Browsing: exciting

John Cena has squashed some exciting rumors with an emotional message.

John Cena is set to have his last WWE match on December 13, following which he will hang up his boots and call it a day on his wrestling career. The legendary 17-time world champion has been at the top of the wrestling world for 20 years now and would love to finish his career on one last high with an Intercontinental Title run. However, ahead of his impending retirement, many have speculated that the star won’t be retiring in December and may backtrack on that announcement.

Cena has now released a statement squashing those rumors and stating that he was indeed entering the ring one final time on December 13.

John Cena Released A Statement Re-Establishing His WWE Retirement

Taking to X/Twitter, Cena clarified the rumors doing the rounds and stated that December 13 would be the last time fans would get to see him.

Despite any speculation or rumors, on July 6, 2024 I announced I would retire from WWE in ring participation. I am far from perfect but strive to be a person whose word has value. 12/13/25 will be my final match. I am beyond grateful for every moment WWE has given me. I am excited for 12/13 & look forward to seeing all of you one last time.”

Despite any speculation or rumors, on July 6, 2024 I announced I would retire from WWE in ring participation. I am far from perfect but strive to be a person whose word has value. 12/13/25 will be my final match. I am beyond grateful for every moment WWE has given me. I am… https://t.co/TnUPfuEfzx

— John Cena (@JohnCena) October 17, 2025

It remains to be seen who Cena’s last opponent will be.

Source link

Jc Olivera/Getty Images

This Saturday, WWE returns to Perth, Australia for the 2025 iteration of Crown Jewel, with five matches officially confirmed for the card. Among them, WWE star Natalya is most excited for the final faceoff between John Cena and AJ Styles. As a long-time advocate and pioneer in women’s wrestling, however, she’s also looking forward to the tag team match pitting four of WWE’s best females on opposite sides.

“I love the story that the girls are telling,” Natalya said on “Busted Open Radio.” “It’s very intriguing. Besides Maxxine versus Becky, I’m loving this Asuka, Kairi, IYO, Rhea storyline because it’s got so many layers to it. Kairi, I think will be the standout character of all of it because she’s become very fascinating to me. She’s torn between these friendships and she doesn’t know where she stands. She loves IYO, but she’s loyal to Asuka. It’s just cool. You see this different partnership between Rhea and IYO, that they’ve been very organically brought together.”

At Crown Jewel, IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley will take on Asuka and Kairi Sane. For several weeks, Asuka became increasingly agitated with SKY’s growing bond to Ripley, so much so that she warned Ripley to stay away from “The Genius of the Sky.” Ripley, of course, refused to give in, as did SKY, causing Asuka to attack them both and Sane to appear conflicted.

According to Asuka, SKY owes her success to her as “The Empress of Tomorrow” had acted as her mentor in Japan before they all joined WWE. SKY, while acknowledging that, still then created a wall between herself and Asuka, leading to a tag team match being announced for Crown Jewel.

Cena & Styles Dance For The Final Time

Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images

Elsewhere at Crown Jewel, former rivals AJ Styles and John Cena will meet once more in a singles match, with the latter having just five dates left on his retirement tour. According to Natalya, Styles is definitely among the candidates for discussions regarding the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time, especially given his in-ring skills and passion both during and before his time in WWE. Meanwhile, Cena remains on the same level as a certain baseball legend.

“We got a lot of wrestling influence in this house, but we really think, TJ [Wilson] really thinks AJ’s in that conversation of one of the best to ever do it,” Natalya said. “Then, of course, you have John Cena. He’s been talked about as being the Babe Ruth of professional wrestling. It’s coming down to the wire of some of his last matches. So I want to see what magic John and AJ are going to do, especially in that big setting with that big fight feel. I think it’s going to be exciting. I think AJ is going to bring out the very best in John.”

Much like the past, Styles has publicly exclaimed his eagerness to beat up Cena. Unlike the past, though, both he and Cena are babyfaces this time, with fans already divided on who they’re rooting for.Â

Cena and Styles’ last one-on-one encounter took place on the February 27, 2018 episode of “WWE SmackDown.” Cena emerged victorious. This go-around, Natalya believes Styles will force Cena to step up.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source link

September 29, 2025

(by Steve Hopkins)

Like top-seeded Chuqin yesterday, second-seeded Lin Shidong had no trouble logging a 3-0 win to move into the Round of 32.  He will face Shunsuke Togami, who eliminated USA’s Kanak Jha earlier today.  With Jha in the Men’s Draw and Lily Zhang and Amy Wang in the Women’s Draw, TeamUSA was represented – but none of our players reached the Round of 32 (with Zhang losing yesterday, and Jha and Wang falling today).

Yesterday, there were a number of upsets and today followed the same script.  Tomokazu Harimoto fell 3-2 to 20 year old Chinese Qualifier Chen Junsong (No. 111).  In the same section of the draw, Oh Junsung of the Republic of Korea upset Dang Qiu, perhaps making a path for an underdog to advance all the way to the Quarterfinals.

Felix Lebrun had no trouble advancing – he will face Chen Yuanyu, who knocked out Dimitrij Ovtcharov 3-2.  Felix’s brother Alexis was not so lucky, he fell to Eduard Ionescu 3-1.  Moregard, Assar, Uda, and Lin Yun-Ju all advanced as expected.  Yuan Licen took out Anton Kallberg, and no moved on to face another Swede, Kristian Karlsson.

The Day 1 upsets included Benedikt Duda losing to Feng Yi-Hsin, Flavien Cotton over Xu Yingbin, and Milosz Redzimski over Lee Sang Su.  Six of the top eight seeds have advanced, but we are assured some fresh faces and new match-ups as action proceeds through the week.

Lots of quality table tennis on tap all week long – we’ll have more updates soon.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.

Share the post “China Smash: Day Two Completes Exciting First Round”

Source link

Weâ€re about to kick off the NHLâ€s 2025-26 season, and here on THN.comâ€s Buffalo Sabres site, weâ€re moving through our player-by-player series in which we analyze every Buffalo players†expectations this coming season.

We began this series by looking at the Sabres†goalies and defensemen, and their third line – including todayâ€s focus: center Jiri Kulich – looks like a bit of a dogâ€s breakfast of up-and-coming talent (Kulich and left winger Jack Quinn) and gritty, low-scoring right winger Jordan Greenway. So the expectations on Kulich should be reasonable as to what he can accomplish. But hereâ€s our best guess as to what is reasonable for Kulich in ‘25-26:

Player Name: Jiri Kulich

Position: Center

Age: 21

2024-25 Key Statistics: 62 games, 15 goals, 24 points, 14:48 average time on ice

2025-26 Salary: $886,666

2025-26 Expectations: Kulich is entering his sophomore NHL season, and while his first year wasnâ€t worthy of the Calder Trophy as the NHLâ€s rookie-of-the-year, the 21-year-old Czechia native did get to the 15-goal mark – with all the goals coming at even-strength – in very limited minutes in only 62 games. Thatâ€s something to build on this coming season, but Kulich is going to be starting the year centering Buffaloâ€s third line.

We can see Kulich and Quinn having success on offense. Greenway – a tougher player who doesnâ€t contribute many goals or assists – is another story. So itâ€s going to be on Quinn and Kulich to generate offense for the Sabres and start to challenge upper-tier Sabres players for playing time on the line above them in Buffalo.

That said, Kulich has only dipped his toe in hockeyâ€s top league. Heâ€s nowhere close to his prime, but a season in which Kulich produced, say, 20-25 goals and 30-40-point next season would be considered an enormous success.

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Young Winger Quinn Must Make Most Of His Opportunities
The NHLâ€s 2025-26 season has just about arrived, and here on THN.comâ€s Buffalo Sabres site, weâ€re continuing our player-by-player series in which we break down the expectations for each Buffalo player in the coming season.

So long as heâ€s able to get near those areas, Kulichâ€s status as a Sabre isnâ€t going to be challenged no matter how Buffalo does in the standings. Heâ€s young, heâ€s not making very much money (less than $867,000 per year), and heâ€s under team financial control for this year, next year and his RFA years after that.

Thus, Kulich will likely survive any change in Sabres coaching or administration. He needs to put forth at least as many points as he did last year, but he also needs to make Buffaloâ€s third line a legitimate danger. Thatâ€s what the Sabres are going to need to be a playoff team.

Unfortunately, making the third line an above-average group has been a tall task for many Sabres players before him, but Kulich canâ€t be properly judged until thereâ€s a decent sample size to judge him by. And that means he deserves the benefit of the doubt entering his sophomore season. But make no mistake – thereâ€s pressure there for Kulich to take a step forward in ‘25-26. If he reacts positively to it, the pressure on Buffaloâ€s top two lines will diminish, and it will take some of the heat off their defense as well.

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Staying Healthy A Key Concern For Rugged Winger Greenway
The Buffalo Sabres need all hands on deck if they’re to end their `14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought. And that means everyone on the roster is going to have to pull their weight. What will expectations for every Sabres player look like? That’s the focus of THN.com’s Sabres site series.

Kulich could be a big-time member of a Sabres renaissance. By the end of last season, he was centering a line with Buffaloâ€s top scorer, star winger Tage Thompson. But Kulichâ€s two-way game is whatâ€s most encouraging about his game, and if heâ€s effective at both ends of the ice, the Sabres are going to have a good shot at ending their playoff drought and giving Buffalonians a team to take pride in again.

Source link

An exciting finish could be in prospect on the final day of the County Championship match between Kent and Lancashire…

The 2025 MLB season has been packed with must-see moments from the sport’s biggest stars. Whether you prefer historic home…

Bradford DoolittleSep 9, 2025, 07:00 AM ETCloseMLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com Been…

Match of the Day pundits Danny Murphy and Steph Houghton analyse the influence of Everton’s attacking players in their victory…