The Padres were a win away from knocking out the Dodgers last year. Now, they're determined to come back even stronger -- even against the defending champs.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed that Kai Havertz is set to hand the team a major injury boost and is on course to make his comeback “earlier than expected”.
Seth Rollins said the WrestleMania 41 Night 1 main event between him, CM Punk and Roman Reigns is a battle for the "soul" of the company.
Rollins has feuded with both competitors for a long time. He was in the main event of WrestleMania 40, which saw him and Cody Rhodes defeated by Reigns and The Rock on the first night.
Rollins tried to get a last lick on The Rock on Night 2 of that event, but Reigns prevented that from happening.
The performance Rollins has put on over the last 18 months could go overlooked. He tried to convince Rhodes to challenge him for the world heavyweight championship at WrestleMania 40, but Rhodes declined.
Instead, he lost to Drew McIntyre. He returned to the ring after a short break to attempt to excise some demons in his bitter battle with Punk. A Royal Rumble mishap and Reigns’ involvement in a subsequent steel cage match thwarted those attempts.
While Heyman and Rollins feuded on screen, the WWE Hall of Famer praised "The Visionary" and came around to the notion he’s been the "MVP" for some time.
"To be blunt, and perhaps out of character, proud of Seth Rollins, because Seth Rollins could have easily been the forgotten man in all of this," Heyman told Fox News Digital. "It became, as the internet would joke, as if Roman Reigns and CM Punk are fighting over Paul Heyman who has become the baddie in this situation — I’m the hot girl.
"Seth Rollins could have been the odd man out, could’ve been the opponent for CM Punk and the former partner of Roman Reigns. Instead, in many ways, Seth Rollins has eclipsed us all with the level of his performances opposing Roman Reigns and CM Punk and Paul Heyman in this story. He has upped his game at a shocking level of mobility that I think has caught us all off guard."
Heyman said he was always "proud" of someone who achieved lifelong dreams like Punk getting to the main event of WrestleMania for the first time while Reigns continues his story of being the "Tribal Chief" in a post-Bloodline world.
"At the same time, I admittedly stand in awe across the ring from Seth Rollins, who last year The Rock called the ‘MVP of WrestleMania weekend,’ and I enviously and jealously didn’t like that. And experienced it so up close this year, I have no choice than to agree with him."
Heyman dismissed fans on social media who have failed to give Rollins his flowers, saying he’s seen pro wrestlers fail in the ring and seen praise on social media for them while others spout nonsense while ignoring historical facts.
"When you can find detractors of (Abraham) Lincoln or you can find proponents of people who blatantly suck, at some point you have to say these are not the opinions of those that matter," he said.
On the final "Monday Night Raw" before WrestleMania 41, Rollins stood tall in the ring as he delivered stomps to Punk and Reigns. Punk even took a spear from Reigns.
Heyman was already put through a table last year by the Bloodline faction. Could he see himself taking another finishing move this year?
"Am I prepared for it? I understand the possibility of it and perhaps the probability of it, and I’m hoping to escape the inevitable as I have managed to do for most of my career," he told Fox News Digital. "But if the storyline calls for a stomp or a spear or a GTS or a referee knocking me out, then that’s what the public is gonna get to see."
While speaking with Fox News Digital at WrestleMania After Dark at the LIV Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, Mysterio vowed to unmask him.
"One thousand percent," he said with a smile. "There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to do everything I can to take that mask off who that El Grande Americano is."
The two will meet on the first night of WrestleMania 41. Mysterio and Andrade defeated Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio in a tag-team match last year. They had some help from Philadelphia Eagles greats Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce.
Mysterio has won at the last two WrestleMania events, defeating his son at WrestleMania 39 too.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 41 .
She offered some advice to the women of NXT who will compete in matches at this year’s Stand & Deliver and have hopes of making the WrestleMania 42 card in New Orleans next year.
"Give everything you have every single time you step in the ring," Valkyria told Fox News Digital. "I know the Stand & Deliver girls have a big tag match with a shot at the tag championships. We have Tatum Paxley in one corner. So, if I become a double champion I might be in the ring against her."
Valkyria and Paxley bonded during their NXT days, but Paxley has since found a new partner in Gigi Dolin. The two will try to earn a shot at the WWE women’s world tag team championship by coming out as the victors in a four-way tag match, which will occur on the Stand & Deliver kickoff show.
Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade, Meta-Four’s Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson and Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley are also in the match.
Dakota Kai was a two-time NXT tag team champion when she performed for the brand and was named the 2019 Future Star of NXT. She’s seen time on the main roster, becoming a two-time WWE women’s tag team champion with Iyo Sky.
Kai knows what it takes to perform at Stand & Deliver.
"The women’s division is so stacked right now in NXT. I think it’s just, "Don’t forget why you do this — for the love of it,'" Kai told Fox News Digital. "There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs and things like that. It’s just how it is.
"But as long as you remember why you do it — the love for it — that will get you through anything."
Stand & Deliver begins Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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