Browsing: Walker

Hank Walker & Tank Ledger Set to Work Non-WWE Wrestling Event

NXT is expanding its international reach again — and this time, Hank Walker and Tank Ledger are heading to Japan. The former NXT Tag Team Champions have officially been announced for Pro Wrestling NOAHâ€s Sunny Voyage card on October 26 in Kasukabe, Japan.

Walker and Ledger, who captured the NXT Tag Team Titles at Stand & Deliver this past April and held them until August, will take on the high-flying duo of Dragon Bane and Alpha Wolf. The match will be part of a stacked lineup and marks another chapter in NXTâ€s growing partnership with NOAH.

The card will stream live on Wrestle Universe at Midnight ET on Saturday, October 26 — which will be Sunday afternoon in Japan.

This move continues NXTâ€s trend of sending talent to compete in Japan. Last year, Josh Briggs and Tavion Heights took part in NOAHâ€s prestigious N-1 Victory Tournament. More recently, Charlie Dempsey and Harlem Lewis also made the trip for a series of NOAH shows, signaling WWEâ€s increasing willingness to showcase their developmental talent overseas.

Walker and Ledger have only been wrestling since 2022, but theyâ€ve made fast progress as a team. Their inclusion in this card proves WWE sees them as valuable prospects ready for international exposure.

Full Sunny Voyage Lineup:

  • KENTA, Tetsuya Endo, Ulka Sasaki & HAYATA vs. Kaito Kiyomiya, Harutoki, Alejandro & Kai Fujimura
  • Yoshiki Inamura vs. Shuji Kondo
  • Naomichi Marufuji, Kenoh & Daiki Odashima vs. Masa Kitamiya, Takashi Sugiura & Tadasuke
  • Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf
  • AMAKUSA vs. Junta Miyawaki vs. Black Menso-re
  • Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Atsushi Kotoge
  • Mohammed Yone & Hajime Ohara vs. Eita & Manabu Soya

With more NXT talent stepping into Japanese rings, fans are keeping a close eye on how these cross-promotional moves could reshape careers — and possibly hint at something bigger between WWE and NOAH.

October 17, 2025 11:40 am

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Golf

Ryder, Walker, Cole, Higgo atop PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms

JACKSON, Miss. — Sam Ryder played bogey-free and Danny Walker finished with a pair of birdies, each posting a 7-under 65 to join a four-way tie at the top Thursday at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Eric Cole managed 10 birdies, which helped offset a double bogey from the trees late in the round, and Garrick Higgo continued to show strides since a torn labrum slowed his progress after a win earlier this year. They were also at 65.

Ryder is at No. 110 in the FedEx Cup standings, while Walker is at No. 104. The Sanderson Farms Championship is part of the Fall Series where players who did not reach the PGA Tour’s postseason have to finish in the top 100 to keep their full cards.

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“I’m very aware where I’m at. You know it all year,” Ryder said. “You get a text every single week that tells you exactly where you are on FedEx. You can’t hide from it. But it doesn’t dictate my schedule. If I was in a better position, I would still like to think that I would be working hard on my game and trying to win and check other boxes.

“Right now, I’m trying to play for my status but still trying to play for bigger goals, too.”

Walker tied for sixth in the Players Championship, but he showed up at the Country Club of Jackson having missed eight straight cuts to fall out of the top 100.

He bounced back from a soft bogey on the 15th to finish with two straight birdies. Much like Ryder, he’s trying not to get wrapped up in scores and position.

“It’s really hard when you’ve missed a bunch of cuts to not go into a week and all you’re thinking about is hoping you make the cut, and that’s kind of where it got to,” Walker said. “When all you’re thinking about is results … it really got in my head, and I felt like going into this week I finally got in a place where I just wasn’t really worried about that.”

He had two weeks off because of the Ryder Cup and worked hard at learning to trust his game and see where it takes him.

NCAA champion Michael La Sasso was chasing the leaders until he was assessed a two-shot penalty after his par on the sixth hole. The PGA Tour said he violated Rule 8.1a for improving conditions of the shot he was playing.

It was not clear what he did. A tour official said La Sasso, who is playing on a sponsor exemption, declined to speak to the media.

Mac Meissner (No. 86 in the standings) and defending champion Kevin Yu were at 66. Yu won last year to earn a spot in the Masters. Winners of Fall Series events no longer get an automatic invitation to Augusta National.

Rasmus Hojgaard was at 69, coming straight from New York and Ryder Cup victory in his debut for Team Europe. He is at No 87 and now turns his attention toward keeping his card.

“Still a bit low on energy, so I’m going to manage myself the next couple days and hopefully restore some of it,” Hojgaard said.

Basketball

Jazz, Walker Kessler remain apart on contract extension, he appears headed to restricted free agency

In an NBA where a rim-protecting big man who shows some athleticism, can set screens and roll hard to the rim — and then finish — has real value, which is why a lot of teams have called and tried to pry Walker Kessler out of Utah. To no avail, he has remained the Jazzâ€s starting center.

That doesnâ€t mean Utah and Kessler are ready to ink his next contract. The sides remain well apart on a deal, and all signs point to Kessler playing out this season then becoming a restricted free agent next summer, reports Tony Jones at The Athletic.

“According to sources, [the Jazz] highly value Kessler and see him as a cornerstone to the future…. So, if the Jazz value Kessler so much, why not extend him now and lock him into a five-year deal?

The answer is simple: money. And the NBA is a business.

The Jazz see themselves trying to end their time near the bottom of the Western Conference standings as soon as next summer. By not signing Kessler now, he would have a cap hold of $14.9 million next summer, which would give the Jazz enough space to keep Kesslerâ€s hold and still do work in free agency.

If the Jazz signed Kessler to a contract extension worth a hypothetical $25 million a season, then next summer Kessler would count for $25 million against the salary cap, reducing the money the Jazz would have in free agency. Because Utah has Kesslerâ€s Bird rights, they can make whatever moves they want next summer and then re-sign Kessler (and go over the cap to do it).

The risk is that other teams have cap space next summer and could come in and try to poach Kessler with a contract that Utah doesnâ€t want to match (the Lakers have had interest in him before and will have cap space next summer). That is not likely, however, regardless of how many other teams have cap space. Ask this yearâ€s restricted free agents Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas about that — restricted free agency favors the team that has the rights.

Kessler played in 58 games last season averaging 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game. He is a plus defender in the paint who doesnâ€t shoot a lot, but he does heâ€s efficient shooting 66% last season.

For this season, Kessler stays in Utah and plays for his next contract, which also most likely will be in Utah. If he builds on those numbers from last season, it just gets more expensive for the Jazz to keep him.

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