Browsing: status

Andrade El Idoloâ€s AEW return earlier this month was supposed to kick off a major storyline with the Don Callis Family, but instead itâ€s been nothing but legal drama and confusion.

First, reports claimed WWE enforced a surprise non-compete clause, then word spread that Andrade might be locked into a contract issue keeping him out for up to a year. Now, his latest move has only deepened the mystery.

According to Fightful Select, Andrade was scheduled to wrestle for WWC in Puerto Rico, including a Universal Title match. But despite being at the show, he wonâ€t actually compete.

“One of the bookings that Andrade scheduled before his legal situation with WWE started was WWC in Puerto Rico. Fightful Select can confirm that Andrade is in fact in Puerto Rico at the show, but isnâ€t working the scheduled match for the WWC Universal Title. Weâ€re told that he was doing whatever else he could to make good for the booking.â€

This comes amid reports that Andrade is somehow still under WWE contract following his termination, a situation being called “very confusing.†That technicality could explain why he wasnâ€t able to step into the ring in Puerto Rico, even though he still showed up for the event.

AEW has kept quiet publicly on the matter, but whatâ€s clear is that Andradeâ€s big return has been stalled again. With WWE clauses in play, AEWâ€s legal oversight being questioned, and Andrade stuck in limbo, fans are left wondering if heâ€ll even be able to wrestle for AEW in the near future.

Do you think Andrade should fight WWE in court to clear his status, or should he wait it out and return when the legal mess is over? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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WWE is just a few hours away from presenting SmackDown with fallout from Crown Jewel. WWE’s Creative Writing Team spent the afternoon finalizing blockbuster plans for tonight’s show, and now sources have revealed more on what’s in store.

SmackDown will also feature more on the road to Saturday Night’s Main Event and Survivor Series: WarGames. It was previously announced that Cody Rhodes will open the show. The Undisputed Champion is set to speak after his Crown Jewel main event loss to Seth Rollins. It was also announced that Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss will defend the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Zaria and Sol Ruca.

Jacob Fatu was previously announced to face Drew McIntyre on tonight’s SmackDown. However, the match is up in the air due to a report on Fatu suffering from a non-wrestling injury that could keep him on the shelf well into 2026, but that was not confirmed, and WWE has continued to advertise the first-time-ever match. While not confirmed either, sources earlier revealed plans for a major return and title match on SmackDown with Ilja Dragunov challenging Sami Zayn for the United States Championship.

Match And Segment Order For Tonight’s WWE SmackDown

WWE officials have finalized the lineup for tonight’s live SmackDown from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. PWInsider reports that a segment with Aleister Black and Zelina Vega is planned for early in the broadcast as a major follow-up to last week’s on-screen pairing. The real-life married couple is set for a push on the blue brand.

The only match that has not been mentioned before is Los Garza vs. The Motor City Machine Guns, scheduled to air before the main event. Unless some sort of injury angle is planned to write Fatu out of the storylines, or if plans change at the last minute, current plans as of this writing call for his match with McIntyre to be tonight’s main event.

The lineup is subject to change, but the following match and segment order has been decided on for tonight’s SmackDown:

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Colt Knost, the former PGA Tour pro turned CBS Golf analyst and radio/podcast host, turned heads earlier this week when he revealed that, after 18 years as a professional golfer, he had applied to regain his amateur status from the United States Golf Association.

Two decades ago, Knost was an elite amateur; in 2007, he joined Bobby Jones and Jay Sigel as the only players to win three USGA titles in the same year. (In Knost’s case, those wins came at the U.S. Amateur Public Links, the U.S. Amateur and, as part of a team effort, the Walker Cup.) For five weeks that year, Knost held the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before making his first start as a professional at the Valero Texas Open.

Knost joined the PGA Tour in 2009 and went on to notch nine top-10 finishes in his career and more than $4 million in earnings. He played his last full-schedule season in 2015-16 and retired from competitive golf following a missed cut at the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Two years later, he joined CBS as a full-time analyst.

When Knost, who now is 40, announced his desire to regain his amateur status, he said his decision was partly motivated by wanting to qualify for the U.S. Mid-Amateur, but that no one should be under the illusion that his game still packs the punch that it did when he was in peak form. On Wednesday, on Knost’s Sirius XM show, Knost added that he also has dreams of one day captaining a U.S. Walker Cup team, and that being an amateur “would probably help” his chances. None of that rationale, however, is likely to assuage critics of Knost’s (or, for that matter, any other longtime pro’s) move back to amateurism, some of whom have been popping off on social media.

“Total bullsh-t,” John Ziegler, a two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier who hosts The Death of Journalism podcast, wrote on X. “You were a pga tour pro. Now, on a lark you want to take a coveted spot away in a USGA championship from an actual amateur. … You should know better and should be ashamed.”

Should he, though?

The rules permit changes of heart, and Knost is far from the first high-level pro to return to his amateur roots. Gary Nicklaus, Jack’s son, did it in 2007. Dillard Pruitt was another; after a decade-long PGA Tour run in the 1980s and 90s, Pruitt was granted reinstatement and promptly won the Sunnehanna Amateur and Canadian Amateur. John Peterson, a former pro who finished 4th at the 2013 U.S. Open, also has returned to paycheck-less golf. At this year’s U.S. Mid-Am, six of the eight quarterfinalists — including eventual winner Brandon Holtz — were former pros, indicating the top shelf of amateur golf is littered with players who once played for cash.

“We’re seeing more and more kids turn professional and give it a go,” Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s chief governance officer, said on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio this week. “Therefore we’re seeing more and more applications coming back to us. Once you have success and once you get one of those cards, man, it’s really, really hard to keep it.”

According to the USGA, roughly 800 U.S.-based pros — including not only tour professionals but also the club and teaching variety — annually apply for reinstatement, and virtually all are approved. Which isn’t to say every candidate zooms back to the amateur ranks. Far from it. On Thursday, I spoke with Craig Winter, the USGA’s senior director, Rules of Golf and amateur status, to better understand how the process works.

How do pros apply for amateur reinstatement?

Pros who want their amateur status back need only answer a couple of dozen questions on an application available on the USGA’s website; the application fee is $200.

Among the information candidates must supply are the names of any tours on which they have competed, their results, cuts made and prize money won. The app also asks for “two people who can attest to the accuracy of the information provided.”

“The more somebody puts into an application, the less we have to do research ourselves,” Winter said. “And frankly, the less back and forth there is when the application matches what we see in public records. It’s a simpler process for us.”

Winter said the review process for a player of Knost’s pedigree is more rigorous.

“We’re trying to make sure that our decisions, especially with that type of a player, is as like as it can be to others,” he said. “And so we’re trying to get a full understanding of what the playing record was.”

Who makes up the applicant pool?

Applicants run the gamut from established tour pros to dreamers who never made it to teachers who ply their trade at clubs and driving ranges. Few applicants have had sustained success at a high level, Winter said, but those who have should expect a longer waiting period before they are granted reinstatement.

There’s no precise formula, because how could there be?

“We try to look at players that have that have had success and try to put them kind of in similar buckets,” Winter said. “Like being treated alike is probably the best way to put it.”

Tell us more about these waiting periods!

The minimum waiting period for a pro seeking reinstatement is six months from their last “professional action,” meaning, for example, a tournament start or a paid lesson. But for more decorated tour pros, the “cooling-off” period, as Winter phrased it, can take years.

“The more success you have, the more that you would be asked to wait from whenever your last breach was,” Winter said, referring to breaches of the rules of amateur status (i.e, competing as a pro, accepting a prize that is not permitted or holding a teaching job). “And the weight that we put on that is — it’s hard to just kind of put into words, specifically, but if you’ve played on a major tour and had membership, you’re going to wait quite a bit longer than someone who played mini-tour golf and won cash prizes or prizes above a thousand dollars, the limit in the current rules.

Phil Mickelson calls this golf-etiquette breach a ‘huge problem.’ Is it?

By:

Josh Sens

“We’ve had players that have waited eight years before, and that’s, again, from the date of the last breach. I think what often is a lightning rod for the public out there is when they hear somebody applied and they got reinstated right away. That kind of misses the facts of, well, when was the last time they breached the rules? And it may have been quite some time ago. I think in Colt’s case it’s been quite a while.”

It has, indeed — more than five years since his last start as a pro, meaning when the USGA rules on Knost’s reinstatement, he’s unlikely to have more than another year or two tacked on to his waiting period.

Has a pro ever been denied reinstatement?

No!

At least not as far as Winter can tell.

“We’ve done some looking and never seen anything to that effect in in our museum archives,” he said.

If everyone gets approved, why bother with the review process at all?

Take it away, Mr. Winter!

“Well, we want to have a process by which we can look, compare and ultimately have some system in place [by which], as I mentioned before, like situations are treated alike; we feel there’s value in that. The player coming off the PGA Tour and jumping right back into amateur golf, we don’t feel like that’s the right thing for the amateur game. So there is a waiting period that acts as a cooling off of sorts for players of that caliber, and it does help in in a way protect the amateurs that have been lifelong amateurs.

“And to say that we’ll let everybody in isn’t quite accurate. There would be a lot of players that could apply that would be told no. Those that are close to that edge, they are waiting a long time. Eight years is a long time to not be able to play an amateur golf competition after you ultimately hang up the professional golfing life.”

What would happen if, say, Scottie Scheffler, wanted his amateur status back?

Scheffler falls into what the USGA calls its “national prominence category” — in other words, players of repute. For pros in this class, the governing body’s decision is easy.

“I am very confident that Scottie, should he choose to apply or someone in his situation, he would receive a phone call that would say, ‘Scottie, unfortunately you do fit the national prominence category,’” Winter said. “‘And that means you’re not eligible to get your reinstatement back.’”

Finally..something most golfers can do that Scheffler can’t!

Matt and Jeff Hardyâ€s TNA run has been one of the companyâ€s biggest draws since their return last year—but recent reports raised questions about their future. With their contracts reportedly set to expire this fall, Matt Hardy has finally addressed where things stand.

Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Matt responded to the rumors that he and Jeff were nearing the end of their current TNA deals. While he didnâ€t confirm anything outright, Matt strongly hinted that a new agreement might already be in place—just not a long-term one.

“We may have re-signed already — who knows? I donâ€t know if Iâ€d say 10 years though. I donâ€t think you could talk me into that unless youâ€re giving me that Saudi Arabia money. We might just squeeze in a couple years instead. Thatâ€s kind of what weâ€ve talked about and what weâ€re doing.â€

The line about “Saudi Arabia money†was clearly a joke, but it drove home the point that the Hardys are not interested in signing massive multi-year deals at this stage in their careers. Instead, theyâ€re looking to keep things flexible while still contributing meaningfully to the TNA brand.

Mattâ€s comments suggest that both he and Jeff want to stick around, but on terms that allow them creative freedom and space to manage their schedules and health. Considering Jeff recently suffered a head injury at Bound For Glory, shorter-term deals might be the right call for both brothers.

So while thereâ€s still no official confirmation from TNA, all signs point to the Hardys staying put—for now.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

Do you think the Hardys should lock in long-term with TNA? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

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TNA Wrestling is always going through changes, and it seems that the Knockouts Division is seeing a couple big contracts expire. That being said, it is possible that the two sides may continue working together.

Sean Ross Sapp reported on Fightful Select that several TNA contracts have recently expired. Among them are the deals of The IInspiration. Cassie Lee and Jess McKay are former WWE Superstars and just recently competed on TNA Wrestlingâ€s side in the ShowDown event on NXT.

Last week, it was reported that their contracts were nearing expiration, which caught many by surprise given that the duo had just won the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. It will be interesting to see if Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay go somewhere else, or if they stay in TNA Wrestling.

The IInspirationâ€s deals officially ended after Bound For Glory, but both sides are said to be interested in continuing the partnership. An extension is expected, so fans may not lose them on their television sets right now. If anything, their status as champions might get them more screen time.

Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay have reportedly been working under short-term contracts, a structure they are known to prefer. That is interesting, consider their notable name status coming into that deal with TNA Wrestling.

We will keep a close eye on this situation, because you never know what can happen. If anything, it certainly shows that you never know what can happen in pro wrestling, especially where contracts are concerned.

Whatâ€s your take on the IInspirationâ€s current contract situation in TNA Wrestling? Do you think they are better off staying put? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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Oct 12, 2025, 12:11 AM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes are preparing for a long road trip with concerns about the status of defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

He missed a large portion of the third period and all of overtime in Saturday night’s 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“He’s getting looked at,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’ll know more about his status Monday. He came up a little gimpy.”

Carolina begins a six-game road trip Tuesday night at San Jose. The Hurricanes will go more than two weeks before playing again on home ice.

Slavin, 31, logged less than 4 1/2 minutes of ice time following the second period Saturday night. He was on the ice for more than 20 minutes in Carolina’s season-opening 6-3 victory over New Jersey on Thursday night.

Slavin, who didn’t play in the preseason, has appeared in more than 75 regular-season games in each of the past four seasons. He had three consecutive seasons earlier in his career when he played all 82 regular-season games.

He’s a two-time winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. He signed an eight-year contract in the summer of 2024.

The Hurricanes beat Philadelphia on Seth Jarvis’ goal with 16.7 seconds left in overtime.

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WWE

As the end of 2025 is rapidly approaching, it also means that TNA are nearing the time of year where a number of their performers are at the end of their respective contracts. In 2024, TNA bid farewell to the likes of Josh Alexander, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Rhino, KUSHIDA, and Jade Chung, with Jordynne Grace wrapping up her time with TNA at the beginning of 2025, and in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer assessed the direction of some current TNA stars who are nearing the end of their deals.

It was already established that the likes of The Hardys and The IInspiration are nearing the end of their deals and that TNA would like to retain their services given that they are both in possession of the TNA Tag Team and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. With that said, another group who are nearing the end of their deals are The Rascalz, Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz, who now have the chance to reunite with former stablemate Wes Lee as he was recently released by WWE.

One man who Meltzer believes could be on the way to WWE is Laredo Kid, who recently announced that he had left TNA after working for the company on and off since 2017. Meltzer believes that Kid is signing a deal with WWE as part of AAA, a company Kid has been a part of long before WWE purchased them earlier this year, and even before TNA announced a working partnership with them in the 2010s. Meltzer claims that Kid will most likely be reuniting with Octagon Jr., who is also under a contract with WWE through working for AAA.

There is one performer who Meltzer can see moving away from TNA and any company associated with them and that’s Cedric Alexander. Given his history with the team now known as The Hurt Syndicate in AEW, combined with how highly MVP has spoken about him in recent months, that AEW would be the logical destination for Alexander. Meltzer sees the up side in this move as it allows The Hurt Syndicate to work trios matches without forcing MVP to wrestle, and Alexander could work a strong match with a lot of the AEW roster thanks to his history with a number of them in PWG and ROH. However, Meltzer doesn’t think AEW needs to sign anyone right now unless they are a needle mover, which Alexander isn’t, meaning that he would get lost in the shuffle if a Hurt Syndicate reunion didn’t work out.

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TNA Bound for Glory 2025 is right around the corner, and fans are gearing up for whatâ€s shaping up to be a major night in pro wrestling. From dream matches to championship bouts and hardcore chaos, the card is stacked. But amid the excitement, fans had been buzzing about one potential surprise that now appears to be off the table.

According to Fightful Select, AJ Styles is not expected to make any kind of surprise appearance at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view. The outlet clarified that thereâ€s been no indication internally of Styles being involved, despite some viral speculation online. Apparently, a few Facebook accounts stirred up false rumors that Styles might show up—news that has since been debunked.

This report should put the rumors to rest, especially considering Styles just wrapped up an emotional final showdown against John Cena at WWE Crown Jewel. That match delivered everything fans wanted in a rivalry-ending clash, and Styles seems to be keeping his focus within WWE for now.

Full card for Bound for Glory still offers plenty for fans to dig into:

• TNA World Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Mike Santana
• Tables Match for the TNA & NXT Tag Titles: The Hardys vs. Team 3D
• TNA Knockouts World Title: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Indi Hartwell
• TNA X-Division Championship: Leon Slater (c) vs. Jeâ€Von Evans
• Call Your Shot Gauntlet
• TNA International Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs. Steve Maclin
• Hardcore War: Order 4 vs. The System
• Tessa Blanchard vs. Gia Miller
• TNA Hall of Fame Ceremony (Pre-show): Mickie James, Angelina Love & Velvet Sky
• TNA Knockouts World Tag Titles (Pre-show): The IInspiration (c) vs. The Elegance Brand

Whether itâ€s Trick Williams defending his TNA World Championship or the Hardys clashing with Team 3D in a throwback tables match, this card promises plenty of must-see moments—even without an AJ Styles appearance.

TNA Bound for Glory airs October 12, 2025, live from the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts. The pre-show starts at 6:00 PM ET, with the main show going live at 7:00 PM ET on the TNA+ streaming platform. Be sure to tune in live and follow along with Ringside News for full play-by-play coverage of the event.

Are you disappointed AJ Styles wonâ€t be part of Bound for Glory this year? Which match are you looking forward to the most? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

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Brandon Holtz secured the biggest victory of his career by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur last month, although his title — and the resumes of those who advanced deep into the championship — unfurled a larger conversation in the golf world.

Should former pro golfers be allowed to regain amateur status?

The latest mid-am champ was the guest on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast, and a portion of the conversation focused on that controversial topic.

The U.S. Mid-Am is one of the USGA’s signature championships, and it’s for amateurs 25 years or older with Handicap Indexes of 2.4 or lower. Any professional has the ability to reapply for amateur status — as long as it’s approved by the USGA. Although the fact that 14 of the final 16 players in this year’s mid-am were former pros didn’t sit well with everyone.

But Holtz would like to offer an opinion on those who think former pros should not be granted amateur status.

“The U.S. Mid-Am was basically built for this in my opinion. … I’m a working man, I got a couple of kids, got a wife, like, for me, as far as competition is concerned, what else am I going to play in?” Holtz said. “My Bloomington normal city event, a town of 160,000 people? That’s fun don’t get me wrong and it’s great, but what else can I play in if we don’t have the mid-am?”

Holtz, 38, played college basketball at Illinois State, pursued pro golf for six years and regained amateur status in 2024. He’s now a realtor and lives in Bloomington, Ill.

“If you really want to get into the logistics of it all, 2010 to 2014, I played full time, sure if you want to call it full time — working, traveling on my own, doing everything on my own with a little help from my dad,” he said. “But we are losing money. I kept [my professional status], but I had flexibility in the job that I had to be able to go play in hopes of, ‘Hey, wife, I’m going to go play this weekend; hopefully I can bring a few bucks home.”

There is no one set of rules for every pro trying to regain amateur status though. The USGA reviews each application and makes a ruling based on things like career longevity and success.

Although Subpar co-host Drew Stoltz said that’s not a perfect system either.

“There’s a period of time that goes by where what you did 10 years ago as your job, it does not matter anymore,” Stoltz said. “There’s a point where it’s irrelevant almost. I’m not saying first year out after playing pro you should be able to play amateur events, but once you start working and you have kids and are playing once a week, it’s like, yeah dude, nine years ago I played a lot of golf, but a lot has happened since then.”

Added Holtz: “Rules are rules too, right? Follow the rules and it is what it is.”

Andrade made his big AEW return on the October 1 episode of Dynamite, but fans looking forward to seeing him at WrestleDream are going to be disappointed. His status for the pay-per-view has now been confirmed, and it rules him out completely.

World Wrestling Council announced on Instagram that Andrade will be heading to Puerto Rico on October 18 to challenge Xavant, known as the Nationâ€s Hero, for the WWC Universal Championship. The bout is set to headline WWCâ€s Halloween Wrestling Xtravaganza at the Pepín Cestero Arena in Bayamón, a venue celebrated as the cathedral of Puerto Rican wrestling.

“Official, for the WWC Universal Championship: Direct from AEW, The Idol, Andrade, challenges the Nationâ€s Hero, Xavant. WWC presents Halloween Wrestling Xtravaganza, Saturday October 18th at 8:00pm in the cathedral of Puerto Rican wrestling, the Pepín Cestero de Bayamón.â€

The problem is that October 18 is the same night AEW WrestleDream is taking place. With both shows running in the evening, Andrade wonâ€t be able to appear on AEWâ€s card.

While his absence from WrestleDream is a letdown for AEW fans, the WWC title match is a major spotlight for Puerto Rican wrestling. Andradeâ€s challenge against Xavant has already been billed as a marquee showdown, and a win could only boost his momentum for when he returns to AEW.

Do you think Andrade made the right call focusing on the WWC title match instead of WrestleDream? Should AEW have pushed harder to keep him on their show? Share your thoughts in the comments and let us know how you see this playing out.

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