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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Neil’s Loved Ones Mourn

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: CBS

What viewers saw on Thursday’s and Friday’s episodes of The Young and the Restless was in essence beloved castmates and friends going through cathartic moments themselves as the lines blurred between reality and fiction, and how could it not.   Y&R lost Kristoff St. John back in February and promised the audience that it would honor the character of Neil, and his portrayer in fitting tributes for all he has meant to the daytime drama series.

Neil’s memorial service aired on Thursday.  In it, St John’s longtime friend, Stan Shaw, presided over the service as the reverend.  One by one the key characters in Neil Winters life gave their eulogies and paid tribute to this man.

As Lily (Christel Khalil) tries to get up to speak, she breaks down as she cannot bring herself to address those in attendance.  So, Malcolm (Shemar Moore) steps up and reflects on how different his brother was then him, and brings up their rocky relationship.  Malcolm wishes he could tell his brother how much he helped him become the man he is today. As he cries, he tells Neil he misses him, loves him, and prays to God that he knew.

Photo CBS

Then, it was Victor Newman’s (Eric Braeden) turn.  He struggles to contain his emotions and hold back the tears, but it’s no use.  Victor loved Neil and respected him.  He saw him as a son, and said that Neil was one of the few men he trusted.  Victor said that Neil was a good man, a good friend, and member of the family.  With tears streaming down his face, Victor says. “I shall miss you my friend.”   Next, it’s Jack’s (Peter Bergman) turn to speak and he talks about the lives Neil saved which included his own.

When Devon (Bryton James) takes to the podium he poignantly says that Neil was his father, the one he never had, and was also his best friend.  Devon reminisced how when he came to Genoa City he had a chip on his shoulder, but Neil never gave up on him and it meant everything in the world to him.  In heartbreak, Devon says he doesn’t carry Neil’s DNA, but he can hear Neil’s voice calling him “My man.”  When he finishes, he turns to Neil’s picture and casket and signs “I love you” to him.

When Lily still cannot get up to speak, she asks Cane (Daniel Goddard) to please go up to the podium.  Cane speaks to his regret for the times he let Neil and Lily down more than once, Neil was a role model for Cane on how to be a father, he confesses. Cane brings up Neil’s strength when he lost the love of his life, Drucilla.  He says Neil passed that spirit and strength to Lily.  Cane encourages Lily to speak.  Lily finds the strength through her tears, as she cries, she says how she has now lost both her parents and she feels so alone.  Lily cries that Neil should have had more time on this earth.   She looks to all Neil’s friends and family and says they all have to be there for each other now to honor him, and that they owe him that.  She turns to his casket in tears and tells her father she loves him.  As the service ends, Devon thanks everyone for coming.  At the end of the episode, Lily and Devon hold hands and look at the portrait of their father.

On Friday, Neil’s family and friends gathered at Devon’s penthouse and try to lighten the mood through their tears to celebrate Neil’s life.  Ana sang, everyone joined in, jazz records (Neil’s favorites) were played, Malcolm toasts his brother, and Sofia mourns the father of her child.  Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) tried to figure out how she will go on without her good friend, who shared her addiction and understood her.  Jack embraces Malcolm and says “We both lost our best friend.”  As friends exit the penthouse, it eventually ends up just being the family. Malcolm sets up a photo with everyone as a family memento with Neil’s photo in a frame with them.  Sofia (Julia Pace Mitchell) and Malcolm announce they need to head to the airport to get on their flights, but before he leaves Malcolm hugs Devon, then Lily.  Later, back at her home with Cane, Lily tells Cane that she is ending their relationship, while Devon is sitting and crying at the penthouse when Elena (Brytni Sarpy) arrives.  He breaks down.  The episode featured retrospective clips of characters illustrating the traits of Neil featuring St. John.

Y&R brought all of its viewers to tears with his send-off for Neil Winters; which in turn honors Kristoff.  The eulogies delivered with such emotion, sadness and heart by Eric Braeden, Bryton James, Christel Khalil, Daniel Goddard, Peter Bergman, and Shemar Moore were heartbreaking.  As we watched Genoa City mourn, we mourned.   Neil was such a part of our viewing life, as much as Kristoff was part of so many of our personal and professional lives.

So, what did you think of the funeral episode and its aftermath on The Young and the Restless?  Were you moved to tears and then some? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

 

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Okay, I have really enjoyed these tear-jerking episodes, but one critical observation…

There was no scenery left after Shemar Moore’s performance: he chewed it ALL up!

Jamesj75
He was great. I swear, this man gets better and better. Do you watch him on S.W.A.T? It’s a really good show. When not in “cop” mode, it shows his loving and compassionate side that Malcolm was known for.

Hi Violet: I haven’t seen him in S.W.A.T., but I do know what a great actor he is. One thing I will never forget about him: He is the one who presented/announced the Emmy Award to Susan Lucci for her lone win, and he was so classy and so enthusiastic for Lucci.

Having watched Thursday’s funeral episode, where I’m sure I’m not the only one that cried my eyes out and then watching Friday’s episode where I couldn’t help but remember all the times and stories of all things Neil, I was grateful that Y&R did this.
These shows were much more difficult to watch and get through, more so than when Jeanne Cooper died.

Here’s what I’m really hoping: that Y&R will submit these episodes for Outstanding Drama Series Emmy next year. While these episodes are not typically what a show would submit when going for a Daytime Drama Emmy award, these episodes were so well done from the writing, to the camera work, the directing, the producing and lastly, the acting, which was something that the cast didn’t have to work hard at when these shows were taped. They were so eloquently done and sublime, something you rarely see on TV anymore.

Kristoff got his start in this business when he was a young boy from being on ‘Roots: The Next Generation’ to ‘Bad News Bears’, a show that I vividly remember watching back in the 1970’s (as a side note, I remember a conversation that I had with Kristoff years ago when I had a twitter account and I told him that I remember him from that show), to his many other roles on TV and in movies to his breakout role on NBC’s ‘Generations’ to the role on Y&R as Neil Winters that really catapulted him to fame. A role that won him two Emmy’s and numerous NAACP Image Awards. But those accolades almost didn’t come to fruition after he and Victoria Rowell (Drucilla) made a huge statement and stink about there needing to be more diversity on daytime television. His and Victoria’s stance could have easily destroyed their careers but it didn’t. It actually helped the industry to become more diverse on camera as well as behind the camera.

I remember when Shemar Moore came on to Y&R as Malcolm as an absolute unknown having only been in the modeling industry before starting his acting career. I truly believe that Kristoff made him understand that being humble along with understanding that respect is earned, not given. With that sage advise, it propelled Shemar into a movie and primetime career having starred on CBS’s ‘Criminal Minds’ and currently on ‘SWAT’. Shemar has no ego and I believe that Kristoff had a role in shaping who Shemar is as a human being and as an actor today. Shemar made that clear in the two episodes he appeared in this past week.

Kristoff is well respected in this industry and you certainly saw that with the many tributes that came in after he passed away. But most importantly, Kristoff was a husband, brother, uncle, friend but more importantly, he was a father to Lola and Paris as well as his late son Julian. Kristoff was never able to get over the loss of Julian when the demons of mental illness took a hold of Julian.

I am certain that Kristoff is running through the lily fields laughing, joking and smiling with his son Julian.

As Kristoff as Neil would say, ‘My man’, be at peace and run with Julian. You will be remembered fondly and you will be sorely missed. Rest well, my friend, rest well.

Thank you Michael. Your review is so kind and well received!

Very well said Michael…LOVED all the shows featuring Kristoff…

Recaps

WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night Two: Top 5 Takeaways

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Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns

Sunday night’s second night of WWE SummerSlam delivered one of the greatest matches of all-time, a match of the year candidate or even the decade. For those in attendance at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, watching on ESPN limited or Netflix around the world, the August 2 main event between former Shield members turned rivals, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins closed out a story 12-years in the making in a classic main event.

In fact, the second night of SummerSlam, (we previously gave our recap of night one here) was a vast improvement in the two-day event, dubbed ‘The biggest event of the summer.” Led by the incredible performances and masterful in-ring storytelling by Reigns and Rollins, who went 33 minutes in a spellbinding match-up with so many near pin falls, that whether you were watching at home or in the crowd, you would jump to your feet!

Let’s take a look at how things went down and give you our 5 top takeaways from the night on the six-match card, kicking it off with Roman Reigns defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins.

Photo: WWE

ROMAN AND SETH WRESTLING SOULMATES HONOR THEIR BROTHERHOOD

Right from the ring entrances, Seth Rollins paid homage to the Shield, complete with the facial mask, white version of their black vests, and more. When the Shield debuted back in 2012, it was the trio of Reigns, Rollins and Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley, AEW) who protected a then heel-ish CM Punk.

After Rollins delivered a chair shot to Reigns in 2014, and the group split up, Seth has always had Roman’s number, defeated him, and has been inside Roman’s head for his betrayal. The main event played on that aspect of the story throughout. With each delivering their patented moves: The Stomp from Seth, and a Superman Punch from Roman. However, neither man could truly get the upper hand on the other in a main event that lasted 33 1/2 minutes, truly a gift for the fans and the longest bout of the night.

There was plenty of trash-talking between the two, which heightened the story and made the ending all the more powerful. In addition, there were throwback moves of Dean Ambrose thrown into the mix.  But then, here’s how it all came to a conclusion. When the referee got knocked out, Rollins decided to grab a chair from ringside. He was going to use the same weapon he used on Reigns 12 years back, that led to the turn against the OTC. However, Seth hesitated. Roman got back up and had Seth on the ring ropes ready to use the chair on him. Seth told him to just get it over with. Roman put the chair down. Then, they went punch for punch. After hitting a final spear, Roman pinned Seth for the win as the referee finally came to. At the end of the match, both titans were exhausted and slumped in opposite corners of the ring.

However, in the most touching moment, Roman got up and went to the middle of the ring. The OTC extended his arm and fist, just like in the days of The Shield, as a peace offering to Rollins. Next, Seth got up and went and joined Roman. The two did a fist bump as a show of respect and the story was brought to a fitting ending.

Photo: WWE

KEVIN OWENS RETURNS AFTER 17 MONTH RECOVERY FROM NECK SURGERY, BECOMES NUMBER ONE CONTENDER

Sami Zayn cannot catch a break! Just when he thought his number one contender match was between himself and Finn Bálor, think again! Before the match started, the newly reinstated SmackDown GM, Nick Aldis came out and announced that he is adding Gunther … and Kevin Owens!

When Zayn saw that his best friend (and sometimes rival) was back and healthy enough to wrestle in a fatal-four way, his jaw dropped in probably one of the most classic moments of the night. Once the bell rang, Owens came in ready to show he could still go, complete with his reverse somersaults, stunners and more. KO dominated the four-way match up, all leading to him pinning Zayn to become the number one contender to face Universal Champion, CM Punk!

During the WWE Post Show, Owens had emotional moments with commentator and former wrestler, Big E, who suffered a career-ending neck injury and surgery, Kevin explained it was just a few weeks ago, that the doctor’s finally cleared him to return to the ring. An amazing comeback story!

Photo: WWE

BARON CORBIN TAKES THE U.S. TITLE FAST

In another comeback, Baron Corbin has had many ups and down over his tenures with the WWE, and in what was Corbin’s first WWE match in nearly two years, he faced Trick Williams for the United States Championship and right hand man rapper Lil Yachty.

The match broke down when Yachty went for the “Trick Stick” (a kendo stick) and went to hit Corbin in the back with it, but that backfired. Corbin put Lil Yachty through a table, hit Williams with the title belt, before landing his signature End of Days finishing move. With plenty of shady tactics, Baron Corbin was your new U.S. Champ.

From the looks of it, Trick’s run as the titleholder was beginning to become stale. So, WWE strapped the belt quickly on heel Baron Corbin. Will it be a long reign? Stay tuned.

Photo: WWE

GREEN WITH ENVY

This victory by Chelsea Green in the women’s ladder match to decide the interim WWE Women’s Champion, was a nod to the fans. WWE actually listened to the resounding love for Green over the past year and in turn had her grab the title above the ladder and become the current champ, while Rhea Ripley is currently out with injury.

Green bested Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, Lash Legend, Jade Cargill, and the hometown girl Tiffany Stratton. The ring gear worn by the gals, tore down the house with Cargill paying homage to Minneapolis music legend, Prince. But even more notably, the stunning outfit worn by Flair, which paid tribute to the little girl she had befriended named Scarlett who recently died of cancer. The women turned it out for this ladder match and you could make a case for any of them to have won the belt, but in a feel-good moment, it belonged to Green.

Photo: WWE

MINNEAPOLIS’ OWN CHAD GABLE FINALLY IS A CHAMP

The second best match of the night was delivered by the Intercontinental Championship bout between Penta and the hometown boy, Chad Gable, Going into the match-up, Penta was the IC champ. However, Gable is finally getting acknowledged for the wrestler he is after his enduring run in a a mask as the heel-ish, El Grande Americano.

Gable’s three children and his wife and parents were in U.S. Bank Stadium, so if there was any time to pull the trigger in favor of Gable this was it. Penta and Gable delivered high-flying moves and solid wrestling fundamentals that wowed the crowd. Gable was working with a seeming shoulder injury throughout the match and was somehow cut open on his face.

The match came to an emotional conclusion when Penta was caught in Gabe’s patented ankle lock and taped out. That led to the tears and the emotional celebration with Chad and his family inside the ring.

Photo: WWE

While not in our top five takeaways, the other match of the night featured Danhausen (who is one of the hottest WWE superstars with the fans) and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio in the first-ever “Human Monies on a Pole Match.”

Once again, it featured the minihausens coming out to protect their guy after much shenanigans from Dom and the Judgment Day’s J.D. McDonaugh. Danhausen and the minhausens got an assist from Joe Hendry and Dirty Dom was on the short end of the stick in this one.

You can check out the full WWE SummerSlam Sunday 2026 video highlights below. Followed by the Michael Fairman Channel’s “What’s Up? Wrestling” podcast that went live immediately following SummerSlam night two with our own post show reactions.

So, what did you think of SummerSlam night two? Did you love the Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins epic match and conclusion to the Shield storyline? What were your favorite moments of the match card? Let us know via the comment section below.

 

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Recaps

WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night One: Top 5 Takeaways

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Night night one of WWE’s SummerSlam on August 1, saw the return of “The Viper,” Randy Orton, the passing of the torch to Oba Femi, and SmackDown GM, Nick Aldis getting back into the ring after 3 years to take on “The Ring General’ Gunther. These were just a few of the major moment from the six bout match card.

Emanating from U.S. Bank stadium in Minneapolis, the match-ups had several ups and downs that either got the crowd into an electric frenzy or deadly quiet. The WWE creative was smart to kick-off night one with the Women’s World Championship match between the champion Liv Morgan and Ivo Sky, who put on a great show.

Both women brought their A -game, but Liv Morgan showed why she is the champ, while Iyo Sky remains the best overall female wrestler on the current roster. Here are our five top takeaways from Night 1 of SummerSlam:

Photo: WWE

RANDY ORTON AND CODY RHODES FEUD UP NEXT

The match between CM Punk, the current Undisputed World Heavyweight, and Cody Rhodes, the former champ, had most fans booing Rhodes and cheering for Punk. However, both men displayed some heel-ish moves throughout the bout.

When Rhodes missed a Cody Cutter and hit referee Charles Robinson instead, chaos ensued. Punk was out of the ring, so too was Robinson on the other side. Cody was in the ring laid out flat. Eventually, Randy Orton does a run-in out of nowhere and delivers the RKO to Rhodes, winks at the camera, and slinks out of the ring and runs out of the arena site unseen by Punk and Robinson.

Next, Punk rolled back in the ring and hit a third GTS on Rhodes to retain the title. In the end, there was no clean pinfall for Rhodes vs. Punk. It should be noted that Punk also missed a moonsault maneuver that looked sloppy, which has been fodder on social media.

So, what does this do for Punk and Rhodes moving forward? It leave us with Punk moving on to face new challengers for the title, and Cody and Randy Orton to walk back the start of their feud that got messed up once WWE inserted Pat McAfee into the storyline at WrestleMania 42, which the WWE Universe was a hard pass on.

Can Orton and Rhodes now have a proper feud? Will there be a double turn comig? Randy (who the crowd was cheering for) actually being the face and Cody having had it with all the shenanigans used against him, just finally giving in and turning full heel? Stay tuned.

Photo: WWE

OBA FEMI WAS PASSED THE TORCH

Femi got quite the moment after he won the third match of his trilogy against Minnesota’s own Brock Lesnar,  The Ruler beat The Beast Incarnate inside Hell in a Cell.

While there were five straight F5s in a row and Femi was taken to Suplex City, it appeared Lesnar had this under control especially after he exposed the wooden boards under the ring mat and apron. Next, Lesnar delivered a Tombstone piledriver paying homage to The Undertaker who Lesnar had defeated in two Hell in a Cells. However, the move left Femi unfazed. Suddenly, Femi was back up and shortly thereafter pinned Brock and won the math.

As he was exiting the ring, Lesnar broke character to hug Femi and called fo a mic and announced himself as the “past” and The Ruler as the “future” of WWE. Clearly, Lesnar gave the crowd in attendance and the millions around the world, his stamp of approval for Femi and passed the torched.

It should be noted we did not get Lesnar officially retiring in his home state, so he may be back. Meanwhile, Oba is clearly the WWE’s handpicked star who is having a rapid ascension to the top. Is it just a matter of time before Oba takes on Roman Reigns and wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from him?

Photo: WWE

NICK ALDIS CAN STILL GO

Aldis, who came out to Oasis’ “Morning Glory,” and had excellent ring gear to boot, showed that after three years out of ring action that he can still turn it out and against Gunther, no less. The crowd chanted “you still got it” during the match.

However, in the end Gunther was eventually able to put Aldis down. After the match, Aldis got to share in the moment with his young son, Donovan and is wife, Mickie James inside the ring, to celebrate Aldis’ return to the ring if even for one night.

During the Post Show on ESPN, Triple H reinstated Aldis as the SmackDown GM, and tore up Aldis’ resignation letter, so Nick was still a part of the WWE in his managerial position moving forward.

Photo: WWE

THE BELLA TWINS SHOULD HAVE STAYED RETIRED DUE TO INJURIES

As we predicted, during the trios match between the Bella Twins and Paige v. Fatal Influence with Jacy Jayne, it would be Paige tho took the pin from Jayne.  With that, the Bella Twins went back to full heel-mode, when Niki Bella who just returned after suffering from a broken ankle attached Paige.

Brie Bella could not get in to the beatdown because earlier in the match she suffered a serious shoulder injury which will now keep her out of action.  If the plan was to have an evil Bella Twins run, now that Niki is back, well that just fell apart with the ill-fated timing of Brie’s injury.

This is a case where Hall-of-Famers want to get back into the ring later in their careers and things don’t go as smooth as planned. Now it remains what the WWE will do. Obviously, Niki will feud solo with Paige.

Photo: WWE

SOLO SIKOA IS GREAT AS A BABYFACE, DON’T RUIN IT!

The actual moment of the night belongs to Solo Sikoa who got the the last laugh on the Usos. Sikoa mocked Jey Uso’s Yeet chants and moves specifically when Jey runs it back with the audience, by having Jey’s theme music play and imitating him.

Later, via Samoan Spike to Jimmy Uso, he stopped a 1D attempt while L.A. Knight hit the BTF on Jey for the victory. Jacob Fatu, who teamed wiht the Usos had the coolest entrance of the night with his werewolf mask and antics. Royce Keys who teamed with Knight and Sikoa also got to show off some of his power moves to help his team secure the win.

You can check out the full SummerSlam Saturday 2026 night one highlights below.

So, what was your top takeaway and moment from night one of SummerSlam? Favorite match? Least favorite match? Let us know via the comment section.

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GENERAL HOSPITAL: If Jason Leaves the Mob, What Will He Do Next?

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Steve Burton

As had been teased since Jason Morgan’s (Steve Burton) captivity by the WSB and his release on General Hospital, he is clearly having issues speaking about what happened to him, after he was dragged away from Port Charles when he took the fall for Rocco (Finn Carr) who shot WSB director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes).

Now. as Jason tries to reacclimate to life back in Port Charles, he has already displayed that he wants to do better for his son, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and the people he loves and to show up for them.

In addition, things took a turn on the Friday, July 31 episode where after Sonny (Maurice Benard) questioned Jason if he was having an issue with Ric (Rick Hearst) working side by side with his half-brother, Jason had something to say.

Courtesy/ABC

An emotional Jason tells Sonny, “I can’t work for you anymore.” The moment left Sonny dumbfounded, and viewers won’t know the pick-up of the conversation till Monday’s August 3 episode of GH.

Could it be that this time Jason will cut ties with Sonny and the mob for good? If so, it would be the end of an era for Jason and Sonny, sort of the Batman and Robin of GH with a twist.

Previous teases from the GH co-head writing team of Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte, and Burton himself on his podcast That’s Awesome ,seem to indicate there is a change coming for Jason that sends him off in a different path in his life.

However, we should learn Jason’s reasons shortly, and if Sonny can talk him back into the mob, or can just wish Jason the best and let him go. But now the question becomes, if Jason exits life as Sonny’s right hand man and henchman, what do you see him doing with his life? We do know that Jason is aware that Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) has tied to the WSB, since he escorted him to Port Charles via Jakarta on the plane which may be a clue.

Weigh-in below: Do you want Jason to go work for the Quartermaines and truly join the family in full? Do you see him doing something to help those in need, or do you see him going undercover with the WSB to expose some of the treacherous things they perpetrated on him and others, or do you see Jason doing something completely different with his life? If so, what? Let us know your hopes and thoughts for Jason in the comment section below.

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