Browsing: Years

Bobby Horne, best known for his run in WWE as Mo of Men on a Mission, has passed away.

Book Pro Wrestlers on Facebook announced on Sunday that Horne had passed away at 58 years old. It was reported earlier this month that Horne was in the ICU struggling with a severe blood infection and pneumonia. He had previously underwent a kidney transplant in 2018 and later battled a COVID-19 infection in 2022.

Horne entered professional wrestling in 1991, teaming with Nelson Frazier (Viscera/Big Daddy V). By 1993, the team signed with the WWE becoming Men on a Mission under the names Mabel (Fraizer) and Mo (Horne). They were managed by Oscar, who would rap on the way to the ring. They briefly won the WWE Tag Team titles by defeating The Quebecers at a house show on March 29, 1994, only to lose them two days later in a rematch.

The following year, the two turned against Oscar and became heels, with Mabel winning the 1995 King of the Ring tournament. Mo, who would become known as Sir Mo, would serve as Mabelâ€s manager until the two left WWE the next year. Mo later appeared in the USWA and continued to wrestle on the independent scene.

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There are legitimate questions about what the Portland Trail Blazers will look like on the court in a few years and which parts of their young core will be part of that future, but an athletic scoring wing and an All-Defense forward can fit in any plan.

Which is why Portland locked down two key young players on Sunday with rookie contract extensions. The Blazers and Shaedon Sharpe agreed to a four-year, $90 million extension, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. The Trail Blazers have also agreed to a four-year, $82 million contract extension with defensive forward Toumani Camara, a deal also broken by ESPNâ€s Charania.

This is fantastic work by the Portland front office — they have locked up their two best wing players for the next five years at a price that will be less than 15% of the salary cap (hat tip to Keith Smith).

Sharpe is an athletic wing who averaged a career-high 18.5 points a game last season, adding 4.5 rebounds a night, but seems poised for a breakout season. He needs to improve his efficiency — 31.1% on 3-pointers last season and a 55.1 true shooting percentage that was a tick below the league average — and on the defensive end, but if he does, this will be a steal of a contract. His athleticism and ability to throw down dunks are not in question.

A lot of people around the league thought Sharpeâ€s extension would end up north of $100 million, to get him at $90 million for the four years is a win for the Trail Blazers.

The Camara extension locks up a 25-year-old All-Defense Team player from a year ago who has been improving on offense each season. Camaraâ€s max extension would have been four years, $87 million, and that would have been a fair price. To get him on a contract worth less than $21 million on average is a great deal from Portlandâ€s front office.

Camara was almost a throw-in part of the three-team trade that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee and brought Deandre Ayton to Portland, but he ended up being one of the best parts of it for the Blazers. On top of being an elite defender, Camara is improving on offense and averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc last season.

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If you are well-versed in the Book of Tiger, certain figures from his (nearly) 50 years on this earth are so familiar to you no surname or ID is required. Tida and Earl, of course. Stevie and Steiny; Butch, Hank. (For those late to the party: caddie, agent, swing coach, swing coach.) His kids, Sam and Charlie. I was on the scene for Tiger’s second U.S. Amateur title and 14 of his 15 wins in Grand Slam events. If “Jeopardy!” ever had a category called Tiger Times, I like my chances. So you can imagine my shock when I sat in a cart at the Ryder Cup last month and interviewed a man for two hours who has worked with (and on) Tiger Woods for 27 years and I had never heard of him in my life!

The man’s name was (and is) Dr. Tom LaFountain. He’s a chiropractor and the director of the PGA Tour’s chiropractic services. Our matchmaker was Johnny Wood, the caddie-turned-broadcaster who served as the U.S. team manager for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, where LaFountain, who is 69 and white-haired, was in charge of all manual sports medicine for the U.S. team. “He’s probably worked on every great player of the past 30 years or so,” Johnny told me. By which he meant Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus as senior golfers; Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Davis Love in their long primes; Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and scores of other Ryder Cup players through the years.

Tiger Woods got on the PGA Tour in 1996, by way of sponsor exemptions and his out-of-the-box superior play. Tom LaFountain, soft-spoken and country-strong (upstate New York), got on Tour the next year, by way of his work with all manner of athletes, most especially the legendary Olympic speedskaters Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen. Manual sports medicinewas not a phrase in circulation then, and isn’t exactly coffee-shop ready now. But it is very much a real thing. When LaFountain and the dozens of trainers and chiropractors under him (many of them coming to Tour events on a freelance basis) get to know their patients through their hands. No gloves, ever.

Their exams go from toes to neck, by way of hand. LaFountain can encounter left-ankle tightness and ask, “Are you feeling something in the first foot of the backswing?” How’d you know?Chances are good that whatever the issue is, there’s an app for that. LaFountain and his people will do their thing, and leave the player with homework, too. The player wants the work because he wants to shoot lower scores and be pain-free doing it.

More than once, a touring pro has said to LaFountain, “You’ve got good hands.” It’s a favorite compliment. He finds issues with his hands and he finds fixes problems with his hands. Shaking hands with him is like shaking hands with Babe Ruth’s baseball glove. LaFountain, in the 1960s, was a Little League legend, for his homerun prowess, in greater Utica, N.Y., where he still lives half the year. He spends the other half at the Bear’s Club, a high-end housing development in South Florida with a Jack Nicklaus golf course. Nicklaus pronounces the chiropractors last name in the French way, La-fon-taine. LaFountain pronounces it the Utica way, as in water fountain.

When LaFountain got on Tour, players were still drinking Cokes at the turn in the name of back-nine energy boosts. It was a different day. “When I got out here, there was a fitness trailer with a Universal Gym in it,” LaFountain said. A Universal Gym is that gleaming chrome weight-lifting contraption with various cables that is the centerpiece of every high school football-and-wrestling training room. “Now we’re getting to where we will have three trailers at tournaments, one for therapy, one for fitness, one for recovery.”

Tom LaFountain is the director of the PGA Tour’s chiropractic services.

courtesy tom lafountain

The original trailer was a trailer, about what you’d see at a campsite. Now the trailers are 53-feet long and eight-feet wide when they’re on the road (racking up tens of thousands of miles a year, driven by professional drivers out of North Carolina). Once these monster trucks are at tournament sites, they expand like an accordion and triple in width. The Tour spends millions on this whole operation, and gets that money back and then some by way of sponsorship. When Woods turned pro, you associated the PGA Tour with Buick and other GM cars. Now you’re more like to associate it with the Mayo Clinic, official medical source for the PGA Tour. As LaFountain sees it, it is impossible to overstate the influence Woods has had in the transformation of the Tour player into an athlete in year-‘round training.

There’s only going to be more of that. As Tour fields become smaller, and professional golf finds itself awash in money and outside investors, the approach to player health is undergoing a radical change. The day of the golfer having his own health-and-wellness entourage at every tournament is all but over. “It’s interesting, because these players are individual contractors, but our approach now is more like what you see on an NFL team.” When a field has only 70 or 80 players in it, it’s in the PGA Tour’s interest to keep everybody healthy and performing at their highest level. Some will see this as evolution, an adaptation (to use a favorite phrase of corporate America) of “best practices.” Others as another knife in the former cowboy spirit of the pro golfer. Regardless, it’s where the game is, bending in the direction of science over art.

At the Ryder Cup, there was a trainer just for the caddies. At every Tour event, there’s a Tour-sanctioned nutritionist. You want fuel (aka food) advice, the Tour has an expert on hand with answers. And the actual food to go with it.

“Tiger nailed that, years ago — he was ahead of everybody,” LaFountain said. He described Tiger’s early-career Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team rooms. LaFountain would see players going for a second dessert while Woods was eating grilled chicken and a boiled potato and calling it a night. Everybody saw it. Many changed their ways. Now diet is a way of Tour life. Exercise is a way of Your life. Deep-tissue massage, the same. Chiropractic adjustments, the same. Three-minute plunges in 50-degree water, the same. (“You do hear some f-bombs,” LaFountain said.) Compression therapy boots. Zero-gravity chairs. Stem-cell injections. Along the way, a sea-change in dialogue.

Player: Do I have to come in even if I don’t hurt?

Physio: Yes.

Player: Am I on a ball count?

Physio: Always.

Tiger Woods’s Ryder Cup absence begs question: When, if ever, will he return?

By:

Michael Bamberger

Player: Am I heading toward surgery?

Physio: Not if I can help it.

This month, Tiger Woods underwent back surgery for the seventh time. At the end of the year, he turns 50, which means that 2026 would be the first year where he is eligible for the Senior PGA Championship (at Concession Golf Club next year, the week after the Masters), the U.S. Senior Open (at Scioto Country Club in late June) and the Senior British Open (at Gleneagles in late July). Nobody is really talking about Tiger Woods the golfer these days. Well, not nobody. Tom LaFountain is.

“Tiger is so competitive, he has so much drive, he is willing to work so hard, you can be sure he’s going to do everything he possibly can to get himself ready for those events,” LaFountain said. “He is someone who is always looking for a new challenge.”

In early March of 2019, Tiger Woods was deeply focused on the upcoming Masters. He told LaFountain, “You’ve got 33 days here.” Thirty-three days to help Woods get his body exactly where it needed to be as he tried to win his fifth Masters. As everybody knows, Woods did. Afterward, Woods said, “Tom, thanks for helping make this happen.”

Tiger Woods has good hands. We all know that. Evidently, Tom LaFountain does, too. Who knew?

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com

KLADNO, Czech Republic — At age 53, Jaromir Jagr began his 38th professional season by playing on the fourth line for his hometown Kladno Knights in a 3-1 victory over Vitkovice on Friday night in the Czech league.

The former NHL great logged 10:08 minutes ice time and joined the power play unit in a season debut that had been delayed because of a muscle problem.

It was Kladnoâ€s 15th game of the season. Jagr was 53 years, 244 days old.

Jagr made his debut for Kladno at age 16 and returned to the club in 2018 when the Calgary Flames released him. Jagr remains second on the NHLâ€s all-time points list, only trailing Wayne Gretzky.

Jagr, whose 766 NHL goals rank him No. 4 all-time on that list, played 11 seasons in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

Jagr didnâ€t talk to media after his seasonâ€s debut Friday.

“He makes his presence felt in the locker room,†forward Jakub Konecny said. “We have a lot of fun with him.â€

Until early this year, Jagr served in dual roles as Kladno player and owner, splitting his time between chasing sponsors and dealing with administrative duties and ice time.

Jagr acquired full ownership in 2017 and sold a majority stake in Kladno last January to boost the team financially.

Then, he said he would be happy to complete the season by trying to lead Kladno to the playoffs for the first time.

They didnâ€t reach the playoffs. So, heâ€s got another chance this season.

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

Tuesday nightâ€s (10/14) episode of NXT on The CW broadcast network averaged 690,000 viewers, compared to 625,000 the prior week and the 572,000 the week before that. The current ten-week rolling average is 666,000.

One year ago this week, NXT drew 639,000 viewers. The ten-week rolling average a year ago was 684,000.

Two years ago this week, NXT drew 798,000. Then ten-week rolling average was 757,000.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Did you know you can read an ad-free, silky-smooth-loading version of this website with a PWTorch VIP Membership? Also, unlock 35+ years of archives including nearly 2,000 PWTorch Weekly Newsletters dating back to the late 1980s, hundreds of retro radio shows from the 1990s, and two decades of podcasts including Post-PPV Roundtable Podcasts dating back to the mid-2000s. Plus, new VIP-exclusive articles and podcasts throughout the week, fully compatible with the native Apple Podcasts app: CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON VIP MEMBERSHIP

Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

In the key 18-49 demo, it drew 0.12 rating, compared to 0.12 and 0.10 the prior two weeks. The ten-week rolling average is 0.14.

One year ago, it drew a a 0.19 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.18.

Two years ago, it drew a 0.23 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.22.

The announced matches and segments were…

• Battle Royal for shot at NXT Womenâ€s Championship (winner to face Jacy Jayne at Halloween Havoc)
• Blake Monroe vs. Zaria
• Josh Briggs vs. Matt Cardona
• El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Lexis King

Check out our RATINGS HEADQUARTERS PAGE for more ratings reports.

(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)

Follow us on Blue Sky, a great Twitter alternative, as we shift away from TwitterX…

(search “pwtorchâ€)

(search “thewadekellerâ€)

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Jack Draper will no longer work with the man who coached him to the Indian Wells title as James Trotman wants to prioritise time with his family.

The British number one has already hired Jamie Delgado as his head coach for next season but had been hoping there would also be a role for the man with whom he has enjoyed much success over the past four years.

Trotman says it has become increasingly difficult to “juggle” Draper’s career with his own family life.

“I’ve made the decision that four years has been a great run,” Trotman told BBC Sport.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was getting increasingly difficult for me juggling the demands Jack deserves as the player that he is – and also being a father and a husband.

“I need to start to get those energy levels back up and have a little bit more normality – watch my son play football on a Sunday, go on some family holidays, have a bit more of a normal life.”

Trotman says he first spoke to Draper about his future after Wimbledon, having felt mentally and physically tired over the previous year.

The pair have been working together this week, with 23-year-old Draper returning to the practice court after resting the left arm injury that ended his season early.

If the bruising in his arm heals as expected, Trotman will head to San Diego for some warm weather training with Draper and Delgado at the end of November.

But after that, he will return to his job as an LTA men’s national coach.

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Ronda Rousey has opened up about one of the scariest parts of her MMA career and why she thought her fighting days were over.

For years, the former UFC superstar believed she was suffering from long-term concussion damage after repeated blows left her temporarily blind in the cage. Rousey revealed during her interview on The Breakfast Club that every impact felt like a career-ending moment.

“I had so many concussions since I was a kid and they were getting progressively worse… it got to the point where like any kind of impact at all, I was basically losing my vision.â€

According to Rousey, Dana White encouraged her to take part in a long-term fighter study, which led to a game-changing trip to the Cleveland Clinic. Thatâ€s where she finally got answers she wasnâ€t expecting.

“Dana had me be part of this long-term fighter study… so he sent me to the Cleveland Clinic. The doctor there was the first person to actually give me good news. He said that I used to get migraines as a kid, and people who get migraines are more susceptible to concussions—but he thinks whatâ€s happening is that Iâ€m not actually getting concussions all the time. He said my brain looks better than it should.â€

The doctor explained that Rouseyâ€s frightening in-fight symptoms may not have been concussions at all but something different entirely.

“He thinks that when Iâ€m getting hit, Iâ€m not experiencing concussion symptoms—itâ€s migraine symptoms. Because you can have a migraine without a headache. So I get hit, I lose a big chunk of my vision, I lose depth perception, my ability to track moving objects, or think quickly—and I think, ‘Oh, Iâ€m knocked out. Iâ€m out on my feet.†But heâ€s like, ‘Youâ€re not stumbling around. I donâ€t think itâ€s a concussion. I think itâ€s a migraine.â€â€

For Rousey, this revelation changes everything. What she once believed was permanent neurological decline may actually be treatable.

“So it got to the point where I felt like I couldnâ€t fight safely because if I got hit, I could basically go blind. But now… there are things I can do about it—like address it nutritionally. Itâ€s not the nail in the coffin I thought it was. That was actually really great news. I just donâ€t know what Iâ€m going to do with that yet.â€

Rouseyâ€s admission sheds new light on the end of her UFC career and proves that fans never knew the full story behind her struggles. While a return to fighting remains uncertain, the revelation about her health offers her hope she never expected.

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Matt Hardy just got emotional—and rightfully so. On October 15, 2025, he marked 33 years since he and Jeff Hardy first entered the world of professional wrestling, and he took to Twitter to lay it all out.

Sharing a powerful before-and-after photo of the Hardy Boyz—from their very first promo pic in 1992 to their latest defense at TNA Bound For Glory—Matt opened up about the surreal journey he and his brother have taken from their hometown in Cameron, North Carolina, to becoming wrestling legends.

“If you told young 1992 us we would experience all the success we have, we wouldnâ€t have believed it.â€

He didnâ€t stop there. Matt poured his heart out, thanking the fans, TNA, and a higher power for keeping him and Jeff going all these years.

“Grateful for our loyal & dieHARDY fanbase. Grateful for the opportunities weâ€ve earned & been given. Grateful to God weâ€re as healthy as we are after all the punishment weâ€ve put our bodies thru.â€

Matt also mentioned how proud he is that their work has inspired generations of wrestlers and fans. Itâ€s clear this milestone isnâ€t just about titles or longevity—itâ€s about impact.

“Grateful weâ€ve been able to inspire multiple generations.â€

He wrapped it up with a thank you to the fans whoâ€ve supported them since day one, saying their journey has been nothing short of a dream come true.

“Thank you for letting these 2 kids from Cameron, NC live their childhood dreams & thrive in life. We are both SO blessed. With that said, itâ€s time to go to work in year number 34.â€

From ladder matches to comeback stories, the Hardy Boyz have done it all—and according to Matt, theyâ€re not done yet.

Whatâ€s your favorite moment from the Hardy Boyz over the past 33 years? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

October 15, 2025 10:25 pm

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Kota Ibushi will not be seen for a long time.

The AEW star has been providing updates on social media after undergoing surgery for a broken fumer recently. Earlier this week, he had posted photos with the company president Tony Khan who visited him in the hospital.

The Japanese star took to Instagram to provide some more updates on Tuesday, though this time a disappointing one for his fans. Kota Ibushi revealed in his latest post that it’ll take him a year to recover from the surgery. He will, however, not return to the ring for 2 years:

“My current condition. One year to fully recover. Two years until I can step into the ring again. I believe in myself more than the doctors. I absolutely don’t believe in that. I know I have amazing DNA that gives me the ability to heal!!”

Ibushi suffered the injury during a singles match with Josh Alexander during last Wednesday’s Collision taping. AEW aired the match as part of the show on Saturday. It saw Kota landing awkwardly outside the ring during a top rope spot after which he was counted out:

This is disappointing development for the fans of the 43-year-old as he had only returned to action in June this year. Ibushi had been out of action for nearly 2 years before that. With his age, it seems unlikely that we’ll see him being featured on top of the card upon his return.

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Former WWE ID Womenâ€s Champion Kylie Rae has shared an inspiring personal milestone with fans, celebrating four years of sobriety.

On X (formerly Twitter), Rae reflected on her journey, writing, “4 years sober. Iâ€ve lost things I thought I needed — and gained things I never thought Iâ€d find. Gratitude doesnâ€t even cover it. Celebrate Recovery.â€?

4 years sober.?

Iâ€ve lost things I thought I needed. —
And gained things I never thought Iâ€d find.??

Gratitude doesnâ€t even cover it. ?
Celebrate Recovery.

— KYLIE RAE (@IamKylieRae) October 13, 2025

Raeâ€s message comes during a time of major life transitions. Last month, she revealed she is pregnant with her second child, confirming the news after vacating a title on the independent circuit. Rae is engaged to fellow wrestler Isaias Velazquez, with whom she shares a previous child.?

Earlier this month, Rae also confirmed that her WWE ID contract was not renewed, officially ending her run with the developmental program.

In her announcement, Rae expressed appreciation for her time with the company, stating, “Iâ€m incredibly grateful for the opportunities, memories, and people I met along the way… As for the next chapter, Iâ€m so ready to meet you! (Once I pop this baby out of course).â€?

Rae made history as the inaugural WWE ID Womenâ€s Champion during SummerSlam weekend in August before stepping away from the ring due to her pregnancy.?

Her four-year sobriety milestone adds to a year of reflection and renewal for the beloved wrestler, who continues to receive support from fans across the wrestling community.

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