Month: April 2021

After months of build and a few physical confrontations with The Miz, fans finally got their first look at rapper, singer, songwriter, and now professional wrestler, Bad Bunny, competing inside a WWE ring at WrestleMania 37.

After Damian Priest teased starting the match, Bad Bunny took the tag and hopped into the ring to square off with Miz. Bunny had his fair share of ups and downs throughout the match, taking the brunt of the beating from Miz and John Morrison, but showed off his fair share of offense before making the hot tag to Priest.

With Priest in the ring, Bunny stole the show, joining his partner to connect on stereo Falcon Arrows before climbing to the top rope and taking out Miz and Morrison on the outside.

Miz dropped Priest with the Skull-Crushing Finale, but Bunny made the save to keep his team in the match. After getting pulled off the apron by Morrison, Bunny laid him out with a Canadian Destroyer. To close out the match, Priest tagged Bunny in, who landed a flying crossbody on Miz to pin the former WWE champion.

It was clear from the opening bell that Bunny had put in a ton of work to get ready for WrestleMania and the match didn’t disappoint. Here’s what Miz told Uproxx earlier this week about Bunny’s work ethic in the build to ‘Mania.

“He loves WWE. He’s a huge, huge fan and he wanted to train. So I guess he’s been training the past couple of months and from what I’ve heard in the locker room, I don’t think any other celebrity has done the work he is doing. He literally came to a WWE ring and trained after winning a Grammy. He went to the Grammy’s, did a performance and then came to WWE ring the next day to train. This guy is dedicated and he’s hardworking.”

WrestleMania 37’s second night takes place on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Peacock.

Actress and writer Charlyne Yi publicly criticized James Franco earlier in the week, and on Saturday she posted on Instagram to double down on her description of the actor and director as “a sexual predator.” Yi, who appeared in The Disaster Artist in 2017 along with Franco and Seth Rogen, claimed she tried to quit the film because of Franco.

Yi, who appeared in the film about Tommy Wiseau and the making of The Room, has also appeared in films like This Is 40, Knocked Up and has done a long list of voice acting roles. And now she’s making public her attempt to quit the Golden Globe-winning film and calling out people she feel enable Franco in Hollywood.

As the New York Daily News laid out, Yi claimed she was bribed in order to stay quiet about what she described as new allegations of abuse against Franco she learned about while filming.

On Thursday, Yi said that when she tried “to break legal contract” and quit the movie “because James Franco is a sexual predator,” producers tried to “bribe” her with a better role.

That was exactly the opposite of what she wanted, she told them, adding that she “didn’t feel safe working with a f–ng sexual predator.”

Producers tried to minimize the situation, telling her that “Franco being a predator was so last [year] and that he changed… when I literally heard of him abusing new women that week.”

You can read her first post in full below.

On Saturday, Yi addressed her claims again on Instagram, critiquing reporters who covered allegations of sexual abuse against Franco from several women in 2018, reports that surfaced in the wake of his Golden Globe win for The Disaster Artist.

“Denying/gaslighting is a tactic that abusers and enablers use that is psychological violence, & has serious affects: the survivor loses sense of reality/intuition to protect self from targeted again, PTSD, suicidal thoughts/suicide, etc,” Yi wrote. She also criticized Seth Rogen for willfully “enabling Franco preying on children”

Allegations against Franco are nothing new: Busy Philipps famously alleged Franco assaulted her on the set of Freaks and Geeks, though in her memoir she claimed that the two are now friends. Yi has posted several times in recent days about abuse, gaslighting and what people can do to support victims of sexual misconduct. Neither Franco nor Rogen have addressed Yi’s comments since they were shared on social media, but they shined new light on a very troubling series of allegations in recent days.

Despite the fact that there were a number of high-profile injury absences for both teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets went head-to-head on ABC on Saturday night. Anthony Davis and LeBron James were sidelined for L.A., while James Harden didn’t take the floor for Brooklyn. And in the third quarter of action, a little more star power left the floor due to some extracurriculars.

Kyrie Irving got called for a foul on Dennis Schröder as he tried to hold his ground while the Lakers’ guard was dribbling. Schröder went up to an official to express some gripes, which apparently did not sit well with Irving. The pair got face-to-face with one another, leading to technical fouls being assessed. Despite getting split up, Irving and Schröder kept talking with one another, leading to a second wave of techs getting handed out and both of their nights ending a little earlier than they expected.

At the times of their ejections, Irving had 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting with four rebounds, while Schröder had 19 on 7-for-11 shooting with four assists and a rebound. The Lakers would go on to beat the Nets, 126-101, with Andre Drummond’s 20 points and 11 rebounds leading the way.

We’ll soon find out what the next wrestling video game from 2K Sports looks like after a year off for the long-running series. Hype for the return of WWE 2K22 started during Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 on Saturday evening, with a teaser for the new game aired during the broadcast.

The teaser trailer features “work-in-progress” builds of Rey Mysterio and Cesaro and serves as the first look we’ve seen of a series that’s essentially been on pause.

After a year of frustrating gameplay and technical glitches in WWE 2K20, the video game series didn’t make plans to return in 2021. Instead 2K and WWE teamed up to release WWE Battlegrounds, an arcade-style game featuring over-the-top Superstar designs, environments and moves, while promising a commitment to fixing what went wrong in the 2020 iteration.

“We hear you and we know you want more from the franchise, so here’s what we’re going to do: we are applying what we’ve learned to the next WWE 2K simulation game with a renewed focus on quality and fun. As part of that commitment, we are extending the production timeline and will not be releasing a WWE 2K simulation game in 2020 (T2 fiscal year 2021). We want to ensure the development team at Visual Concepts can create a great game that will entertain grizzled WWE 2K veterans, as well as newcomers who want to climb through the ropes and step into the ring for the very first time.”

We’ll see more of the work they put into the game in the coming months as we get closer to a release date for the franchise’s latest title.

The Los Angeles Lakers have done a decent enough job staying afloat while LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been on the sidelines due to injuries. Ever since James went down with a high ankle sprain last month, Los Angeles has managed to go 4-6, which to this point has been enough to keep them out of the play-in tournament.

Exact dates for James and Davis’ returns are still to be determined, but on Saturday evening, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that timetables are beginning to pop up for both. Davis, who hasn’t appeared in a game since mid-February with a calf strain and right leg tendinosis, may be able to return to action in the next 10-14 days. Per the report, Davis will get looked at when the Lakers return from their current five-game road trip, at which point there should be more clarity.

James’ return, meanwhile, is expected to be a little after that. The reigning NBA Finals MVP is apparently “on track” to come back in three weeks, which would mean he’d end up missing about a month due to the ankle sprain he suffered against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Lakers were the fifth seed in the Western Conference entering Saturday night’s games, sitting 2.5 games above the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 7 seed.

A handful of former professional athletes, including Kevin Garnett and Arron Afflalo, have been floated as potential names to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves at one point or another. On Saturday evening, we learned that a retired athlete will indeed make a move to purchase the team, but there’s a twist: it’s not a former basketball player.

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, former Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez signed a letter of intent along with Marc Lore, the former president and CEO of Walmart U.S. eCommerce, to purchase the franchise. The news was soon confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, and eventually, Rodriguez and Lore released a statement laying out how their arrangement with the franchise will work out.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has in the past been rumored as entertaining offers for the team, but none of them ever came to fruition. The particulars of this deal are still unknown, outside of the fact that Rodriguez and Lore will ease into ownership of the franchise. This is not the first time Rodriguez has been in the running to purchase a team — earlier this year, the former AL MVP was in the running to purchase the New York Mets, but his bid was ultimately withdrawn.

No Limit rapper Mac will be home from prison much sooner than expected. This is because Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards granted him clemency after the rapper spent 21 years in prison for a 2001 manslaughter conviction. Unfortunately, the clemency does not spark an immediate release, though, as Mac will have to wait until his June 22 parole hearing to learn when he will be released from prison.

“We are approaching the finish line to securing Mac’s freedom,” Mac’s wife Angelique Phipps said in a statement. “We are grateful to Governor John Bel Edwards for granting his clemency and to those who have supported him along the way.”

XXL reached out to Mac’s team and the Louisiana governor’s office to confirm the news, which was reported by NOLA.com, but no comment from either party has been made yet. Mac was arrested back in 2000 and charged with second degree murder in connection with a shooting that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Barron C. Victor Jr. The rapper maintained his innocence in the incident and claimed he only separated a fight that led to the shooting. Despite this, he was convicted of manslaughter in 2001 and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

A 2014 investigation revealed that the rapper may have in fact been innocent in the shooting as his defense team presented new evidence, which included another man confessing to the crime. Mac’s team also said a witness revealed they were coaxed into naming the No Limit member as the shooter. Two years later, the prosectors were accused of hiding evidence and the rapper filed for clemency, but was denied. Things changed this past February when the Louisiana Board Of Pardons And Committee On Parole agreed that the rapper should be immmediately eligible for parole.

Aaron Rodgers is currently at the helm of the Jeopardy! stage in the syndicated universe, even though he filmed those gigs back in February. The show, which lost longtime host Alex Trebek at age 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, is still looking for its official replacement while churning through guest hosts like the Green Bay Packers quarterback.

And while the lineup for guest hosts is pretty firmly set, one person many fans want to get a shot is stepping up his efforts to succeed Trebek on the podium. Actor LeVar Burton, of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek fame, has been the subject of a number of petitions to host the show in the wake of Trebek’s passing. And while he hasn’t snagged a guest host spot, which is essentially a tryout for the role, he’s making it known he’s very serious about his interest in the opportunity.

Burton has made a media blitz of sorts in recent days, saying on TV that “I’ve had my eye on that job” for a while and laying out why he thinks he’s the right man to replace Trebek.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Burton joked that his “whole career” was built to make him the perfect candidate for the job. And like Rodgers, he’s won Celebrity Jeopardy! and knows his way around the stage.

“I’ve thought and thought and thought — I’ve asked friends and family to help me identify someone out there who’s more qualified for the job than I am,” the Roots and Star Trek actor tells EW. “I don’t believe there is anyone out there who is better suited for this job than me. And I will go to my grave believing that.”

“I think my whole career is an advertisement for being the host of Jeopardy,” he adds with a laugh.

There’s much more to it than that, of course: he’s a TV pro and feels the values of education he’s embraced over the years has given him a strong base of knowledge to take on the role. In regards to the petition that he’s encouraged in recent days, Burton said the enthusiasm from others has emboldened him to speak out about the job and the potential he has behind the podium.

“It feels like, ‘Wow, they really are behind me,’” Burton said. “They want this for me as much as I want it for me, I believe, because it makes so much sense to them too.”

…

“I’ve got to believe that they’re paying attention,” the actor says. “And I hope they weigh this campaign as a factor in my favor.”

The biggest negative for Burton’s chances right now is simply that he hasn’t been given a chance, but other than Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings there isn’t anyone in the running that’s seen nearly the groundswell of support that Burton has gotten from the greater Jeopardy! community online. And, well, he’s definitely more likely to get the gig than Dr. Oz after the backlash his guest hosting spot received earlier this year.

[via EW]

A pitcher threw a no-hitter for the first time in San Diego Padres history on Friday night. Joe Musgrove, who joined his hometown club this offseason after spending the last three years in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization, allowed one baserunner on a hit by pitch and was otherwise flawless in San Diego’s 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers. Musgrove threw 112 pitches and struck out 10 on the night.

It took 8,206 games for the Padres to get a no-hitter on their books, but it certainly ended up being worth the wait. Hey, speaking of having to wait for something and ultimately getting really happy when it came time to make it happen, here’s Musgrove talking after the game about how bad he had to go to the bathroom.

“That was the one thing I didn’t want to break, the superstition of it,” Musgrove told the assembled press, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. “I didn’t want to have to go use the bathroom in the middle of a start.”

Baseball players are famously some of the most superstitious athletes in the world — now is a fun time to remind everyone that Wade Boggs ate fried chicken before every game — but “I did not go pee because I thought it would keep me from throwing a no-hitter” is a new one. The only rule is it has to work, though, and this certainly did.

America has already had an actor become president. It’s even had a reality TV star. So the idea that Dwayne Johnson, wrestler-turned-movie star and all-around-nice-seeming guy, would run for the nation’s highest office, as he’s done in the past, isn’t that far-fetched. Indeed, a recent Newsweek poll found that 46% of participants thought the star of The Scorpion King would make a great POTUS. And it appears he’s not not into the idea.

On Saturday, the onetime The Rock took to Instagram, posting a screengrab of the Newsweek headline accompanied by a caption saying he was basically down. “Humbling,” he wrote. “I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club – but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve you, the people.”

Mind you, this is not him saying he’s running. Sitting president Joe Biden still has another term he could serve, should he choose to run. But considering 2024 could bring another Donald Trump ticket — thanks to Senate Republicans, who refused to formally condemn him for his role in instigating the failed but deadly MAGA riot of January 6, despite people like Mitch McConnell publicly admitting he’s guilty — it’s understandable that people on edge trying to ensure the 45th president doesn’t return to the White House.

Should Johnson wind up running — and, just to stress it again, this is a huge maybe that’s still very far off — there would mean one thing: that we finally got our first wrestler president, fulfilling yet another chilling prophecy from Mike Judge’s Idiocracy.

(Via Deadline)