Browsing: Compares

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Cody Rhodes has drawn parallels between his Stardust gimmick and his current WWE character, and how different the two are.Â

Rhodes has repeatedly stated that he wasn’t a fan of the Stardust gimmick, but “The American Nightmare” was eager to make it work at first, which he discussed on “All The Smoke.”

“So, I looked at it as a challenge to maximize, to really kind of make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t, essentially. That’s always a big thing in wrestling. Take something that’s a little silly and then you blow it up,” he said. “At the beginning of Stardust, I thought, ‘This is a great challenge.’ And I’ve answered the challenge. We’re selling these gloves. I’m learning how to do the paint. I can be so ridiculous. My promos have almost moved into this realm where there’s a British accent to it. It’s just gone so ridiculous. All this sci-fi knowledge and Trek babble that I knew I can incorporate into this character. But I also gave it a shelf life of about six months. So over a year in, I was at the lowest of lows as a wrestler.”

While he was optimistic about making the character a success in the beginning, he later lost his desire and passion for it, which ultimately led to his WWE exit. Rhodes then contrasted that character to the current one he is portraying in WWE, explaining how he hid behind the Stardust character but is now showcasing his true self.

“I was shielded. Today I’m not shielded. If I was to run to Anaheim right now to do Raw, I’d come out just like this [in his suit]. That’s who I am. It’s my life. Everything’s been out in the open since I came back on I live my story just on television for them. That time was just ridiculous. You were able to be a character and have fun and be covered, be masked.”

Rhodes has completely reinvented himself since his days as Stardust and is now widely regarded as one of the most popular stars in professional wrestling.

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Hangman Page paints a great picture of what AEW offers its fans.

Page spoke with WXII 12â€s John Johnson ahead of Wednesdayâ€s AEW Blood & Guts event. The AEW World Champion compared the experience of attending an AEW event to going to Cook Out. No, not acookout, but Cook Out, the Southern fast food chain that is well-known for its affordable trays of burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and its large menu of milkshake flavors.

“Going to a wrestling show is like going to Cook Out for the first time; you think you know what youâ€re going to get, right? You go up there to order the tray, you think ‘Iâ€ll get a double cheeseburger.†You think youâ€re going to get fries for a side. But youâ€re going to get an entire corndog for a side, youâ€re going to get a chicken wrap for a side. You think you might just get a Coke or something, youâ€re going to get a Cheerwine float as the drink.

“It is the entire experience, everything that you could want, [and] things you didnâ€t know you want. Youâ€re going to get that and itâ€s going to be affordable,†Page said. “Itâ€s something affordable for you, the family, everybody involved.â€

AEW touts itself as being a more family-friendly and affordable option

Affordability is an issue that many pro wrestling fans have brought up in recent months. WWE has been criticized for raising its ticket prices. However, other promotions like AEW, TNA and MLW have touted being a more affordable option for fans.

AEWâ€s Tony Khan recently said he has tried to position AEW as a more family-friendly option compared to other promotions, and it has been that way since the start of the company.

“Well absolutely. AEWâ€s ticket pricing is designed to be very family-friendly. And it has been from the very beginning. Everyone involved with AEW from the beginning will tell you that weâ€ve always wanted to maintain affordable ticket pricing for the fans. In particular, [we want] to bring families and young fans to the show and make it accessible for fans of all backgrounds, of all ages. I think itâ€s really exciting for us that weâ€re getting really good feedback about that,†Khan said.

“Hopefully, it speaks to what weâ€re trying to do to maintain affordable ticket prices for AEW shows for families. Because we are a family-friendly company when it comes to price the tickets to get families into the AEW shows.â€

If you use this transcription, credit the source, H/T WrestleZone and link to this page.

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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford expressed appreciation this week for former New England Patriots and current University of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick comparing him to legendary quarterback Tom Brady.

During an appearance Monday on the Let’s Go! podcast with Jim Gray (h/t Tyler Greenawalt of Rams Wire), Belichick drew parallels between Stafford and Brady, saying, “I don’t want to put him in a class with Tom, but it’s reminiscent of Brady, where it keeps getting better and better and better. He’s gotten smarter. He understands more. He knows how to use his weapons maybe just a split second quicker. He’s harder to fool.”

Later on the same podcast, Stafford offered a response to Belichick’s assessment, saying, “I appreciate those words from Coach. This quarterback position is something where you’re learning every single day on the job. And if you’re not, you’re not going to make it.”

Despite being 37 years old and in the midst of his 17th NFL season, Stafford is trending toward one of the best years of his career.

Stafford has led the Rams to a 6-2 start, and he is completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,174 yards and a league-leading 21 touchdowns, while throwing only two interceptions.

After spending his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, Stafford arrived in L.A. in 2021 and led the Rams to a Super Bowl win in his first season with the franchise.

Overall, Stafford is 40-25 as a starter with the Rams, and he has taken them to the playoffs three times.

While Stafford’s two career Pro Bowl selections and one Super Bowl win pale in comparison to Brady’s 15 Pro Bowls, seven Super Bowl wins, five Super Bowl MVP awards and three NFL MVP awards, they are similar in that they both managed to excel during the twilight of his career.

When Brady left the New England Patriots in 2020 after 20 seasons, there were legitimate questions about whether he had anything left in the tank.

However, at 43 years of age, he led the Bucs to a Super Bowl win. He also reached the 40-touchdown mark in each of his first two seasons in Tampa.

Brady is a surefire Hall of Famer once eligible since he is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage, passing touchdowns and Super Bowl wins.

Stafford’s Hall of Fame case isn’t as cut and dry, but there is little question that he continues to strengthen it significantly by playing at a high level this late in his career.

A second Super Bowl win would remove any doubt regarding Stafford’s credentials, and with the way he and the Rams are playing right now, it could be within reach.

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Pro wrestling has a tendency to stick in the bloodline of families, and that is very true for Natalya. She comes from a long line of pro wrestlers, but that didnâ€t come without a complicated relationship with her own father.

While speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, Natalya explained that her love for her father never changed, even though she recognized his limitations and flaws. She made it clear that he struggled with mental and physical issues as well. We will likely hear a lot more about that in her upcoming book, which she wanted to make sure was secured before signing a new WWE contract.

When thinking back about the relationship she had with her father, Jim “The Anvil†Neidhart, Natalya compared it to the one she has with Vince McMahon. This will all come out in the book, because sheâ€s going through a lot of photos and other momentos to spark her memories.

“Yes. And I also donâ€t feel like heâ€s gone. You know whatâ€s funny is that I donâ€t even feel like my dad is gone at all. I just I talk to him all the time. I see his photos. I see his pictures. I look at his old text messages. And I just think that especially in writing this book, I think so many people are going to look at my dad differently because we had a… I dedicated my book to my dad. We had a complex relationship, but I loved him so much and I would fight for him. I would fight for my dad until the end. But he wasnâ€t perfect and he also wasnâ€t a great parent. He did the best that he could. My dad did honestly the best that he could with his physical mental capabilities. And thatâ€s the thing is that like when I look at… when I look at the book and I look at my relationship with Vince McMahon… and Iâ€m bringing this up because again it was complicated. Like Vince was like a father to so many of us. Like when my own dad couldnâ€t be a good dad to me, Vince was like a dad.â€

Natalya said that when her sister, Jenni Neidhart, informed her of their fatherâ€s death, she immediately reached out to Vince McMahon. He answered the call without hesitation and offered full support as Natalya turned to him during that tragic time.

“The very last chapter of my book, I make that call. The first person that I called was Vince. After my sister told me that my dad died, I called Vince. He picked up on one ring and was there for me. Like he was like, ‘What do you need from us?†He wanted me to send him every single photo I had of my dad because they were going to make this beautiful montage of my dad.â€

Natalya went on to talk about the connection between her father and Vince McMahon. Though both had their obvious, and unique, flaws, she highlighted their presence and support during difficult times.

“Thatâ€s the thing about Vince… just like my dad, he wasnâ€t perfect. He was complicated. He had his flaws, his quirks, his imperfections. But at the end of the day, he was there for me.â€

Natalya described how Vince McMahon stepped into a father-like role at times when her own father was not able to be present. Although she acknowledged that both relationships were complicated, The Queen of Harts felt a connection between the two. Despite Vince McMahonâ€s controversies, it seems that Natalya isnâ€t going to shut him out. This is especially interesting considering how that farting angle made Nattie so uncomfortable, but this may also be why she did it anyway.

We will have to see what Natalya does next in her pro wrestling career. As a shoo-in WWE Hall of Famer, sheâ€s also not done in the ring. Her upcoming book could also include a lot more about how her relationship with Vince McMahon paralleled her own WWE Hall of Famer father.

Whatâ€s your take on Natalya comparing her relationship with her father to Vince McMahon? Does this make you look at Vince or Nattie differently? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

October 21, 2025 11:17 am

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Shohei Ohtani ended his playoff slump in spectacular fashion on Friday night, hitting three homers and striking out 10 in six innings in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

As the Dodgers are trending toward becoming a dynasty, Mookie Betts invoked Michael Jordan’s name to describe Ohtani’s historic performance on Friday night.

“It’s like we’re the Chicago Bulls,” Betts told reporters after the game, “and he’s Michael Jordan.”

The Jordan comparison might actually be underselling how amazing Ohtani’s feat in this game was. His stat line is one that has never been accomplished in the history of Major League Baseball.

Even more fitting is Ohtani did that at the same time his postseason struggles were starting to draw scrutiny. He did have a very un-Ohtani-like slash line of .202/.336/.384 in 25 playoff games dating back to last season, though some of his 2024 numbers were impacted by a torn labrum suffered in Game 2 of the World Series that required offseason surgery.

Whatever issues Ohtani was having at the plate, it didn’t impact what he was doing on the mound. His first playoff pitching performance in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies saw him allow three runs on three hits with nine strikeouts in six innings.

The Dodgers have steamrolled their way through the NL to reach the Fall Classic for a second consecutive year. They are 10-1 in the postseason with wins over the Brewers, Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

Ohtani and the Dodgers will await the winner of the ALCS between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 24.

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Bronson Reed believes a current AEW Champion was once the Roman Reigns of NJPW.

The Tribal Thief is currently involved in a program with The OTC, with the two set to face off again in an Australian Street Fight at WWE Crown Jewel: Perth this Saturday. They previously clashed at Clash in Paris, where Reed took out Reigns after delivering multiple devastating Tsunamis.

During a recent appearance on the Battleground Podcast, WWE Superstar Bronson Reed reflected on his 2022 program with Kazuchika Okada, referring to The Rainmaker as the Roman Reigns of Japanâ€s top wrestling promotion.

“I remember when I did get released from NXT, I was like, ‘Well, Iâ€m just going to go out there and prove myself again and make sure that they know they made the wrong decision,â€â€ Reed recalled.

“I made sure that I knew I was going to get to Japan, but I didnâ€t know that I was going to have the matches I was going to have, and then how everything worked, and I got to work with, obviously, Okada, who at the time was unbeatable in Japan… You could say he was the Roman Reigns of New Japan at the time, for sure, and to beat him in the G1 and do what I did, I think it put a lot of eyes back on me.†(H/T Fightful)

Okada to compete at AEW WrestleDream

Kazuchika Okada will be in action at AEW WrestleDream.

The AEW Unified Champion teamed up with fellow Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita to face Brodido (Bandido and Brody King) in an eliminator match this past Tuesday on a special edition of Dynamite.

Okada and Takeshita secured the victory, earning an opportunity to challenge Brodido for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at WrestleDream.

Fans can check out the updated card for AEW WrestleDream here. WrestleZone will provide full coverage of the event as it airs on October 18.

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Only a couple weeks after TNA invading “NXT,” things came to a head on Tuesday when the two sides went mano y mano at “NXT vs. TNA Showdown.” Ultimately, nothing was resolved, as the two sides traded two wins a piece over the course of four matches. And perhaps that’s for the best, as according to TNA’s Tommy Dreamer, this TNA invasion of “NXT” is a whole lot different than invasions angles of yesteryear.

Appearing on “Gabby AF,” Dreamer compared and contrasted the TNA-“NXT” invasion storyline with past invasions. This included the now infamous Invasion storyline from 2001, which Dreamer was noticeably part of as a member of the WCW/ECW alliance, due to his longstanding ties with ECW.

“I was part of the…I’ve been part of a lot of invasions,” Dreamer said. “But they’ve all fallen apart, and not for the betterment of any company. So where we’re at when we say it’s a progression, especially when you have somebody like Trick, who has been the champion, talking smack the way he’s been talking, I just think it’s inevitable where teams want to be like ‘Hey, there’s bragging rights.’Â

“From the TNA side, we get it, where it’s like ‘Hey, this need us as much as we need them.’ From the ‘NXT’ side, it’s ‘Well, think of the exposure they’re getting.’ It’s kind of like, hell, countries go to war because they both feel that they are right. And I don’t know…I don’t think there is any wrong in this scenario, in the sense of TNA gets great exposure from WWE, and being on CW, and social media. The other part is that ‘NXT’ gets a lot of interesting match ups, and unique stuff going on their television show.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Gabby AF” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

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Dave Bautista will be able to channel his WWE past for his upcoming role in the Highlander movie reboot.

Former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista recently sat down with Steve Weintraub of Collider. When asked what it was about the script of the upcoming Highlander reboot that made him want to be part of it, Bautista revealed this is a role heâ€s actually been chasing for a long time.

“Man, this goes back a long time because Iâ€ve actually been chasing this role,†Dave Bautista said. “I think I probably tweeted about this role, about being the Kurgan, more than 10 years ago. Iâ€ve been chasing this role like Iâ€ve been chasing the Marcus Fenix role, just because I was a huge fan of the original Highlander.

“I always loved Clancy Brownâ€s performance as the Kurgan. I always wanted to be the Kurgan, I donâ€t know why. There was something magical about that role. Heâ€s the villain I love to hate. Same with wrestling, I like being the bad guy, and that was the kind of role that Iâ€ve been searching for as far as being the bad guy.

“So, when this came about, this started tracking, and Chad had it, like, this is years now, years back when it was still with Lionsgate, because itâ€s been a little bit of a bumpy road for this project as well. But I started tracking it then, and then when I heard that they moved over to Amazon MGM, right when it was kind of in a flux, and I was working with J.J. at the time, and I even asked him, ‘Hey, man, can you put in a good word with Chad?†And he did.

“He started calling, putting in a good word for me. Chad came to The Killerâ€s Game premiere, and he made sure that I had a moment to meet with Chad and tell him again how much I was interested in the role, and I did. I just came straight out. I donâ€t play coy. If thereâ€s something I want, I aggressively pursue it, and Iâ€m very vocal about it. Iâ€m not too shy to tell you that I really want something.

“So he was there, and I just went up to him and said, ‘Hey, itâ€s good to see you again,†because we met years back. I said, ‘Man, Iâ€m not going to mess around.†I was like, ‘I want this role. Tell me what Iâ€ve got to do to get this role.†I think he was just like, ‘Slow your horses. Slow your roll.†[Laughs] He wasnâ€t there yet, but he said heâ€d let me know, he was thinking about it, still thinking about the casting and everything.

“This is about a month and a half ago, now. I thought the role was gone, I thought it had been cast. I thought they moved on without me, and it wasnâ€t going to happen. Out of nowhere, I got a call, and it was a call like, ‘Hey, what do you think? You still want the role?†I was like, ‘Fuck yeah, I want the role!†He was like, ‘Iâ€m sending you the script. Iâ€ll call you tomorrow. Weâ€re going to talk about it.â€

“He sent me the script, I read it, and the next day we talked about it. I was so blown away by the script because, without saying too much, this is such a great reboot. Weâ€re still paying tribute and giving a nod to the original. But making it new and fresh and exciting, and also just universe-building. Itâ€s just so much bigger than the original. The action is on par with John Wick. Iâ€m afraid Iâ€m going to say too much.

“I donâ€t want to give anything away, but I think people are going to be blown away by this because itâ€s bigger than you imagine, and itâ€s new enough that you wonâ€t be seeing the same thing. If you saw the original, youâ€re still not going to know what the story is. Itâ€s just different, but still the same. I donâ€t know if that makes sense.

“Itâ€s in that universe, but itâ€s just something new and itâ€s different, and it gives us places to go, and itâ€s just bigger. I donâ€t want to say better than the original, because the original is just so special to me. Itâ€s special to a lot of people. But itâ€s just itâ€s bigger and itâ€s different and itâ€s special, and it feels like a newer version of the Highlander. Itâ€s just an updated, high-speed version of Highlander.â€

READ MORE: Surprising Name Emerges As One Of John Cenaâ€s Potential Final Opponents — Report

What do you make of Dave Bautistaâ€s comments? Are you looking forward to the Highlander reboot? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

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Image credit:
Konnor Griffin (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Baseball America has been awarding a MiLB Player of the Year honors since 1981. In the 45 times we’ve handed out the award, we have honored multiple Hall of Famers (Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas and Joe Mauer) as well as future Hall of Famers such as Mike Trout.

Scan across today’s MLB rosters, and you’ll see it’s an award that’s been given to many of the game’s biggest stars, with Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ronald Acuña among past winners.

So, to commemorate the announcement of Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin as our latest MiLB Player of the Year, we wanted to give our readers useful trip down memory lane. In addition to listing out all of our past winners, we’ve also included the statistics from each award-winning season, so you can compare how Griffin stacks up historically.

We’ve broken up the statistic tables into hitters and pitchers, beginning with Mike Marshall all the way back in 1981.

MiLB Player Of The Year Hitting Statistics

YearPlayerPOSORGAGEAVGOBPSLGABR2B3BHRRBIBBSOSBCS1981Mike Marshall1BDodgers21.373.445.6784671142573413757802181982Ron KittleOFWhite Sox24.345.442.75247212122105014474109531985José CansecoOFAthletics20.333.424.6494448826336127701211101986Gregg JefferiesSSMets18.353.401.5495219632111611144415791987Gregg JefferiesSSMets19.367.423.5985108148520101494326101989Sandy Alomar Jr.CPadres23.306.358.47452388338131014258311990Frank Thomas1BWhite Sox22.323.487.58135385275187111274751991Derek BellOFBlue Jays22.346.424.5324578922121393576927131992Tim SalmonOFAngels23.347.469.6724091013842910591103971993Manny RamirezOFGuardians21.333.417.6134891054403111572103331994Derek JeterSSYankees20.344.410.463540103271156858615081995Andruw JonesOFBraves18.277.372.512537104415251007012256111996Andruw JonesOFBraves19.339.421.6524451152753492609730101997Paul Konerko3B/1BDodgers21.323.407.62148397311371276461231998Eric Chavez3BAthletics20.327.388.6035291044513312654931472002Rocco BaldelliOFRays20.331.370.521478862831971239726132003Joe MauerCTwins20.338.398.434509733025854949302005Delmon YoungOFRays19.315.354.527558922672699299932122006Alex Gordon3BRoyals22.325.427.58848611139129101721132232007Jay BruceOFReds20.319.375.58752187468268947135872008Matt WietersCOrioles22.355.454.6004378822227918276222009Jason HeywardOFBraves20.323.408.55536269254176351511012011Mike TroutOFAngels19.326.414.5443538218131138457633102012Wil MyersOFRoyals21.314.387.600522982663710961140632013Byron BuxtonOFTwins19.334.424.520488109191812777610555192014Kris Bryant3BCubs22.325.438.66149211834143110861621542016Yoan Moncada2BRed Sox21.294.407.5114059431615627212445122017Ronald AcuñaOFBraves19.325.374.5225578831821824314444202018Vladimir Guerrero Jr.3BBlue Jays19.381.437.6363576729120783738332019Gavin LuxSSDodgers21.347.421.607458992582676611021062021Bobby Witt Jr.SSRoyals21.290.361.5754979935433975113129112022Gunnar HendersonSSOrioles20.297.416.5314071012471976791162232023Jackson HollidaySSOrioles19.323.442.49947711330912751011182492024Kristian Campbell2B/SSRed Sox21.330.439.558430943232077741032482025Konnor GriffinSSPirates19.333.415.5274841172342194501226513

And here are the statistics for the pitchers who were our Player of the Year.

MiLB Player Of The Year Pitching Statistics

YrPlayerPosORGAGEWLERAIPHRERHRBBSO1983Dwight GoodenRHPMets181942.501911215853111123001984Mike BieleckiRHPPirates241932.97188162706211881621988Tom GordonRHPRoyals201651.551869636324752631999Rick AnkielLHPCardinals191332.351389843369621942000Jon RauchLHPWhite Sox211642.66166138674914491872001Josh BeckettRHPMarlins211411.541408229248342032004Jeff FrancisRHPRockies231632.21155108423812291962010Jeremy HellicksonRHPRays23922.421147235318291322015Blake SnellRHPRays231541.41134842421753163

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)… Wednesday night’s (9/10) episode of AEW Dynamite…