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Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “WWE SmackDown” on October 24, 2025, coming to you live from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona!

Cody Rhodes will be defending his Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, but before the two men meet in the ring on November 1, they will be coming face-to-face with one another tonight. While McIntyre challenged Rhodes for his title during last Friday’s edition of “SmackDown”, the match ultimately ended with Rhodes hitting McIntyre with his title belt to give McIntyre a win against him via disqualification. This subsequently prompted a brawl to break out between the two men, which took a number of security guards to pull them apart.

Ilja Dragunov made his long awaited return from injury last Friday, answering the call of Sami Zayn’s United States Open Challenge. Despite the lengthy bout that the two had with onea another with one another, Dragunov dethroned Zayn as United States Champion to the surprise of many to win his first title as a member of the main roster. In a video posted to WWE’s X page, Dragunov promised to keep the United States Open Challenge going in the name of legacy and will be making his first defense of the United States Championship to whoever wishes to answer the call.

Additionally, WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will be going head-to-head with Kiana James as tensions between the two women and James’ ally Women’s United States Champion Giulia continue to grow.

We are live! The show kicks off with a video recapping what went down between Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes last Friday.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves greet audiences at home as Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.

Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes Meet With One Another

WWE/Netflix

Rhodes asks Tempe what they want to talk about, then says they could talk about McIntyre.

McIntyre’s voice cuts off Rhodes, and he makes his way to the ring through the crowd as he asks Tempe if they’re really going to cheer for Rhodes. He says everyone always calls him a scapegoat and says he’s innocent, then says he saw him talking to Jimmy Uso at the top of the show and say she’s always the bridesmaid and never the bride.

Rhodes tells McIntyre that enough is enough, then tells him that he’ll fight him now. Jimmy blindsides McIntyre from behind and fires off right hands on him, then sends him crashing over the announce desk. The two men continue to brawl until security pulls them apart.

Solo Sikoa’s music then hits, and he makes his way to the ring along with Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, Talla Tonga, and JC Mateo. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Fenix follow.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Fenix vs. JC Mateo and Tama Tonga (w/ Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga, and Tonga Loa)

WWE/Netflix

Tama and Nakamura begin the action. The bell rings and Tama wastes no time going after Nakamura. He runs over him with a shoulder tackle, but Nakamura lands a knee on Tama and tags in Fenix as Mateo tags in on his side. Fenix delivers an arm drag to Mateo using the top rope, but Nakamura tags back in. Fenix delivers a strike to Mateo’s midsection, then jams his boot into Mateo as Fenix does the same. Fenix then tags back in, but Mateo levels him as the referee is distracted by Nakamura.

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Oct 19, 2025, 07:26 AM ET

NEW DELHI — Tommy Fleetwood’s best season got even better Sunday when he ran off four straight birdies around the turn and closed with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Keita Nakajima in the India Championship.

Fleetwood had cause to celebrate for the third time in the past three months: the FedEx Cup title with his first win on U.S. soil, the leading points-earner in another win for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup and now his first European tour win of the year.

Nakajima had a two-shot lead to start the final round at Delhi Golf Club and played bogey-free. He just couldn’t keep pace with Fleetwood, who made four straight birdies starting at the par-3 seventh to turn a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead.

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“I feel like for all the good that’s happened this year, a couple of things have disappointed me,” Fleetwood said. “Another win, it feels great.”

Even after another Ryder Cup highlight, the 34-year-old from England felt he had more to achieve this year, and winning on the European tour — his eighth career tour win — was high on his list. Fleetwood, for all his success on the PGA Tour this year, was still not eligible for the closing two events on the European schedule.

Now he is. The victory moves him from No. 94 to No. 25 in the Race to Dubai, making him eligible for the Abu Dhabi Championship and season-ending Tour Championship in Dubai.

Most pleasing to Fleetwood was watching his 8-year-old son, Frankie, run onto the 18th green after he tapped in for par to finish at 22-under 266.

They were playing golf recently when Fleetwood said his son told him he had never won a tournament where the boy could run out to green to greet him.

“All day today, I had in my mind, ‘Could I put myself in position to make that happen?'” Fleetwood said. “It’s just one of those little things it means a lot to me. It means so much to me. That was really cool. That’s what I wanted to do all day.”

Nakajima struggled with accuracy off the tee when he needed to make up ground late in the final round, though he holed enough putts to stay close. He shot 69 and moved into the top 10 on the list of European tour players who would be eligible for PGA Tour cards next year.

Shane Lowry (68), Thriston Lawrence (65) and Alex Fitzpatrick (67) tied for third at 270.

Rory McIlroy, playing in India for the first time in his career, birdied his final hole for a 71 to finish in a tie for 26th, 11 shots behind Fleetwood.

After losing three of their first four games of the 2025-26 season, the Los Angeles Kings entered Thursday night looking for a much-needed victory to get their season back on track.

However, they would have to battle through some early adversity as they would be without their captain and starting goaltender. Anze Kopitar and Darcy Kuemper were both sidelined against the Pittsburgh Penguins with injury.

The losses proved to be critical as the Kings once again fell short in a game that they should have come out on top.

Final from LA. #GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/BlqsVTx33S

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 17, 2025

First Period: Fast Start Gets Rewarded

From the initial drop of the puck, the Kings were the better team for the entire first period. The Kings were solid on both sides of the ice. At one point, they were outshooting Pittsburgh 8-2 before finishing the period with an 11-8 advantage in shots on goal.

Less than five minutes into the opening frame, Warren Foegele buried his first goal of the season. Foegele was rewarded after winning the battle for a loose puck off the rebound of his first shot attempt. After battling for the puck, Foegele powered it past Arturs Silovs to give LA an early 1-0 lead.

FIRST FOEGOAL OF THE YEAR! pic.twitter.com/uPddEqViMa

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 17, 2025

Just under halfway through the period, Kevin Fiala made it 2-0 Kings with his third goal of the year. Fiala finished off a beautiful passing play by Joel Armia and Quinton Byfield. Armia carried the puck into the offensive zone before dishing it over to Byfield, who then found Fiala with a gorgeous setup.

After 20 minutes of play, it was clear that the Kings were the better team. With strong play on both ends of the ice, LA holds a 2-0 lead with 40 minutes of play to go.

Second Period: All of a Sudden, We’re Tied

The Kings started the second period off strong, generating an early scoring chance. Fiala rifled a shot off the post after a nice play by Byfield. This is the second post for LA as Trevor Moore rang one off the iron in the first period.

After a rare occurrence of no penalties in the first, the Kings found themselves shorthanded early in the second period after Byfield was called for hooking. Special teams hurt them once again as Evgeni Malkin beat Anton Forsberg on the man advantage. Forsberg was beaten with a wrister from the face-off dot, one that he probably wants back.

Not even one minute after Malkin cut the LA lead in half, Conor Dewar made it 2-2. Dewar scored after gaining possession of a loose puck in front of the Kings’ net. Kind of a whacky goal, but another one that Forsberg probably wants another stab at.

With just under four minutes left in the middle frame, LA found themselves on the man advantage after Sidney Crosby was called for tripping. Despite the Pens captain being in the box, the Kings couldn’t get anything going on the power play.

Third Period: Special Teams Prove to be not so Special

Once again, that silly red post got in the way of a potential Kings goal as Cody Ceci fired a shot off the crossbar. After a slower-paced third period, LA had a chance to redeem themselves on the power play after Crosby was called for his second stick infraction of the evening.

They did exactly the opposite. Another terrible power play proves to be costly. The Penguins managed to escape their zone, leading to a brief two-on-one that was shut down. However, the Kings fell asleep after that, and Filip Hallander took advantage by banging home the loose puck for his first career NHL goal, which was also the eventual game-winning goal.

Los Angeles pushed to tie the game, but to no avail. With 30 seconds left in the final frame, Crosby iced the gam,e making it 4-2 with an empty net goal.

Result: Penguins Win 4-2

Another disappointing loss. After a first period that looked like the Kings might run away with the game, the Penguins competed hard and battled back to steal two points. This loss is due to horrendous special teams and the lack of big saves. Hopefully, those issues can be chalked up to the absence of Kopitar and Kuemper. If not, those issues need to be figured out as soon as possible.

The Kings (1-3-1) will have their hands full next game as they face the Carolina Hurricanes (4-0-0) on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. PT, 9:00 p.m. ET.

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Novak Djokovic battled past a spirited Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals for a 10th time, setting up a clash with surprise package and the world No 204, Valentin Vacherot.

In challenging conditions, Djokovic was made to work harder than the scoreline suggests by his Belgian opponent, who registered more winners than the four-time champion but was undone by unforced errors.

“First encounter with Bergs, a great guy. Obviously a lot of firepower in his game. He played a good game,†Djokovic said. “I was a little bit too passive. Just very challenging conditions these days for all the players. Just trying to stay alive on the court and glad to overcome this hurdle.â€

In the opening set, Bergs showed remarkable resilience by saving five set points to frustrate Djokovic, before the Serbian finally closed it out with an unreturned serve. The second set proved even more gruelling, with both players serving well but treating the crowd to breathtaking rallies that left Djokovic hunched over his racquet on several occasions.

The highlight came during one extraordinary rally where the fourth seed gave Bergs five golden opportunities to seal the point with overhead shots and volleys at the net, only to somehow emerge victorious and bring the crowd to its feet. Djokovic eventually sealed victory on his third match point, advancing to face Vacherot in what promises to be an intriguing semi-final clash. “Amazing story for him. This tournament has taken out top players of the world … itâ€s really impressive what heâ€s doing,†Djokovic said on his next opponent.

Vacherot pulled off a huge upset, stunning the 10th seed, Holger Rune, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 to become the second-lowest ranked player ever to reach an ATP Masters semi-final. The Monegasque qualifierâ€s remarkable run will see him crack the top 100 next week after spending half of last year sidelined with injury, but even playing in Shanghai was a question mark when he arrived.

Valentin Vacherot after defeating Holger Rune. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

“I didnâ€t even come as a qualifier, I came as an alternate. I wasnâ€t sure to even play the qualifier,†Vacherot said. “Coming back from six months out is always not easy. You cannot just come back and win tournaments right and left. Youâ€ve just got to fight your way through a little bit.â€

Vacherotâ€s stunning journey in Shanghai, which now includes wins over four seeds, looked doomed early on as Rune raced through a physically demanding opening set while the underdog felt his “lungs were screamingâ€. But the tide turned dramatically in the second-set tiebreak when Vacherot produced a stunning backhand crosscourt winner to take a 5-4 lead.

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Rune crashed his next shot into the net and could only watch as Vacherot fired a forehand winner down the line on set point to level the match. Rune struggled physically in the decider, requiring the trainer twice to massage his leg. Vacherot then capitalised to complete a memorable victory in a contest lasting a minute shy of three hours.

“It would mean a lot to play at least one of the guys of the ‘Big Three†in my career,†Vacherot said on playing Djokovic. Vacherotâ€s cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, is also in the quarter-finals, with the Frenchman set to play Félix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.

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It can’t keep going forever … right?

That’s what common sense, not to mention mathematics or years of golf history, would have you believe. And yet, another week has gone by, another LPGA tournament played, and yet another unique winner lifted the trophy.

The LPGA Tour has hosted 26 events this season and all 26 have been won by different players. This week’s winner at the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii? Sponsor invite Youmin Hwang, who isn’t even an LPGA Tour member. And she won’t be an LPGA Tour member until 2026. She elected to defer her full membership benefits to next year.

In the meantime, the streak goes on. All the way from A Lim Kim’s victory in February, through the majors season to now, eight months later. There was a Lydia Ko win, a Charley Hull win, victories from three Swedes, five Japanese players and a handful of Americans. World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul grabbed one, as expected, but not two. She’s finished second four times, including her last two starts, trying her best to nullify this streak but finding herself barely unsuccessful.

What this streak ultimately means for the Tour is a bit of a Rorschach test. On one hand, 26 different winners shows an immense level of parity, which most sports leagues would love to see. On the other, without a clear, multi-time winner, not only do we not have a clue who should be considered the Player of the Year, but there isn’t a dominant star that places the LPGA in front of new audiences. (Coincidentally, 26 is the record for most unique winners in LPGA Tour history.)

Maybe the most stunning element of 26 different winners in 26 weeks is that Nelly Korda — last season’s 7-time winner — isn’t one of them. Korda hasn’t necessarily struggled this year; she just hasn’t played at the winning level we’ve come to expect. She admitted to nursing a few injuries that won’t quite go away, but will still be the favorite for anyone who wants this crazy streak to continue.

For those who want 27 unique winners, the LPGA heads from Hawaii to Shanghai, China. Sei Young Kim, Ariya Jutanugarn, Nasa Hataoka and Gaby Lopez have had the most success this year and not broken through.

HONOLULU — Youmin Hwang won the Lotte Championship on Sunday for her first victory in an LPGA Tour event, making a big late charge to run the season-opening streak without a repeat winner to 25 tournaments.

A Korean LPGA member in the field on a sponsor invite, Hwang birdied the final four holes and five of the last six at breezy Hoakalei Country Club for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Hyo Joo Kim.

“Thanks to Lotte’s support I can be here and win,†Hwang said.

As a non-member of the LPGA Tour, the 22-year-old Hwang has the option to accept immediate membership or defer to next season. The two-time KLPGA winner won in her sixth career LPGA start and fourth of the season — after making the weekend cuts in the major U.S. Women’s Open, KPMG Women’s PGA and Amundi Evian Championship.

Tied for the lead with Kim and Minami Katsu after her birdie on the par-4 17th, Hwang got a break when Katsu and Kim each bogeyed the hole in the group behind. On the par-5 18th, Hwang hit her second shot through the green into rough and chipped to a foot.

Hwang finished at 17-under 271. She shot a career-best 62 on Thursday to open a three-stroke lead, then had a 75 on Friday to drop into a tie for second — a shot behind Akie Iwai.

Kim birdied the 18th for a 68.

Katsu was third at 15 under after a 69.

Second-ranked Nelly Korda closed with a 69 for finish three back at 17 under with Peiyun Chien (70), Jessica Porvasnik (70) and Iwai (71). Coming off a seven-victory season, Korda hasn’t won this year.

“Overall, I’m putting myself into contention.†Korda said. “It’s definitely an interesting year for me result-wise, but at the end of the day I’m giving it 100%, controlling what I can control and I’m happy with that.â€

The LPGA Tour now heads to Asia for tournaments five straight weeks in Shanghai, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.

• 

  Mark SchlabachSep 27, 2025, 12:36 PM ET

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  • Senior college football writer
  • Author of seven books on college football
  • Graduate of the University of Georgia

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The bleeding continued for the U.S. team at the 45th Ryder Cup on Saturday, as the Americans lost three of four foursomes matches and trail the Europeans 8.5-3.5 in what is quickly becoming the “Bethpage Black Blowout.”

For the third straight session, very little went right for the U.S. team, as only one of its three losses reached the 17th hole.

Barring a miraculous comeback, the U.S. team is in danger of losing the Ryder Cup for the 11th time in the past 15 matches and falling to the Europeans on American soil for the first time since 2012.

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Europe is only the second road team to win each of the first three sessions of a Ryder Cup.

“Excited with where our team is, and we have to keep the foot down,” Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy said.

Trailing by 1 with two holes to play, the U.S. team of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley had a chance to come back in the anchor match. But Henley missed a 13-foot birdie try on the par-3 17th that would have won the hole.

On the par-4 18th, Scheffler hit one of the worst shots of his career, flaring a wedge from 116 yards into the right rough. Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Norway’s Viktor Hovland had two putts to win the match.

Scheffler’s 1-up loss dropped him to 0-3 this week. He hasn’t won in his past seven Ryder Cup matches going back to Europe’s 16.5-11.5 victory in Italy two years ago.

Spain’s Jon Rahm and England’s Tyrrell Hatton continued to torment the Americans, beating Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 3 and 2 to give the Europeans a 7.5-3.5 lead.

Saturday Afternoon Four-balls Schedule

12:25 p.m.: Thomas/Young vs. McIlroy/Lowry
12:41 p.m.: Scheffler/DeChambeau vs. Fleetwood/Rose
12:57 p.m.: Spaun/Schauffele vs. Rahm/Straka
1:13 p.m.: Burns/Cantlay vs. Hatton/Fitzpatrick

Whenever it seemed like the Europeans might be in trouble, Rahm rescued them with his amazing short game. On the par-3 eighth, Hatton’s poor tee shot left Rahm with an awkward stance on a bank above a greenside bunker. Somehow, with his feet in the sand and the ball in the rough above him, Rahm knocked it in from 49 feet for birdie.

Rahm is 9-1-3 in his past 13 Ryder Cup matches; Rahm and Hatton have never lost in a foursomes match while playing together.

The Americans picked up their only point of the session with a 4-and-2 victory from Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Young over England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Sweden’s Ludvig Ã…berg. The U.S. team won four of the first 10 holes, and the European duo never could apply much stress.

Young, who grew up in New York and set the Bethpage Black scoring record as a 20-year-old, became the first American rookie to win his first two Ryder Cup matches, both by at least four holes, since Patrick Reed in 2014. Young and Justin Thomas routed Åberg and Rasmus Højgaard 6 and 5 in a four-ball match Friday.

Young’s pairings lost only one hole in his first two matches.

“For our country, it was just pedal to the metal,” DeChambeau said. “Cam played unbelievable today. We struck it well, we executed when we needed to, and we just put the pressure on them all day. They struggled to get momentum, and when we had our opportunities, we took advantage.”

The Europeans didn’t have to wait long to go back up three points in the match, however, as McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood won again, 3 and 2 over Collin Morikawa and Harris English.

English and Morikawa were 4 down after eight holes, and Bradley is surely to be criticized for sending them back out together after they were trounced 5 and 4 by McIlroy and Fleetwood in foursomes on Friday. The U.S. duo won back-to-back holes late in the match before it ended on No. 16.

Fleetwood is now 10-3-2 in his Ryder Cup career, the highest winning percentage (.733) among 51 European golfers who have competed in at least 10 matches, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Fleetwood and McIlroy are 4-0-0 in foursomes matches together.

“It’s Rory McIlroy,” Fleetwood said. “I can play from a lot of the places where he hits it. Yeah, we loved getting the chance to play together in Rome. Our games match nicely. Obviously, we’re very close off the course. Like Rory has already said, our families are so close. I’m just the lucky one that gets to play with him in foursomes, and I’ll take that.”

The final weekend of regular-season baseball is here, and every team in the majors will conclude its marathons with a three-game series. We’ll have some enticing divisional matchups and some head-scratchers like … Phillies-Twins?

Here are the top storylines entering Friday in a chaotic finish for the 2025 regular season:

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[MLB playoffs 2025 tracker: Standings, schedule, clinch scenarios and more with 3 games to go]

Will the Marlins play the ultimate spoiler for the Mets?

The New York Mets are clinging to the final wild-card spot in the NL playoff race. They sweated out an 8-5 victory against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday and took two of three games at Wrigley Field to maintain their lead in the wild-card race against the Cincinnati Reds (one game) and Arizona Diamondbacks (two games). The Mets don’t own the tiebreakers against those teams, so yeah, the pressure is on for New York.

Up next: Three games in Miami against the Marlins. Despite the payroll disparity between the clubs — $69 million vs. $340 million — the season series is tied 5-5.

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For the Mets, it’s sad that it has come down to this. But at least they’re in control.

Who will blink first: Yankees or Jays?

The stakes are high for New York and Toronto in the AL playoff race, as the team that comes out on top in this division will get a first-round bye, joining the Seattle Mariners. The runner-up will get a ticket to the wild-card round as host.

The clubs enter Friday tied, and the Jays have the tiebreaker. Each will have its regular-season finale at home, with the Yankees hosting the Baltimore Orioles and the Jays playing the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees went 6-4 against the Orioles this season, with New York taking three of four games in their last series. As for the Jays, they’re 3-7 against the Rays this season. Toronto split a four-game set with Tampa in their last matchup earlier this month.

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Dodgers, Mariners are in, but they’ve got some things to work out

Go ahead and chuckle about a schedule that concludes the regular season with Mariners vs. Dodgers. What a natural rivalry, eh?

Anyhow, the Mariners have secured a first-round bye en route to capturing the AL West. They still have a shot, albeit a long one, at snatching away the No. 1 seed from the Yankees and Blue Jays. Plus, Cal Raleigh wants to swing that trident around a couple of more times in pursuit of that AL single-season home run record. So don’t expect the Mariners to coast here.

As for the Dodgers, they’re locked into the No. 3 seed in the NL. However, could we see more work from Roki Sasaki out of the bullpen as a tune-up for the postseason? Will anyone in the Dodgers’ bullpen show a glimmer of improvement heading into October, starting Friday?

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It all comes down to this as Guardians, Tigers battle for AL Central crown

Three games over this final weekend of the 2025 MLB regular season will decide the American League Central division title. Neither team has officially clinched a playoff berth, but both teams could make their way into the postseason regardless of who wins the Central.

Cleveland ends the season with a three-game series hosting the Texas Rangers, who have been eliminated from playoff contention but could play the role of spoiler for the Guardians. If the Guardians and Tigers remain neck and neck through the weekend, the most likely scenario is them facing off in the wild-card round.

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The Tigers could have a bit of a tougher fight to close out the regular season, thanks to their recent free-fall that saw them drop eight straight. They visit Boston on Friday night, taking on a Red Sox team also fighting for wild-card positioning. The Tigers swept the Red Sox in their lone series earlier this season.

If these AL Central rivals end the season with the same record, the Guardians hold the tiebreaker with a head-to-head record of 8-5 in the season series with the Tigers, after taking two of three games from them this week. No matter who wins the AL Central, both Cleveland and Detroit hold tiebreakers over the Houston Astros in the wild-card race. The Astros are currently one game behind the Guardians and Tigers for the wild card heading into this final weekend.

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Friday’s notable games

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET
Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. ET
Texas Rangers vs. Cleveland Guardians, 7:10 p.m. ET
New York Mets vs. Miami Marlins 7:10 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers 8:10 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Seattle Mariners, 9:40 p.m. ET

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It was a busy day on Tuesday at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale as training camp continues for the Florida Panthers.

On Wednesday, the Panthers will head up to Raleigh for a preseason matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.

Making the trip to North Carolina for the Cats will be group that will not feature any of the teamâ€s returning NHL regulars, a similar situation as to over the weekend when Florida played a preseason doubleheader in Nashville against the Predators on Sunday.

The players who will participate on Wednesday in Raleigh were on the ice for a formal camp practice Tuesday afternoon.

For many, itâ€s all about trying to make a good impression and prepare yourself for the season to come, but at the end of the day, as long as the effort is there, the coaching staff understands that itâ€s a long road to the NHL.

“That’s really what I’m looking for,†said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “If any of these young guys that came out and, let’s say, I thought they were all fine, you know, real good idea of, like, either why we drafted them or why we brought them to camp. But if they’re young, and they had a tough camp, I won’t think about them again. I won’t assess them, because theyâ€ve got years before (theyâ€re expected at the NHL level). So if a guy had a tough camp, that doesn’t mean his career is over at all. He’s just got to go back to play junior, or if itâ€s his first year pro, or whatever that is, get another year, and then you come in. So you really do go through the stages here, especially because we haven’t drafted a high, first round pick that comes in has a legitimate chance to make our team. We don’t have those players. All our first-round picks are playing on our team.â€

Roster-wise, it will be a similar situation when Floridaâ€s next road preseason game arrives, which will be next Tuesday when Florida faces the Tampa Bay Lightning in Orlando.

For that game, expect the Panthers to bring another mostly-young group to the neutral site showdown with Tampa.

However, the night before, when Florida hosts Carolina on Monday night in Sunrise, weâ€ll get our first look at some of the NHLers expected to be on the Opening Night roster.

Itâ€s all part of the process and Maurice and his staff evaluate everyone, new and returning, to see exactly where everyone shapes up as they prepare to mold a new roster for the upcoming season.

“All of the new guys, I’m just trying to learn their game, trying to find out what I think they do for a living,†said Maurice. “What are they good at? That’s a really important question to ask. What’s that guy good at? How do I fit him in? The returning players that we’ve had year over year, I’m just trying to anecdotally measure how much better they are. Do I think they’re fitter? Are they stronger? Are they grasping what we’ve done? We’re looking for progression and trying to measure that. And then there are a band of players that you’re looking at saying, okay, that guy’s a potential call-up, how would I play him? First of all, can I make him better? Can I help him get better? Early on, I just want them to learn our game, try to play it, and see if you can, and then we’ll shape you a little bit. You’ve got to be more physical. You can be less physical. You’re running around. We need to get the little details, where you take each individual player and try to shape them into our team.â€

Before Tuesdayâ€s formal workout in Fort Lauderdale, a large group of the Opening Night Panthers held a skate and scrimmage.

On the ice were Brad Marchand, Evan Rodrigues, Sam Bennett, Eetu Luostarinen, Dmitry Kulikov, Sasha Barkov, Niko Mikkola, Seth Jones, Anton Lundell, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Uvis Balinskis, Mackie Samoskevich, Carter Verhaeghe, A.J. Greer, Gus Forsling, Jesper Boqvist and Jeff Petry.

They are all expected to join the regular camp practices later this week ahead of Monday’s game against Carolina.

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Panthers players have fun inside, outside stadium while taking in Miami Hurricanes win over Florida

Photo caption: Sep 19, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA; Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice speaks to center Gracyn Sawchyn (59), forward Tyler Motte (14) and forward Noah Gregor (18) during training camp at Baptist Health IcePlex. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

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Update —

AJ Styles has now responded to John Cena and accepted his challenge for a match. As of now, WWE has yet to make it official.

I hear them loud and clear. Let’s do it, I’m ready!

— AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) September 23, 2025

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It looks like we’re getting closer to AJ Styles being confirmed as one of John Cena’s final opponents.

On Monday night, Cena sent out a tweet teasing that he could face AJ Styles one more time. Cena then followed that up this morning with another post advocating for the match. Specifically, he asked Paul “Triple H” Levesque if he’s listening to what the fans are asking for.

I do not choose my opponents, but I (even through tough times) ALWAYS listen to the fans.@AJStylesOrg are you listening?
Better yet @TripleH ….. are YOU listening???#CenaVsStyles

— John Cena (@JohnCena) September 23, 2025

“I do not choose my opponents, but I (even through tough times) ALWAYS listen to the fans,” Cena wrote. “@AJStylesOrg are you listening? Better yet @TripleH….. are YOU listening???”

Given that Cena does not have any WWE appearances on his schedule before Crown Jewel: Perth, these tweets could be WWE’s way of setting up his plans for that show. The PLE is taking place at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia on October 11.

Including Crown Jewel, Cena has five WWE dates left on his retirement tour:

• Saturday, October 11: WWE Crown Jewel: Perth (Perth, Australia)
• Monday: November 10: WWE Raw (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Monday, November 17: WWE Raw (New York City, New York)
• Saturday, November 29: WWE Survivor Series (San Diego, California)
• Saturday, December 13:  WWE Saturday Nightâ€s Main Event (reportedly Washington, D.C.)

Styles is considered one of Cena’s best-ever opponents, with the two having had a classic series of matches in 2016-2018. During his retirement tour, there have been occasions where Cena has paid homage to some of his past opponents including Styles.

Cena is coming off a loss to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza. Despite speculation, WWE is reportedly not planning for there to be another Cena vs. Lesnar match before Cena retires.

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