Category: News

Professional wrestling and hip-hop have gone hand in hand for decades, producing many memorable moments along the way. AEW (All Elite Wrestling) rolled out the red carpet for two New York City favorites and hip-hop legends at their Dynamite Grand Slam show on September 21. Trina, Fabolous, and DJ Whoo Kid all made individual appearances at AEW’s Arthur Ashe Stadium show at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens.

Fabolous walked out with the now former AEW Tag Tag champions Swerve In Our Glory, made up of Keith Lee and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, sporting a New York Knicks jersey during their entrance. Immediately following that, DJ Whoo Kid walked out with their challengers and now current AEW Tag Team champions The Acclaimed, made up of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens. The Acclaimed, known for rapping during their entrances, dropped some bars before defeating Swerve In Our Glory for the tag team championships in a hard-fought battle.

Later in the show during a backstage segment, current TBS Champion Jade Cargill promoted her upcoming AEW Rampage Grand Slam match with Diamante on Friday, September 23, when they’ll compete for the TBS title. At that point, Florida legend Trina appeared onscreen and exchange words with Cargill.

Check out each rapper’s appearance in the videos above.

After retiring from the wrestling ring in 2018 due to neck injuries, former WWE star Paige has hinted numerous times about interest in a return to the ring. On Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite, that came to fruition, when she made her debut in the promotion using the ring name Saraya (her real name is Saraya-Jade Bevis).

Toni Storm successfully retained her interim women’s championship in a fatal 4-way against Serena Deeb, Athena, and Britt Baker, when Deeb, Baker, and Jaime Hayter laid out an after-match beatdown following the bell. As Baker pulled a glove onto her hand, an entrance video played on the big screen and Saraya’s name played before she made her way to the ring.

It’s unclear at this point what level of active wrestling she’ll take on. Saraya’s last televised match came on Monday Night Raw at the end of 2017, when she teamed with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to earn a win over Bayley, Mickie James, and Sasha Banks.

Fightful had reported earlier in the day that AEW and Saraya had discussions earlier this summer on a potential partnership. That came after Baker named Saraya as a dream opponent in an interview with Sportskeeda. It seems like we may just be getting that dream match sooner rather than later.

You can stop shaking and trying to pop that vein in your head. After years of development hell, the right team has finally come together to make a Scanners series at HBO. It’s been a long, winding road for the cult horror film that too many reduce to its memetic image of a bespectacled scanner’s head blowing up in glorious, gory detail. It’s what happens when you shoot a gelatin head with a shotgun round filled with kosher salt. The first attempt came in 2007, when Darren Lynn Bousman was meant to reboot it, but it fell through because David Cronenberg didn’t give his blessing (and they wouldn’t more forward without it).

Dimension Films announced they’d make a TV version with Alexandre Aja in 2011, but even less is known about how that fell apart.

Now, the pieces have fallen into place with Cronenberg’s blessing and his guidance as an executive producer. The HBO series will be written by Emmy-winning William Bridges, who co-wrote the “USS Callister” of Black Mirror and created the sci-fi romance Soulmates. Yann Demange, who directed ’71 and the pilot for Lovecraft Country, will direct this new vision of warring telepaths.

This is one of those sacred treasures that is ripe for adaptation, especially since it’s shifting to longform instead of being rebooted as a film. It has stark cultural resonance, a biting satirical edge that can work wonders here in 2022, and the personnel involved (especially HBO and production house Media Res) offer hope that it’s being taken as seriously as possible.

Hopefully, this time it doesn’t fall through.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

The Ben Simmons era in the city of Philadelphia came to an end right before the 2022 NBA trade deadline when Simmons headlined a package that went to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for James Harden. It marked the end of one of the more acrimonious sagas in recent NBA history — Simmons’ last game with the Sixers was the team’s Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 playoffs, and in the aftermath, a mix of back issues and his need to get mentally ready to play led to him sitting out until he was traded.

We still have not seen Simmons play with the Nets due to lingering back issues that required surgery, but still, the end of his tenure in Philly is one of the more unique things we’ve seen. And in a clip posted of an upcoming episode of J.J. Redick’s The Old Man and the Three, Simmons spoke about his feelings about the city, which he says are largely positive.

“People in Philly just wanna have something to say about f*cking anything, man,” Simmons said. “Like, everything, literally everything. I post a picture of a f*cking dog or car, I got reporters saying, ‘You should be in the f*cking gym.’ Come on, man. But, yeah, for sure, Philly is obviously a sports city, and my experience playing there was incredible. Like, for the most part, it was incredible. I had a great time, the fans are unbelievable. I still have an apartment there, so I do own some real estate in Philadelphia still. So I’m, you know, I feel like I’m a part of Philly still.

“But yeah, it’s just unique,” Simmons continued. “Like even being in Brooklyn now, it’s completely different. Like, this is a different experience for me. And you know, I value that time time I did spend in Philly, cause I was able to learn and grow in that city, and I got friends for life there. My brother lives there, like, I got family there. So yeah, Philly’s great, I think people have a thought that I hate it.”

Simmons and the Nets are slated to play in Philadelphia twice this year. Their first matchup is on Nov. 22, 2022, and a little more than two months later, Brooklyn will make the trek down on Jan. 25, 2023.

It’s not unusual for big actors to never work with each other, and for most of their careers Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock never appeared on screen save for the occasional awards show. And yet this year there have already been two movies featuring both of them. Granted, they weren’t full-on co-starring roles; Pitt had a small role in The Lost City while Bullock was heard but not seen until the ending of Bullet Train. But it turns out they almost did a big movie side-by-side. They would have even done a lot of fighting.

In a new interview with British Vogue (as caught by Deadline), Pitt brought up a project he was working on with Bullock that, alas, didn’t get that far. “Actually, Sandy and I did once try to develop a whole idea of a husband and wife team, who were QVC’s most successful salespeople, but we’re getting a divorce, we hate each other, and we’re taking it out on air as we sell things,” he said, then added, “That’s as far as we got.”

Pitt hasn’t done too many straight comedies, so this unnamed QVC divorcee romp would have been an outlier in his mostly serious career. He has been loosening up, though, playing cinema’s most laidback maybe murderer in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and pure goofball (who still fights) in Bullet Train. In real life, though, his antics are even more colorful.

(Via British Vogue and Deadline)

Chris Jericho won his eighth world championship to open AEW Dynamite Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night in New York when he pinned Claudio Castagnoli to claim the Ring of Honor world championship.

Jericho consistently looked to get the upper hand in questionable fashion, attempting a low blow, a shot with his bat, and eventually gained the pinfall thanks in part to a low blow and eventually a Judas Effect.

Jericho’s win moves him into historic company, having held the WWE, WCW, World Heavyweight, AEW, and ROH world titles during his remarkable pro wrestling run. It also brings the second championship to the Jericho Appreciation Society, with Daniel Garcia recently defeating Wheeler Yuta just two weeks ago to claim the ROH Pure championship.

Castagnoli’s loss comes just 61 days after winning his first world title at ROH Death Before Dishonor against Jonathan Gresham. The ROH reset comes at an interesting time, with no clear plan for the future of the brand under the guidance of Tony Khan. For now, it looks like Khan will rely on the star power that Jericho, and to an extent Garcia, brings as he relaunches the brand. Khan has previously spoken of an ROH weekly television show, but that has yet to materialize.

You know when you’re growing up and your school has a talent show, getting the usual talents such as juggling, dancing, or maybe even singing? Then you always get that one kid who brings out an instrument and plays it so bad that you’re honestly not sure if it’s supposed to be a joke or not.

Anyway, that’s the same kind of energy that Trombone Champ gives off. It is a game where you get to take some of the greatest, and most iconic, musical tracks ever and play them on a Trombone horribly. It’s a rhythm game where if you play on time with the notes you get loud fart like trombone sounds in response. If you do not do it on time you still get fart like trombone sounds, but now they sound worst and a giant NASTY appears on screen.

Is this game a joke? It’s hard to tell, because maybe that’s just how the Trombone sounds when playing these specific sounds. However, with how hard you are going to laugh while watching the trailer or playing the game it’s hard to not think it’s a joke. The official press kit from the developers of the game, Holy Wow studios, had this to say about the game.

Trombone Champ is the world’s first trombone-based rhythm music game. Unlike most music games, you can freely play any note at any time. You’re not just following along with the music, you’re actually playing the music! Play over 20 songs, collect all 50 Tromboner Cards, and discover the secrets of the Trombiverse!

Trombone Champ is currently available on Steam for $15 for anyone who’s interested in experiencing for themselves what is without a doubt the biggest surprise game of the year.

Tems has had a massively successful last few years. She’s appeared on WizKid’s global sensation “Essence,” collaborated with Drake on “Fountains” from Certified Lover Boy and “Wait For U” from Future’s I Never Liked You, and put in an appearance on “Move,” alongside Grace Jones, from Beyoncé’s Renaissance. Despite all this, the Nigerian artist remains down to earth and hopes to show how she’s adjusting to her fame in her upcoming music, as she explained in a recent interview with GQ‘s Simran Hans.

Tems was very humble about her experiences working with the aforementioned artists. “Everybody I said I would work with, I’ve worked with. Wiz, Drake,” she said. “Every single person.” While many new artists may look to regularly remind listeners of their musical co-signs, Tems told Hans that she has been working on new music about “finding balance and finding your feet in a new life.” Hans added, “She is trying to find peace through the chaos of her new existence.”

Said chaos has to do with being away from home. Tems told Hans that she hadn’t been to her home city of Lagos since the new year began. “I miss everything. I miss the food. I miss my family, I miss my mum. I miss the atmosphere,” she said, adding that she’s been so busy that she doesn’t have time for romance.

As the “Free Mind” artist wraps up her tour, she’ll take a break in London, where she moved as a baby, while she finishes up her upcoming debut studio album.

Check out the full GQ interview here.

On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin was so desperate to save his disastrous war with Ukraine that he took it to a new, more terrifying level: He threatened to use nukes. But he also had another desperate plan up his sleeve: He announced he was calling in hundreds of thousands of reservists to go up against Ukraine’s perhaps surprisingly aggressive forces. Many of them don’t want to go, as witness a certain popular Google search.

As per Newsweek, after Putin’s announcement, a certain phrase was popular on Russia’s search engines: “how to break an arm at home.” To put it into perspective, Google Trends rank search terms from zero to 100 over any given amount of time. Before Putin’s speech, the phrase had a zero. After it, it had a 38.

Indeed, in the last couple months, the war has been going so bad for Russian forces that soldiers, desperate to not be killed for a war that seemed increasingly misguided, have been grievously injuring themselves. Those that aren’t threatening to hurt themselves are threatening to blow up commanders.

Not only are reservists potentially looking for ways to get out of a likely suicide mission, but Russia has seen a mass exodus of people hoping to get away from an out-of-control regime. Meanwhile, instead of condemning Putin’s nuclear threats, former president — and fan of his initial invasion, anyway — Donald Trump is amplifying it while moaning about how he’s no longer in office.

(Via Newsweek)

True art connoisseurs can rejoice. After centuries of not having an art show dedicated to Nicolas Cage‘s love for cats, there’s finally an art show dedicated to Nicolas Cage’s love for cats. According to Yahoo Entertainment, CatCon founder Susan Michals will launch Uncaged: The Unbearable Weight of Genius Cat Art at this year’s convention at the Pasadena Convention Center. The event, which runs October 1-2, will feature 7 pieces inspired by Cage, his movies, and his feline affinity. You’ll have to whip out your checkbook quick with so few pieces, with price tags running between $500 and $3,000.

“You never know what to expect with Nicolas Cage,” Michals said. “And that’s very much the same to me in the personality of a cat. Dogs, they’re trained — they love you, love you, love you, love you, love you — will do whatever you want. Cats can be apathetic and then loving within a 10-second time period. You can rub my stomach but… not that spot.” Michals went on to explain this was the perfect way to celebrate a cat-loving actor who also acts like a cat by curating a career based on whims.

Cage will probably not be there in person; Michals hasn’t formally asked him, and he and wife Riko Shibata just welcomed a baby to this weird planet just a few weeks ago. But who cares? Even if Cage isn’t there in the flesh, he’ll be there in spirit. Yahoo Entertainment has a good look at some of the pieces, including a truly horrific vision called “Catstor Troy.”

Art has officially peaked.

(via Yahoo Entertainment)