Browsing: silence

Santos Escobar Breaks Silence After WWE Exit with One-Word Message

Santos Escobar is officially a free agent following the expiration of his WWE contract at midnight on Monday October 6, 2025. The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion has now been moved to the alumni section of WWE.com, signaling the end of his run with the company.

Escobar also broke his silence with a short but telling social media video, captioned “Palanteâ€â€”a Spanish expression meaning “forward†or “onwardâ€â€”indicating heâ€s ready to begin the next chapter of his career.

As previously reported on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE had been expecting Escobarâ€s exit for some time. According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez, internal preparations were made ahead of his contract expiration. Meltzer noted that multiple people believe Escobarâ€s next stop is AEW, although nothing has been officially confirmed.

“Unless he signed at the last minute, heâ€s done. Theyâ€ve been expecting him to leave for some time… And I do know people there—itâ€s multiple people there—who expect him to go to AEW,†Meltzer said.

Escobar signed with WWE in 2019 after making a name for himself in Mexico as El Hijo del Fantasma. During his time in WWE, he unmasked, formed Legado Del Fantasma, and held the NXT Cruiserweight Title for over 300 days. His final appearance came at AAA x WWE: Worlds Collide in June, and his last match on SmackDown was a loss to Rey Fenix on May 2.

Now that heâ€s officially a free agent, the question is no longer if heâ€s leaving—but where heâ€s going.

Do you want to see Santos Escobar in AEW, back in Mexico, or somewhere else entirely? Let us know your pick in the comments below.

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Ridge Holland Breaks Silence After Brutal Injury at TNA Tapings

Ridge Holland has opened up in a heartfelt video following his Lisfranc surgery after breaking his foot during his September 27 match with Moose at the TNA tapings in Edmonton, Alberta.

Speaking from his hospital bed in Birmingham, Alabama, Holland gave fans a clear picture of his mindset—and itâ€s all about resilience and moving forward. Lying in recovery, Ridge revealed how he was managing the pain and the reality of yet another setback in his wrestling career.

“So just laying here, just taking my painkillers to give me some lovely hydrocodone, which takes the edge off slightly. Oh, man, itâ€s always weird.â€

He reflected on how the last seven years have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, with injuries constantly halting his momentum just as things started to click.

“I was saying to my wife that I must be able to handle all this because for the past seven years itâ€s been a bit of a bumpy ride with the wrestling business. You know, just as Iâ€m starting to get rolling, something happens. Same again this time, you know, TNA, a couple of good matches and then, you know, this happens.â€

Despite the frustration, Ridge said heâ€s using this experience as a teaching moment for his kids—and for anyone else who might be watching.

“But again, we heal, we recover, we march forward, and Iâ€m looking forward to coming back and, you know, getting the best shape of my life. And I guess Iâ€m using this as like all these injuries and all these ups and downs. Iâ€m using it as like lessons for my kids. I guess, than anyone else that wants to, you know, that wants to take notice that no matter what happens to you, really, thereâ€s always a way back if you, if we just believe, you donâ€t even have to have a plan. Everyone always wants a plan, but weâ€re all winging it.â€

He encouraged others to keep moving forward even when thereâ€s no perfect plan in place.

“I think that you just gotta want something and take the first step and then you just pivot and adjust on certain situations, but keep moving forward.â€

Holland also thanked the medical team who performed his surgery and helped him through the process.

“A lot of support, a lot, a lot of get well messages. So I think thanks for them and great, great, you know, service of care from the Andrews Orthopedic Team here in Birmingham, Alabama. They do a lot of work with the WWE, so they truly are the best in the field. So I want to thank Dr. Waldrop and his team for taking really good care of me.â€

He closed his message by talking about his immediate plans.

“And now I just want to get home, see my kids and yeah, Iâ€ve had a couple of days off, like a bit more relaxed with a diet, which has been quite nice actually. Um, so, yeah, not looking forward to this flight home, but needs must. Hopefully this pain will die down in the next couple of days. Yeah, speak soon.â€

Ridge Holland may be sidelined for months, but his words show heâ€s determined to recover and come back stronger.

Do you think WWE and TNA should position him for a major storyline when he returns, or give him a slower rebuild? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

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John Cena Breaks Silence After Final WWE Match Is Announced

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WWE Superstar John Cena breaks his silence after his swan song is made official for December 13, 2025.

The Greatest Of All Time has five more dates left, beginning at Crown Jewel: Perth, where he will lock horns with AJ Styles. Styles addressed their last showdown on Monday Night RAW this week, which was announced out of left field.

After Cena’s trip to Australia, he will make appearances on the November 10 and 17 editions of RAW, set in Boston and New York City, respectively. And then Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29, and finally, Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII on December 13.

WWE has begun heavily promoting The Last Real Champion’s last dance. John Cena had this to say:

“One Last Dance. Final Final 12/13/25,” Cena wrote, ahead of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII in Washington, D.C.

After Wrestlepalooza, where Cena was humbled by a returning Brock Lesnar, John’s near future has become more mysterious, as the major storylines have all technically culminated. The Rock has not been seen on WWE TV since March, and the “Never-Seen 17” title reign ended in August. So, what is next for The GOAT after wrestling AJ Styles in Australia?

Who Does John Cena Have In Mind As A Final Opponent At WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII?

John Cena opened up about his last match on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallona month ago.

He does not mind whoever it is, as Cena noted that all he cares about is leaving the wrestling business better than he found it. He knows whoever WWE decides, that individual will need the rub. With the benefit of hindsight, that individual should benefit from facing The Last Real Champion in the latter’s swan song.

“No, no, I’ve never operated like that. It’s weird cause I’ve always just been that guy. […] I’ve just always kind of been reliable and showing up and doing whatever I’m asked. And I really want this tour to be not only special, it’ll always be special for me because you guys are out there, I want it to be special for the business.

My goal has always been to leave WWE better than I found it. So, whoever they deem appropriate to get that energy, man, I’m cool with that,” John Cena said.

Interestingly, a main event talent in WWE recently called The GOAT’s heel turn during his farewell tour a “wasted opportunity,” while teasing a potential match between the two.

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Basketball

Alabama, Kalen DeBoer Silence Haters with Statement Win over Georgia

Over the course of the last decade or so, stories like this have been about Alabama time and time again.

The flow of this story—the rebirth of the most successful football programs in recent memory following a lackluster result earlier in the year—goes something like this.

Alabama comes into a season with enormous expectations, as it did in 2025.

Alabama loses a game that it likely should have, which it certainly did against Florida State in the team’s opener, a result that suddenly feels like a distant dream.

Then, to tie it altogether, Alabama rallies with an emphatic triumph over a talented team, showing it is still very much alive and present.

We overreact. We recoil the other way. And football life goes on.Â

On Saturday night, playing on the road against unbeaten Georgia, a program it has an abundance of meaningful history against, the Crimson Tide delivered this 24-21 conquest and so much more.

This is the second overreaction, although it should serve as something more than that.

A month ago, we spent a full week dissecting the buyout of Kalen DeBoer. We wondered out loud if Nick Saban would come out of retirement to help his former program. We broke down how the Crimson Tide would afford this buyout—shoutout to monthly installments across many years— and if the program could move on from him as soon as a loss to Georgia, which seemed almost assumed at the time.

Alabama v Georgia

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This was the conversation. After the Seminoles dismantled Alabama in the opener, we questioned the coach. We questioned the talent. We questioned the quarterback. We questioned the direction of a team still adjusting to life after Nick Saban.

In fact, forget questioning. We buried this team.

We overreacted, as we often do, taking one outcome to the extreme. We decided then and there that this team was bad, and we did so without much thought.

A month later, Alabama is suddenly a threat to win every game it plays. Its quarterback, Ty Simpson, is now the second choice on the Heisman odds board. Three touchdowns against a top five team on the road will do that.

The weapons are healthy and robust. And the defense, which was the story in Week 1, appears to have turned a corner. All the negatives and concerns we had when the month began have largely been addressed as September ends.

We owe this team an apology, although we’ll never do that. We hate admitting when we’re wrong, and we certainly hate admitting when we’re wrong when it involves a program like this one—especially this specific one.

To be clear, that doesn’t mean all is perfect and the path is clear. Let’s address this very notion before things spiral too far out of control in the other direction.

Next week, the Crimson Tide welcomes Vanderbilt to town. Last year, the Commodores upended Alabama in one of the season’s most meaningful results. The following week, they head to Missouri to take on a feisty, unbeaten team.

There are still home games against Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma. There are still road trips to South Carolina and Auburn.

This is one of the most difficult schedules in the country, and the likelihood of another loss, given how much talent they’ll encounter, is likely. Such is life in the SEC in 2025, which has more top-to-bottom depth than any conference in America.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 27 Alabama at Georgia

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If nothing else, however, the result against Georgia was a reminder of sorts that could provide a handful of lessons.

A team’s season will never be defined in Week 1, no matter how big those moments feel at the time. For as tempting as it might feel to draw dramatic conclusions based on the outcome of 60 minutes, sometimes those emotions and reactions should be tempered.

Nothing about Alabama is tempered, nor will it be for the foreseeable future, whether the team is being coached by Saban or DeBoer. This program is a product of its own success, which is why these emotional seesaws swing so freely.

For at least one night and one week, however, Alabama is right where it needs to be. It has the right coach and the right quarterback, and it has all the ingredients a program needs to win big in the SEC and beyond.

Perhaps that will change. In fact, it could as soon as next week. If it does, the masses will flock to scream its demise from the rooftop. Then, when things are right again, the cycle will continue.

For at least right now, on the heels of a season-saving performance and a brilliant football game, those can wait.

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