For the past few years, Snoop Dogg has been one of the biggest advocates for NFTs while also criticizing the current streaming model. In 2022, after securing the rights to the Death Row Records catalog, he removed most of it from streaming services and kept them off until earlier this year. Meanwhile, he told fans he wanted to make Death Row an “NFT record label” and maneuvered to have his supergroup Mount Westmore’s first album released as an NFT on Gala Music.
In a new interview, he revealed what prompted his interest in NFTs: Only getting $45,000 from 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Appearing on the podcast Business Untitled, Snoop explained that creators were using his likeness and name to promote various products and although he was mad at first, his embracing them allowed every one to make money “and not have to pay Apple 30 percent… to directly get it, sell it, and resell it. That was like real estate.” The difference, he said, was “transparency.”
“That’s what the music industry and the film industry doesn’t have, so this was a way to show transparency,” he said. “‘Give me a song,’” he said from the perspective of a traditional label exec. “‘I’m taking 60 percent ’cause I’m putting it out for you, you getting 40 percent. That may sound like a lot, but you just made $100,000.’ In the streaming world… They just sent me some shit from Spotify, where I got a billion streams. My publisher hit me. I said, ‘Break that down, how much money is that?’ That sh*t wasn’t even $45,000… when [NFTs] came out, I could tell an artist that same song that you put out traditionally that didn’t make no money, give it to me. Every time you sell it, if somebody else sell it, you get 10 percent of it.”
As he points out, blockchain technology allows this moeny to be directly funneled from the point of purchase to the artist without having to go through admin at rights holders (which could not only delay a royalty payment but heavily eat into it, as well). This was actually the exciting use case for the tech that made it seem viable in the first place, and while the NFT craze derailed it somewhat (the apes were really dumb, sorry not sorry), that end case is still in play, offering artists an avenue around the streamers, which have notoriously low payouts for artists.
While Snoop’s $45,000 claim seems… mathematically iffy, at best, his point is still valid. Spotify has taken a lot of heat lately for its comically low payouts, so much that the company announced sweeping changes to free up more money in the royalty pool after some less than scrupulous creators found ways to game the system (of course, it also fired over a thousand employees, so… yeah). Since most of Snoop’s most popular music pre-dates streaming, it could just be that a lot of hands are grabbing pieces of the pie before he does — another legacy of the lopsided major label system (for the record, Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group). It’s fortunate that he’s found a new way to revitalize his original revenue stream, even if he’s got plenty of others, these days.
Olivia Wilde‘s most recent movie, Don’t Worry Darling, was plagued with drama, including behind-the-scenes tension, casting fiascos, and alleged spitting. For her next film, she’s going to scale things back and make something deeply personal to her: a Christmas comedy where Santa Claus testifies in a divorce hearing.
Wilde is attached to direct Naughty, which Deadline described as “Bridesmaids in the North Pole.” The film follows Mallory, “whose only hope of securing custody of her son from her gaslighting trash-bag ex is to find Santa Claus and convince him to testify in her divorce hearing.” Cocaine Bear writer Jimmy Warden penned the script, while Margot Robbie is listed as a producer through her LuckyChap Entertainment production company.
Between LuckyChap’s recent success with the years biggest film in Barbie and Wilde being one of the more sought after female directors in town, the package is sure to garner attention from studios.
Every couple of years there’s a “naughty” Christmas movie: Bad Santa, A Bad Moms Christmas, other movies without “bad” in the title. Naughty takes things one step further by literally being called Naughty.
No casting has been announced yet, but something tells me Santa Claus won’t be played by “such a bitch” Tim Allen.
The Rundown is a weekly column that highlights some of the biggest, weirdest, and most notable events of the week in entertainment. The number of items could vary, as could the subject matter. It will not always make a ton of sense. Some items might not even be about entertainment, to be honest, or from this week. The important thing is that it’s Friday, and we are here to have some fun.
ITEM NUMBER ONE – Give it to me
The holidays are a time for traditions. Putting up a tree, eating cookies, opening presents from family members who do not know what size shirt you wear, and so on. Those are some of the classics. But everyone has their own specific ones, too. Maybe you cook a special dish or play a fun little game or you sneak one naughty ornament onto your tree as a joke. I have one of these, too. I like to get blind with a jealous rage that other people in the entertainment industry get a fancy cake sent to them by Tom Cruise.
Background, quickly: Every year for many holidays now, Tom Cruise has sent a special cake to various co-stars and friends and members of the entertainment press. The cake is from Doan’s Bakery and is available on Goldbelly for $150 and is described thusly:
Doan’s Bakery ships its legendary white chocolate coconut bundt cake nationwide on Goldbelly! The White Chocolate Coconut Cake is Doan’s most famous creation and for good reason. They start with a ring of moist, luxurious coconut bundt cake, mix in chunks of sweet white chocolate, layer on rich cream cheese frosting, and then dust it all over with toasted coconut flakes. The result is a delicious, pillowy cake good enough to derail the strictest Hollywood diets.
And then every year a bunch of people post pictures of the cake when they receive it…
Tom Cruise’s annual Christmas cake has arrived and I am already two slices deep. I may soon come to regret this but that time has not yet come! pic.twitter.com/twxxRvKGIJ
I want this cake. I think I deserve this cake, honestly. I’ve been very good. I’ve been, at the very least, pretty good. Most of the time. I’ve rarely been bad. And even if I have, I don’t think Tom Cruise knows about it. Unless one of you told him. Did you rat me out to Tom Cruise? Is that why I haven’t gotten the cake? Because you snitched on me? I will never forgive you if this is the case.
It’s not even the cake itself that I want that badly, although I will always accept baked goods if they are offered to me. (Please do not send me poisoned baked goods. This will also make me upset at you.) I’m not a huge coconut fan. It’s more just that other people have it and I don’t. It’s not fair. Give me this cake. I do not want to buy it. I want Tom Cruise to send it to me.
Tom.
Tom Cruise.
Are you reading this?
Send me the cake.
Tom.
The cake.
I will give you my address.
Don’t listen to what all those people said about me not deserving it.
Not that watching the movies was a grind or anything.
I love them.
Tom.
I did not mean for that to sound like an insult.
Let’s not get bogged down in it.
Forget I mentioned it at all, actually.
Just get the cake in the mail.
If not this year, then next.
But this year would be better.
Tom.
Send me the cake.
Please.
Thank you.
ITEM NUMBER TWO – Margot Robbie is cool
Warner Bros
It is my position, and has been for a while, that Margot Robbie seems like a cool lady. I say this for many reasons, none of them firsthand. She just seems cool. And nothing she’s done recently has dissuaded me from that in any way. Like, look at this sit down she did with Cillian Murphy for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, where the stars of the summer Barbenheimer phenomenon had a nice little chat about, well… everything. Did you know Margot Robbie, like me, is a huge Peaky Blinders fan? Well, you do now. Again, very cool.
Here are my two favorite sections of their chat, though. First, the bit where she calls out a producer by name for suggesting she get the date of Barbie moved to create more room for Oppenheimer.
One of your producers, Chuck Roven, called me, because we worked together on some other projects. And he was like, “I think you guys should move your date.” And I was like, “We’re not moving our date. If you’re scared to be up against us, then you move your date.” And he’s like, “We’re not moving our date. I just think it’d be better for you to move.” And I was like, “We’re not moving!” I think this is a really great pairing, actually. It’s a perfect double billing, “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.”
Hmm. Yes, correct. Good for her.
This part is my favorite, though. What started as a little discussion about wearing pink turned into something incredible.
ROBBIE: No, I’m not done with pink yet. Yeah, the costumes were incredible. I mean, you just can’t have a “Barbie” movie without the color pink. And everyone really got on board with that. I’d make a “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” day. Do you know that reference from “Mean Girls”?
MURPHY: I had forgotten that reference.
ROBBIE: On Wednesdays, they wear pink. And so if you didn’t wear pink on set, you got a fine. And then I’d donate it to charity. It’s always the guys, I feel like, that are like, “Oh, finally I have permission to wear pink and get dressed up!” It would get crazier and crazier until Ryan would be like, “I think I need a mink.” It would just get insane.
Two things here:
I would pay $100 to watch Mean Girls in a home theater with Cillian Murphy
Please stop what you’re doing right now and imagine a world where Cillian Murphy played Ken in Barbie
I can’t stop thinking about this. If you see me out this weekend with a stupid smile on my face, please know that I’m probably picturing this in my brain.
ITEM NUMBER THREE – I need people to keep asking Hugh Grant questions about Wonka
Warner Bros.
Hugh Grant is out doing press for Wonka, which is great. It’s great because it’s fun to see headlines about him and then remember “oh crap, Hugh Grant is playing an Oompa Loompa in the new Willy Wonka musical,” but mostly it’s great because he seems so cranky about it all. Just miserable. He’s talked to a few outlets about it and every quote he’s given them is funnier than the last. Like, there’s this one…
“I made a big fuss about it,” Grant said. “I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more.” Asked if the ends justified the means, he replied: “Not really.”
Grant later joked that it was nothing personal against Wonka and director Paul King. “I slightly hate [making films] but I have lots of children and need money,” he said.
… which is really very lovely. You can hear him saying it in his voice if you focus for a second. “I couldn’t have hated the whole thing more.” Good for Hugh Grant. I’m sure the studio is thrilled.
This one was great, too, where Hugh Grant talked to People Magazine and told them about the film director, Paul King, sending him an image of a nude Oompa Loompah for funsies.
“Paul, quite early on in the editing process, sent me a mock-up of the Oompa Loompa stark naked. And my little children were a little alarmed at that,” says father-of-five Grant, 63.
The reason for the nude image? “To amuse him,” says the actor, who also worked with King on 2017’s Paddington 2.
What is your favorite part of this? Is it the image of Hugh Grant’s face when he opened the email? Is it the thing where this is what the director of Paddington 2 is up to in his free time? Is it the thing where this is all in service of a musical where Timothee Chalamet plays Willy Wonka?
My favorite part is all of it. I hope the press tour never ends.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR – Please make a movie about the counterfeit olive oil
Miramax
It brings me great pleasure to report that the counterfeit olive oil situation in Europe remains completely out of hand. Just unruly in every way. This week, various law enforcement agencies in Spain and Italy arrested almost a dozen people who were involved in the oil fraud operation. The news reports about it said the confiscated olive oil was “unfit for consumption,” which sounds bad, and that the operation produced over 60,000 gallons of it, which is… almost impressive actually. Bad, yes, but a little impressive.
The Italian authorities have been particularly busy in recent years cracking down on mislabeled olive oil. The Olive Oil Times, a publication that covers the olive oil industry, reported that Italian officials prevented 2.3 million liters, or roughly 607,595 gallons, of virgin and refined olive oils labeled as extra virgin from being sold last year.
Two notes here:
We actually discussed all of this once before but I really do love the idea of journalism majors getting jobs covering breaking news at The Olive Oil Times
I need someone to make a movie about a loose-cannon law enforcement agent breaking up an illegal olive oil ring
Moving on.
Photos and videos of the investigation that were posted by Europol on social media hinted at a vast and detailed operation: towering silver barrels, safes filled with thick wads of cash, rows of computers, and containers filled to the brim with a thick, yellow-brown substance that investigators poured into small labeled bottles.
God yes. I’m serious now. I need this movie by next summer at the latest. Send Jason Statham into the warehouse. Let him punch a dozen armed goons in the throat. Have him knock over a huge drum of olive oil and make the goons slip and slide and fall down like cartoons. Cast Joaquin de Almeida as the head of the counterfeit olive oil conglomerate. The name might not leap out at you but Google him and you’ll know this is right. Give Statham’s character a name like Special Agent Steel Knifeman. We can do this.
We should do this.
We must do this.
ITEM NUMBER FIVE – I do not know why I am like this
Getty Image
Macaulay Culkin got a star on the Walk of Fame last week. That’s nice. He deserves it for Home Alone by itself. We’ve been watching and enjoying that movie as a society for over 30 years now. And he seems shockingly well-adjusted for a child star. I’m actually really happy for him. Good for Macaulay, man.
His Home Alone mom, Catherine O’Hara, who also deserves every nice thing in the world, presented him the star at the ceremony.
Working with him as a co-star, O’Hara marveled at how Culkin fully and seemingly effortlessly embodied his character. “It was as if this real boy, Kevin, was surrounded by actors and just went along with it for the fun.” She credits him for the movie becoming a global, and enduring, phenomenon: “He is the reason we have all made watching ‘Home Alone’ a family holiday tradition.”
Okay, but here’s where I’m weird. I read all that, about how well he’s doing as an adult and about how he has some cool new trinkets to show for it, and all I could think about was the time he showed up on The Righteous Gemstones as the estranged son of Baby Billy Freeman and Walton Goggins, as Baby Billy, said this to him…
HBOHBO
Truly the mark of success. Maybe more so than a silly little star on a sidewalk. Either way, the man really is doing great. Let’s say it again: Good for Macaulay Culkin, man.
READER MAIL
If you have questions about television, movies, food, local news, weather, or whatever you want, shoot them to me on Twitter or at [email protected] (put “RUNDOWN” in the subject line). I am the first writer to ever answer reader mail in a column. Do not look up this last part.
From Drew:
I was watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas this week with my son and I had a thought that I really did not know what to do with other than email you about it. What if you took the scene where the Grinch stole all the presents in Whoville but replaced the “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” song with “Sinnerman” from The Thomas Crown Affair? Would that work? It’s still a heist, right? And should we also consider a Grinch movie where the Grinch wears a tuxedo and is voiced by Pierce Brosnan? I swear I wasn’t ignoring my son the whole time I was thinking about this.
Drew, this is a lovely email. I kind of want to edit this together to see if it works but there are three tiny problems:
I will be devastated if it doesn’t
I worry the copyright police will kick open my door and take all my electronics away, even my coffee maker
In May 2022, Tate McRae served as an Uproxx cover star around the release of her debut album, I Used To Think I Could Fly, and reflected on her innocent mindset when moving from her hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Los Angeles, California at 17 years old.
“Being a Canadian who waltzed into LA, I was very naive,” the now-20-year-old told Caitlin White for Uproxx’s cover story. “I’d walk into every room and see the best in people. ‘Oh no, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. Deep down, they’re a good person.’ I’m just like that — I see the good in people. I had to pull back a bit from trusting everyone and thinking that everyone is in it for the right reasons.”
Eighteen months later, McRae may still see the best in people, but now, she believes in the best of herself. She owns every room — even when she’s not physically walking into it. If you’ve gone grocery shopping, turned on a radio, or scrolled TikTok in the past two months, you have likely heard “Greedy,” McRae’s lead single from her sophomore effort, Think Later, out today (December 8). The seed for McRae’s empowered, high-energy earworm, which became her first top-10 Billboard Hot 100 entry, was unintentionally planted by a man at a bar, drawn to McRae and intrigued to know more about her.
“I see you eyein’ me down, but you’ll never know much past my name,” McRae sings confidently. “Or how I’m runnin’ this room around and that I’m still half your age / Yeah, you’re lookin’ at me like I’m some sweet escape / Obvious that you want me, but I said / ‘I would want myself.’”
First of all, McRae made her name by welcoming people into her most private and vulnerable experiences, insecurities, and thoughts, so we know much more than we deserve to know about her coming of age. Everyone wants a piece of her for a reason. But McRae has not gotten herself here — from winning third place as a preteen on So You Think You Can Dance in 2016 to earning a record deal from RCA in 2019, then winning the hearts of millions with resolute, relatable platinum-certified songs like “You Broke Me First” and “She’s All I Wanna Be” — to impress a strange man at a bar, or any stranger anywhere.
McRae does it because this is all she’s ever wanted. She owes it to herself. She does it for her parents, who were on hand to witness her Saturday Night Live debut as the musical guest on the November 18 episode. She does it for her older brother, Tucker, a hockey player who partially represents why she placed her impressively choreographed, hockey-coded “Greedy” video in an empty hockey rink. In fact, she knew she was onto something when she felt proud to show her friends the “Greedy” video (per her Billboardcover story) because she had not always necessarily felt the same urge to share her past music with friends and family.
“I’ve been sitting on ‘Run For The Hills‘ for nearly a year now, and it has completely stood the test of time,” McRae tells Uproxx one day before Think Later arrives, when asked what track on the album earned her favorite reaction from her inner circle. (For the record, “Run For The Hills” is deliciously ominous in detailing dangerous but thrilling romance.) “It was always a favorite of my friends from Canada, and that always was important to me.”
Conor Cunningham
Elsewhere on the 14-track, Ryan Tedder-produced album, McRae even more directly confirms that her most valued audience hasn’t changed. The acoustic-based, earnestly reflective track “Calgary” begins with McRae wistfully looking back at the childhood she sacrificed while nurturing the parts of that girl still alive within her, a passenger on her rocket ship approaching a different stratosphere of incomprehensible fame and resonance. (She will embark on her international headlining Think Later Tour in 2024, hitting such iconic venues as The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York City, as well as her first-ever headlining hometown concert in Calgary.)
“Same bar, same street,” she sings about her hometown. “Same fears, same dreams / Still trying to get my brother to like me / You said that I always seem to land on my feet / But I got problems hangin’ like a chain ’round my neck / Tryin’, but I’m barely seeing past 23.”
As the album’s title implies, McRae is trying her best to just focus on being 20, young, and free. To allow herself to be swept up in the adventure that comes with having her wildest dreams right in front of her, without worrying about how she might land. To live however feels truest and most satisfying to her. She hasn’t perfected that practice because she is human, and I’ve never met a human who has perfected living life, let alone a young woman forced to adapt to countless people dissecting how she chooses to live her life. But the point is that she’s trying. She’s willing to put her all into living imperfectly anyway, which might be the rarest characteristic a person can possess.
The bass-heavy title track captures this, as she sings in the hook, “Live now, think later / I do it so well.” We should thank her because that resulted in Think Later, proving she has perfected making a resounding pop album.
Below, McRae gave Uproxx a glimpse into how she’s indulging the present as her life, fueled by Think Later, rapidly changes.
When announcing Think Later, you said, “For the first time in my life, I lived this year a little less with my head and a little more with my intuition.” What allowed you to do that?
I fell in and out of love. I turned 20. I started paying attention to what felt right in the moment rather than overthinking every decision I made. I used to overanalyze everything, even while I’ve always had a fifth sense. I realized, over the course of writing this album and living life, that trusting my gut is always the right choice — even if it means facing consequences later.
At the same time, there’s “Calgary,” which finds you in your head. I absolutely adore it because who can’t relate to carrying around the same insecurities and traumas as our childhood selves? The vulnerability balances out the balls-out confidence oozing from “Greedy.” You have always been so good at capturing these intense, polarizing, yet relatable emotions, but was there an emotion on this album that was more difficult for you to articulate than others?
Honestly, writing for this album came a lot more naturally because I was pulling from real experiences I had gone through. Both the experiences that led to the confident, empowered tracks like “Greedy” and the experiences that led to more contemplative, reflective, and nostalgic songs like “Calgary.” So many of my previous songs, especially those I wrote when I was first singing on YouTube, were from situations I imagined. The songs on this album are all so honest — no matter what the emotion was. I suppose, though, that writing sad songs has always felt easier because when I am sad, I find comfort in writing. Channeling my confident self needed to be a lot more intentional.
Courtesy of Tate McRae/RCA Records
In “Calgary,” you sing about being 20 but still feeling 15, plus the hook in the title track of, “Live now, think later / I do it so well,” and the entire premise of “Plastic Palm Trees.” You have had a massive 2023, yet it feels like you are just on the cusp. Are you able to be present and let yourself be 20 years old with your whole life ahead of you and the whole world at your fingertips, or do you feel pressure from being in the pop game to act older, chase more “plastic palm trees,” so to speak, and live with a fast-forward mindset?
It’s funny because I always dreamed of leaving Calgary and moving to LA to pursue my dreams of music and dance. When I got to LA, I realized it’s not just a place of chasing your passions, but a place where a lot of people feel lonely. Over the last year or so, I’ve worked really hard to surround myself with good people that prioritize being present and celebrating what we are doing each day. I definitely have so much more I want to do, but I am trying really hard to not focus so much on the pressure.
The album is executive produced by Ryan Tedder. What did he pull out of you that nobody else had before?
When Ryan Tedder became my executive producer, he emerged as the glue I really had been seeking for my sophomore album. I felt my first album felt very all over the place musically; for Think Later, I really wanted cohesion. Ryan was able to take a step back and help me create a body of work that I felt incorporated the many genres and styles that shape me while still existing in one consistent world. He’s also just a musical genius.
I’m all in on this hockey aesthetic for Think Later. With the “Greedy” video, I love the locker room callback to Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets and “Damn Yankees.” What hockey term or aspect of hockey culture best describes your Think Later era?
My brother is a hockey player, and having grown up in Calgary, hockey has always been a part of my life. In creating the Think Later era, hockey just became a great way to pay homage to my roots and highlight the athleticism in my fashion, style, and approach to live performances.
Think Later is out now via RCA Records. Find more information here.
Contrary to what you might have heard, nobody died while filming Squid Game: The Challenge, though there was a chapped lip incident. Despite the buzz and initial backlash, some contestants did enjoy their time on the reality series, and others thought it was just plain silly.
Squid Game: The Challenge put 456 contestants together and had them compete in various challenges, mostly based on children’s games, like Battleship, Red Light Greenlight, and marbles. Runner-up Phil Cain/player 451 spoke to EW about his initial reactions to the final challenge, which was an intense game of Rock Paper Scissors, also known as every 8-year-old’s recess nightmare. Cain told the site:
Oh, my God. This is the silliest thing I’ve ever seen, but what better way to go out than Rock, Paper, Scissors, the simplest game ever? [Laughs] In a way, it was nice because it really was mostly chance — or I thought it was mostly chance. I didn’t realize that there might’ve been strategy behind it! [Laughs] That was kind of comforting being like, Whatever way this goes, at least we know it’s going to be fair. There’s no backstabbing anymore. There’s no more drama. It’s just a simple game. Let’s decide it right now.
Despite losing, Cain says that he is happy he was on the polarizing show. “It was a beautiful representation of what human nature really is in the face of adversity, because even though the game was literally pitting us against each other, it never felt like that,” he explained, “It never felt like it was me against them. It always felt like us vs. the game. It was an honor to be a part of that, and I’m pretty proud of myself for playing with integrity and never having to compromise on my values.”
Sure, it’s silly, but if you’re interested, season two is now casting!
In June, Doja Cat will paint Lisbon, Portugal red with rhymes. Today (December 8), the “Attention” rapper has been announced as the latest headliner for Rock In Rio 2024. The festival is slated to occur across the second and third weekend in June. So far, several of the event’s highlighted acts have been announced. However, Doja Cat’s attendance marks a momentous occasion for more reasons than one.
Firstly, this is Doja Cat’s first time playing in the event. Also, her playing on June 23, 2024 gives her the honor of closing out the festival. In a statement, Roberta Medina, the Executive Vice President of Rock in Rio, spoke about the notable occasion: “To have Doja Cat headlining our lineup for the first time in Portugal is a privilege! It’s going to be four days of great joy to recharge the energy of everyone who passes through the City of Rock. As you can see from the names already announced, we’ve got rock, pop, hip-hop… music for the most mature to the youngest.”
Other performers on the lineup include Scorpions and Evanescence on June 15. Ed Sheeran, Calum Scott, and Jão will perform the following day. Doja Cat, Camila Cabello, Luísa Sonza, and Pedro Sampaio will perform on June 23. No entertainers have been announced for June 22 as of yet.
Rock In Rio 2024 is set to take place on June 15, 16, 22, and 23, 2024, at Parque Tejo in Lisboa, Portugal. Tickets are on sale now. Find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Poor Things is racking up rave reviews, particularly for Emma Stone‘s performance in the dark comedy from director Yorgos Lanthimos. The film only just arrived in theaters, but we have a ballpark guess for when you can watch Poor Things on streaming.
Since Poor Things is distributed by Searchlight Pictures, which is now owned by Disney, the film will most likely finding a streaming home on Hulu. If Poor Things follows a similar release strategy as a previous Searchlight release, Theater Camp, Decider calculates that the Emma Stone film could arrive on Hulu as early as February 8, 2024.
As for a VOD release, Poor Things will probably hit digital sometime in January 2024, presumably four weeks before it starts streaming on Hulu.
Here’s the official synopsis:
From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Four years since its inception, AEW is still doing everything it can to take the title of professional wrestling’s top promotion away from WWE. As history has shown, however, that’s not an easy thing to do — while Tony Khan has made moves in AEW’s programming, its quality of talent, and taking calculated risks, WWE continues to make clear that the leader in sports entertainment isn’t going anywhere.
This competition has led to an outstanding year for professional wrestling, particularly when it comes to the two major promotions in the U.S. As we wind down 2023, we’re here to look back on the biggest matches and moments from a year to remember in WWE and AEW.
10. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland reach another level
This match wasn’t for everyone. It had lots of blood. There was violence — the image of Hangman drinking and spitting Swerve’s blood is etched in my mind — and incredible storytelling between a former champion finding his fire once again and a rising star becoming an undeniable pillar of AEW.
Swerve going over was the cherry on top of what looks to be a launching pad of a year that included him wrestling in front of 80,000 people at All In with Sting and defeating the likes of Page and former title contender Jay White. This felt like a match we’ll point back to years from now for Swerve, who’s been pounding on the glass ceiling, waiting to break completely through. He and Hangman could be multi-time world champions by the time they’re ready to hang their boots up.
9. Gunther breaks the Intercontinental Championship title reign
WWE’s next big star is quite clearly Gunther. He has been on the cusp of breaking through in recent years during his time as Intercontinental Champion, and all he needed was an absolute show-stealer of a WrestleMania match to kick off the year that made clear he’s going to be a face of WWE. Gunther had a series of really entertaining matches against Chad Gable and is still running through a dominant title run to set him up for his jump to the main event.
WWE hasn’t had a shortage of quality Intercontinental Championship reigns, and for Gunther to set himself apart to this level speaks volumes of what the business sees in him.
8. Bad Bunny leads WWE back to Puerto Rico
For the first time in 18 years, WWE returned to Puerto Rico for one of the most unexpectedly entertaining shows of the year.
On paper, the event looked about as good as any other show this year. But the crowd in San Juan took things to another level. It helped propel Iyo Sky to her eventual title win, gave a hero’s welcome to Zelina Vega, and offered a number of unforgettable moments during Bad Bunny’s moment against Damian Priest — we may never experience anything quite like his entrance before their San Juan Street Fight match ever again.
7. MJF becomes our scumbag
If The Bloodline doesn’t exist, this is likely the storyline of the year. AEW’s biggest villain, their biggest homegrown star, does everything in 2023. He becomes the biggest star in the company, is absolutely despised, is thrown into an odd couple storyline, and creates magic with Adam Cole.
Then as he’s slowly turning from AEW’s most hated to the promotion’s most loved, he goes on to open and close the biggest non-WWE show in history, packs over 80,000 people into Wembley Stadium to watch him nail a Kangaroo Kick and pin his best friend in the main event of their breakout show. He’s now far and away the promotion’s biggest star and has affectionately become our scumbag.
6. Sami Zayn turns on Roman Reigns
This was the storyline of the year. The universal backing of the lovable Sami Zayn gave us an iconic moment when he slammed a chair into the back of Roman Reigns at the conclusion of the Royal Rumble.
The trickle down effect over the coming months would be one to watch, with Zayn losing in his hometown of Montreal, but eventually overcoming the Usos to win the Tag Team titles at WrestleMania alongside Kevin Owens. That fallout has continued over the year, with Jimmy and Jey splitting as a team and settling on opposite shows. But everything goes back to that magical night at the Royal Rumble, when Sami’s split from The Bloodline became official.
5. Sting announces his retirement
There was a moment when a buckle bomb looked to have ended Sting’s career. Prematurely isn’t the right term, because it was plenty reasonable for The Icon to hang up his boots at that point, injury or not.
But when he showed up in AEW, got on the mic, and eventually wrestled in a return match, it was clear he had plenty left in the tank. Fast-forward three years later, and he’s writing his final chapter with a run that is up there with any from his unparalleled career.
4. Roman Reigns reaches 1,000 days as champion
One of the most significant runs in the modern era, Reigns joins only Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Pedro Morales, and Hulk Hogan as stars to have hit that milestone.
He had his standout moments, like matches against Sami Zayn, his WrestleMania showdown with Cody Rhodes, and igniting Jey Uso’s main event run. Regardless of how often the belt has been defended or which shows the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has missed, Reigns’ title run is one for the ages.
3. CM Punk returns to AEW, leaves again, then joins WWE
One of the most polarizing stars in wrestling history, CM Punk is wrapping one of the wildest years in recent memory for an individual. Punk was on the shelf for a year, recovering from a torn tricep he injured in the main event of AEW All Out and a reported backstage brawl that involved the company’s EVPs, the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, among others.
In his return, things went sideways before they could even be rebuilt. Backstage reports continued to follow that repeated those talking points despite Punk heading up AEW’s new Collision show and the Elite operating on Wednesday Night Dynamite. After a reported scuffle ahead of AEW’s All ln show with Jack Perry, Punk was ousted from AEW.
Fast-forward a few months later, and the Cult of Personality is back in WWE, apparently mending the fences that led to his hiatus from professional wrestling and sparking the biggest shock return in recent memory.
2. AEW All In in London
Since its inception, AEW has yearned for an event that stood out as uniquely special — something that could be compared to its WrestleMania. When the promotion announced its intention to run at Wembley Stadium, assumptions were made on just how ambitious the company would be.
The gamble to essentially open the entire stadium up paid off, with more than 80,000 fans coming together for the history-making evening in London. AEW CEO Tony Khan has a great relationship with the folks at Wembley and it appears All In will become a yearly staple for the promotion. How AEW builds off the success of All In remains to be seen as the promotion continues to reload, with guys like Adam Copeland, Jay White, and Will Ospreay becoming permanent staples on the roster.
The move is monumental on multiple levels, first taking McMahon out of the driver’s seat of a company his family built. The collective power of the MMA and sports entertainment leaders coming together offers limitless opportunities for what the future may offer.
Every year, the Salvation Army Angel Tree helps provide a little bit of Christmas magic to thousands of children across the country who might otherwise miss out.
The way it works is simple: children and senior adults are assigned donors, aka “Angels” in the community, whom they share a personal Christmas wish list with. The angels then purchase those items, which are distributed semi-anonymously.
As a child with incarcerated parents, I was an Angel Tree kid, and I can still remember the feeling I got opening up the exact art set my heart yearned for. It was the feeling of truly being seen.
Getting my Angel Tree present was about more than just accumulating stuff—it reminded me that there were adults I could count on (even if I didn’t actually know them) and it allowed me to simply be a kid again for a moment, during a time when that often seemed impossible.
It’s these types of priceless memories the Angels provide, with little to no awareness of how deeply their generosity impacted the lives of those they gave to.
Recently, a woman named Ahsley ( with the TikTok handle @maybashleymarie) recounted her own life-changing experience as a former Angel Tree kid, and the video is going viral.
“When I was about 16, I lived in a homeless shelter with my parents,” she said in the clip. “And I remember when everybody came around and asked us what we wanted to put on our list for the angel tree, I was writing this out. And I thought about it really hard because there was stuff that I wanted, but there was also stuff that I really needed. Because as a kid in a shelter, you basically have the clothes that are on your back and that’s it.”
But being in survival mode didn’t stop the teenager from wanting teenagery things, and so she put hoop earrings, black Converse sneakers, black eye liner, jeans, and a Playboy Bunny blanket on her list.
Not only did her Angel deliver, she “went above and beyond.” Ashley received not just one pair of hoop earrings, but 24 pairs in various shapes and sizes, enough black eyeliner to last her for years, skinny jeans with the tag still in place so Ashley could get her proper size, and bona fide name brand Converse sneakers, though she would have been completely content with generic.
Plus, much to her surprise, Ashley got that Playboy Bunny blanket—her favorite item on the list.
“I did not think at all, not one bit that that lady was going to actually give me a Playboy Bunny blanket, but when I opened that light pink blanket that said Playboy all across it, I was so excited. I was so happy. I still have that blanket to this day.”
“I have to say, I am so thankful for all of these influencers and all these people with real money to be able to go out and actually buy gifts for these kids because you have absolutely no idea, no idea the difference that it makes in their lives and how that’ll be lifetime memories for them,” she concluded.
The touching video received 3.2 million views, with several people sharing how much Ashley’s story moved them—even making them want to become Angels themselves.
“Seeing the other side of the angel tree just made me ball my eyes out, and now I must go do one,” one person wrote.
Other fellow Angel Tree kids, chimed in with their own experiences. One shared, “I was an angel tree kid when my parents were in rehab. It really does make a kid’s whole world.”
Another wrote, “I asked for the last book in the Lemony Snicket series and they bought me the whole series…hardback.”
If you’re curious about participating in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, you can find out more info at SalvationArmyUSA.org
Some people are in the right place at the right time when tragedy strikes. A mother and her 2-year-old are both lucky to be alive after being struck by a car that was blinded by the sun. Bridgette Ponson was walking across the parking lot of Layton Christian Academy in Utah when the accident occurred.
Students rushed to the car realizing that Ponson and her two small children were stuck beneath it. While the 3-year-old managed to free themselves to crawl from under the car, the mom was trapped on top of her younger child unable to move. Help arrived nearly instantly in the form of more than 20 high school students, an United States Airman.
The school’s surveillance cameras caught the entire heart-stopping rescue on video as the teens struggled to lift the car. Eventually, the high schoolers were able to lift the car high enough for senior airman Dominique Childress to help pull the mom and toddler to safety.
Childress was there picking up his kids when he was asked to help by his child’s teacher. He explains to KSL News, “Mom was holding him, and once we were holding the car high enough, she was able (to) get up and kind of hold the car on her back as we were lifting.”
Childress went on to tell KSL that the baby’s face was purple and he was unconscious but the airman was able to find a pulse. The teens worked in unison to lift the car off of the trapped mom and child, not knowing it was someone from the school’s administration office. Their only focus was saving the family. Theo Roach, one of the students that helped lift the car said the reality of the situation didn’t click in until afterward.
“It was a relief because I didn’t understand fully. I didn’t grasp the realness of the situation until I saw the kid breathing,” Roach told the outlet.
But it was thanks to their quick acting that Ponson and her child were spared. The youngest child was life flighted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City but has since been released with minor injuries. Ponson is still hospitalized and has received multiple surgeries.
The school set up a GoFundMe for the family to help with medical bills and income since both Ponson and her husband will be out of work while everyone recovers.
You can watch the entire interview, including the heroic rescue below.
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