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Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss another Tommy Fleetwood victory, a unique tournament venue, the LPGA’s latest champion and more.

Tommy Fleetwood won the DP World India Championship to earn his second victory in his last four starts (not to mention his Ryder Cup dominance). Now no longer worried about securing his first PGA Tour win (and save for the World No. 1), is there a player primed for a more dominant 2026 than Fleetwood?

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): The stars certainly seem to be aligning for a Fleetwood breakout. He had a few close calls even before he finally won the Tour Championship, so it’s not like the last few months have been a fluke. The guy can ball-strike with the best of them, which is a good way to always stay in contention. But it’s also important to remember guys have gotten hot and looked ready to tear up the golf world before, only to disappear. (Viktor Hovland won back-to-back playoff events in August 2023 and didn’t win again for 19 months.) I don’t expect a Scottie-like 2026, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fleetwood picked off two or even three wins next year.

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Amazing how wins so often beget more wins. Fleetwood is the latest case in point, and not necessarily because his game is any better than it was a year ago — but more so because he’s leading the Tour in SG: Confidence. We’ll see if that magic stays with him through the offseason. As he said himself on Sunday, “I know form doesn’t last forever, but I’m trying to make myself the most consistent player I can be.” But, yes, to answer the question, he’s incredibly well positioned for 2026. Another guy I’m excited to see in action next year: Cameron Young. Curious if his impressive Ryder Cup will give him a shot of sustained confidence.

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): It’s always interesting when players get hot in the fall and winter to see if they can sustain the momentum into the next summer major season. Although, as Josh mentioned, it’s not as though Tommy is coming out of nowhere. He’s been a favorite pick at the majors even before his PGA Tour breakthrough. But Tommy does seem to come on especially strong in Ryder Cup years. So let’s revisit this in 2027! As for next year, I’m looking forward to keeping my eye on another solid European: Alex Noren, who won two DP World Tour titles this year and is projected to earn his PGA Tour card for next season.

Fleetwood beat out a handful of stars to win on a narrow Delhi Golf Club, where it was reported that 42 percent of the field played without a driver. Should the PGA Tour visit more courses where players are forced to be more strategic off the tee? And how often?

Berhow: Delhi Golf Club is a pretty extreme example — I don’t want Rory hitting zero drivers! — but it should definitely happen more, as playing sound, strategic golf and hitting clubs the course might call for is a skill, just as much as it is to bomb driver all around the property. It gives more players a chance too. Years ago I remember Kevin Kisner rattling off a list of courses he felt he couldn’t win on simply due to the distance required off the tee. How realistic it is though is another question. Lots of logistics go into picking a Tour venue — a sponsor, the TV production, etc. — and sometimes the type of golf course isn’t always the main focus.

Bastable: Power should be a competitive advantage in golf so, yeah, it would be unfair to suddenly inject the Tour schedule with a bunch more tight and tree-choked sites. Still, this week in New Delhi was a fun reminder that there’s more than one way to test elite players who can hit a driver 330 yards, and some of the players seemed to really dig the challenge. “I like courses like this a lot more because you just hit a variety of different clubs more often,” Ben Griffin said early in the week, “whereas in America we’re so used to hitting maybe drivers and wedges a lot more.”

Marksbury: Playing a round of golf without a driver is something I will never be able to relate to! Years ago, a USGA official told me that the objective for the course setup for the U.S. Open was not necessarily to provide the most tortuous test, but for players to utilize every club in the bag over the course of the tournament. I like that idea, and I am definitely in favor of promoting more courses (or setups) where that’s possible. Six or seven times a year would be nice.

Rory McIlroy was among the players who kept the driver out of the bag and tied for 26th in India. When course setup limits drivers, is McIlroy at the biggest disadvantage?

Berhow: Although Scottie Scheffler leads the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, I think most would argue McIlroy with a driver in hand is one of the best shows in golf, and it might be the single club that gives one player an advantage more than any other (Scottie with an iron a close second?). That said, Rory didn’t win a career grand slam by simply hitting driver, but he does probably do the most with it.

Bastable: I think it was probably less a case of the setup not suiting McIlroy’s skill sets and more a case of the target-style of golf really suiting other players, notably Tommy Fleetwood, who said the course “set up perfectly for me.” Interestingly, if you look at McIlory’s 10 bogeys from the week, most were caused not by loose tee shots but by missing greens or pins on the wrong side.

Marksbury: I agree with both of my colleagues here. Eliminating driver is a bummer for a player with so much prowess off the tee. But at the end of the day, you’re hitting way more approaches and putts than you are tee shots. So whatever advantage McIlroy was losing was still somewhat minimal, in my mind.

Sei Young Kim won the BMW Ladies Championship to become the 27th different winner on the LPGA Tour this season, where there’s been just one two-time winner on the year (Jeeno Thitikul, who won her second event, the LPGA Shanghai, a week ago). With only five tournaments remaining, how do you analyze the current player-of-the-year race?

Berhow: Jeeno Thitikul is the obvious front-runner as the only player with multiple wins, and her season’s been great beyond those weeks. She’s missed just one cut all year and has 12 top-10 finishes. Since this is decided based on points, the CME Group Tour Championship might end up deciding the whole thing. We didn’t have that drama last year with Nelly Korda running away with this.

Marksbury: Agree, Josh. That 27 first-time winner stat is incredible. It really speaks to how deep the talent runs on the LPGA Tour, and as you mentioned, Jeeno may have only two wins, but she’s contended nearly every time she’s teed it up, notched four runner-ups and would be very deserving of the crown, even without a major title this year.

Bastable: To put Jeeno’s consistency in perspective, she is 120 points ahead of the second-ranked player on the Rolex list, Nelly Korda — while Korda has only a 20-point lead on the third spot, held by Minjee Lee. In other words, Thitikul is miles ahead of her peer. Only blemish on her 2025 resume came at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she missed her only cut of the year.

Playing for the first time since he withdrew from Sunday singles and evoked the now-controversial “envelope rule” at the Ryder Cup, Viktor Hovland called the situation “upsetting” but added he doesn’t see an easy fix for the rule. OK fair. But what Ryder Cup rule would you change?

Berhow: Easy — pick the matchups like they do at the Presidents Cup, where the captains alternate their selections. That way, as long as the captains play ball, we can get a little more drama infused into the event. (And drama that doesn’t include boneheaded fans.)

Bastable: In the case of a tie at the end of singles, institute a three-hole aggregate-score playoff, pitting one player from each team selected by their respective captain. Unlike the envelope rule, though, the playoff reps would be selected in advance. The captains would pick them in the moment so, should they wish, they can nominate not necessarily their best player but the hottest one.

Marksbury: The Ryder Cup is nearly perfect, but I don’t like the “retention” rule if there’s a tie. We need a result! The envelope should be used to nominate one player from each team to face off in a sudden-death playoff for the whole thing.

India suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of England in the ICC Women’s World Cup in Indore (Images via AP) Indore: What transpired here has to be one of the most heart-breaking defeats ever suffered by the Indian Womenâ€s cricket team, and it puts their qualification to the semifinals of the 2025 Womenâ€s ODI World Cup in real danger.Riding on fine half-centuries by senior batters Smriti Mandhana (88 from 84 deliveries), captain Harmanpreet Kaur (70 runs from as many balls) and Deepti Sharma, who produced a brilliant all-round performance (50 from 57 deliveries and 4-51 in 10 overs), India looked set to chase down 289, which wouldâ€ve been their highest-ever run chase in WODIs, but fell just four runs short on a smoggy night at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday.Pulling off a thrilling win by keeping their nerves, England became the third team after Australia and South Africa to qualify for the semifinals, while India, who suffered their third loss in a row, must now defeat New Zealand at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on October 23 to sneak in as the fourth semifinalists. This was also the first time that the Indian women’s team played a WODI at the Holkar Stadium.The star of Englandâ€s victory was their former captain Heather Knight, who was removed as the skipper last year after England exited the semifinals of the Womenâ€s T20 World Cup and lost the Ashes to Australia 16-0. Playing in her landmark 300th international match, Knight indeed proved to be England’s ‘Knight in shining armour’ as she smashed a splendid century (109 off 91 balls, featuring 15 boundaries and a six) which helped her team post a competitive 288 for eight against the hosts. India needed 14 off the last over with allrounders Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana in the middle, but left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who conceded just 1-40 in 10 overs in a high-scoring game, gave away just nine. Chasing 289 under lights, India suffered two early blows when opener Pratika Rawal (6) was caught behind off Lauren Bell in the third over, who returned to action after missing the last match due to illness and number 3 batter Harleen Deol (24 off 31 balls) caught plumb in front while trying to play across to off-spinner Charlie Dean. The duo of Harmanpreet and Mandhana put on 125 in 122 balls for the third wicket to raise visions of an easy win, but India kept losing wickets at the wrong time. Trying to cut the ball repeatedly towards third man, Harmanpreet was caught at short third off England captain Nat-Sciver Brunt in the 31st over. Tiring due to cramps, Mandhana holed out to long off off Smith in the 42nd over. Sciver-Brunt then had Richa Ghosh (eight off 10 balls) caught at cover in the 46th over, and suddenly, India, falling behind the required run rate, had no one to force the pace. Once Deepti slog-swept Sophie Ecclestone to deep mid-wicket in the 47th over, the game was in Englandâ€s hands. Earlier, displaying her amazing prowess at sweeping the spinners, the 34-year-old Knight powered to her third ODI ton and highest-ever score in WODIs. Rotating the strike brilliantly while unleashing boundaries too, she stitched a 113-run stand off 106 deliveries with skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt.Earlier in the competition, against Bangladesh in Guwahati, England had slipped to a precarious 103 for 6, before their former captain took them home with an unbeaten 79.However, it wasn’t just Knight alone who stamped her authority on the game. At a time when India were searching for answers after ‘keeper-bat Amy Jones (56 off 68) and Tammy Beaumont (22 off 43) provided England with a steady 73-run start in 97 balls, Deepti brought India back in the game by scalping both the wickets. Deepti finished with her best-ever figures in ODI World Cups and with 13 sticks in five matches, stands apart as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.After Knight was finally gone – run out due to a brilliant work at deep square leg by Amanjot Kaur, who recovered quickly after a misfield and fired in a pin-point accurate throw in the 45th over – India bounced back in sensational fashion, taking five wickets for 39 runs. In fact, all that England, with their middle-order frailties exposed once again, managed to score, was 42 runs in their last six overs, losing five wickets, with two of them being run outs. Things wouldâ€ve been worse for England had they not managed to take 11 off the final over of the innings, bowled by Shree Charani.

Poll

How do you feel about India’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals after this loss?

Introduced into the attack in the 16th over, Deepti dislodged Beaumont’s leg stump after the batter missed a sweep, thus recording her 150th WODI scalp in her 117th WODI.Making a comeback at the expense of batter Jemimah Rodrigues, seamer Renuka Singh Thakur justified Indiaâ€s decision to play six bowlers by conceding 0-37 in eight overs, though she failed to make an early strike.

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Newcastle United have agreed a move for a hugely promising teenager, as manager Eddie Howe adds exciting talent to his squad.

The Magpies infamously lost Alexander Isak over the summer but managed to improve the depth available, bringing in the likes of Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale, Jacob Ramsey and two strikers in the form of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

With Howe looking to compete on four fronts this season, there is clearly a focus on raising the floor of the Toon squad – and now the club have agreed a deal for another wonderkid.

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Newcastle have had a keen focus on bringing through younger talents since the club’s takeover in 2021 – such as Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall – but unfortunately, many of the youngsters either signed or promoted from the academy haven’t been given integrated at St. James’ Park.

Yankuba Minteh was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest, as the Magpies looked to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), with Eddie Howe even admitting his regret in having to let the latter leave.

Elliot Anderson was regrettably sold (Image credit: Getty Images)

According to Keith Downie of Sky Sports, Newcastle have now agreed to pay £350,000 for Josh Kenchington of Barnsley in a massive statement for the club.

At just 15 years old, 2010-born Kenchington is a two-footed centre-back who already stands at over 6ft tall, and having come through at Oakwell, there are obvious comparisons with John Stones.

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Downie claims in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Newcastle beat the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of the wonderkid, who will move to the northeast and complete his education in Newcastle upon completion of the transfer.

FourFourTwo understands that Kenchington is not in immediate contention for a first-team position, with the club looking to develop him before pushing him into senior football.

Newcastle have agreed to pay £350,000 plus significant bonuses for wonder-kid Josh Kenchington. #NUFC second bid to Barnsley was accepted, after a £275,000 first offer was turned down. Compared to John Stones, Kenchington was playing under 18 football aged just 14.… pic.twitter.com/uQqro1mDMHOctober 17, 2025

The teenager has already played in age groups above his own, however, and represented England’s youth sides.

Newcastle travel to Brighton this afternoon as Premier League action returns.

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Over the past few months there were concerns about AJ Styles retiring soon. At the Crown Jewel pre-show, The Phenomenal One confirmed his decision while getting emotional. He cited that 2026 would be the end of his wrestling career for good.

Before making his WWE debut in 2016, AJ Styles had an exceptional career in TNA Wrestling. Recently, he faced John Cena at Crown Jewel, one last time. The two legends displayed the respect they had for one another, and Cena reflected it in a handwritten note that he made Alicia Taylor read out aloud before the match.

Styles had a WWE tryout in the early 2000s that didn’t work out. He competed on RoH and NJPW, where he joined the notorious wrestling faction, The Bullet Club – the current and former members of which are spread across promotions. In 2002, he signed with TNA Wrestling, a promotion he was associated with for nearly 12 years. In fact, at Slammiversary 2025 in July, AJ Styles returned to his former stomping grounds.

WWE Is Reportedly Planning A Big Retirement For AJ Styles

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, WWE is already rummaging up a mega plan for AJ Styles’ retirement. Sometimes, when wrestlers retire, the companies announce it publicly, or they make their exit quietly. In Styles’ situation, it seems backstage personnel have put on their thinking hats to make his retirement memorable.

“There is a plan in play for how to handle AJ Styles†retirement in 2026. Itâ€s not fully locked in or anything, but the idea is that, ‘Weâ€re (WWE) going to do something.â€â€

– Dave Meltzer
(WOR) pic.twitter.com/DM80wjjDyu

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) October 16, 2025

His Crown Jewel match with John Cena came about after the WWE Universe took to social media to want to see a battle between the legends one final time. A few weeks ago, Styles indicated that a WWE official was out to get him, but there has been no development in that story.

On the upcoming edition of RAW, AJ Styles will team up with Dragon Lee to take on Finn Balor and JD McDonagh for the WWE Tag Team Titles.

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Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon was charged with one count of reckless driving and one count of following too closely, resulting in a motor accident over the summer.

TMZ broke the news that his charges were going to be dropped as he was willing to participate in a special program where he had to meet some conditions. A Stamford judge allowed the former WWE Chairman into an accelerated pre-trial rehabilitation program that would ensure that if McMahon kept his nose clean, donated $1,000 to charity, and adhered to driving lawfully, his case would be tossed out in October 2026.

Fans Greet Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon Outside The Courthouse

Vince McMahon was surrounded by many fans outside the courthouse. The fans apparently wanted to get his autograph, with one X/Twitter user stating that eBay resellers were also part of this group.

They were stalking the courthouse to get McMahon to sign a bunch of stuff. The 80-year-old obliged, quietly signing each of them before walking into the building.

You can WATCH the video in the tweet below:

eBay resellers are stalking the courthouse to get Vince McMahon to sign a bunch of stuff. pic.twitter.com/2BVdKnEhU1

— Pro Wrestling & MMA News (@PWMMANews) October 16, 2025

After Marissa Alter originally posted the video above, many fans online were astounded by the people who seemingly did not find Vince McMahon appalling. Nobody has forgotten the allegations of the Janel Grant lawsuit, which were made public in January 2024, deeply affecting the former WWE CEO’s reputation.

It also forced McMahon to step down from his role as the Executive Chairman of the Board in TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE and UFC.

Interestingly, Brock Lesnar is back on television. He was brought back at SummerSlam to kickstart a program with John Cena, one that culminated at Wrestlepalooza, WWE’s debut show on ESPN. The Beast dominated Cena en route to defeating the 17-time World Champion. Lesnar is expected to do more shows in 2026.

While the former UFC Heavyweight Champion’s comeback sparked controversy, it has proved to be a massive commercial success for WWE.

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Arsenal have been found to have breached FA Cup rules when they hosted Manchester United in the third round of the competition in January.

Mikel Arteta’s side went out at the first hurdle despite Manchester United being reduced to ten men midway through the second half, with Gabriel cancelling out Bruno Fernandes’ opener just two minutes after Diogo Dalot was shown a second yellow card – only for the Gunners to lose on penalties.

An FA statement explained that they had referred Arsenal to the Professional Game Board (PGB) after they were alleged to have breached FA Cup rule 192, which required all home sides to comply with rule 191.

Rule 191 reads as follows: For competition matches other than a semi-final or the Final, the away club shall have the right to claim either:

• (a) up to 15% of the tickets issued (up to a maximum of 9,000);
• or (b) if the Ground is not all ticketed, up to 15% the Ground’s maximum capacity, provided that:
  • 191.1. the tickets are for admission to a fully segregated area; and
  • 191.2. the request for the tickets is made within four days of the relevant draw.

Manchester United fans were left celebrating after they won the tie on penalties (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal were thus required to offer the full 9,000 tickets to Manchester United for the occasion.

However, Arsenal are reported to have only allocated 8,000 tickets to visiting fans, claiming the decision had been taken on safety grounds.

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The PGB found that Arsenal’s decision put them in breach of rule 192 and has hit them with a suspended £500,000 fine.

The penalty will remain suspended and won’t need to be paid as long as Arsenal confirm they are able to comply with the rules this season and follow through with any home games they face in the FA Cup this season.

Arsenal will now have to comply with the rules this season to avoid having to pay half a million quid (Image credit: Getty Images)

The FA Cup third round is set to get under way on the weekend of Saturday, January 10 2026.

Premier League and Championship clubs do not participate in the first or second rounds of the competition, which will be held on the first weekends of November and December, respectively.

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Roman Reigns has hinted at a huge new role in WWE.

For years, The OTC has been the top star in the promotion. Since his days in the Shield faction, Reigns was looked upon as the future face of the company and was provided with ample opportunities. Although he was initially booed by fans and disregarded as the top babyface, Reigns’ resurgence came with The Tribal Chief gimmick that saw him align with Wiseman, Paul Heyman. Since then, Roman Reigns has not looked back and is universally accepted as one of the greatest ever to have laced on a pair of wrestling boots.

Now, it seems, Reigns is eager to pass on his wealth of knowledge as Tribal Chief and take on the role of the Wiseman.

Roman Reigns Hinted At A Wiseman Role In WWE

Over the last few weeks, Reigns has taken a keen interest in Jey Uso and has vowed to unleash the full potential in the star. He has also hinted at how Uso needed to listen to him and filter out any outside noise to remain at the top of WWE. In this regard, he even disallowed Jimmy from intervening.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Reigns further commented on his former Wiseman, Paul Heyman, and hinted that he may be up for taking on a similar role.

He taught me so much. I sat under his learning tree. I caught shade for a long time, so anything he’s teaching these other guys, you know [he’s repeating]. He’s long-winded, so he’ll keep on telling his stories, and he’ll come back to them. I have like a sponge absorbed so much from the former Wiseman that I think he’s gone dumb now. I have become the master.”

“The Wiseman taught me so much and anything that he’s teaching these other guys I already know..

I think he’s gone dumb now and I’ve become the master” ~ @WWERomanReigns#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/6ClBSJ6rVf

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 8, 2025

Roman Reigns did not shy away from stating that over the years, he would absorb all and every information from The Oracle and has now become the master. It will be interesting to note how much Reigns has taken an interest in training Jey Uso, and that he believes he is the master. The OTC could be hinting at gearing up for a new role as the Wiseman and imparting the knowledge to The Usos.

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Jon Moxley is one of Tony Khan’s favorite people that he’s ever worked with in any line of business.

During an interview with 3NT Wrestling, Khan spoke incredibly highly of Moxley’s work in the ring and as a locker room leader. Moxley debuted on the first-ever AEW show in 2019 — and Khan believes Moxley has been the most consistent presence in AEW through its first six years.

“Jon Moxley, since day one, has been one of the most important stars in AEW. But backstage, Jon Moxley’s also — as you’ve correctly assessed — one of the most important people backstage in AEW,” Khan said. “Everybody in AEW has so much respect for Jon Moxley. He arrived in AEW as a huge star. And since we started AEW, he’s been the most consistent presence on the show week in, week out on all of our shows.

“Jon Moxley works so hard. He’s a phenomenal wrestler. He’s a phenomenal leader. He’s a genius about pro wrestling. And Jon Moxley’s one of my favorite people I’ve ever gotten to work with. And I’m really, really proud that Jon Moxley is in AEW. I think he was a fantastic World Champion time after time after time in AEW. Everything he’s done in this company has been to the benefit of AEW. And Jon Moxley’s a phenomenal, phenomenal wrestler.”

Moxley has had four reigns as AEW World Champion. The most recent of those occurred from October 2024 to July 2025, when current champ Hangman Page dethroned him for the belt. Moxley is the leader of the Death Riders, a faction that now consists of Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir, PAC, and the recently added Daniel Garcia.

A singles match between Moxley and Tomohiro Ishii is part of the lineup for tonight’s Title Tuesday edition of Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida.

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291 days later, a former WWE star returned to singles action.

There have been many unique and interesting characters who wrestled in both WCW and WWE throughout the years, among them being Shannon Moore. The 46-year-old competed in WCW from 1999 to 2001, then joined WWF after purchasing World Championship Wrestling.

While at the Stamford-based promotion, he was best known for being “Matt Hardy’s Follower,” being involved in the Cruiserweight Championship scene, and working with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Big Show, JBL, and more. He was released in 2005 but returned in 2006, where he competed in the ECW brand and had an unexpected partnership with Jimmy Wang Yang. However, that was again cut short in 2008.

The former WWE star also wrestled in TNA from 2010 to 2012. After spending time in Total Nonstop Action, he began wrestling in the independent scene, where he remains to this day. Shannon Moore’s recent matches in the indies are for tag team clashes or for multiple people. However, that has since changed.

In a recent Ring of Honor Taping on October 2 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida, fans in attendance shared that Shannon Moore was present to wrestle Blake Christian. However, the former WWE star was defeated.

Scoop #22: Shannon Moore vs Blake Christian pic.twitter.com/za0a5U19eU

— Jacob Cohen (@MrJacobCohen) October 3, 2025

The recent Ring of Honor match marked his first singles match since December 25, 2024, against Elijah at that year’s ALW Reindeer Games at the Space Coast Convention Center in Cocoa, Florida. For this match, it was the former superstar who won.

Shannon Moore Had To Change His WWE Gimmick As It Was Close To CM Punk’s

One of the gimmicks Shannon Moore possessed was his “Punk” look, which even gained him the moniker of Prince of Punk, among many others. However, he wasn’t able to fully express this when he returned in 2006 due to CM Punk’s similar character.

While on Talk is Jericho at the beginning of this year, Shannon Moore shared that after returning to WWE, the company wanted him to work with CM Punk, which he did in ECW. However, whenever Punk was brought in, they had to “squash” his punk character, even if he had been doing it for around six or seven months prior.

Despite this, Shannon Moore thinks the Stamford-based promotion made the right call in picking the current superstar to play the character, as he has made them millions already, and possibly even more.

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On a night when A’ja Wilson struggled to find a consistent rhythm, the Las Vegas Aces were able to steal Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury thanks to Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd off the bench.

After the Aces’ 89-86 victory, head coach Becky Hammon praised the “huge” performance from the bench as being the biggest difference in the game.

“We have weapons. We want to use them all because we’re harder to guard that way,” Hammon said. “It was just a really great time for our bench to come up and have a big game. … Oh my goodness, our bench was huge.”

The Aces got 41 of their 89 points from the bench, with Evans and Loyd contributing 39 of them. They accounted for nearly half of the team’s 33 made field goals, shooting a combined 16-of-29 from the field.

Evans and Loyd were so impactful in the game that Hammon kept them on the court with Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young for the final quarter. It was a brilliant move because Evans, in particular, made a huge difference with nine points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting.

The Aces needed those contributions because they trailed by four entering the fourth quarter. Evans’ second three of the period gave Las Vegas a 78-77 advantage, its first lead since early in the third quarter.

Prior to Friday night, Evans highest scoring outing in the playoffs was 14 points in Game 1 against the Indiana Fever. She dropped 21 against the Mercury. Loyd’s 18-point effort was her highest-scoring game since the regular-season finale.

Las Vegas needed those contributions because Wilson was held in check, at least by her usual standards. The four-time MVP finished with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, though she did add 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Aces were able to steal a win despite the Mercury doing a good job overall. They will look to take a 2-0 lead when these two teams meet in Game 2 at Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

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