Recaps
WWE WrestleMania 40 Night One: The Rock and Roman Reigns Beat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins Setting Up Epic Battle
It was a new era of the WWE firmly under Triple H’s creative control, the merger of the WWE with UFC forming TKO, and the company set to deliver the biggest WrestleMania of all-time.
If night one on Saturday April 6th was the appetizer for what was to come on night two on Sunday, wrestling fans in attendance and watching on Peacock at home, were clearly in for a memorable two-night affair.
Night one featured the return of The Rock to in-ring action, something the biggest star in the world has not done in 11 years. Coming into Saturday’s main event tag match with Roman Reigns as his partner against babyfaces Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, this version of The Rock is a mega-heel now known as “The Final Boss.” So much was on the line. If Cody and Seth lose, it would be “Bloodline” rules where everything goes for Sunday night’s main event between “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes and “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship.

Photo: WWE
After riveting ring entrances and introductions done with the highest live-entertainment production value, all four men stared each other down trying to determine who would start the match. Ultimately, it was former “Shield” members Rollins and Reigns who went into battle first.
However, The Rock used his power as member of the board of TKO to influence the referee, going so far as telling the ref he will be fired, if he continues to do a count not in favor of The Rock and Reigns. Ultimately, “The Final Boss” pulled the referee out of the ring so he was unable to count when Reigns was about to be pinned following a stomp by Seth and Cross Rhodes by Cody.

Photo: WWE
Next, Reigns rendered a spear on Rhodes but he kicked out, leaving The Rock to use the Mama Rhodes belt while taunting Rhodes’ mother at ringside. After Cody was down, The Rock went for the People’s Elbow, but Rhodes cut him off with a Cody Cutter.
In a pivotal moment, Roman Reigns accidentally speared The Rock. Setting up what could be an inter-family feud down the road. Then, in an OMG moment, Rhodes Rock-Bottomed The Rock through a table (even at 51-years-old, Dwayne Johnson was taking major bumps) while Reigns speared Rollins through a barricade.

Photo: WWE
The match came to its conclusion when The Rock hit a Rock Bottom on Rhodes, and followed it with People’s Elbow for the win. That means that Sunday’s WWE Universal Championship match between Cody and Roman will be “Bloodline” rules.
In a poetic callback, Cody Rhodes sat dejected in the ring, while Reigns and The Rock walked back up the ring ramp. It was exactly one-year ago that “The American Nightmare” found himself in the same position with the same reaction after losing to Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles. This was as they say, “cinema.” This was the essence of professional wrestling at its highest level; giving the WWE universe as compelling a product as they ever have with stories that connect, while laying the groundwork for major payoffs along with wild athleticism.

Photo: WWE
If that match wasn’t enough, being in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, you had to have your Rocky story, right? WrestleMania 40 delivered that too with a fantastic match between Gunther defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship against fan favorite Sami Zayn.

Photo: WWE
It has been 666 days that “The Ring General” held the belt, becoming the longest reigning IC champ in history. Could the underdog Zayn defeat one of the great technical wrestlers and heels of our time? The answer was YES! With Zayn’s wife at ringside, and Gunther taunting her, it gave Sami more impetus to takedown the champ. Eventually, Sami gave a Helluva kick and a brainbuster that stunned Gunther, and with two more Helluva Kicks, Zayn pinned him to win the title.

Photo: WWE
The opening match of the night gave a showcase to two of the greatest women wrestlers of the world, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and “The Man” Becky Lynch. It was revealed during the livestream on Peacock, that Becky had strep throat and a fever and was working the match anyway. With the scrappy Lynch trying to unseat Ripley from her title throne, it wasn’t to be, when Rhea delivered two Riptides to knock “The Man” out. The match proved it’s Rhea Ripley’s world and we all live in it.

Photo: WWE
In the six-man ladder match, the eventual winners and new tag champs became a split decision with A-Town Down Under – Austin Theory and Grayson Waller – nabbing the SmackDown titles, while R-Truth and The Miz took down the RAW tag titles.

Photo: WWE
Leave it to Philly and the WWE to bring in some hometown heroes for a match. Former Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson came to the aid of Rey Mysterio and Andrade donning wrestling masks with the Eagles logo on them at ringside. They helped the LWO members defeat Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio as the crowd went crazy.

Photo: WWE
One of the coolest entrances of WrestleMania 40 weekend belonged to Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi, when they appeared almost statue-like harkening to a Beyonce concert! The mighty trio defeated Damage CTRL.
The only match that left us cold was the brother vs. brother match of Jey vs. Jimmy Uso. With an opening video package that set-up the match beautifully, the actual action left a lot to desired. There were a multitude of superkicks throughout, and a lot of yelling going on, but it ended with Jey pinning Jimmy. However, it left us with nothing of substance to remember it by.
So, what did you think of seeing The Rock back in action in the tag match with his cousin Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins? What did you think of Sami besting Gunther for the IC belt? Let us know your favorite moments from night one of ‘Mania’40 in the comment section. But first, check out some of the highlights from night one below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair

On the Thursday, October 1 episode of General Hospital, both Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) had some things to say and what they had to say didn’t go over well with whom they were talking to!
Sonny had a confrontation with his son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), while Michael leveled with Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) over Chase (Josh Swickard).
GH is setting up a scenario where everyone is going to make it look like Sonny was responsible for having Sidwell (Carlo Rota) beat up in Pentonville; while viewers already know Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) were behind it.

Courtesy/ABC
A VISIT WITH DAD
Now, Dante comes to Sonny’s house. He wants to know straight up from his dad if he ordered the attack at Pentonville. Sonny flatly denies any culpability or responsibility, but Dante refuses to believe him.
Dante informs Sonny he has video footage of Sully and Vito at the prison. Sonny explains to Dante he doesn’t know why Sully beat up both Curtis and Dante. Things escalated when Sonny was deeply hurt that Dante refused to believe him. Dante says he was disappointed that his father didn’t respect him enough to be truthful with him!
Sonny asks Dante to consider that he was being set up. He says all he did was to tell Vito to instruct Sully to keep a watchful eye on Sidwell, not to harm him. No matter what Sonny said, Dante continued hammering him with how he knew deep down, even though he said he left the mob, he had to finish off Sidwell for himself.
Next, Sonny explains everything he has ever done was to provide for and to protect his family. Dante fired back that he doesn’t want to deal anymore with Sonny’s half-baked truths. As the two men argue, Gio (Giovanni Mazza) shows up at Sonny’s front door and overhears Sonny losing his temper and shouting at Dante, “Get out of my house! I don’t want a son like you!” The scenes featured an excellent performance by Maurice Benard.

Courtesy/ABC
MICHAEL THE MANIPULATOR
While this is going down, outside the Quartermaine boathouse, Brook Lynn opens up to Michael about living at the Q’s with Chase being there, since he only came back due to legal advice from his lawyer, Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard).
Brook Lynn questioned whether they should get legally separate. Michael insisted that would be a big mistake. When she asks why, Michael tells Brook Lynn to bide her time until Chase and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) have an affair; then she’d have full custody of Phoebe.
An angered Brook Lynn pushed Michael into the water and accuses him of moving Willow back into the gatehouse with intent on putting Chase and Willow in closer proximity and sacrificing Brook Lynn’s family in the process. As the two cousins bicker, Chase shows up asking Brook Lynn if she is OK. Michael punctuates their talk with “You know, I’m right.”
CURTIS FIGURES OUT A WAY TO GET OUT OF THE SLAMMER
At GH, Willow visits Curtis (Donnell Turner) in his hospital room. Curtis wants Willow to get him pardoned and keep him out of jail, and in return, he will help her nail Sonny.
Next, Willow tells Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) she wants Curtis held for observation for three more days. He agrees to do so under one condition, that she understands that he may need to call in a favor from a congresswoman.
So, what did you think of how Dante accused his father and refused to believe Sonny’s answers? Is this the end of their father and son relationship for good? Is Michael the most manipulative person of all, except for Willow? Do the two deserve each other? Do you want Chase and Willow to have an affair? And what of Curtis? Does he have many redeeming qualities left? Share your thoughts via the comment section, but first check out the talk Michael had with Brook Lynn.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ava and Drew Revealed to be Behind Framing Sonny for Sidwell’s Prison Beatdown

If you thought that the person responsible for the Pentonville brawl that saw Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Curtis (Donnell Turner) taken to General Hospital was Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) or even Sidwell himself, you were dead wrong! On the Wednesday, September 30 episode of GH, it turned out that the culprits were actually Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison).
In story, Drew apparently bankrolled the attack on Sidwell and framing Sonny. He told Ava their planned worked (she came up with it!) but was horrified when Drew informed her that Curtis got caught in the crosshairs. Ava is visibly upset because of her longtime friendship with Curtis’ daughter, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali). Drew tried to make Ava see the bright side. Curtis was witness to it and his presence will cast doubt on Sonny’s claims to that he had gotten out of the mob and gone legit.
Later, Vito shows up at Drew’s. They informed him that his guy on the inside of the slammer made a big mistake by hurting their friend and ordered him to leave town.

Courtesy/ABC
BOATHOUSE BRAWL
In other major developments, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and Rocco (Finn Carr) have a blow out fight as Danny blames his “brother” for the reason Charlotte was sent off to boarding school.
Rocco told off Danny for Charlotte’s (Bluesy Burke) reckless behavior and he explains he had to protect his sister. He went in on Danny saying that his mother Lulu (Alexa Havins) has been right to send Charlotte to boarding school and far away from Danny.
However, Rocco went a bit too far when he shouted, “And if your mom was alive, she would send you away too!” Next, Danny punched out Rocco, leading to a terrible brawl. An angered Danny yells at Rocco to, “Stay away from me and everyone in my family. And don’t you ever mention my mom again!” Danny storms off.

Courtesy/ABC
Now alone outside the boathouse, Rocco flashes back to his first kiss with Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarksi), hoping that his fight with Danny will not escalate and ruin their budding romance. Meanwhile, a bloodied-mouth Danny heads over to Sonny’s and Jason (Steve Burton) is there at the same time. He then admits that he has a bad fight with Rocco and they are both beaten up.
WILL SCOUT WISE UP?
At the end of the episode, Scout, who had a fight with Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) over Drew, and who keeps telling everyone how good a man her dad truly is, comes upon a suspicious scene.
Scout hides behind the wall outside Drew’s. She sees her dad, Ava and Vito talking. Next, Scout seems to overhear Vito assuring Drew and Ava that their business dealings are done, and he’ll be leaving Port Charles for good.
So, what did you think of the reveal that Ava and Drew were behind framing Sonny for the prison beatdown of Sidwell (and Curtis)? Do you think Danny and Rocco’s relationship can be repaired, or do you think the teenagers will continue to be at each other’s throats? Finally, do you hope Scout gets a clue and stops thinking her dad walks on air? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first check out how Ava and Drew conspired below.
AEW
‘AEW Dynamite’ Pays Tribute to PAC Following the Death of Benjamin Satterley in Emotional, Moving, Pitch-Perfect Episode

AEW delivered what would turn out to be an tear-filled, exceptionally done tribute to one of their own, Benjamin Satterley. better known as PAC. on the Wednesday night September 30 edition of their signature show, AEW Dynamite.
When the world learned of Satterley’s sudden passing on Sunday, September 27, it came just one day after what would be his final match at AEW All Out the night before. Now, for the first time his death, the AEW locker room, the men and the women who knew him best, gathered together to give “Ben” as they knew him, the send-off he deserved.
The special episode which emanated from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was filled with emotional speeches, video packages, and matches dedicated to the wrestling favorite, who was one of the greatest to ever do it, and whose life was cut short at just 40-years-old.
TEARS IN HEAVEN
What was so impressive about how AEW produced this episode was they literally broke the fourth wall and allowed their performers to eulogize Satterley and tape them at the arena earlier in the day, sitting in front of the camera and speaking from their hearts.
The same carried through to the matches on the card. Each held significance, and instead of it being babyfaces vs heels, everyone came together to perform for PAC, for Ben, for this special night.
This unity illustrated how close for the most part the brotherhood and sisterhood among professional wrestlers truly is, in the field of sport entertainment, that is often misunderstood for it’s deeper meaning and what these athletes and performers do night after night by putting their bodies on the line.
The show began with a formal dedication from the commentary team led by Excalibur and Tony Schiavone. Next, they tossed to an unbelievable poignant video package featuring Jon Moxley with the Death Riders and PAC by his side (for what would be for the last time) speaking to the camera after his loss for the AEW World Title at AEW All Out. Moxley’s speech spoke to what it means to be a professional wrestler, and to “do things with purpose and give a shit,” which was a reference to PAC’s own philosophy.
PAC’S FAMILY SEND SPECIAL MESSAGE
A ten-bell Salute followed for Ben as the entire AEW locker room and company took to the stage alongside an empty chair representing PAC. As the cameras panned, tears were being shed by many of the wrestlers and referee Bryce Remsburg was visibly upset.
Later in the night, Renee Paquette struggled through reading a statement from PAC’s family back in the U.K. Paquette was emotional as she shared the words of thanks from the family to all those who showed Benjamin Satterley the love since his passing and what he meant to them.
MATCHES FILLED WITH HUGS AND MOMENTS HONORING ONE OF THEIR OWN
As the wrestlers made their way to the ring for their matches, many times they had tears in their eyes. Each wore an armband with the name PAC on it, and often came to the ring in PAC t-shirts, which AEW is selling online to help out Satterley’s family.
Jon Moxley faced Orange Cassidy in the opening bout, with Cassidy visibly upset. In the end, Moxley retained his Continental Championship. However, after the match, Bryan Danielson, who Moxley also most choked out with a plastic bag, splintering their relationship for what seemed like for good, was greeted in the ring by his former friend, who was in tears. The two hugged it out an emotional moment.
Hangman Adam Page was shown next in a video package just overcome with grief over the loss of Satterley. Next, he along with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega reunited as “The Elite” took on members of the Don Callis Family, defeating them in a four on four tag match.
Cash Wheeler and Jay White each remembered PAC in two more video packages with both becoming overwhelmed with sadness and emotion. Swerve Strickland and his stablemates The New Level came out with the Trios Titles, something very connected to the legacy of Ben, and laid a PAC tribute towel over them in the center of the ring.
Next, in one of the more heartbreaking moments, Ricochet recalled how he and Pac shared a small room with bunk beds early in their careers as young wrestlers and how much he loved Satterley.
That was followed by a non-title bout between Ricochet and AEW World Champion, Will Ospreay. Before the match, the two hugged and in its aftermath. In tribute to Pac, Ospreay delivered his signature move off the top rope to secure the pin. This was an incredible match by two of the best wrestlers in the world.
MORE MEMORIES OF BEN
The match was followed by Will Ospreay’s tribute to PAC, including memories and the lasting impact Pac had on Ospreay from a young age. Later, Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin spoke to the cameras, In addition, Marina Shafir as the sole woman “Death Rider” shared her memories, before the women’s four way tag-match in which she appeared.
The main event featured The Death Riders with Bryan Danielson joining them to honor their fallen member, PAC against more members of the Don Callis family which included the return of Wardlow.
The show concluded with a video package honoring PAC, and closed out with empty chair placed under a spotlight in the ring as the wrestlers surrounded it, while the audience chanted “Thank you, PAC!”
What did you think of last night’s AEW Dynamite and how the wrestlers and the company came together to deliver this poignant episode dedicated to Benjamin “PAC” Satterley? Let us know via the comment section, but first check out the final video package in honor of the late pro wrestling favorite below.
-

Days Of Our Lives3 days agoREPORT: ‘Days of our Lives’ Puts Four Actors On Contract
-

Beyond the Gates3 days ago‘Beyond the Gates’ Honors HBCU Tradition with Banneker University Homecoming Episodes
-
General Hospital1 week agoAlley Mills Returns to ‘General Hospital’ as Heather Webber
-
News1 week agoJudith Light Joins Cast of ‘Shrinking’ Season 4 in Recurring Role
-

Beyond the Gates7 days ago‘Beyond the Gates’ Marquita Goings Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
-
News5 days agoY&R Alum Thad Luckinbill Cast in New Thriller ‘Copperhead’
-
News1 week agoMatthew Atkinson Reveals New Project ‘Into the Wilderness’
-

Beyond the Gates18 hours agoTUNE-IN: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Banneker Homecoming Episodes, EP Sheila Ducksworth Speaks on Impact HBCUs Have in Real Life

















