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The WWE Legend known as Big Show has been with AEW since February 2021. Paul Wight helps rising talents in AEW these days, as he did in WWE during his 21-yearn run with the company. One star is revealing how the former Giant took her under his wing.

Summer Rae made her name in WWE from November 2011 – October 2017. She held different roles with WWE, from FCW General Manager in developmental, to a member of Beautiful Fierce Females in NXT, Fandango’s dance partner on RAW, and Tyler Breeze’s manager on SmackDown.

The World’s Largest Athlete made his name as a wrestling legend with the chokeslam. Big Show later used the knockout punch or WMD right hook as his finisher, but also relied on The Final Cut, which is a spinning headlock elbow drop, and the Colossal Clutch, his version of the Camel Clutch.

Big Show doesn’t wrestle much these days in AEW, and while his arsenal is not vast, it includes just what the South Carolina native needs to get the job done. One of his other signature moves is called The Showstopper, which is an inverted leg drop bulldog. Summer Rae used the same move during her in-ring career, but called it Summer Crush.

Summer Rae On Big Show Helping Her In WWE

Summer Rae continues to make various wrestling-related appearances, but has not done much wrestling since WWE released her on October 29, 2017. She worked the 2022 Royal Rumble, but currently works multiple roles with Bare Knuckle Boxing.

Rae recently spoke with talkSPORT Boxing and was asked who she enjoyed working with in WWE. The 41-year-old opened up on how Big Show helped her out and passed on his inverted leg drop bulldog to her.

“I love The Big Show. The Big Show is just amazing. He took me under his wing when I first started. He gave me his finisher, so my finisher is his old finisher, and he’s absolutely lovely,” Summer Rae said.

Rae worked a few indie matches in 2018-2019, but has not wrestled a WWE singles bout since the Superstars taping on July 18, 2016, where she defeated Alicia Fox. Summer recently teased a return to WWE.

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Manchester United are too big to fail forever, and their Premier League clash with champions Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday will only serve as a reminder of what could happen if, or when, one of the world’s most powerful sporting brands finally gets it right.

Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s transformative American owners, celebrated 15 years in charge at Anfield this week, a period that’s seen the club win two Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League while also building a formidable scouting and analytics network. That success, first under manager Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot, has put the club back at the summit of English football, but it only came after a 30-year period of prolonged failure, managerial upheaval and ownership battles, ironically endured during a long spell of United dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The two clubs have now traded places and it is United who are suffering, but just like Liverpool, United will bounce back and reclaim their place alongside global heavyweights Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. Their in-built advantages make it an inevitability and simply a matter of time — a case of sporting gravity once again working in United’s favour.

“If football success could be compared to a game of dice, Manchester United only need to roll threes and fours to be successful because of their history, commercial strength and worldwide fanbase,” a former United executive told ESPN. “The problem is that they have been continually rolling ones and twos, while Liverpool and Manchester City have been on a run of fives and sixes.

“That is ultimately down to judgement, luck, stability and, in Liverpool’s case, having a genius like [FSG president] Mike Gordon making key decisions, but eventually, United will start rolling some threes and fours and then fives and sixes.

“They simply need to get the big decisions right. Once that happens, their commercial might well propel United back to the top.”

Despite results, they have the revenue

Challenging Liverpool for the biggest prizes, the Premier League and Champions League, seems a distant speck on the horizon right now for United, whose title drought stretches back to 2013, with their last Champions League crown being won in 2008. But it took Liverpool three years under FSG stewardship to challenge for the title, when Brendan Rodgers’ team finished second to Manchester City in 2013-14, and five years before they made they hired Klopp as coach in Oct 2015 — a decision that proved the catalyst for the success to follow.

United are still in a state of flux when it comes to managers and ownership. The club appears stuck in a doom-loop of failure: in addition to five fired managers since 2014, a succession of expensive flops in the transfer market, and their rivals Liverpool and Manchester City stacking up silverware at home and abroad, they’ve had turmoil off the field with unpopular co-owners, the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, overseeing deep cost-cutting measures and job cuts. But the publication of the club’s annual accounts last month shed light on just why they are a sleeping giant that will, eventually, wake from its slumber.

– O’Hanlon: Four ways to fix Man United
– Is Mason Mount what Man United have been missing?
– Connelly: The best teams in Europe right now, ranked

United posted a loss of £33 million ($44.3m), largely due to over-paying for transfer fees and wages, but an annual revenue figure of £666.5m ($890m) was highest ever recorded by the club. Despite a disastrous 2024-25 season that saw United, who were absent from the Champions League, fire manager Erik ten Hag on the way to recording the team’s worst-ever Premier League finish — 15th place — under his successor Ruben Amorim, the club was still able to post a record revenue figure only previously eclipsed by Real Madrid (£910.8m / $1.216 billion), City (£730m / $974.4m) and Paris Saint-Germain (£702.1m / $937.3m).

All of the above teams are expected to significantly increased revenues in their next accounts due to the financial boost of participating in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, while Liverpool’s Premier League title win and Champions League campaign is likely to take their income for 2024-25 past the £700m ($934m) mark.

Liverpool received £174.9m ($233.5m) in Premier League prize money last season, £38.7m ($51.7m) more than United’s £136.2m ($181.9m) for finishing fifteenth. And the £82.73m ($110.5m) Slot’s team banked from their Champions League run the Round of 16 dwarfed the £30.7m ($41m) earned from reaching the Europa League final — the financial gains from being a better football team are obvious.

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Will Salah get back to his best for Liverpool vs. Man United?

Rob Dawson and Mark Ogden discuss Mohamed Salah’s form for Liverpool ahead of their clash vs. Man United.

But even after the club’s worst season since relegation from the old First Division in 1974, United continue to generate huge sums off the pitch, a testament to their latent ability to navigate a route back to the top.

“Can United bridge the gap and be successful again? Absolutely,” Casper Stylsvig, a former commercial executive at United, Barcelona, AC Milan and Chelsea told ESPN. “They have the strength of the brand and it is similar to Dallas Cowboys. They haven’t won the Super Bowl for many, many years [last win: 1995], but they’re still going from strength-to-strength as brand and I think United will get it right eventually.

“There has been a big turnaround at United and it was probably needed to some extent, but they have the brand and the following, all the fan engagement is high and some of the biggest in the world, so yes, they certainly will come back.”

United’s shirt sponsorship deal with tech company Snapdragon is worth £60m ($80.1m) a year until 2029 — the same figure earned by Real Madrid (Emirates), Barcelona (Spotify) and PSG (Qatar Airways), but their kit partnership deal with Adidas, £90m ($120m) a year until 2033, is less lucrative than those of Barcelona (Nike £127m / $170m), City (Puma, £100m / $133.5m) and Real Madrid (Adidas £95m / $128m). Despite their title success and recent success, Liverpool only secured a £60m-a-year ($80.1m) deal with Adidas earlier this year.

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“United is still a massive club,” Stylsvig said. “The fact that probably one of the very biggest buyers in the world of sport, Adidas, is renewing for £90m just shows the power of United. Adidas wouldn’t spend £90m a year for United if they didn’t see there was potential.”

United’s fall from grace as a club capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League has impacted on their earnings, however, as highlighted by Liverpool’s on-field success generating £257.63m ($344m) last season compared to United’s £166.9m ($222.9m).

If United get it right on the pitch, they could expect to boost their earnings by approximately £100m ($133.6m) a year, with success then likely to make them more attractive to star players and potential sponsors. Edward Freedman, a sports branding expert credited with transforming United’s commercial earnings in the 1990s before launching the sports memorabilia company Icons, says that the players on the pitch are as important as the commercial team off it.

“The commercial situation is very tied up with the performance on the field,” Freedman told ESPN. “And United haven’t had a very good run on the field at all, so that will negatively impact their commercial income.

“United have long-term contracts with their major sponsors, but once those contracts run out, no one’s going to go back in and pay the same prices that they paid before because they’re not top of the league. They’ve let Marcus Rashford and some of their best players go and brought in players that haven’t got the same charisma and are not particularly commercially valuable, so that’s a problem that United must address.”

Former United commercial director Richard Arnold once said that the club didn’t buy players to boost brand recognition because the team had “25 George Clooneys – they are all massive stars.” United are clearly no longer that, of course, but despite concerns about the lack of success and their allure to star players, Freedman admits that United can still tap into an increasingly lucrative commercial market.

“Lots of clubs have caught up with United commercially,” Freedman said. “But it’s not a shrinking pool because there is now a lot more people throwing money at the game.

“It’s still a massive market. If you think about China and the United States, football is growing and growing and the bubble shouldn’t burst, but if United are to capitalise, they need to hire somebody who really knows the commercial market and also sign a star player, because what happens on the pitch goes hand in hand with what happens off it.”

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Does Joshua Zirkzee have a future at Man United?

Gab Marcotti and Don Hutchison debate if Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee has a future at the club after reported loan interest from Roma.

‘United will eventually get it right’

United have challenges ahead, notably the plans to build a new stadium that could cost as much as £2 billion ($2.67bn), but sources have said that they could command a naming rights deals of least £25m ($33.4m) to sponsor the new ground, which would also significantly increase United’s current matchday income of £5m ($6.7m) a game.

Sources have said that the prospect of lucrative direct-to-consumer broadcasting packages within 5-7 years would also be a huge financial earner for United and Liverpool due to their vast global fanbases, but while Liverpool have a slick machine on and off the pitch at Anfield — “Liverpool have had a rising tide of perfection,” the former United executive said — United still need to get both arms of the operation working together at Old Trafford.

“United maybe didn’t renew themselves and innovate properly in recent years, with too much reluctance to change,” Stylsvig, who was this week appointed as executive director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said. “But the sheer scale of the numbers that they can produce and the way they run things is just phenomenal. It is a very, very big club, truly one of the big ones.

“The last time United won a Premier League was in 2013, but they just kept increasing revenues, even though they weren’t successful on the pitch. They could attract the best talent and you can always argue did they have the right team and right manager and so on, but the reality is United they went from strength to strength from a commercial point of view, even though the results on the pitch were not there.

“Having results off the pitch buys you the opportunity to get better players and invest more in the team, so United will eventually get it right.”

United’s next throw of the dice is against Liverpool this Sunday, and it would be the perfect time to roll a six.

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Plans for a major WWE power move involving Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed have been scrapped—and now we know just how far the original idea was set to go.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE had mapped out a vision where Rollins, Breakker, and Reed—collectively known as The Vision—would dominate RAW with championship gold. Rollins would retain the World Heavyweight Championship, while Breakker and Reed were in line to become WWE World Tag Team Champions.

That entire direction changed after Rollins suffered a shoulder injury at Crown Jewel, an injury that now reportedly requires surgery and could keep him out beyond WrestleMania. As a result, Breakker and Reed officially turned on Rollins during the October 13 episode of RAW, ending their alliance in brutal fashion.

The group was clearly being set up to lead WWEâ€s flagship show, but with Rollins on the shelf, those plans unraveled fast. Breakker has now shifted his focus entirely to singles gold, making a direct statement by holding up the World Heavyweight Title after attacking Rollins.

With one injury shaking up an entire storyline, WWE is now forced to pivot—and fans are left wondering what could have been if The Vision had followed through on their path to dominance.

Do you think WWE missed a big opportunity with The Vision? Should Breakker go solo or chase tag gold again with Reed? Sound off in the comments—we want your take.

October 17, 2025 10:27 am

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Jurgen Klinsmann (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) Juergen Klinsmann enjoys a rare distinction of being part of Der Klassiker both as a player and a coach. He is one of the four managers to have played for Bayern Munich and coached the Bavarian elites. Croatian Niko Kovac, the current Borussia Dortmund coach plotting to disrupt Bayern Munichâ€s all-win record this season on Saturday, is also part of the unique club. Talking to TOI on Wednesday, an excited Klinsmann expressed his thoughts on the upcoming fixture, considered to be the biggest draw in the Bundesliga. With Dortmundâ€s Serhou Guirassy cleared to play, the German goal-scoring legend feels that his eyes will sway between the Guinean striker and Bayernâ€s in-form Harry Kane. “Well, I think these are the games that, as a striker, you wait for the whole year. You badly want to score in these matchups. So, obviously it doesnâ€t need extra motivation for any of the players when these two teams clash because itâ€s a big deal in Germany and for all the Bundesliga fans around the world.†Klinsmann obviously loves talking about strikers. “Kane, Guirassy, (Michael) Olise, (Karim) Adeyemi, all, Iâ€m sure, wait for such evenings. Days before, you kind of think through it and you wish you want to score. Immediately television and social media will showcase the moment around the world and thatâ€s pretty cool.†Scoring seems to come as naturally as breathing for Harry Kane, the English captain in Bayernâ€s forward lineup. He has already scored 21 goals for club and country. Guirassy, too, has 10 to his credit across all competitions. “I think games like that, you want to have somebody to stand out. You want to have somebody to put the stamp on the match. And when you have players of this calibre, then all us football fans want to wait for these moments. We want to see them kind of prove a point,†said the German goal-scoring legend. Klinsmann couldnâ€t help referring to his playing days but not in a glorifying nostalgic way. Accepting the evolution of the game, he said, “The video analysts and the coaching staff dissect your game so thoroughly that they know where the weaknesses of the opponents are, how to break them down. During my days, things werenâ€t that sophisticated. We were not so deeply prepared by video analysts about the opponents.†(Watch Bundesliga 2025-26 Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund on 18th October 2025 from 10 PM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD.)

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The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense is showing signs of life under quarterback Joe Flacco, and with that, it may be near impossible to trade for wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in fantasy football and rather difficult to acquire his teammate, Tee Higgins, as well.

The Bengals added the 40-year-old via trade from the Cleveland Browns after Jake Browning encountered struggles in place of superstar Joe Burrow, who is reportedly out until at least December with a Grade 3 turf toe injury.

Flacco made his first start last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. The Bengals were shut out in the first half before Flacco led a furious finish, guiding Cincinnati to 18 second-half points in a 27-18 defeat.

Cincinnati kept up the pace on Thursday evening against the Pittsburgh Steelers, defeating the AFC North champions 33-31.

Of note, Chase and Higgins have formed an impressive rapport in a short amount of time with Flacco.

Chase caught 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 23 targets. Higgins snagged six passes for 96 yards and another score. He could have crossed 100 yards and scored a second time after catching a long pass late in the fourth quarter with his team down 31-30.

However, Higgins made a shrewd move, sliding down at the Steeler seven-yard line to kill some time before Evan McPherson kicked a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left for the win.

Chase had a great game the week before against the Packers, catching 10 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. Higgins had a solid game as well with five receptions for 62 yards on eight targets.

â–¶ï¸ Full Bengals-Packers Recap

In short, Chase looks like the player who was picked as the No. 1 consensus option on fantasy football rankings, per FantasyPros.

He had an uneven start to the season. In Week 2, Chase caught 14 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 1 and Weeks 3-4, Chase had 12 receptions, 99 yards and no touchdowns combined.

However, it appears he’s now back to providing elite production on a regular basis. With that, Chase is virtually untouchable at this point. The window to potentially “buy low” on adding Chase when he had a tough stretch from Weeks 1-4 is officially closed. He’s a top-three wide receiver at this point alongside Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams and Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions.

Like Chase, Higgins had a mostly rough start to the year, outside Week 2, when he caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. In Week 1 and Weeks 3-4, Higgins caught seven passes for 80 yards and no scores.

Higgins is the WR2 in this offense and doesn’t see as many targets as Chase. Of note, he hasn’t been targeted more than eight times in a game all season.

However, Higgins has clearly fared better of late with Flacco. In Eric Karabell of ESPN’s latest end-of-season rankings, Higgins ranked 32nd among wide receivers. FantasyPros’ aggregate rankings have Higgins at 34th. He could easily be top 30 after the end of this week’s games if not creeping toward the mid-20s.

Ultimately, Higgins is clearly a WR3/flex option and perhaps not far off from being considered a WR2 in fantasy if the Bengals’ offense stays hot, and that should be kept in mind when considering trades.

Higgins was the 13th-ranked wideout in FantasyPros’ aggregate rankings before the season, after all, and his production of late indicates a potential strong end to 2025.

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Image credit:
Enddy Azocar (Tracy Proffitt/Four Seam Images)

Each year here at Baseball America, we examine which prospects have made skill gains year over year. We look at improvements in plate skills (contact and approach), fastball velocity, pitch movement and, perhaps most importantly, exit velocity.

While skill improvements will make a significant difference in production—just ask the Cardinals’ Joshua Baez—there’s not much more important for a hitter to improve than power, as hitting the ball harder creates better results.

While exit velocity gains in the major leagues are typically minimal, there are prospects at all levels of the minor leagues who make considerable power jumps each season. Being able to identify these improvements and explain them with data is paramount. With this in mind, today we’ll be highlighting 25 players who saw substantial gains in 90th percentile exit velocity in 2025.

It’s important to note the majority of these players competed in the complex leagues and lower levels this season. That’s not surprising considering these levels are typically where we see the greatest period of growth for young hitters. Looking back at last year’s version of this story, we also see that targeting these velocity-gainers can be useful in identifying players in the process of making developmental leaps, as names like Roman Anthony, Joe Mack, Colby Thomas, Alan Roden and more populated the 2024 list.

Below, Baseball America subscribers can find the complete 2025 list followed by takeaways for some of the more intriguing names. To qualify, players needed to have a minimum of 80 batted-ball events in each of the last two seasons.

Top 25 EV Gainers For 2025

playerorgage2024
90% EV2025
90% EVYOY GainEnddy AzocarBOS18.398105.47.4Eliesbert AlejosAZ19.191.999.27.3Jorge QuintanaSD18.297.7104.16.4Richard MaticNYY17.997.6103.86.2Brandon ButterworthBAL22.896.4102.86.4Deward TovarTEX19.2100.8106.96.1John CruzMIA19.896.5102.56Cristofer LebronSTL18.396.6102.35.7Jurdrick ProfarCWS18.296101.95.9Engel PaulinoMIL18.697.3102.95.6Frederi MonteroMIL18.598.1103.55.4Andrés NolayaBAL20.399.1104.55.4Phillip SikesBOS26.2101106.35.3Paulino SantanaTEX18.698.4103.75.3Brock RoddenSEA25.199.3104.55.2Jeremy RivasSTL22.397.8102.95.1Hector SalasHOU21.397102.15.1Zach ColeHOU24.9105.2109.94.7Drew GilbertSF24.8100.7105.64.9Brady HouseWSH22.1104.3108.84.5Luis PeñaMIL18.699.9104.24.3Mikey RomeroBOS21.5102.4106.74.3Luis De La CruzCLE18.898.5103.34.8Carlos ConcepcionSF19.5101105.64.6Moises BolivarLAD1899.5104.34.8

EV Gainer Takeaways

• The first thing that jumps out looking at the data is the organizations that saw the most EV gainers. The Red Sox and Brewers each boast three, followed by the Rangers, Astros and Cardinals with two apiece. The Giants also have two, but Drew Gilbert was a trade deadline acquisition, so itâ€s hard to count him as a Giant and not a Met. In the same vein, Jorge Quintana was acquired by the Padres at the deadline from the Brewers. This means the Brewers technically had four prospects on this list. As much credit as they get for pitching development, Milwaukee also has something brewing on the hitting side.Â

• Enddy Azocarâ€s gains this season were noted throughout the year, and his production followed. While Azocar struggled with the move to Salem—a notoriously difficult run environment—he still managed to raise his isolated slugging threefold between his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 and his 71-game sample in Low-A this year. A 7+ mph EV gain in one season for any hitter is impressive, and Azocarâ€s small sample in the Florida Complex League hints at the validity of those gains when facing age-appropriate competition.Â

• Success did not follow Diamondbacks shortstop Eliesbert Alejos this season, as he hit .241/.315/.302 in his stateside debut. He was a DSL repeater in 2024, so an improved stat line in his second season was expected. While Alejos†gains were notable, his power went from 20-grade raw to 40-grade raw for his age and level. That simply isnâ€t enough to improve your BABIP substantially.Â

• Speaking of players who upped their power into above-average territory, Padres trade deadline acquisition Jorge Quintana made a serious EV jump, and it was noticeable in his stateside debut. Quintana hit .264/.349/.403 with three home runs over 50 Arizona Complex League games. Heâ€s still hitting a lot of ground balls, so improved bat path and angles could lead to more airborne contact in the coming seasons. Quintana is a name to keep an eye on in 2026 despite only so-so results in 2025.Â

• Signed for $800,000 out of the Dominican Republic in January 2024, the Yankees’ Richard Matic disappointed in his professional debut and repeated the DSL this season. Matic saw a substantial gain in exit velocity in 2025 and, as a result, his production, as he hit .336/.487/.566. Itâ€s tough to fully buy into this breakout, however, as the 18-year-old was repeating the lowest level of the minor league ladder. That said, Maticâ€s season certainly helped to revitalize his prospect status and makes him a player to watch heading into 2026.Â

• Rangers outfielder Deward Tovar spent all of 2023 and 2024 in the Dominican Summer League before making the jump stateside in 2025. He saw a tremendous improvement in power and production this year, as he gained over 6 mph in 90th percentile EV and hit .312/.412/.496 across 40 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A. He posted a significant jump in game power, as his slugging from the DSL in 2024 and ACL in 2025 went up over 100 points. Tovar is the perfect example of what improved power can produce.

• We saw a little of Zach Cole in the major leagues at the end of the season. The Astros’ 2025 Minor League Player of the Year has always shown plus power, but in 2025, his contact quality went to another level. His 109.9 mph 90th percentile exit velocity is among the best in baseball, and he shows true 80-grade raw power. Despite heavy swing-and miss in his profile, the added power helped Cole to make more out of the contact he does make. Â

• The Brewers’ Luis Peña was one of the top breakout prospects in 2025. While heâ€s long had plate skills, the added power in his second professional season saw him skyrocket up prospect lists to be considered one of the best bat-first players currently in the minor leagues. Adding over 4 mph of exit velocity helped the 18-year-old shortstop to make that leap.

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Kairi Sane may be caught in WWEâ€s most toxic on-screen partnership right now, but behind the scenes, sheâ€s getting serious respect.

On October 15, 2025, WrestleVotes reportedthat multiple sources within WWE had high praise for Kairiâ€s recent performances—specifically pointing to her emotional backstage segments with Asuka and her hard-fought match against Rhea Ripley on RAW.

According to the report, there was “high praise following her match with Rhea Ripley on RAW this past Monday & from her recent backstage segments with Asuka.†The acknowledgment comes at a pivotal moment in Kairiâ€s WWE career, as her character continues to unravel.

That praise is well-earned. On the RAW following Crown Jewel 2025, Kairi stepped into the ring with Rhea Ripley after being publicly berated—and slapped—by Asuka backstage. The segment drew gasps from the live crowd in Perth and set the tone for what would become a dramatic, emotionally charged match.

Kairi even reintroduced her original entrance theme, “The Next Voyage†by CFO$, sparking a wave of nostalgia among fans who associate that theme with her most memorable WWE run. While Ripley ultimately scored the victory with a brutal Riptide, Kairi left it all in the ring—fighting back with stiff offense and showing a fiercer edge than fans have seen in years.

The aftermath of the match didnâ€t cool things down. Ripley attempted to slam Asuka through the announce table, prompting Kairi to interfere with a kendo stick—only to get planted with a devastating DDT through the desk herself.

Despite the losses, Kairiâ€s performances have reignited interest in her character, and backstage officials are taking notice. Whether this leads to a solo push or a dramatic split from Asuka and Damage CTRL remains to be seen, but itâ€s clear Kairi is once again proving her value in and out of the ring.

Do you think itâ€s time for WWE to pull the trigger on a strong Kairi Sane singles run? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

October 15, 2025 11:02 pm

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OTTAWA — Good teams survive the loss of their most important player.

The injury appears to have occurred on Monday when Predators captain Roman Josi slammed Tkachuk with a cross-check from behind, causing him to go awkwardly into the boards.

Tkachuk was irate, possibly a telling sign that he knew it was a significant injury right away. He continued playing but didnâ€t in the last nine minutes of the game.

According to Senators head coach Travis Green, Tkachuk will be out “a significant amount of time,†or, more specifically, a minimum of four weeks.

There is still no clarity as to whether Tkachuk broke his hand or wrist on the play, and whether he will need surgery. If surgery is required, recovery could be even longer.  Zach Hyman broke his wrist and dislocated it in May and wonâ€t return until November.

“At the end of the day, you canâ€t replace a player like that,†said Drake Batherson, who will make his own return from injury Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).

You can fill the Canadian Tire Centre with all the clichés about what makes a great captain, and theyâ€d all fit Tkachuk.

The Senators will miss his goal production. Tkachuk has led or been second in goals for the Senators each of the last four seasons, including leading the team last season with 29 goals in just 72 games.

Then thereâ€s the fighting, sheer toughness and the not-fun-to-play-against component he brings to every game.

And theyâ€ll miss his passionate commitment to win: Leadership.

Itâ€s a massive loss, but the Senators have experience to lean on from last season when Tkachuk went down after the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Senators went 5-4-1 from late February to early April, good enough to propel themselves into the playoffs. During that stretch, Tim Stutzle had multiple different linemates, including David Perron, Batherson and even longtime AHLer Angus Crookshank. The Senators, always a stout defensive team, became even more suffocating, with two shutouts while allowing 2.73 goals per game, significantly lower than their season average of 2.93. Defensive, low-event hockey kept the Senators in games.

Ottawa will need to replicate that and more this time around. Luckily for the Senators, the schedule for the next four weeks is light, with only four of their 15 games against teams that made the playoffs last year. There are winnable games that should allow the Senators to pick up points without Tkachuk.Â

Tkachuk’s injury will shift the onus for offensive production onto Stutzle. Who will be his left winger?

The only natural left-winger the Senators have on their roster is Olle Lycksell, who has just one goal in his 46-game career. Not ideal.

Perron and Ridly Greig are the next two left wingers on the depth chart, with Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund as other possibilities. The Senators donâ€t just need someone to step up and fill that spot to Stutzleâ€s left, they also need players on every line to step up their play.

But Green loves his options, and Tkachuk’s injury gives him opportunities to juggle. There are lots of moving parts, and thereâ€s no question Green will have a blender out to try new combinations, as he should.

The next month will be a real litmus test for Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens, neither of whom has yet to match expectations since coming to the Senators before the trade deadline last season.

In Zetterlund’s case, he has been playing on the right side of Stutzle and Tkachuk but is comfortable as a right-shot left winger. He has had great analytics with Stutzle and Tkachuk on the top line, but is still looking for his first point through three games this season after signing a three-year, $12.75-million contract in the off-season. Zetterlund has two goals and five points in 29 games with the Senators, including playoffs. Sometimes stats speak for themselves, but Zetterlund was once a 20-goal scorer with the Sharks, and the Senators are counting on him to do it again.

Similar to Zetterlund, there is a ton of pressure on Cozens to step up without Tkachuk. That was the case even before the injury. So far, heâ€s been fine and produced on the power play, but not at five-on-five. For Ottawa to become a great team, a lot rides on whether Cozens is the 30-goal scorer from three seasons ago or the player who hasnâ€t reached over 20 in any other year. Like with Zetterlund, if Cozens doesnâ€t score much with Tkachuk out, the Senators will be starved for offence.

Maybe Cozens is better as a finishing winger on Stutzleâ€s right side. Shane Pinto, who plays the more important matchups while producing more than Cozens, could slide into the second-line centre role.

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Another option in the top six for the Senators is Batherson, who has been a consistent scorer, with three consecutive 60-point seasons.

Interestingly, Batherson hasnâ€t played much with Stutzle over the years, but he did unite with the German in the majority of games when Tkachuk was out last season. When the two were on the ice together last season, the Senators had a 57 per cent expected goals share at five-on-five. It could be time to reunite Ottawaâ€s two most dynamic players with Tkachuk out. Batherson might have the pace and skill to match Stutzle, if he’s fully up to speed after missing the end of the pre-season.

But the obvious solution to filling the hole on Stutzle’s wing could be hiding in plain sight. Giroux could return to the top line, where heâ€s played with Stutzle the past three seasons alongside Tkachuk. The elder statesman has looked as effective this season as last, by analytics and the eye test. The problem with moving Giroux is that this season the third line of Giroux-Pinto-Greig has been the Senators’ best unit. Theyâ€ve contributed three of Ottawaâ€s five five-on-five goals with an expected goals share of 63 per cent. It would be risky to break that group up.

Regardless of how Ottawa tries to make up for Tkachukâ€s absence with scoring by committee, the Senators are in a win-now mode. A regression to missing the playoffs would be a “disappointment,†owner Michael Andlauer has said previously. It’s still only Week 2 but if the Senators free-fall down the standings without Tkachuk, they wonâ€t get the reward of a high first-round draft pick this season due to the punishment for the botched Evgenii Dadonov trade (they were docked their first-round pick). The Senators have zero incentive to tank.

The Panthers could serve as inspiration for the Senators during this next stretch. They’re playing without their captain (Aleksander Barkov) and their Tkachuk (older brother Matthew) and thumped the Senators 6-2 last weekend. Theyâ€re fine. Ottawa is no Florida, but to even come close, the Senators will need to emulate the Panthers. Next man up.Â

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Top WWE star is not a big fan of Unreal on Netflix.

Earlier this year, a few months ago, WWE released ‘Unreal’ on Netflix, which effectively showcased a lot of the business’s secrets. Sharing a detailed look into the booking decisions, creative meetings, and writers’ rooms, Unreal streamed in detail what went behind the scenes ahead of WrestleMania 41.

Soon after the series’ announcement, several legends and veterans had voiced their disapproval about it, while the active WWE superstars promoted the show, former tag-team champion Grayson Waller has now publicly revealed his dislike for the show.

Appearing on the Battleground podcast, he said,

â€I’m one of the guys who, Iâ€m not a big fan of Unreal. I understand itâ€s a really entertaining show and a lot of my mates have watched and say they love it, but for me, I love the mystery.

I donâ€t like the magicianâ€s secrets to be revealed.â€

Last seen on television on the September 22nd episode of Raw, Waller recently wrestled Rey Fenix at a Main Event taping in Perth, Australia.

WWE Star Grayson Waller Details Logan Paul’s Care For Pro-Wrestling

In his same appearance on the Battleground podcast, Waller opened up getting compared to Paul before heaping praise on The Maverick’s ‘genuine care’ for the sport.

“If you get compared to Logan Paul, I donâ€t think that is a negative at all. Obviously, everything Loganâ€s done in such a short amount of time is very impressive. Look at everything he does outside the WWE, look at the eyes that he brings to WWE.â€

When I was in NXT, I actually got to get in and train with him. He wanted to train with Shawn Michaels, Shawn didnâ€t know if Logan knew that he doesnâ€t bump around anymore so that was my job, to kind of come in and help Logan out. But I could tell that day, he genuinely cares about what we do and heâ€s very passionate.â€

In other news: New Championship tournament announced.

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The Montreal Canadiens have had a solid start to the 2025-26 season. After losing their season opener to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 5-2 final score, they have followed that up with wins against the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks in their last two games. Now, they will be looking to keep their winning streak going against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 14.

One reason for the Canadiens’ success early on this season has been the impressive play of new forward Zack Bolduc. The 22-year-old has had a very hot start to the new campaign, as he has scored a goal in each of his first three games with the Canadiens. He also had his first multi-point game as a Canadien during their Oct. 11 matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, as he not only kept his goal streak going, but also recorded an assist.

With his great start to the season, Bolduc currently leads the Canadiens in goals with three. His four points are also second on the Canadiens, as captain Nick Suzuki currently leads the club with five points. With this, Bolduc has certainly been feeling it early on offensively.

While the season is young, it is hard not to feel excited about the way Bolduc is playing right now.  The 2021 first-round pick could very well be on the way to having a breakout season for the Canadiens, and it will be interesting to see if he can this kind of play up from here.

In 72 games last season with the St. Louis Blues, Bolduc posted career highs with 19 goals, 17 assists, and 36 points. Yet, with the way he is playing now, it would not be necessarily surprising if he gets even better numbers with the Canadiens this season.

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