Browsing: Notes

Image: JJ Williams

AEW stars spoke to the media following AEW WrestleDream.

Brodido, Kris Statlander, Kyle Fletcher, and Tony Khan all took questions following the events of Saturday’s AEW WrestleDream pay-per-view in St. Louis, Missouri. Here are the highlights:

Bandido and Brody King

• When asked about his upcoming match against Kazuchika Okada on Wednesday, Bandido said they were going to see who is the best.
• Talking about his struggles to get where he is now, Bandido said he had a concussion at the start of the year but everyone still believed in him. He is blessed for his life and for himself as a person, heâ€s really happy with everything and hopes to do the best for all the fans.

Kris Statlander

• Statlander was asked if she wanted to headline Full Gear next month against Mercedes Mone and have it be a title for title match. She said that while sheâ€d love that, itâ€s okay if it isnâ€t. This is her moment to beat her, sheâ€ll do it any time of the week.
• When asked how she reinvents herself, Statlander says she’s still in the process of things and commented how it isn’t nice to shame someone for not knowing who they are immediately upon their debut on a national stage.
• Statlander mentioned that Marina Shafir might be someone to challenge her for the title, but she is open to any and all challengers, even Wheeler Yuta.

Kyle Fletcher

• Fletcher was asked if this was it between himself and Mark Briscoe. He replied that the score seems to suggest that, but things change in pro wrestling constantly.
• When asked about his World Championship aspirations, Fletcher said that he wanted to focus on the TNT title. He does want to be the greatest of all time, so itâ€s absolutely in his mind, itâ€s just a matter of when.
• He says he has not checked in on Will Ospreay and immediately asked for the next question.
• Regarding next challengers for the TNT title, Fletcher said heâ€ll be at Dynamite on Wednesday and anyone that faces him will meet the same result.

Tony Khan

• Khan called this event one of the greatest shows the company has held.
• Renee Paquette mentioned that Jon Moxley’s arm was bleeding following the show as the fish tank got him really bad.
• Khan said Lou Theszâ€s wife Charlie enjoyed the show and was blown away, saying he was glad she was there live.
• When asked about the Amazon Prime issues, Khan said that was something on Amazon’s end but thankfully other feeds were fine. He was dissapointed that both Death Before Dishonor and this show, two of his favorite shows, had feed problems.
• Khan said Bryan Danielson had a family obligation and thatâ€s why he wasnâ€t at the show tonight, saying it was probably best to take that commitment considering the main event.
• Regarding another cross-promotional event during Wrestle Kingdom weekend, Khan seemed to insinuate that the weekend should be focused on Hiroshi Tanahashiâ€s retirement. He said that Konosuke Takeshitaâ€s win was a big deal, putting over his history with the company and said that Takeshita was an AEW guy.
• Regarding a future Okada vs. Takeshita title for title match, Khan said it would be a very interesting thing to happen, but has no control over the IWGP World Championship in NJPW. It would be something to keep an eye on. Heâ€s excited about Bandido vs, Okada this Wednesday on Dynamite.

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News and notes from Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode which aired early internationally.

Aleister Black and Zelina Vega —

Real-life spouses Aleister Black and Zelina Vega aligned in WWE storylines on Friday’s SmackDown from Perth, Australia.

Vega provided a distraction in the SmackDown main event on behalf of Black in the Last Man Standing match between Black and Damian Priest. The distraction from Vega allowed Black to throw a fireball at Priest and come away from the stipulation match with a victory.

The Street Profits —

For the second time, The Street Profits have reverted to their best-known WWE theme music.

The duo of Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins entered to “Bring the Swag” for their Tag Team title match against The Wyatt Sicks on Friday’s SmackDown, the song the pairing originally used in NXT in 2017.

The Wyatts retained the Tag titles.

Returns —

Long-absent WWE stars Shinsuke Nakamura and Tama Tonga made their returns to the promotion as well on Friday’s SmackDown, the go-home show for Saturday’s Crown Jewel PLE.

Next week —

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu was set up for next week’s SmackDown in an angle on Friday’s show as well.

Our full report from Friday’s show is available here.

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The Buffalo Sabres tried to return the favor after the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated them at home on Wednesday, but the clu surrendered a 4-2 lead in the third period, allowing power plays goals from Rickard Rakell and Sidney Crosby to tie the game, and Crosby to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 victory with his second of the game nine seconds into overtime.

Jiri Kulich scored twice, Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker added singles for Buffalo, and Alex Tuch had a pair of assists in the contest. Alex Lyon allowed two goals on 13 shots in the opening 40 minutes, but Alexandar Georgiev relieved Lyon in the third period and faced 17 shots. The Sabres end the preseason with a record of 3-2-1 and will have to cut down to 23 players by Monday afternoon.

Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, defenseman Michael Kesselring, and winger Jordan Greenway will likely not be available for the season opener against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center on Thursday, and could be placed on injured reserve to help get the Sabres down to 23.

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In other news, the Philadelphia Flyers placed Buffalo native and former Sabre Dennis Gilbert on waivers on Saturday. The 28-year-old played 25 games for the Sabres last season before being included in the Josh Norris – Dylan Cozens trade with Ottawa. Other former Buffalo players that have been on the waiver wire and cleared are Casey Fitzgerald (NY Rangers) and Kale Clague (Winnipeg).

Ex-Sabre forward Tyson Jost was claimed by the Nashville Predators earlier in the week after being placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram  @MikeInBuffalo

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SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley dissects the latestKnicksnews ahead of their 2025-26 season opener and answers a reader’s question on the team…

Deuces Wild

Miles McBride looks like he’s ready for the regular season. He scored a team-high 12 points on seven shots in 21 minutes during the Knicks’ preseason win over the Sixers in Abu Dhabi. He was active on both ends of the floor, finishing with three steals and five rebounds (two offensive).

McBride hit two of his four three-point attempts and looked comfortable and confident with the ball in his hands. Obviously, you shouldn’t make too much of what you see in preseason. But his play is worth watching because of the roster decisions ahead for the Knicks.
If the Knicks want to keep both Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon on the roster, they would have to trade a player. The trade is necessary because they need to create enough room under the second apron to keep both players.

Trades involving McBride, Pacome Dadiet or Tyler Kolek are the most direct paths to shedding that salary (though if the Knicks traded Kolek, kept both veterans and made no other trades, they would not be able to sign another veteran during the season).

I’d still expect the Knicks to let things play out during camp/preseason before they make a move to keep both Brogdon and Shamet. But if I’m placing a bet at the start of the preseason, I’m still betting that both Brodgon and Shamet – if healthy- are on the regular season roster. This Knicks team has a great opportunity to be playing into June. That’s why I think they’ll ultimately go with veteran depth, in Brogdon and Shamet.

So, who would they trade to make room for the vets? Moving McBride would get the job done, but I’d be surprised if New York chose to move him amid the roster crunch. The Knicks really value McBride and key stakeholders believe that they need the fifth-year guard on the roster in order to reach their goals.

Opposing teams are actually hoping that the Knicks make McBride available. The 25-year-old is in the second year of a three-year, $13 million extension. He’s valued highly by multiple teams around the league. His production, age and contract situation are all attractive. The Knicks also value him highly and have not been entertaining offers to trade at this point, per people familiar with the matter.

Starting Mitch

Knicks head coach Mike Brown started Robinson at center in the preseason opener and he looked good. He disrupted things on defense and finished with five offensive rebounds in 18 minutes. He had 16 rebounds overall (though it should be noted that the Sixers shot below 34 percent from the field in the first half).

Still, it had to be encouraging for the Knicks to see Robinson on the floor and productive in the preseason. He missed most of the regular season last year while recovering from offseason surgery. When healthy, Robinson has a clear impact on the game. If the Knicks start Robinson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns in the regular season, it will be a significant change from last season.

Last year, the Knicks stuck with a starting five of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Towns for most of the season. They inserted Robinson into the starting lineup midway through their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Pacers.

Robinson is also in the final year of his current contract. If healthy, he will get significant offers in free agency next summer. The Knicks can sign him to an extension during the season. The last time he was extension eligible, Robinson entered free agency and was ultimately re-signed by the Knicks.

I don’t think the lack of an extension indicates that the Knicks don’t value Robinson. The club sent at least one member of their coaching staff to work with Robinson on-site in the offseason.

Do u have concerns Brown may be trying to a put a square peg in a round hole. They may not be athletic enough to succeed w/that tempo. Don Nelson tried something similar in 97 & it ended quickly & badly. Remember? Got to have the right personnel for that style? – @JeffGlotzer

This is an interesting point and it’s something that an opposing front office brought up recently. They wondered if the Knicks had the personnel to play fast. Obviously, Brown wants to push the pace. It will be interesting to see if this team is actually equipped to play fast or if Brown needs to adjust his expectations on pace of play.

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 A new patch has gone live in NHL 26.

This update consists largely of visual refreshes and tunings.

The lone gameplay issue that was fixed was an issue in Ones Eliminator where idle players were not kicked out of the match.

These edits occurred across all leagues. The Minnesota Wild and Philadelphia Flyers had their scoreboards updated, while the two along with the Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks, had their center ice artwork updated.

Center ice artwork was also updated for ECHL and CHL teams.

New jerseys were added to the Carolina Hurricanes, Seattle Kraken, Ottawa Senators, and Chicago Blackhawks.

The ECHL’s Greensboro Gargoyles had their new jerseys added, while multiple teams in Liiga, the SHL, and the NL had jerseys updated.

Artwork changes related to the Boston Bruins logo on hats in WoC and a missing pixel in the jersey number 8 were addressed.

Crashes, UI and chemistry issues, and missing text were addressed in Franchise Mode.

An injury symbol not showing up at appropriate times and crashing issues were fixed in World of Chel.

A full list of changes can be seen on EA’s official post here.

For more NHL Gaming news make sure you bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site or follow our Google News Feed.

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MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. — The St. Louis Blues
practiced Wednesday with as much of their opening night lineup as
possible, with a few exceptions, and the purpose was to get it ready
with the regular season opener just over a week away on Oct. 9 at
home against the Minnesota Wild.

But
the first practice group will be one that is utilized on Thursday
when the Blues play the second-to-last preseason game, and last home
preseason game, against the Ottawa Senators.

“Not
definitively but like 95 percent of it, yes,†Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.

Jake
Neighbours and Alexey Toropchenko each was left off the top group
with what Montgomery called general soreness. Neighbours in fact
skated with the extra group following the main group, but
Toropchenko, who toe-picked in the first period and fell hard
backside into the boards, did not skate.

“Weâ€ve
got to get the continuity of our lines and everybody being together,â€
Montgomery
said.
“The last two home games, we had the (Robert)
Thomas
power play unit playing and last game we had the (Dylan)
Holloway-(Jordan)
Kyrou
unit playing together and we wanted to give them both most of the
power play time and tomorrow night, weâ€ll do our usual one minute,
one minute. Weâ€re not getting a lot of power plays but that seems
to be the way the league is going.â€

Neighbours
would have been slotted alongside Brayden Schenn, but it was Mathieu
Joseph there on Wednesday, with Nick Bjugstad, a center by trade but
someone versatile to play either spot, on the right wing, a position
the Blues are eager to see someone grab.

“All
along, we were going to play him a couple games at center, a couple
games at wing,†Montgomery
said of Bjugstad.
“That was part of it. Weâ€ve been putting everybody there kind
of-sort of with Schenn and Neighbours; heâ€s a little sore today so
we didnâ€t put him out there, but he usually would be playing.â€

The
job seems wide open.

“Until
we find one,†Montgomery
said.
“I think players have had good moments, players have had off
moments, so to answer your question, I donâ€t think anyoneâ€s
clearly grabbed it, no.â€

Bjugstad,
signed to a two-year, $3.5 million contract on July 1, doesnâ€t mind
whatever spot the Blues put him.

“I
told them Iâ€m comfortable at either spot,†Bjugstad
said.
“It depends on how the lineupâ€s sitting, what the needs are
obviously from that standpoint. For me, Iâ€ve done enough of both at
this point. Center is the natural. Thatâ€s what I grew up playing
obviously and was drafted us, but I donâ€t know. Iâ€m indifferent
Iâ€d say on wherever Iâ€m at. Iâ€ll go wherever. I made that clear
Iâ€m just trying to help the team. Wherever that is, whatever that
fit is, Iâ€ll do it.â€

Bjugstad
has played in two preseason games, and although itâ€s been more
bottom of the lineup with younger linemates, there seemed to be more
offensive bite Wednesday.

“I
thought he was good out there,†Montgomery
said.
“I noticed a lot more offensive plays happening. Now maybe thatâ€s
because he was with Schenn, I donâ€t know. But it seemed like he was
involved with a lot more offensive opportunities.

“He
made a high-end pass on the one drill that we did where he
toe-dragged and went backhand to the backdoor to ‘Snuggyâ€. Those
are the kind of plays I hadnâ€t seen before, so it looks like heâ€s
pretty comfortable at right wing. I talked to him before training
camp began and he said heâ€s comfortable at center or right wing.â€

If
the Blues can get Bjugstad

Also
a versatile choice: Oskar Sundqvist, who has experience at either
center or wing. Sundqvist was centering Milan Lucic and Nathan Walker
on Wednesday.

“Heâ€s
an option,†Montgomery
said.
“We know he can play there. His defensive stick is so good down low
and he covers over for people. Itâ€s hard to get away from him being
there as a coach.â€

–
– –

Donâ€t
discount the seventh defensive spot being an open competition this
late into camp.

And
itâ€s Hunter Skinner thatâ€s making
things very interesting for Matthew Kessel, the assumed seventh D-man
heading into training camp.

“Everythingâ€s
a battle. Itâ€s training camp,†Montgomery
said.
“The people that go out and grab it, itâ€s like third-line right
wing, have we had someone grab it yet? No, so thatâ€s why weâ€re
continuing to look at people. We know what our top six is going to
look like. We know what our top eightâ€s going to look like.â€

As
for Kessel?

“Heâ€s
had some really good moments,” Montgomery
said.
“Last night, I thought he was good red line in. I thought red line
towards our net, there were sometimes he could have made more
assertive, more aggressive plays to end plays, and thatâ€s something
I feel has been Kesselâ€s issue, probably why heâ€s been in and out
of the lineup is because of that. Heâ€s a great kid, heâ€s working
on it and he continues to work hard. Heâ€s doing a good job.â€

We
know who will not be starting here. Not this season, anyway, is 2023
first-round pick (No. 29 overall) is Theo Lindstein, who is playing
in North America for the first time. The lefty will be
Springfield-bound at some point.

“This
is a tough situation,†Montgomery
said.
“When you come over for your first time, youâ€re in your first
(season), not only is he getting used to the pace of play and smaller
rink, but heâ€s getting used to living in North America for the
first time. So thereâ€s a lot going on. I think heâ€s had days
where heâ€s been really good and heâ€s had days where he looks, I
donâ€t know if overwhelmed is the right word, but he looks like a
deer in headlights at times because thereâ€s a lot being thrown at
him.â€

Observations From Blues’ 5-3 Preseason Loss Vs. Stars
ST.
LOUIS – Dylan Holloway scored
twice, but the St. Louis Blues are now winless in four preseason
games after a 5-3 loss against the Dallas Stars at Enterprise Center
on Tuesday.

Former Blues First Overall Pick Announces Retirement After 17 NHL Seasons
Former 2006 St. Louis Blues first overall pick Erik Johnson has retired from professional hockey after 17 seasons in the NHL.

Blues Prospect Wins KHL Rookie Of The Week For Second Consecutive Week
St. Louis Blues prospect Mikhail Fyodorov has won the KHL rookie of the week for the second consecutive week.

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News and notes stemming from Sunday morningâ€s NJPW Destruction in Kobe.

New IWGP Tag Team Champions were crowned at Destruction, with The Knockout Brothers (Yuto-Ice & OSKAR) defeating Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi to win the titles for the first time. They pinned Ishii after they hit their finish, the KOB. After the match, Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura came out and confronted the new champions, setting up a potential title match down the road.

Other matches were also set up during the show. After Boltin Oleg defeated Don Fale to retain the NEVER Openweight title, EVIL attacked him and made his claim for the title by laying out Oleg with the Everything is Evil. After the opening bout, DOUKI made it clear he wanted the next shot at Desperadoâ€s IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. The two had a match earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom, but it ended early after DOUKI suffered an elbow injury early into the match.

In the co-main event, Gabe Kidd defeated Shingo Takagi to retain the IWGP Global Championship. After the match, Yota Tsuji, who was successful against David Finlay in the previous match, came out and challenged Kidd for the title at King of Pro Wrestling on October 13.

Pro Wrestling NOAH stars also appeared to promote the group’s upcoming Wrestle Odyssey event on October 11 at Sumo Hall. After Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Great-O-Khan, Kaito Kiyomiya came out and asked to team with him at the upcoming show, which Tanahashi accepted. Later in the night, NOAHâ€s Eita superkicked Hiromu Takahashi after he successfully retained the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taiji Ishimori. The two are planned to square off for the title at Sumo Hall.

âš¡ï¸DESTRUCTION in KOBEâš¡ï¸

GHCジュニアヘビー級é¸æ‰‹æ¨©è©¦åˆçµ‚了後ã€æ¬¡æœŸæŒ‘戦者 @Eita_Luchador ãŒä¹±å…¥â€¼ï¸#njpwworld ã§é…信中📡
視è´ï¼†ç»éŒ²â©ã€ŒNJPW WORLDã€ã§æ¤œç´¢#NJPW #njdest pic.twitter.com/8PtKT8dikA

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) September 28, 2025

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Notes from Saturdayâ€s NXT No Mercy event.

The big news coming out of No Mercy came from NXT General Manager Ava, who announced the NXT Invasion special for October 7 on The CW. Two Survivor Series-style matches will take place, one with men and the other with women. Stars from both promotions such as Myles Borne, Lash Legend, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, and Mike Santana all expressed interest in participating.

Invasion? Count me in! An Invasion can be defined as an unwelcome intrusion. Well, be prepared to welcome the current @ThisIsTNA International Champion, and the #KingofTNA back to @WWENXT this Tuesday!

— 👑 Frankie Kazarian 👑 (@FrankieKazarian) September 28, 2025

Lola Vice didnâ€t end up winning the NXT Womenâ€s Championship on Saturday thanks to a masked person drilling her with a running kneestrike as she was recovering on the outside. Vice managed to enter the ring to avoid a count-out, but ended up walking into a rolling encore by Jacy Jayne, who retained the title. Earlier in the night, Laney Reid was interviewed and revealed that she was wearing a foot cast, putting her out of action. Vice ran into Lane and the two exchanged words.

Ethan Page was also victorious at No Mercy, defeating Tavion Heights to retain the North American title. As he was celebrating in the ring, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. appeared on the video screen. He said that while Page had his eye on the AAA Latin American title, he had his eye on the NXT North American title.

The two met earlier this month at Worlds Collide, where Wagner emerged victorious in a four-way match that was for the Latin American title.

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News and notes from Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode including a Randy Orton title match tease, a surprise US title challenger, and new number one contenders.

Randy Orton —

Orton made the save for Cody Rhodes as he was being menaced by The Vision’s Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed at the direction of Paul Heyman. Orton picked up the WWE title belt and stared at it, hinting at a future title challenge against his former protege in Rhodes.

Je’Von Evans —

On the same night he was named as the next challenger for TNA’s X-Division Championship for Bound for Glory, Je’Von Evans answered Sami Zayn’s United States Championship open challenge in a losing effort on Friday’s SmackDown.

The Street Profits —

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins of The Street Profits defeated Carmelo Hayes and The Miz to earn the next shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship on Friday’s show. The Tag titles have been held by Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy of The Wyatt Sicks since they defeated the Profits for them in July.

Booker T —

Booker T filled in for Corey Graves on commentary as it was announced that Graves will miss “weeks” of shows selling injuries sustained when Brock Lesnar attacked him on last week’s SmackDown.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax vs. Jade Cargill —

The main event WWE Women’s title three-way between Stratton, Jax, and Cargill fell apart towards the end of the contest. Cargill was busted open while working with Jax.

Later in the bout, Jax didn’t kick out on a pinfall attempt but the referee held up the count as though Jax did kick out.

Stratton retained the title and will face Stephanie Vaquer for the Crown Jewel Women’s Championship at the PLE in Perth, Australia on October 11.

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Notes from Fridayâ€s TNA Victory Road event.

Along with a new TNA Knockouts Champion, a new International Champion was crowned on Friday. Kazarian emerged as the new champion after Steve Maclin was distracted by AAAâ€s El Mesias, who appeared at ringside. Maclin took out Mesias with a dive, but immediately got back up. That gave Kazarian an opening, kicking the ropes as Maclin was re-entering the ring then followed up with a slingshot cutter to become the new International Champion.

Earlier in the night, Mustafa Ali faced off against Moose, with the winnerâ€s team getting the advantage in the upcoming Hardcore War bout at Bound for Glory next month. The finish came when the belly dancers for Aliâ€s entrance surrounded the ring. One of them snuck up from behind and low blowed Moose, allowing Ali to hit the 450 splash for the win, giving his team the advantage heading into Bound for Glory.

Originally, the Elegance Brand (Heather & M by Elegance) were set to defend the Knockouts Tag Team titles against The IInspriation on Friday. However, after Ash by Elegance announced she would have to step away from in-ring competition and vacate the Knockouts title, Santino Marella announced the Knockouts Tag Team title match would be moved to this Thursdayâ€s Impact Wrestling.Â

A battle royal took place instead, with Kelani Jordan and Lei Ying Lee qualifying for the title match later in the night, with Jordan becoming the new champion.

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