News
AJ Lee Seemingly Says Farewell to the WWE For Now, and Reflects on WrestleMania 42 Bout with Becky Lynch
When AJ Lee stepped back into a WWE ring after ten years over eight months ago, it was earth-shattering pro wrestling and pop culture news. The pop she received in Chicago, where she resides with her husband and hometown hero, WWE superstar, CM Punk, was deafening inside the United Center back on the September 5 episode of SmackDown.
Fast-forward to a week and a half ago and on April 18, Lee was featured in a rematch with Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 42 from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Now, on Tuesday, April 28, AJ took to her Instagram and reflected on returning to WrestleMania after 11 years, working with Lynch, and being in the Women’s locker room again with so many WWE superstars. Lee’s message seemed to indicate that she is taking a hiatus and would be off television and WWE programming.

Photo: WWE
Lee (who is also know as AJ Mendez) is also a mental health advocate, openly discussed her battles with bipolar disorder, depression and even an event where she considered taking her own life, when she appeared on an important episode of Maurice Benard’s (Sonny Corinthos, General Hospital) You Tube series, State of Mind, back in 2021. AJ continues to spread the word about taking care of oneself and your inner being. She has written a book entitled, Crazy Is My Superpower to help others.
AJ LEE REFLECTIONS ON HER RETURN
In her look-back at the last 8 months and appearing at WrestleMania 42, Lee shared, “Allow me to be sappy and then forget this ever happened. Rebecca, you’re selfless, hilarious, and pure joy to spar with. Thank you for keeping me safe and making me better. Jess, thank you for being a true partner in our matches and always calming my anxiety. Carla and Aoife, I fell in love with wrestling again by seeing it through your eyes. I’m so proud to be a teeny part of your journey. You’re way cooler and more talented than I ever was. But I still have to kick your asses one day. Pam, you’re the undisputed GOAT. Thank you for going out of your way to help me train, to make every show so f’ing fun, and for healing my jaded heart. To all the women in the locker room, I admire and respect you so damn much. You are my wildest dreams for women’s wrestling come true. Thank you for making me feel so welcome and supported and dealing with my obnoxiously loud laugh.”
AJ LEE LIGHTS IT UP ACCOMPANIED BY LITTLE AJ’S AT WRESTLEMANIA

Photo: WWE
For those who were lucky enough to be at WrestleMania 42, Lee’s entrance was one of the most memorable of the weekend, when she appeared along with a bunch of little girls all dressed just like her!
As she signed off for now, AJ ended her post with “To my AJ Leegion, my mania entrance was a love letter to you, and to every girl who will become her own superhero. Thank you for supporting me for two decades, selling out my merchandise, giving me record-setting views, and making Converse a small fortune with your AJ cosplay. Your passion kept me coming back. Stay weird, see you soon.”
Now below, check out AJ Lee’s entrance from WrestleMania 42, her episode of State of Mind, and then let us know via the comment section, have you loved seeing AJ back in the WWE? Hope he returns in the near future? Let us know!
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As The World Turns
Scott Bryce ‘Celebration of Life’ to be Livestreamed for Family, Friends, Near and Far

Scott Bryce’s beloved wife Jodi Stevens Bryce announced on Instagram that a memorial service for her husband will take place this coming weekend and will be able to viewed via livestream for family members, friends and fans who loved the actor, personally and professionally.
As first reported by Michael Fairman TV, Scott passed away on Sunday evening, July 13 at the age of 68. His son, Jackson Bryce took to Instagram to make an official announcement of his father’s passing sharing, “What began as stage three esophageal cancer eventually spread and became brain tumors that took his life away from him.”
As the World Turns fans know that Bryce was smash hit in the role of Craig Montgomery, a part he played for several runs on the CBS soap opera from 1982–1991, 1993–1994, and 2007–2008. Along the way, Bryce earned two Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nominations in 1986 and 1987.
Previously, Scott had been diagnosed diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal and stomach cancer back in October of 2024. He had credited early detection as a vital part of his journey during a conversation on The Locher Room in July of 2025. At that time, Scott had shared he had undergone medical treatment and had since reported being “on the mend.”
Jodi Stevens Bryce’s message for those who want to view Scott’s ‘Celebration of Life” shares, “To our dear family and friends, both near and far, thank you for surrounding our family with so much love, kindness, and prayer. If you’d like to join us in celebrating Scott’s beautiful life, his memorial service will be livestreamed on Saturday, July 25 10am ET.” She signed the message, “With love, Jodi and Jackson.”

Photo: JPI
AS THE WORLD TURNS CAST SHARES REMEMBRANCES OF SCOTT BRYCE
Over the last few weeks heartfelt condolences on the loss of Scott have poured including from: Finn Carter (ex-Sierra, ATWT), Martha Byrne (ex-Lily, ATWT), Melanie Smith (ex-Emily, ATWT) and many more.
In fact, Bryne made note to TV Insider following the loss of As the World Turns co-star, of just how memorable Bryce’s work with the late Elizabeth Hubbard’s work as Lucinda was, and their unforgettable pairing; “The energy between them, their dynamic, all the play, fun, and the intensity just jumped through the screen. Most actors wouldn’t go down to set just to watch other performers. They’d stay in their rooms. I would go and just watch them work.”
The livestream will be broadcast courtesy of the The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, Connecticut.
We all loved Scott Bryce and his powerful performances as Craig on As the World Turns and his body of work in primetime television as well. Now, it’s time to say our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones. Comment below.
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News
Netflix Gives First Look Three Minutes of ‘WWE: UnReal Season 3’ Featuring John Cena and CM Punk

On Tuesday, July 21, Netflix has dropped season 3 of their behind the scenes docudrama look at pro wrestling with WWE: Unreal and all five of its episodes.
As a video teaser on season premiere day, the streamer shared the first look of its first three minutes of the season from episode 1. It begins in 2025 and looks at the the feud during John Cena’s retirement tour which as this point he is a heel. CM Punk enters the ring with his rival’s vintage “Basic Thuganonics” character outfit, and during their heated confrontation, Punk whispered a secret message to the GOAT.
Off the mic, Punk says to Cena, “I’m gonna miss you,” so that the crowd in attendance and the TV audience at home, who could not make out what he said. However Punk had a reason why he said it the way he did in the first place.

Courtesy/Netflix
WHAT DID CM PUNK SAY TO JOHN CENA?
Backstage, the “Voice of the Voiceless” explains, “In that moment, I had to do that to kind of center him (Cena) and bring him into the moment.” At the time, Cena was a heel, but the crowd still continued to cheer for him. Punk added, “Because it was emotional for me, and I felt it needed to be emotional for him, too.”
Cena added when he sat down for his docudrama confessional: “Right in the middle of his (Punk) moment, he gave me a very real and authentic moment, and it was very special. Looking back there was never a more real thing said.”
Later what was mapped out was that Cena would defeat Punk at Night of Champions, but after that, it would soon come to fruition ahead of SummerSlam 2025, that John who turn babyface ahead of his match with Cody Rhodes.
The loglines for WWE: Unreal season 3 tease, “John Cena says goodbye, a fan favorite returns, and the next generation of Superstars rise to the occasion.WWE: Unreal takes viewers inside the writers’ room as injuries, last-minute pivots, and career-defining decisions reshape WWE’s biggest season yet heading into WrestleMania 42.”
WWE: Unreal season 3 also features the following WWE superstars: Liv Morgan, AJ Lee, Trick Williams, Lash Legend, Stephanie Vaquer, Oba Femi, Bron Breakker, Chelsea Green, Matt Cardona, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
Check out the Sneak Peek for the new season of WWE: Unreal Season 3 below.
Now let us know, will you be checking out the full season of episodes of the docudrama series? Let us know in the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
Emily O’Brien Talks On Her Y&R Past as Jana Hawkes and Working with Peter Porte on ‘Days of Our Lives’

On the latest edition of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart which dropped on Tuesday, July 21, Emily O’Brien is the featured guest. As soap fans know, Emily has worked with Rikaart both in her first soap role on The Young and the Restless as Jana Hawkes and now on Days of Our Lives in her current role of Gwen Rizczech.
While Emily continues on DAYS, she has very impressive list of credits in the other part of her career as a voice-over actress and one in motion-capture in some of the most popular video games in the world.
O’Brien was first seen on The Young and the Restless back in 2006. She recalled her landing the role which eventually paired her for her five year run with Greg Rikaart.

Photo: JPI
BEING CAST ON THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
“The role was just a few days and she wasn’t even supposed to be English,” Emily recalled. “The role was originally called Jade. Karen Rae, the casting director of The Young and the Restless at the time said to me “Oh, you’re from England. Try it with the dialect.” I put it on and she said, ‘I’m going to bring you back at like 3 for s callback.’ So then they changed the role to Jana and they said she’s going to be a Brit. I was only supposed to be on for like five episodes and it turned into 5 years.”
In explaining why she loved crazy Jana, Emily shared, “Jana was sort of like the misanthrope. She was just was the odd one out and I loved it. I felt so comfortable playing that because she was just eclectic and weird and she loved playing with Ouija boards and she rode a motorbike. There was just so much color to bring to her. It was just such a great match to play with Greg (Kevin), and Christian LeBlanc (Michael) and Tracey Bregman (Lauren).

Photo: JPI
GWEN, DIMITRI AND LEO ON DAYS OF OUR LIVES
On Days of Our Lives, the Leo, Gwen, Dimitri dynamic is quite unique and been through many schemes and entanglements. Often Emily finds herself in repartee with her ex-lover, Dimitri, who turned out to be gay and then had a thing for her bestie, Leo (Greg Rikaart)!
During the conversation, Greg and Emily sang, Peter Porte’s praised with O’Brien expressing, “Peter is just ready to play. He comes on set prepared. I’ve never seen him with his script. From blocking and rehearsals, he doesn’t have it. He’s prepared. He’s a physical actor and he always trying to come up with something. I think he let me slap him. He let me kiss him. He let me throw a cheeseburger in his lap. He’s ready for anything for anything.”
You can catch the full episode of ‘Soapy; featuring Emily O’Brien below where the actress also talks about replacing Jen Lilley as Theresa Donovan after being let go as Gwen; and being paired again with Greg Rikaart on the Peacock streaming soap opera this time as best friends and more.
So, were you a big Jana Hawkes and Kevin Fisher fan on Y&R? Did you like them as a couple? Do you like the dynamic between Emily and Peter Porte and Greg Rikaart on DAYS? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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