impact on the Panthers, and they finally got the reward for it. It was not one factor but many good ones that led Florida to being on top of the hockey mountain. They waited a long time to get there but they were able to put everything together and win.

It will be interesting to see how Zito handles upcoming contracts for players like Reinhart and Montour. They both could make big money deals, so Zito will have some work to do to get his roster prepared to defend the Cup in 2024-25. He is the right man for the job though and even if he loses some players, he will figure out who to replace them with. He will have a ring on his finger now to prove that.

Pressure Is Mounting

By Mike Rifkin

We’ve entered the dog days of summer and that means playoff races across Major League Baseball are getting more intense. The addition of the third wild card in both leagues have made more teams feel like they’re still in the race. The Toronto Blue Jays have dropped six in a row and are 2-8 over their last 10 games. This recent stretch has put the Blue Jays 6.5 games back of that final wild card spot. Let me put this in a different context the three teams below the Blue Jays in the standings are the Angels, Athletics, and White Sox. Now that’s an indictment of the Blue Jays more than anything. 

With the trade deadline looming this next 11 game stretch for the Blue Jays is absolutely massive. The Blue Jays will visit Fenway to play the Red Sox for a three game series. Last week the Red Sox swept the Blue Jays in Toronto, outscoring the Jays 18-6 over the three games. After the trip to Fenway, the Blue Jays return home for eight games, four with the Yankees and four with the Houston Astros. The Yankees currently own the best record in all of baseball and the Astros are one of the hottest teams in baseball winning five in a row and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. 

So why are the Blue Jays underachieving? The Blue Jays offense is down. They’re averaging 3.84 runs per game this season, down from the 4.55 they averaged last year. The three teams that average less runs per game are the Athletics, Marlins and White Sox. The Blue Jays are 23rd in batting average with .232, .310 on base percentage, and a .368 slugging percentage. The Blue Jays slash line last season was .256/.329/.417. The Blue Jays are tied for 27th with 67 homers, last season they hit 188 homers as a team. So, why has the Blue Jays offense struggled, well they’re top guys haven’t come through. George Springer is hitting under .200 with five homers, Bo Bichette ( currently on the IL) has four homers with a slash line of .237/.286/.342. They have two players hitting over .270 (minimum 230 At bats) in their lineup. Springer’s decline is something to monitor, his on base percentage has dropped a few points each of the last couple of seasons, but if they’re going to get in this they need him to get hot. The Blue Jays starting pitching has been solid as they are tied for seventh with 32 quality starts. As a team the Blue Jays have a 4.18 ERA, which is middle of the pack in MLB. 

Ok, so let’s say over this 11 game stretch the Blue Jays go 3-8 or 4-7 that might push them into sell territory. What can the Blue Jays offer some teams? Let’s start in that rotation that has been solid for them this season. Chris Bassitt is 6-6 with a 3.52 ERA and has one year left on his contract at 22 million dollars. Yusei Kikuchi is 4-7 with a 4.00 ERA and is a free agent after the season. Justin Turner is a free agent after the season and is hitting .242 with five homers and 22 RBI on the season. So a team looking for a DH could have interest. Yimi Garcia is 0-3 with a 2.57 ERA and does have five saves on the season. 

Now comes the ultimate question : If you’re the Blue Jays would you trade either Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette? Both are under contract for one more season after this. Neither one has really entered their prime yet, so would you keep both or move one. Now I love both players, but I think I’d build around Vlad. The biggest reason is he plays everyday, Bichette has had some injuries come into play. I don’t think you can keep both just based on lack of success. But whichever one they keep, they should get a nice package for the other whether it be at the trade deadline or over the winter. Either way there’s pressure mounting in Toronto.

VIENTOS HAS EARNED HIS SPOT

BY MARK HALPERN

Over the past few years, Mets fans had some real excitement about the talent we had in Triple-A 2 years ago. The Mets have 3 MLB-ready players ready to vault to the Mets and we are talking about Baty, Alvarez, and Vientos. Rookies can do great in the minors and then just not be able to cut it in the majors. We have seen Vientos and Baty both sent down but, Vientos didn’t let it bother him and went on a tear and is doing it again with the Mets. Baty was sent down because of his struggles but is currently tearing up AAA so we might see him soon as well Alvarez just returned from thumb surgery and has made a clear statement he is back. The Battle comes down to Baty and Vientos which I love these two rookies.

      Vientos started the season in Triple AAA after the Mets signed J.D. Martinez and even though he knew he would be the casualty (being sent down) it didn’t phase him. From his first game back in Syracuse he went 3-4 with a home run and over that one week he hit .389. It wasn’t a one game fluke either and after two weeks the Mets decided to bring him back as more of a DH than third since Baty had it locked down.

     Baty had been doing well but he also fell into that sophomore slum and has been sent down to AAA (mind you he is tearing it up there also) and this paved the way for Vientos to man third. The question people ask is “Is Vientos going to be the everyday player at third?” it’s a simple answer and that is NO. Vientos spent the entire spring working with Francisco Lindor not only on his hitting but his fielding as well. While he has a few errors you can see the real improvement he is making. So, for now, he will man third base unless he gets injured or they find someone better.

    Vientos pays attention and is learning every day and Carlos Mendoza has been with him watching what he is doing. I truly feel that Vientos will end up as a DH/3B or could even be traded at the deadline (which I would be sad about) to help improve the rotation and maybe get a 3B such as Bregman (PLEASE.)

    From his time in the minors, Vientos was noticed for his hitting talent. There is no question that he can be a solid player in a lineup. He has made every opportunity given to him and never refuses help. In his short time up and down with the Mets Vientos has a beautiful slash line of .289/.334/.526. Vientos is featured in the back end of the lineup and it’s great to have a player with his speed and talent to help keep innings going. Mark has 33 hits, 7 home runs, and 18 RBI’s, and for a player who has been sent down and back up again so many times, this is an impressive stat. Vientos is overshadowed by players like Alonso, Lindor, Alvarez, Marte and they all have taken their time to help him with areas in which he is having issues. I am not saying other clubs don’t do this but, the Mets players know what they have in Vientos and they want him to help as much as they can to make him either DH/3B and be a focal part of this team.

“Sticking” To It

By Mike Rifkin

The bottom of the  ninth inning of the Mets-Cubs game on Sunday was a roller coaster before it even started. Mets closer Edwin Diaz was ejected before throwing a pitch when the umpires determined his hands were too sticky. With the ejection Diaz is now suspended for 10 games barring an appeal. Diaz will now miss series against the Yankees, Astros, Nationals and a game against the Pirates. This comes at a really bad time for the Mets, who have won 15 of 21 games and now sit one game back of the third wild card spot. 

Diaz said after the game “ I think it’s the same. They always check me, they let me pitch. I will keep using the same thing because they didn’t find anything on my glove, hat and belt.” Diaz is the third Met to get ejected from a game over the last calendar year along with Drew Smith and Max Scherzer. Crew Chief Vic Carapazza said “ It definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat. We’ve checked 1,000’s of these. I know what the feeling is, it was very sticky.” 

My problem isn’t with the umpires, my problem is with MLB. There is no standard to how sticky someone’s hand is. The umpires are told to act on their own accord to figure out how sticky someone’s hand is, but there’s been a different double standard and that is when the umpires allow the pitcher to go wash their hands. Yes, Diaz can appeal this situation but he probably won’t win it and it still hurts the Mets. MLB banned the sticky substances to increase offense, well over the last year offense is down and they can’t blame the sticky stuff, so what’s the explanation? 

Here’s the thing: I don’t care what Diaz or Mendoza say, I don’t care what the umpires have to say as they’re just following what they’re told. I want to hear from the commissioner and have him address this because if the players are confused, if the umpires are confused then you know the fans are confused. Why are there different protocols, what is considered too sticky, is there a way we can have the stickiness measured? These are all valid questions for MLB and Rob Manfred to answer, but he hasn’t and what happens if this costs a team a playoff spot or worse a playoff game. Based on something arbitrary, it’s ridiculous if you’re going to have a rule in place that has a way it should be measured. At the end of the day this is a loss for the Players’ because it’s very hard for the suspension to get overturned. Hey we have a great summer of baseball ahead, but as usual we’re talking about a negative hitting MLB and they need to find a solution.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling 6/21/2024

By Jeff Knapp

Not wrestling related but I want to say RIP to the Say Hey Kid Willie Mays, arguably the greatest baseball player of all time.

The biggest story in my opinion this week was the debut of The Wyatt Sicks. This was the most amazing thing I’ve seen in a LONG time. Not taking anything away from the cinematic experience from the first Hardy Compound match, Sting’s first AEW match when he tagged with Darby Allin or the AJ Styles vs Undertaker match at Wrestlemania, but this was pure creepy, suspenseful, dark, haunting pleasure. As of this writing, I have watched that moment about 10 times. LET THEM IN !!!

It was announced that AJ Styles will be facing Naomichi Marfuji at the NOAH Destination 2024 show on July 13 at Budokan. For those who don’t know he is a 4x GHC World Champion for Noah and is currently 1 ⁄ 2 of the GHC Tag Team Champions. He’s also held championships for NJPW and All Japan and was voted (with his partner) in 2003 and 2004 as the PWI Tag Team of the Year.

Seth Rollins returned to Raw for the 1st time since losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Drew McIntyre (who then lost it to Damian Priest) at Wrestlemania.

After their victories on Raw, Iyo Sky and Jey Uso have qualified for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

After showing complete frustration, Drew McIntyre quit Raw and walked out past Triple H in the back. On Friday’s Smackdown in Chicago McIntyre attacked CM Punk and left him a bloody mess on the entrance way. This rivalry is so good right now and they haven’t had a match yet.

Congratulations are in order for Je’Von Evans who outlasted 24 other men in a battle royal and is now the number 1 contender to Trick Williams’s NXT World Championship. 

Speaking of NXT and the battle royal, it was amazing to see Joe Hendry and Frankie Kazarian from TNA make an appearance. The crowd gave Joe Hendry an amazing reaction. Do you believe in Joe Hendry?

It appears that ROH Women’s Champion, Athena has torn some ligaments in her ankle and could be sidelined 4-6 months. She has held that championship for around 500 days. I wish her a speedy recovery. No word, as of this writing, what will happen to the title and when they will crown a new champion. 

The WWE filed to trademark the name “Talla Tonga,” which many believe is reserved for former NJPW star Hikuleo. They have also filed a trademark for the name Caesar Sikoa.

Although nothing has been confirmed, it appears that Lio Rush will be a regular with AEW going forward.

It was announced this week that NXT will debut on The CW on Tuesday October 1st.

After some wait, The Samoan Werewolf Jacob Fatu, son of Sam Fatu aka The Tonga Kid debuted on Friday on Smackdown and took out Kevin Owens, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. 

Ahead of their match at Forbidden Door, Mercedes Mone arrived at Arena Mexico to confront NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer. 

After 8 amazing years with the WWE, KAyla Braxton has decided to leave the WWE and pursue interests outside the company. I wish her all the best and hope to see her come back to the company where millions of people loved her.

Rollcall of Current Champions from Around The Wrestling World

WWE

Undisputed WWE Champion – Cody Rhodes

World Heavyweight Champion – Damian Priest

World Tag Team Champions – The Miz & R-Truth

WWE Tag Team Champions – Grayson Waller & Austin Theory

WWE Women’s Champion – Bayley

Women’s World Champion – Liv Morgan

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – Isla Dawn & Alba Fire

WWE US Champion – Logan Paul

WWE Intercontinental Champion – Sami Zayn

NXT

NXT Championship- Trick Williams

NXT Women’s Champion – Roxanne Perez

NXT North American Champion – Oba Femi

NXT Women’s North American Champion – Kelani Jordan

NXT Tag Team Champions – Nathan Frazer & Axiom

NXT Heritage Cup – “The Don of NXT” Tony D’Angelo

AEW

AEW World Champion – Swerve Strickland

AEW TNT Champion – VACANT

AEW Women’s Champion – Toni Storm

AEW TBS Champion – Mercedes Mone

AEW World Tag Team Champions – Young Bucks

AEW & ROH Unified Trios Champions – Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Austin & Colton Gunn)

AEW International Champion – Will Osprey

AEW Continental Champion – Kazuchika Okada

TNA 

TNA World Champion – Moose

TNA X Division – Mustafa Ali

TNA Tag Team Champions – The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers)

TNA Digital Media Champion – AJ Francis

TNA Knockouts Champion – Jordynne Grace

TNA Knockouts Tag Champions – The System (Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich)

ROH

ROH World Champion – Mark Briscoe

ROH TV Champion – Kyle Fletcher

ROH Pure Champion – Wheeler Yuta

ROH Tag Champions – The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

ROH Women’s Champion – Athena

ROH Women’s TV Champion – Billie Starkz

NWA

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion – EC3

NWA World TV Champion – Max The Impaler (unified men’s and women’s)

NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion – Joe Alonzo

NWA National Champion – Thom Latimer

NWA Mid America Heavyweight Champion – Jeremiah Plunkett

NWA World Tag Team Champions – Blunt Force Trauma – (Carnage & Damage)

NWA US Tag Team Champions – VACANT

NWA World Women’s Champion – Kenzie Paige

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions – The King Bees (Charity King & Danni Bee)

NJPW

IWGP World Champion – Jon Moxley

IWGP Global Heavyweight – David Finley

IWGP Junior Heavyweight – Sho

Strong Openweight Champion – Gabe Kidd

IWGP Television Champion – Jeff Cobb

IWGP Tag Team Champions – TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)

Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions – TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls)

NEVER Openweight Champion – Shingo Takagi

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions – Los Ingobernables de Japón  (Yota Tsuji, Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi)

KOPW 2023 – Great O Khan

IWGP Women’s Champion – Maya Iwatani (Shared with Stardom)

Strong Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer (Shared with Stardom)

AAA – Triple A Worldwide

AAA Mega Champion – Nic Nemeth

AAA Latin American Champion – Octagon Jr

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion – Komander

AAA World Tag Team Champions – Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Sanson & Forastero)

AAA World Trios Champions – Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr, Psicosis & Toxin)

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion – Flammer

CMLL – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion – Gran Guerrero

CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion – Averno

CMLL World Middleweight Champion – Templario

CMLL World Welterweight Champion – Titan

CMLL World Lightweight Champion – Stigma

CMLL World Tag Team Champions – Los Nuevos Ingobernables (Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

CMLL World Trios Champions – Los Bárbaros (Dragon Rojo Jr., Bárbaro Cavernario & El Terrible)

CMLL World Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer

CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Champions – Stephanie Vaquer and Zeuxis

Stardom

World of Stardom Champion (main title) – Maika

Wonder of Stardom Champion (secondary title ie IC tite) – Saori Anou

Goddess of Stardom Champions (tag) – Fukuoka Double Crazy (Hazuki and Koguma)

Artist of Stardom Champions (trios) – Empress Nexus Venus (Maika, Mina Shirakawa & Xena)

High Speed Champion (lightweight or x type of title) Saya Kamitani