Category: Worldwide
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What’s old in pro wrestling is officially new again: Not only is WWE reviving their In Your House pay-per-view concept for an upcoming NXT Takeover event, but NXT’s main Wednesday night competitor All Elite Wrestling got none other than “Iron” Mike Tyson back in the squared circle for the first time in a decade, as he made an explosive appearance at AEW Double Or Nothing to deliver the TNT Championship to its first owner.
.@MikeTyson has arrived and is ready to present the #TNTChampionship to either @CodyRhodes or @LanceHoyt.
Who takes the win?Order Double or Nothing NOW on all major cable & satellite providers / @BRLive / @FITETV (Intl Fans Only) #AEWDoN pic.twitter.com/QQG0OvoCEb
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) May 24, 2020
A buff, bearded Tyson carried the title (which, according to commentator Jim Ross, is apparently unfinished and will feature gold plating upon its completion) to the ring then sat ringside as Cody Rhodes and Lance Archer battled it out for the right to be crowned the first-ever TNT Champion.
.@miketyson has seen enough!
Order Double or Nothing NOW on all major cable & satellite providers / @BRLive / @FITETV (Intl Fans Only) #AEWDoN pic.twitter.com/M26AzLAVFR— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) May 24, 2020
As the match unfolded, Jake Roberts tried to interfere with the match by bringing a python to the ring, but Tyson sprang into action, pulled off his shirt and scared him off. This gave Rhodes the opening to connect with back-to-back Cross Rhodes on Archer for the victory. Tyson then happily presented the TNT Championship to the Son Of A Son Of A Plumber.
Tyson is no stranger to the squared circle: The man once called Kid Dynamite played a huge factor in the main event of WrestleMania 14 in 1998, punching out Shawn Michaels to help Steve Austin win his first world championship. He later reconciled with Michaels, returning to WWE in 2010 and punching out Chris Jericho to help D-Generation X win a tag team match.

As multiple leagues mull plans to return to play in the United States amid the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some of the many logistical issues involving that return are starting to be realized. Baseball needs to settle a considerable disagreement between its owners and players union, while the NBA needs to negotiate with the Mouse House about a potential Bubble League restart.
We now know that at least one of those potential issues leagues may have in restarting is now solved. According to the U.S. government’s Department of Homeland Security, athletes returning stateside to play will not be barred by existing immigration and travel restrictions that have been enacted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to CNN, which reported on the order on Saturday, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security signed an order insuring that professional athletes will not be barred from travel to the United States in order to resume their careers as leagues restart.
“Professional sporting events provide much needed economic benefits, but equally important, they provide community pride and national unity,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “In today’s environment, Americans need their sports. It’s time to reopen the economy and it’s time we get our professional athletes back to work.”
The order apparently applies to the following organizations:
Major League Baseball
National Basketball Association
Women’s National Basketball Association
Professional Golfers’ Association Tour
Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour
National Hockey League
Association of Tennis Professionals
Women’s Tennis Association
And for those leagues trying to resume operations this summer, it’s a legitimate hurdle they now no longer have to overcome. As leagues abruptly shut down, many international athletes left the United States and returned to the comforts of home and, possibly, locations that were less impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. But subsequent travel restrictions made the logistics of safely getting players and staff to various places in an attempt to restart leagues much harder in recent weeks.
Other leagues have encountered issues with keeping staff in the United States as well. Some teams, like the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, have actually sued immigration officials to prevent a strength and conditioning coach from being deported amid the COVID-19 shutdown. It’s unclear if situations like that are solved with these exemptions, but we do know that athletes who have left the United States to wait out the pandemic shouldn’t have many issues returning if and when practices and games resume.

Brian Cage arrived in All Elite Wrestling at Double or Nothing, and now he’s earned a shot at the world title.
Cage made his AEW debut as the mystery entrant in the Casino Ladder Match for a shot at the AEW World Championship. This was a nine-man, delayed-entry ladder match in which two men started in the ring, then another entered every two minutes. The winner of the match would be the wrestler who retrieved the large novelty casino chip suspended above the ring.
After eight men — Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Orange Cassidy, Joey Janela, Luchasaurus, Darby Allin, and Colt Cabana — had entered the match, Allin began to climb the ladder to victory as the timer counted down to the reveal of the mystery competitor. When the clock hit 0:00, Tazz’s voice said, “Who can stop the path of Cage?” and Tazz entered the arena, followed by Brian Cage.
.@MrGMSI_BCage has arrived as the mystery participant in the Casino Ladder Match!
Order Double or Nothing NOW on all major cable & satellite providers / @BRLive / @FITETV (Intl Fans Only) #AEWDoN pic.twitter.com/pj1EitB2EB— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) May 24, 2020
Cage began to lay waste to other competitors, who soon teamed up against him, first attacking him in the ring, then burying him under one of the giant casino chip set-pieces at ringside. Despite their efforts, Cage was later able to free himself and reenter the ring. He ultimately won the match and the title shot after throwing Allin (on a ladder) over the top rope.
Before arriving in AEW, Cage wrestled prolifically on the independent circuit and for major companies like Lucha Underground, AAA, and Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion and X Division Champion. He was initially reported to have signed with AEW in January of this year, but his wife, Melissa Santos, said those reports were false.

While the NBA is strongly considering a bubble league played out at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, baseball has a much different decision on its hands when it comes to restarting play amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tension between owners and the MLBPA have centered around just how much salary the former will try to withhold from the latter as the traditional early months of the MLB calendar pass by without games played and, by extension, revenue coming in.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the league intends to send players and their union an official proposal about potentially starting the 2020 season, which was shut down amid spring training in March as the severity of coronavirus solidified in North America. Initial plans were of an 80-game season with an expanded postseason, and teams playing regionally to limit travel.
In the days that followed that initial report, however, players bristled at taking the brunt of paycuts as owners remained vague about their potential losses in a season almost certain not to include fans in attendance.
The decision-makers who answer that question are professionally skeptical because they can’t afford to trade in optimism, but they see a pathway to a deal. There will be late nights, countless Zoom calls, horse-trading and compromise. The entire operation is fragile. And the coming days are paramount.
“Everything,” one high-ranking official involved in the discussions said, “is going to happen next week.”
Things are complicated for baseball for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the most important thing to note in Passan’s piece is the very real reality that there may not be any baseball in 2020 if the two sides are unable to agree on a deal. Losing an entire season of baseball would be disappointing for fans, damaging to the league and would certainly limit the earning potential and careers of active players in a variety of ways. But changing the structure of baseball itself in order to get an abridged season in this summer is also a complicated piece of a negotiation between the league and the union, which haven’t had the best relationship in recent years for a variety of reasons.
Adding into all of this, of course, is the concerns about the health and safety of players, coaches and essential staff in putting a season on in the first place. It’s all complicated, for sure, but the report indicates that things will get settled one way or another in a matter of days.
As they prepare their next body of work and follow up to their 2019 album Ginger, Brockhampton has been on a roll in May with their music. The group shared a pair singles for fans for the past weeks, starting with “Things Can’t Stay The Same” and “N.S.T.” before returning the following week with “M.O.B.” and “Twisted.” Keeping their streak of weekly releases alive, the boy band returns with not two, but three new singles for fans this week.
Returning with “Baby Bull,” “Downside,” and “I.F.L.,” which stands for “I Feel Like,” Brockhampton continues to add music to what seems more like a Technical Difficulties series than an upcoming album. “Baby Bull” sees vocal contributions from Kevin Abstract, Henock Sileshi, Matt Champion, Merlyn Wood, bearface, and Jabari Manwa and finds the artists describing the lengths they would go to make their significant other happy over the acoustic production.
“Downside” finds Matt Champion speaking on the often-overlooked negative aspects of fame and the effects of his work ethic on himself. The track also features Ryan Beatty who also contributed to last week’s “Twisted.” Lastly, Matt Champion, Joba, and Kevin Abstract connect for “I.F.L.” On the song, the trio makes it clear that outsiders will not be welcomed to alter the group’s dynamic, one that has proved to work well for their careers.
“Things Can’t Stay The Same,” “N.S.T.,” “M.O.B.,” and “Twisted” were all removed from Brockhampton’s YouTube page shortly after they were posted so the same can be expected for “Baby Bull,” “Downside,” and “I.F.L.”